first tractor for 30+ acres mountain land

[Bluegill2]

So i took delivery of the tractor today. It looked like it was basically new. It came with a 5' Howser bush hog with extra new blades.
It does have the R4 rear tires already filled with ballast. I was also mistaken about the loader it is the LA 724 which i believe is a stronger loader. IT has the quick connect bucket. It apparently is still under warranty. 251 hours for 15k all in delivered, so i did go over my original budget but got way more tractor than I had planned on. Thanks for all the advice.

Heck of a deal!

Although I prefer gear drive and ag tires, your HST and R4s will do fine!

 

[Carl_NH]

Trinculo,

You got a fine tractor for a great price - you will be very happy with that machine expecially the condition and hours. You must be having too much fun outside with it this weekend to post pics... We like pictures !

Carl

 

[parkerpusher]

I just agreed to purchase a 2008 L3240 HST with 250 hrs + FEL and a bush hog. The local gentleman is delivering it tomorrow and bought it new from one of the two local dealers where he has had it serviced. It looks to be in very good condition and has been garage kept and used primarily for mowing. The man I am buying it from has a larger Kubota and bought this so he didn't have to remove his backhoe when he needed to mow.

So i went to one of the two local Kubota dealers, where I had gotten some prices from him on a new machine (L3200) , to look at some additional implements and told him what I was planning on purchasing.
He told me that nobody wants the hydrostatic machines and that in the mountains or doing any "real work" that the transmissions would slip and burn out and that it was an $8k repair. I asked him why a good number of the machines on his lot were HST and he said he would only sell them to people for mowing and light work and that the HST was likely the reason that the person was selling the machine that I was planning on buying.

I called two other dealers that I had been talking to and they had no idea what he was talking about and said MOST of the machines they sell were the hydrostatic machines and that they had never had one fail. They also said that by all accounts a Hydrostatic tractor was *better* in the mountains.They also concurred that the deal I was getting ($15K) was a good price and that they couldn't offer anything close in this price range, So . . . . .

Is this a common problem with the HST tractors?
Should I be concerned?

Also the topic on the topic of tires I have received conflicting information.
I have been told that Ag (R1) tires are better in the mountains because they have better traction, contrarily I have been told that most people want R4 tires because they sit lower and make the center of gravity lower.

I have also been told that putting liquid ballist in the tire is good and bad depending on who was opining.

Can anyone share any common wisdom here?

Thanks for al the help.

I also live in WNC, and have some very tight and steep spots to negotiate. Hydro transmissions are tough in a full size tractor, no problems there at all. Also, ballast your rear wheels for sure. Ride a while on your R4s before you think you need something more aggressive, they are a nice balance of traction and turf protection...plus they sit flat and offer alot of surface area contact. .

 

[LMan1967]

Are you saying the curve flattens out, or spikes up? Is it expensive to get to 40 HP, and then cheap to get from there to 100+? Or is it cheap to get to 40, but if you want to go higher, it shoots up? I think you're saying the first one.

Yes, the first one, more or less. Older 2wd tractors, even at 75 hp and up, go for less than a, say, 40 hp w 4wd. Older ones tend to be gear, also. Im no expert but the hp seems to be cheaper as you go up.