Comparison Decision time. L4701/L3901/L4060/L3560/B3350

[rjsats]

Hey fellas, going to buy my first tractor next year. I've keyed in on the following models as possibilities...
B3350
L3901
L4701
L4060
L3560

Land is 30 or so acres in northeast PA, sloped, of which around 1.5 is cleared. My usage:
- wood hauling, wood skidding. Home heated by wood.
- snow blowing, have a fairly long driveway, around 750 feet long or so.
- grading for a future veggie and berry farm approx 75'x65' along with other small scale grading work
- tilling
- misc... Have several rock walls I may adjust or move, other general hauling and bucket work
- possible backhoe work for trenching but leaning toward buying separate cheap trencher for that
- I'll use a small cub cadet still for mowing and lighter work

As with all of us, I'm trying to thread the needle of trying to get "enough" or "plenty" of tractor, but balance it out against the cost. I'm unsure of how much tractor I need, but the woodwork alone is a bear without a tractor now.

Extra info. I really like the L3901 and 4701 as a good mix of power and value, but the snow blower is only mountable on the back and I have a slight neck injury that causes some pain, and blowing snow in the freezing cold with my neck turned is something I'm hesitant to sign up for. As a result I was considering the L4060 equally because it has a front mounted blower. However it comes at quite a cost vs the L3901 or L4701.

Thank you for your thoughts

 

[s219]

If you didn't add that last paragraph about the snow blower and neck injury, I'd say an L2501/3301/3901 would be just fine. Nothing you mentioned suggests you need an L4701 or larger.

Generally people move up to the Grand L models for the deluxe features and/or cab. Might be worth it if you like/want those features. IMO you do get what you pay for.

About the front blower -- I assume you're talking about Kubota offered blowers that would run off the mid-pto (which the basic L models lack). That may be the reason pushing you into a Grand L. The 3560 is very much sized like the L2501/3301/3901, while the 4060 is the next size up.

The B2650/3350 would give you a mid PTO for a front blower, but they are considerably lighter tractors than the L models, and I feel like your uses suggest L is a better size.

So when I talk through the facts, I am coming to L3560, primarily for that mid PTO. Just realize you're paying for a lot of extra deluxe features as well, and it would be good if those were things you wanted/needed. May also want to consider the L4060, as it's quite a bit more tractor for not too much extra money (relatively speaking).

Hope that helps, good luck!

 

[ProjectKing]

If you didn't add that last paragraph about the snow blower and neck injury, I'd say an L2501/3301/3901 would be just fine. Nothing you mentioned suggests you need an L4701 or larger.

Generally people move up to the Grand L models for the deluxe features and/or cab. Might be worth it if you like/want those features. IMO you do get what you pay for.

About the front blower -- I assume you're talking about Kubota offered blowers that would run off the mid-pto (which the basic L models lack). That may be the reason pushing you into a Grand L. The 3560 is very much sized like the L2501/3301/3901, while the 4060 is the next size up.

The B2650/3350 would give you a mid PTO for a front blower, but they are considerably lighter tractors than the L models, and I feel like your uses suggest L is a better size.

So when I talk through the facts, I am coming to L3560, primarily for that mid PTO. Just realize you're paying for a lot of extra deluxe features as well, and it would be good if those were things you wanted/needed. May also want to consider the L4060, as it's quite a bit more tractor for not too much extra money (relatively speaking).

Hope that helps, good luck!

Good thoughts.

OP... how much snow to do you have to blow? What do you use to plow out snow now?

I think the L4701 is the right tractor for you. But not sure about the snow blower issue. Can you plow the snow with a loader mounted blade?

 

[BrokeFarmerJohn]

Hey fellas, going to buy my first tractor next year. I've keyed in on the following models as possibilities...
B3350
L3901
L4701
L4060
L3560

Land is 30 or so acres in northeast PA, sloped, of which around 1.5 is cleared. My usage:
- wood hauling, wood skidding. Home heated by wood.
- snow blowing, have a fairly long driveway, around 750 feet long or so.
- grading for a future veggie and berry farm approx 75'x65' along with other small scale grading work
- tilling
- misc... Have several rock walls I may adjust or move, other general hauling and bucket work
- possible backhoe work for trenching but leaning toward buying separate cheap trencher for that
- I'll use a small cub cadet still for mowing and lighter work

As with all of us, I'm trying to thread the needle of trying to get "enough" or "plenty" of tractor, but balance it out against the cost. I'm unsure of how much tractor I need, but the woodwork alone is a bear without a tractor now.

Extra info. I really like the L3901 and 4701 as a good mix of power and value, but the snow blower is only mountable on the back and I have a slight neck injury that causes some pain, and blowing snow in the freezing cold with my neck turned is something I'm hesitant to sign up for. As a result I was considering the L4060 equally because it has a front mounted blower. However it comes at quite a cost vs the L3901 or L4701.

Thank you for your thoughts

That's a huge range lol. Like always I will add is to take a look at Mahindra's if you haven't already the 1533 is a solid machine.

That being said I would say figure up the heaviest thing you could ever possibly need to lift on the front end loader and find a tractor that will handle that load safely.

Mine was a round bale for my cattle, bales can be up to 1100-1400lbs and that knocked a lot of the tractors off my list.

Wooded areas are best with non cabbed tractors in my mind, but cab is the bees knees lol.

