First tractor

[NEPA1100]

Buying my first tractor soon. I am between the Kubota 3701 and 4701. I own 18 acres. 3.5 open and the balance woods. I am the last house on a private road that is a mile long and will need to plow and care for it. I will also be opening up land for a few small food plots. Not sure what size to go with. My one concern would be the snow removal. Want the weight and would be adding a plow to the FEL.

 

[void777]

NEPA1100:
be sure to buy enough tractor that you won't overwork it or end up with buyers remorse later :cool2: good luck and :welcome:to TBN where you from add to your profile.

 

[Thomas]

:welcome: to TBN.
Lots of topics/threads over the years try Search and make sure you have enough oil for the lantern.

 

[mddorange]

:welcome:
To TBN Nepa. You came to the right place to get answers.

Also we love to spend other people's money. Void is correct about getting the right tractor.

If it was me, I would go with the L4701 to get the bigger machine and have more hydro power. No one ever regretted get a bigger machine, but many have found that they should have bought bigger and regretted not having done so.

 

[nybirdman]

Go with the L4701;will run six foot implements with ease.No one ever complains of having too much horse-power.

 

[HEC]

There are many things to take into consideration , a mile long rd. is quite a stretch . How much snow do you get , how good is the rd. tar , dirt , do you have plenty of space to plow the snow etc. etc. , you have given very little information . I agree with all the info given above , but give us some more information also. I went without a cab for many years but as I got older that wasn't for me anymore . If you get lots of snow like I get here in northern Maine a snow plow on a tractor may reach it's limit at some point as far as pushing the banks back enough . Many things you have to consider. Good Luck with your venture

 

[jeff9366]

I am confused if you need Moldboard Plow advice, Snow Plow advice, or both.

Plowing the one mile road, whether with a Snow Plow or a Moldboard Plow, will determine what weight tractor you need. Hills, if you have them, will influence how much horsepower you need.

For 3-1/2 FLAT acres a tractor with a bare weight of 1,600 to 2,000 pounds is ample for most residential tasks but not for the road.

For the one mile road consider a 4-WD truck with a front plow. Good lights, warm and dry inside.

 

[Sparkeee24]

Weight is your friend in 90% of situations. You will almost always run out of traction before running out of hp. Skip the smaller machine, and fill your tires. Check out other brands, sometimes you can get more for your money too.

 

[NEPA1100]

Thanks for the input. Sorry for lack of information I was trying to get out of work. So I live a mile back a dirt road as stated above which is fairly flat but the incline is roughly 300' of elevation gain from main road to my house. Must snow falls are on the lighter side of 3-6" or 4-8" with few being in the foot plus. I live 1900' in elevation in Northeastern PA I have plenty of room to push the snow off the road. Will have some drifting in the open field areas but that's only a short distance. I would load the tires and look into chains. There are two guys on the road that have plows on their trucks that would also be helping out. I am looking for the front snow plow attachment. Other attachments will be finish mower, brush hog, tiller, box blade, blade, grapple (in a few years) and after a few snow storms of freezing a cab.
I am leaning towards the 4701 being it is only a few grand more and has more power and a few extra pounds. I never want to regret buying to small.

 

[jeff9366]

L4701 is somewhat a vestige of the early Kubota Grand L models. L4701 has a Category 1, Three Point Hitch.

I would consider the MX series in parallel with the L4701. MX series has a Category 2, Three Point Hitch. Priced the nearly the same.

The L4701 is around 3,307 pounds, bare tractor. MX about 3,730 pounds, bare tractor, mostly due to larger wheels and tires.

VIDEOS (3): Kubota Standard L-Series. L251 L331 L391 L471 features and operation. - YouTube

Kubota MX series walk around and features by Messicks. | MX48 MX52 MX58 - YouTube

*NEW* Land Pride Snow Pushboxes for BX, B & L Series Kubota Compact Tractors - YouTube



Where I live in Florida snow is an infrequent occurrence.

 

[NEPA1100]

Sorry meant 3901

 

[jeff9366]

I live in Northeastern PA. I own 18 acres, 3.5 open, the balance woods. I live a mile back on dirt road which is fairly flat but the incline is roughly 300' of elevation gain from main road to my house.

Most snow falls are on the lighter side of 3-6" or 4-8" with few being in the foot plus. I have plenty of room to push snow off the road..

There are two guys on the road that have plows on their trucks that would help out. I am looking for the front snow plow attachment. Other attachments will be finish mower, brush hog, tiller, box blade, blade and a grapple.

Not that much snow, especially as you will have help. I would consider a Kubota B2650 (2,293 pounds bare tractor) a B3350 (2,247 pounds, bare tractor) a L2501(2,673 pounds, bare tractor) and L3901 (2,778 pounds bare tractor) all with a snow push box or front plow. If your 14-1/2 acres of woodland is hilly, consider rear wheel spacers for stability, in addition to loaded rear tires.

