Goodbye 3030 HSTC, Hello 3430 HSTC

[VAMountains]

Va,
You'll love the 3430HSTC. I have over 200 hours on mine with no troubles whatsoever. I've attached a photo of my 3430 with my little backhoe attached. I chose the wide turf tires (18") over the R4's because I mow alot of grass and don't want to tear up the turf. The turf tires work great, even in the winter for plowing snow.

That's a nice looking tractor. What kind of BH do you have on the back of that?

 

[Doc_Bob]

Kubuddha,

Thanks. I try to keep it looking good. I know some people think it may be wrong to treat a tractor this way, but I washed and waxed it again last weekend.

Tractor love, nothing finer
Bob

 

[KrumpsBrother]

First, let me say I love(d) my B3030 HSTC. It was comfortable, more powerful than I expected from a tractor that size, and terribly good looking. There's only one thing it didn't have -- STABILITY.

I live on a small mountain. Mountains have slopes. Slopes require tractors with wide wheelbases and some serious weight. I almost learned this the hard way -- twice.

I put 20 hours on my 3030 before realizing that I made a mistake. Luckily, the dealer agreed to take it back (with a $2500 restocking fee) and to replace it with the Grand L 3430 HSTC (after I paid the $5000 price difference). This was an expensive lesson, but I'm already MUCH happier -- mostly because I'm MUCH safer -- with the 3430.

I hope others can learn from this. The 3030 is a great tractor, but even after buying wheel extenders, it isn't nearly as stable on any kind of slope as the 3430.

Guess which is which, and I haven't even had the 3430's tires extended yet.

What's with the smoke??

KB

 

[VAMountains]

What's with the smoke??

Had some water in the fuel tank. Long story.

 

[kubotabilly]

That's a nice looking tractor. What kind of BH do you have on the back of that?

VA, That's a Woods 6500 hoe. I could use a larger one, but I had this when I had my B2150 and for the price of backhoes I decided to keep this one instead of buying a new one for the 3430. It works great, just looks alittle small on the back of the big Kubota

Bill

 

[ovrszd]

I'm not sure what to make of a photographic technique to predict CG. You couldn't assume equal density or volume of all parts of the tractor. It also doesn't help account for the operator's weight and position which can be a pretty big factor at least in the smaller tractors.

I agree manufacturers are unlikely to publish such data (though I imagine they have it) but some organization like U Nebraska could easily incorporate at least a static stability test as part of their program. I'm thinking something along the lines of what the US Coast Guard does with new ships where they load up one side of the vessel and determine how much it affects stability. Using the little incline system I described in an earlier post would not be that difficult and would be quite safe. It is not an absolute guide but would be much better than nothing.

Oh, I definitely wasn't using the photo to determine anything technical. I just used it to plot degree of slope before the CG of the tractor went outside the footprint. As I said, assuming the CG was at the height of the top link pin it took 28 degrees to push the CG outside of the footprint. I don't think my B2910 will operate safely at that angle.

 

[lawn_king]

There is some weight up top in the 3030 cab (ac components, stereo, climate control switches,etc). I cant say i have had any real close calls on tipping this rig over, filled rears help keep her stable. I actually got used to my B7500 almost tipping, it happend all the time. The rears were not filled on that machine.

 

[ovrszd]

There is some weight up top in the 3030 cab (ac components, stereo, climate control switches,etc). I cant say i have had any real close calls on tipping this rig over, filled rears help keep her stable. I actually got used to my B7500 almost tipping, it happend all the time. The rears were not filled on that machine.

King, you wouldn't happen to have a tiltmeter or something similar on your 3030 would ya?? I know you've ran it enough to know what it will safely do and was curious if you have any factual data to submit. Thanks.

 

[rswyan]

I don't have a tiltmeter but we got our B2910 back in May of 2004 and as of yesterday I have 775 hours on it. Previous tractor was an IH 444 (40 hp) with filled rears and the wheels extended all the way out with a very wide track and it was very stable .... it also weighed probably 3x what the B2910 does.

I've never rolled the B2910 ..... but I've been close more than a few times ..... mostly with a load in the bucket and it raised higher than it should have been. Having said that I have a couple of spots (slope on the east of the house and a ditch which I have now gotten rid of) where I would not run the B2910 sideways at all ..... maybe if the ground in question were prefectly smooth. Mine's not .... and all it would take is one little dip on the low side for a wheel to drop into .......

The east side slope probably drops 8' to 10' over a 30' to 40' ...... since it's not a consisitent angle over the entire slope I'd have to guess that the steepest part is probably 15+ to 20+ degrees ...... too steep for me.

Attached is an image of it .... doesn't look all that bad in the picture .... but the worst (steepest) part is up by the tractor.

 

[BlacknTan]

Charlesaf3,

I have a B3030 and even though my 3.5 acres is pretty level I do have a few spots that slope pretty good. Here is a picture of the steepest part of the "ditch" alongside of the road. I have never felt at all unsafe on this while mowing. Hope it gives you an idea of what a B3030 will do. I am very happy with mine. Good luck.

Toolguy,
You've got more guts than I do! But it's a good lesson for me. Maybe I'm too conservative........
BTW, did you ever measure that slope?