I was warm, comfortable and listing to the radio the other day in the rain working my gravel drive. Air ride seat is awesome.

Weight equals traction so also keep that in mind, if you start out with a heavier tractor you will have to use less ballast later, some brands are heavier than others.

 

[rjsats]

Thanks a lot guys. s219 your thoughts really, really reflected my own as I've thought through things. As for current snow removal I have a blower on the front of the cub cadet, works ok but takes a long time and also can't handle big snowfalls and need to get help for those. As for the cab, yea it's unfortunate there. I figure since I'll be taking it into the woods a lot I can't get the cab unfortunately, which is why I really don't want to pay up for the "Grand" series of tractors. I feel like that I'm paying in a way for that cab functionality even without being able to use it. Obviously the upgrade is more than that, the performance is clearly superior, but I still feel like I'm paying the upgrade tax regardless for that, which makes paying up annoying. Maybe I should just bite the bullet and turn my head the five or so times a year there's a bad snow and I need to clear it.

More feedback would be great, thanks a lot for all that I've gotten so far!

 

[BrokeFarmerJohn]

Have you crossed any tractors off the list? Which tractors are you now leaning towards and why.

What's on your mind, pros, cons, wants and needs?

 

[BrokeFarmerJohn]

How big of a tiller do you plan to run, are you planning to cultivate rows in garden with the tractor? Are you gonna break ground with the tiller on plan on running a plough?

Just trying to ask questions to narrow the list a bit more

 

[noose]

I just went through the 33/39/47 decision and took home a 47. The 33/39 frame size is noticeably smaller than the 4701 and I felt like I was moving up into a "real tractor" vs a "compact tractor". I only got to play with my 47 today for about an hour, but from a power standpoint, absolutely destroys what my old 33 house JD could do... I made the mistake the first time buying a small tractor. I then found myself selling it a year later and going bigger. Don't make the same mistake I did... Get as big as you can afford...

There are a few things on the 47 that are not standard on the 33/39 and are worth it. Cruise control is a big one for me because I shred a few acres at a time. The little electronic hydraulic button instead of a lever is very cool. Bigger gas tank. 4 vs 3 cyl larger displacement, considerably heavier, and a decent jump in hydraulic flow which is, to me, one of the single most important specs. There are other features when jumping from the 33/39 to the 47 as well. Take a look up close and you'll find a lot of the "good stuff" is on a 4701 even though it is a "budget L series".

 

[BrokeFarmerJohn]

I just went through the 33/39/47 decision and took home a 47. The 33/39 frame size is noticeably smaller than the 4701 and I felt like I was moving up into a "real tractor" vs a "compact tractor". I only got to play with my 47 today for about an hour, but from a power standpoint, absolutely destroys what my old 33 house JD could do... I made the mistake the first time buying a small tractor. I then found myself selling it a year later and going bigger. Don't make the same mistake I did... Get as big as you can afford...

There are a few things on the 47 that are not standard on the 33/39 and are worth it. Cruise control is a big one for me because I shred a few acres at a time. The little electronic hydraulic button instead of a lever is very cool. Bigger gas tank. 4 vs 3 cyl larger displacement, considerably heavier, and a decent jump in hydraulic flow which is, to me, one of the single most important specs. There are other features when jumping from the 33/39 to the 47 as well. Take a look up close and you'll find a lot of the "good stuff" is on a 4701 even though it is a "budget L series".

Noose would you say you bought "too big" of a tractor? And would prefer a smaller frame because the size increase would be more of the tractor "getting into its own way"? Is the turning radius too big? The tractor handle not comfortable enough for you? Would you say the loader was slower, faster, smoother or jumper than smaller models? Over all was the increase in size worth the investment for X amount more tractor?

 

[rjsats]

I just went through the 33/39/47 decision and took home a 47. The 33/39 frame size is noticeably smaller than the 4701 and I felt like I was moving up into a "real tractor" vs a "compact tractor". I only got to play with my 47 today for about an hour, but from a power standpoint, absolutely destroys what my old 33 house JD could do... I made the mistake the first time buying a small tractor. I then found myself selling it a year later and going bigger. Don't make the same mistake I did... Get as big as you can afford...

There are a few things on the 47 that are not standard on the 33/39 and are worth it. Cruise control is a big one for me because I shred a few acres at a time. The little electronic hydraulic button instead of a lever is very cool. Bigger gas tank. 4 vs 3 cyl larger displacement, considerably heavier, and a decent jump in hydraulic flow which is, to me, one of the single most important specs. There are other features when jumping from the 33/39 to the 47 as well. Take a look up close and you'll find a lot of the "good stuff" is on a 4701 even though it is a "budget L series".

Hey Noose, very timely, was doing a lot of homework late last night and noticed that the 47 was a lot more tractor for not a lot more money (in particular I had keyed in on the big jump in weight and the hydraulic flow oddly enough, for not that much more cost). More important is your remark about having a lot of the good stuff on the budget series, very interesting there, that was definitely not clear. Congrats on your purchase.

If I was buying tomorrow I might be going with the 47. Seems like the B series is just too little. My residual concern I suppose lies in the snow clearing. Noose do you clear a driveway or work areas with the tractor? If so, is the clearing in reverse just something you're ok with on the few occasions you need to do it? Why the heck doesn't Kubota just engineer these things to take a front mounted blower?

Thanks again!