deciding on earthmover...

mattbatson · Sep 17, 2012

natem said:
I had a kioti ck20 a few years back. Very light in front with backhoe on. Had front tires filled but that didn't make a difference. Tires are not big enough to put enough weight in them to make a difference. If you are planning on getting one of the machines you are looking at they are balanced very well with the one seat operation. The backhoe doesn't sit back as far as other models. I personally wouldn't fill rears either. I filled mine on my L45 (rears) thinking i would be doing a lot of work with backhoe off, but very well balanced with backhoe on. I never take the backhoe off except to use 3pt hitch. Just my option. You do what would work best for you. Nate

Ok, so I think you are saying dont bother filling the tires, as it didnt make much difference with your machines?
Now, is your land hilly? I dont know if that would make a difference in the decision or not...
Also, I felt that the B21 was very balanced also.
I did get the front and rear up off the ground a few times, but it was predictable and easy to deal with and I didnt feel in any danger. And I was running that rental a lot harder than I would my own personal tractor, lol

lhansman · Sep 17, 2012

I had a B21 for 6 years and put 1,800 hours on it with the rear tires loaded without any problems and I never removed the backhoe. I definitely found the extra weight on the back end to be very helpful. I found that the steering is so sharp on the B21 that at times in the woods doing sharp turns against an unseen root or stone that I actually popped the bead on the tire. Although my neighbour is a mobile tire repair guy after a couple of flats I took his advice and had the front tires foamed and never had a problem again.

I traded the B21 for a B26 and immediately had all four tires foamed to prevent flats. I now use my machine regularly on construction sites and there are always pieces of rebar and steel lurking below the surface to cause a flat tire. The B26 is a far superior machine to the B21 in every respect - much more than the five horsepower that is the most obvious benefit. The bakhoe is much smoother to operate and almost 40% more powerful. The B26 backhoe has slightly more reach than the B21 but in the end I decided 8' was still to short for me and after 3 years and 400 hours I traded the B26 for an L45 this spring.

The L45 is comparable to the L39 but it has HST instead of the glide shift of the L39. I could have purchased a used L39 with 200 hours on it for $2,000 more than the price I paid for the B26 at the time but I did not like the Glide Shift transmission and went for the B26 at the time since I could not afford the L45. I think the L35 is a good tough machine and you may find one of them in your price range but I think it would be hard to find an L39 in your price range. If you can live without the HST then either the L35 or the L39 will serve you well. I have seen some comments on the L39 having a somewhat weaker front axle then the L45 but I do not know the specifics of the differences.

All of the Kubota TLB's are tough little machines that will do far more work faster than their diminutive size would suggest.

Good luck with you search.

Regards,
Lauren

Carl_NH · Sep 17, 2012

"However, my wife and mother are hoping I can rent myself out with the tractor for odd jobs, and think it is better to be safe and get something bigger.... I argued a little bit with them, but darn it if that wasnt a losing battle, lol."

MATT - Get the L39 if this is the case, or MAYBE you should get a L45!

Seriously - if you have the trailer and truck to pull it, get the bigger machine. I love my B21 and its tough but size matters - so if you can swing a L39 or 45 go for it.

Carl

mattbatson · Sep 17, 2012

Okay, the last two posts solidified my decision to err on the side of getting too much tractor....
I should take a page from your experience lauren that the 26 wasnt big enough in the end and you ended up upgrading to a bigger machine.
And people with B21's are recommending that I buy the bigger machines...
I love advice from people who have lived with a machine for a few years.

I'm going to look at the L35 and maybe the L39 if I can swing it....
thx for all the advice everyone!

mattbatson · Sep 18, 2012

One thing I dont understand is the big price difference when the hours are similar.
I'm guessing there may be different options that are worth more or less and that is the reason?

http://www.tractorhouse.com/list/li...ntains&Manu=KUBOTA&FullText=kubota+L35&ETID=1

here is a list just for example purposes off of tractorhouse....and the first 5 or so are all over 20K.
but then you get down to the last few, and there is that one in TX with 1200 some odd hours and it is only 14K?

No matter what I get, especially if out of state, I plan to pay a tractor mechanic to go look at it.

just wondering why some are so much cheaper than others?

mattbatson · Sep 18, 2012

whoops, double post

Carl_NH · Sep 18, 2012

Different areas of the country demand is less for TLB's so prices are less, then condition and age make up the rest. There is one L35 there with no BH and thats obviously the price difference.

For what you posted earlier on the L39 for 28K that is a newer model has the QA bucket and would be top of my list due to the condition and one owner etc. THe L35 with the 4-1 bucket is OK and 1200 hours is not a lot if it has been taken care of, and not beat on as a rental etc.

That's why a low hour newer machine like the L39 is a better long term buy in my opinion.

mattbatson · Sep 18, 2012

Carl_NH said:
Different areas of the country demand is less for TLB's so prices are less, then condition and age make up the rest. There is one L35 there with no BH and thats obviously the price difference.

For what you posted earlier on the L39 for 28K that is a newer model has the QA bucket and would be top of my list due to the condition and one owner etc. THe L35 with the 4-1 bucket is OK and 1200 hours is not a lot if it has been taken care of, and not beat on as a rental etc.

That's why a low hour newer machine like the L39 is a better long term buy in my opinion.

and we do plan on keeping this tractor forever and passing it down to my 3 yr old eventually....
I agree that with a tractor dealer you never really know what your getting.

As I posted earlier, the rental B21 I used had a disabled hour meter, and ran an auxilary meter that was screwed to the side cowl....so you cant always go by hours shown on the dash.

With that L39 I posted it seems like a well cared for and lightly used peice of equipment...probably worth the extra cost up front

edit...so it appears that there arent any significant options with these machines that were offered that would sway a purchase decision?
thx

Carl_NH · Sep 18, 2012

OK on the newer L39: Options were Hyd Thumb (but its plumbed for it I think), the front remotes (grapple etc), and quick attach BH bucket setup (comes with the Hyd thumb I think).

The 4-1 bucket on the L35 sorta cover the grapple portion parially tho not as handy in my opinion vs a grapple. There is no QA for the L35 - you can add one, but since it has the 4-1 you can use bolt pallet forks..

The L35 didnt have a Hyd thumb option but I you can add one probably $$$. Mechanical thumbs are relatively low $3-400 range gets a decent one vs Hyd are $1000+ typically.

Most of the dealers when they bought the TLB's would include the work lights, a 16 or 24" BH bucket, HD bolt on cutting edge as a standard package. The TLB's already have the HD bucket usually (the L39 does by the pic)

The addons for the L39 are the Thumb, QD BH bucket, Front Remotes as the big $$ options. For the L35 4-1 and I am not sure what others (back in 2001-2003 for the L35 they had fewer options).

Since you plan to keep this for the long term your money is better spent on a machine that has more future adaptability the L39 - it has the foundation to accept front implements grapple, etc, and Hyd thumb. You also dont need to worry about too many repairs like bushings, and the wear items that hit between 900-1200 hours..

If you put 80-100 hours a year on the L39 in 10 years it will be nicely broken in with 1200 hours or so when your son runs it..