Bx25 sold L3800 on the way

k0ua · Jun 17, 2012

jokergerm said:
Its a long story, i was the 1st guy to get my jerky hitch fixed from a dealer, from what i have read. Then 6 months later my loader valve started to raise and lower my 3 point hitch. Then they swapped valves with a Grand L vavle and now its back to jerky

Its getting a little old, i may end up trading up to a Grand L 3540, but im going to make dam sure its smooth before it leave the dealer

I think I would go back to the dealer with a big smile on my face, and appeal to his better side, and ask to trade the L3800 for that Grand L. Say: "look you have tried your best and I appreciate you efforts, but this is not working out as we both had hoped. How about giving me about 90% of what I paid for the L3800, and put in on that nice 3540 over there. That way you keep a loyal Kubota owner, and I will tell others how fairly I was treated." If he does it you win, and he wins in a way. If he wont do it, the go down to the Kioti, Mahindra, JD, NH, LS or which ever one you want. But unless this valve thing is fixed to your satisfaction, (and I am not blaming you in the least for not being satisfied) You are never going to be entirely happy. And life is short my friend, and there are worse things than spending some more money to get rid of a problem. Good luck in what ever you choose.. But that is what I would do.

James K0UA

johnrex62 · Jun 17, 2012

jokergerm said:
Its a long story, i was the 1st guy to get my jerky hitch fixed from a dealer, from what i have read. Then 6 months later my loader valve started to raise and lower my 3 point hitch. Then they swapped valves with a Grand L vavle and now its back to jerky

Its getting a little old, i may end up trading up to a Grand L 3540, but im going to make dam sure its smooth before it leave the dealer

Best of luck with whatever approach you take. I am surprised that you were happy for 6 months and things went bad again. When I bought my L3700, I did not notice any jerky hitch but was only using brush hog the first year. I did notice a fair amount of "bouncing" when I tried using a boom pole. Some of that is expected due to the magnifying effect of the boom extension, but I thought it was a bit excessive and as the timing was about the time you reported yours was fixed so I asked my dealer to take a look.

My dealer got the corporate rep involved and they agreed it needed to be addressed before the warranty expired. When they opened it up, they found the adjustment has moved from the original set position. They readjusted it to factory specs and added a locknut to keep it from working loose again. It seems to have cured the problem for me. I dont have any before video and havent bothered to take any after video, but it will rise rather smoothly in 1-2" increments with my boxblade attached. I may not be as particular as you, or maybe just not as observant, but mine seems fine now. It did not require a new valve and I have never noticed any fluctuation when using my fel, which I do constantly when mowing. I use my fel as a early warning for hidden obstacles and as protection when pushing through low hanging vines and branches while mowing. My uneven terrain forces me to raise and lower my bucket frequently to keep it 4-6" from the ground. My mower has stayed rock solid despite the constant fel movements. I have not done any other type of work where the fel and a 3pt attachment are both in use at the same time.

BlacknTan · Jun 17, 2012

Congratulations on your new 3800... I know you'll love it!
I've been looking long and hard at trading up to an L-3800. Do I need it?? No, but more weight and HP is always nice. I've spoken to three dealers about the jerky 3-Point issue, and they all looked at me like I've got three heads. They all claim to have never had a complaint about it on the new L series Standard tractors. One dealer had heard of the problem because he participates on these boards, but also claims to never have had a customer complaint. And that L-3800 is a hot tractor... lots have been sold.
So, i don't know if it's a figment of internet poster's imaginations... We all know how things take on a life of their own on the internet, or if it's dealers covering Kubota's problem... Which I tend not to believe... But, there it is!

Enjoy your new 3800, and do not allow anyone to rain on your parade!

jokergerm · Jun 17, 2012

johnrex62 said:
Best of luck with whatever approach you take. I am surprised that you were happy for 6 months and things went bad again. When I bought my L3700, I did not notice any jerky hitch but was only using brush hog the first year. I did notice a fair amount of "bouncing" when I tried using a boom pole. Some of that is expected due to the magnifying effect of the boom extension, but I thought it was a bit excessive and as the timing was about the time you reported yours was fixed so I asked my dealer to take a look.

My dealer got the corporate rep involved and they agreed it needed to be addressed before the warranty expired. When they opened it up, they found the adjustment has moved from the original set position. They readjusted it to factory specs and added a locknut to keep it from working loose again. It seems to have cured the problem for me. I dont have any before video and havent bothered to take any after video, but it will rise rather smoothly in 1-2" increments with my boxblade attached. I may not be as particular as you, or maybe just not as observant, but mine seems fine now. It did not require a new valve and I have never noticed any fluctuation when using my fel, which I do constantly when mowing. I use my fel as a early warning for hidden obstacles and as protection when pushing through low hanging vines and branches while mowing. My uneven terrain forces me to raise and lower my bucket frequently to keep it 4-6" from the ground. My mower has stayed rock solid despite the constant fel movements. I have not done any other type of work where the fel and a 3pt attachment are both in use at the same time.

Ya it was awesome after they adjusted it the first time, i mean smooth as butter. I even posted videos and members were suprised everything was great until for some reason something changed and it started to move with the loader

tractorshopper · Jun 20, 2012

My L3800 seems to have the jerky hitch when first starting it up and trying to move it very slowly on purpose to duplicate the problem everyone is talking about. It will kind of bounce up in increments, but still lowers very smoothly. If I raise it quickly, it is smooth. After it warms up and I'm using it, I really haven't noticed any major issues with it so far and have been able to use the BB, tiller, and bush hog just fine with an occasional bounce, but I haven't tried any very slow moving adjustments while trying to fine tune anything, so for me operationally it has been fine so far. If I were fine tuning constantly, it would drive me nuts if it continued to do this.

Before I bought it, I had read the threads and knew of the issue. I specifically asked my dealer about it. He told me he had never had a customer ask him about it and had never had anyone come in after the fact complaining about such an issue. He is an honest guy and I believe him. I guess most owners that may notice it just accept it and work around it and don't complain to the dealers, right or wrong. I do believe Kubota should take a hard look at this though if there is this much discussion about it. Apparently for some applications it can really frustrate owners and with them (us) spending this much money, they should fix the issue. Who knows that I go to sell mine sometime and can't or take a beating because it may cause the next guy some problems.