VIDEO: How to clear snow using your loader - Kubota B265 Cab Compact Tractor - YouTube

You can store these four open station models in a typical residential garage. Cab B2650/B3350, probably too tall.


An L4701 or MX series require more than 84" entry clearance with the ROPS down, more height than most garages have.


Twenty-five horsepower 4-WD tractors with loaded rear tires can accomplish a lot on level ground.
Motivating a tractor up hill with an implement attached or pushing snow can be more than 25-horsepower can accomplish except at creep speed, depending on the incline.

 

[majorwager]

Jeffy.
Are you sure of your facts. ? I am rather sure the ROPS DOWN height is less that seven ft. I have removed my rops but will ck the dimention as it is in storage.

EDIT: know there was an issue w/ Rockcrawler but my little 22 pto hp ford will climb a 30 degree slope in med range, w/ loaded turf tires. And a 90 inch walco mower.


A better choice for snow pusher, as I live in a snow climate, is ZMI in seneca falls NY. Reasonable price, shipping is free or almost free.

 

[rbtjr]

We had an L3800, the predecessor to one you are looking at. It was a great tractor. We got R4 tires and one result was that the width of the rear wheels could not be adjusted--were a fixed width. I didn't like the somewhat narrow width so I installed a 4" spacer on each rear wheel. That helped a lot. I think that the R1 wheels on the L3800 could be adjusted but I'm not sure of that. We ended up wanting a larger tractor, primarily for increased loader capacity. I compared the L4701 and the MX models and ended up buying the MX5800. I think that the L4701 would have been fine for us but we opted for more power for not a huge cost increase. So, I would recommend the L4701 as between the two you are considering. I think that the rear wheels on the L4701 can be adjusted for width with R4 tires but I am not sure of that. The rear wheels on the MX5800 are adjustable with R4s and I have them set as wide as possible. And I absolutely would get 4WD and the HST transmission (I see references to a HST+--not sure I have the right designation there--but I am not familiar with it). We had the HST tranny on the L3800 and have it on the MX5800. To me, the HST makes the tractor much easier to operate. Best wishes with your choice.

 

[HEC]

L4701 is somewhat a vestige of the early Kubota Grand L models. L4701 has a Category 1, Three Point Hitch.

I would consider the MX series in parallel with the L4701. MX series has a Category 2, Three Point Hitch. Priced the nearly the same.

The L4701 is around 3,307 pounds, bare tractor. MX about 3,730 pounds, bare tractor, mostly due to larger wheels and tires.

VIDEOS (3): Kubota Standard L-Series. L251 L331 L391 L471 features and operation. - YouTube

Kubota MX series walk around and features by Messicks. | MX48 MX52 MX58 - YouTube

*NEW* Land Pride Snow Pushboxes for BX, B & L Series Kubota Compact Tractors - YouTube



Where I live in Florida snow is an infrequent occurrence.

I totally agree with Jeff on the MX

 

[rScotty]

L4701 is somewhat a vestige of the early Kubota Grand L models. L4701 has a Category 1, Three Point Hitch.

I would consider the MX series in parallel with the L4701. MX series has a Category 2, Three Point Hitch. Priced the nearly the same.

The L4701 is around 3,307 pounds, bare tractor. MX about 3,730 pounds, bare tractor, mostly due to larger wheels and tires.

A category II 3pt hitch indicates that the tractor is more heavily built throughout.
A Cat II 3pt hitch can use Cat I implements just fine, but a Cat I 3pt hitch cannot use Cat II implements at all.
rScotty

 

[majorwager]

Agree w/ rScotty,

Mx enjoys heavier constructed front and rear axles and housings. Is kubota so foolish as to build two identical tractors and just badge them differently. ?? Consumer ignorance is NOT kubota trait.

 

[NEPA1100]

One last questions what is the weight of the FEL LA 765 that comes on the 4701. I can not for the life of me find it anywhere.

 

[jeff9366]

One last question what is the weight of the FEL LA 765 that comes on the 4701. I can not for the life of me find it anywhere.

I searched quite a bit but could not find the weight of FEL LA765 either.
(I speculate LA765 weight is around 1,215 pounds.)

Someone with an L4701 Operator's Manual will post accurate LA765 weight sooner or later.



My Kubota Front Loader Operator's Manual specifies weight of LA805 as 1,279 pounds.
LA805 weight may, or may not, include the bucket, as there are three bucket options.

 

[4570Man]

I searched quite a bit but could not find the weight of FEL LA765 either.
(I speculate LA765 weight is around 1,215 pounds.)

Someone with an L4701 Operator's Manual will post accurate LA765 weight sooner or later.



My Kubota Front Loader Operator's Manual specifies weight of LA805 as 1,279 pounds.
LA805 weight may, or may not, include the bucket, as there are three bucket options.

I think your pretty close. I was thinking around 1200 .