John, I did kind of the same thing. I was all set to buy the
L4610, but after seeing the
L48, a loader that was much more powerful, a tractor with far more "meat" in it for a very similar price, I went with the
L48. After having it for about 1.5 years, I sold it becasue after finnishing my large tasks, it was just to big. Basically, I bought to big. Familiar with industrial tractors and larger Kubotas made me think the
L48 would be fine. I'm very happy having selected a smaller tractor and having the ability to remove the loader is an unbelieveable benefit for mowing. I suppose the message is, you can buy to big. In the case of the
L3830 and
L4330, the size is almost identical and the primary difference is definitely in the loader, after that, it just wasn't important. Having TnT is quite frankly, the only way to go and it's benefits cannot be empasized enough. I would rather have a
L3130 -
L3830 with TnT then a
L4330 -
L5030 with no TnT. Since you can put it on either for about $1200 and if you find needing the extra loader height important, the
L4330 (or larger) with the LA 853 is the way to go. If the choice is between having or not having TnT because of budget constraints, the
L3830 (or smaller) is the way to go. Rat...