Boy I sure like that picture......beautifull scenery. Here is a pic of the Ford getting ready to haul my tractor for the first time....I wish the scenery was as nice. Did that big Dodge even know it was hauling anything? I was surprised when I moved my tractor......the only thing I noticed was the truck rode smoother but the 460 gas engine sure did get thirsty for the petrol!!!
Hillslider, I don't remember now, but when I was looking at tractors the dealer had a 3130 with a non-Kubota FEL on it. It was a Brush Hog or Woods maybe? Anyway, the tilt/dump worked really slow on it. Really slow. I asked him if he had an orange one in stock, he did and that's what I had put on. I didn't like where the hoses hooked up either. They were more protected, but harder to get at. Something else to think about.
The trailer is just a standard 7000lb gvw car trailer. From what I have been told I was at pretty much the limit for this trailer but it worked fine. With the tractor, front weights, ballast in the rear tires, heavy duty 6' box blade and the weight of the trailer I have estimated weight of 6200 to 6500lbs. Not much room to play with but I felt I was safe and secure.
Thanks for the pointers. I have yet to see a Kubota FEL up close. This Bush Hog one looked nice but it really is the only one I have looked at. If and when the time comes I feel the need to part with some of my hard earned cash I will be hunting hard to get the best product...best service for the money.
Hillslider Thanks for the reply,
Is that a 16 or 18 footer? It fits but fills the trailer up. I was wondering the length more than the weight limits.
The kubota FEL is awesome. I know nothing of the other brands your considering. If at all possible (ie: not much cash difference) i'd get the Kubota FEL....but i suppose that goes without saying.
I bought my L3010 from Fairplain Tractor Sales in Ripley WV. If you need another price point, Gene is the owner and a straight shooter, overall a good guy to deal with.
The trailer is a 16 footer. And your right there is not much room left. It would be real tight if I had an FEL.
I live just a few miles from Ripley and have stopped by Faiplain Tractor Sales. That is in fact the dealer that had the Bush Hog FEL. Nice people and good assortment of equipment on their lot.
I would recomend sticking with Kubota. We used to sell Great Bend, which was then bought by Bush Hog. Since they've been Bush Hog the quality has gone downhill and the dealer support is really poor(wasn't good to start with). We have since gone back to using only Kubota loaders and have never been sorry. Quality control is superior, they fit up properly every time (without using the dremel tool /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif), and we've had people do some pretty stupid things and have yet to break one! Also, the speed issue, as someone else pointed out, can be a big one. Best of luck, you'll never be sorry you got a loader, thats a sure thing!
Kubota's LA723 is a good FEL on a L-3130, we've got over 500 hrs of hard work on ours without a lick of hassle. It is easily capable of lifting enough weight to just about flatten the two front tires ie >1,500 lbs.
Don't have it yet, but ordered an L3130 HST last week and expect delivery in another week or two. This is a first tractor for us, and we started out doing a whole lot of research, initially leaning toward one of the B-series models. We eventually realized the L3130 was much more tractor for not a whole lot more dollars when compared to the top B-series models. Live in northern lower Michigan on 11 acres, and one of the tractor's first duties will be snow removal from our 400 foot drive (plus another 200-300 feet to the storage building where the tractor will be housed). Will be using an L2174 front blower. No snow yet, but shouldn't be long.
