Is a L3400HST enough?

[cdnt]

We recently bought a 50 acre hobby farm (~10 acres workable, 8 pasture, 2 orchard and rest woodland, creeks, pond, etc). The land is rolling and quite varied (on the edge of a valley). The workable land was operated as a small organic vegetable farm working ~5 acres at a time in relatively small field configurations (ie the 10 acres is divided into 1, 2 and max 5 acre fields).

This is a hobby property for us as we don't live there full time but we may start working with a partner to run the farm on a small scale basis again growing veg organically. We're starting to look at tractors (we have a JD 400 for lawn work):

- ~60% for 'farm use' (e.g., light disking, rototiller, broadcast spreader, mowing cover crops)
- ~40% upkeep (maintaining 1,000' gravel drive w box blade, mowing trails, some light duty firewood collection, potentially snow blowing - although we're currently using a neighbour with a larger piece of equipment so we don't have to worry about opening drive when we arrive)
- There is one lovely model available with a BH that would be a 'nice to have' as we need to do a bit of pond maintenance (reducing the angle of the banks) and a few other digging / clearing chores
- As noted terrain is a bit uneven, but nothing too steep. Soil leans towards more clay like
- We have access to local farmers that I can work with for more intensive ground engaging activities (ie if we need to plow a field that hasn't been used in some time)
-Like tractor to be as flexible as possible - ie small enough to get into tighter trails, good on fuel, easier to store, etc but still appropriate for the job
- Prior owner had a 45HP IH from the early 1970s - potentially more for the price than the capability

My only concern is if the L3400 has enough weight and power to do what we need, especially the 'ground engagement' side of the equation. Most use would be relatively narrow width rototilling beds, but like to be able to do some light disking as well.

The obvious next choice would be a L4400, but I'm seeing fewer of them in great condition available.

I appreciate your input and advice.

Cheers

 

[k0ua]

I think so, I have one, and with filled tires and a 750 lb ballast on the back it is a tank. lots of power. will dig with front end loader really well and fast.. I dont have a backhoe, so cannot comment on that part of it. I think for most of the things you mentioned it will be great. There are guys with L2800/3400/3700 on here with backhoes, and hopefully some of them will comment. But I really like my L3400. Good fuel economy and not too large to store in a regular Dirkson building. I have pushed a lot of trees, moved a lot of big rocks, and moved a lot of hauled in dirt with it this summer.
James K0UA

 

[TripleR]

I personally like a little more power, but I believe the L3400 will do everything mentioned quite well.

When I need a backhoe, I rent an excavator, so I am not familiar with the BH on this size tractor.

 

[LD1]

I think you will like it.

The only thing the L3400 lacks in is weight, but you can always add weight.

Most other tractors in that sized frame are 500lbs heavier. But the light weight at times is nice like when mowing and tilling.

It has enough power to run 5' tiller, 5' bush hog, and a 6' blade. If those are the sized implements you are planning on, the L3400 handels them well. If you want bigger attachments, I'd personally want a little more power.

On the spec sheets, the loader is not the strongest in its class either. But I have never failed to lift what I intended. It can scoop a FULL bucket of hard clay. Why do I need more?? I have loaded tires and with the 5' bush hog on the back, it can still lift the rear. If it had a stronger loader, I still couldn't lift any more unless I do something more for ballast.

We use ours a lot for firewood as well. No complaints there either. It does everythign I ask an it isn't too big to get aroung in the woods.

Given your list of tasks, I'd say a tractor of this size is a perfect match. Now if your chrors inculded more gorund engaging work, I'd be looking bigger. Like wanting to pull the biggest plow you can, or HEAVY FEL work and digging.

 

[Grandad4]

I would think the L3400 would handle the regular work you described very well. It's a very handy unit for miscellaneous chores on property like that. The problem is with human nature and the old saying about "stuff happens". Sooner or later, you'll come across an unforseen task that really needs a larger piece of equipment to do safely and efficiently. Buying something a bit larger than your immediate need gives you more options, but only you can decide if it's worth paying extra.

 

[Thomas]

Far as BH info I got nothing.

If your not in hurry or big projects L3400 should do just fine.

My L2800 kissing cousin to L3400 and still being surprise what it can do.

 

[Lil_FarmerJim]

As stated before, the tractor is a bit lite in the weight department. With loaded tires and extra ballast you can get it where it needs to be for plowing and disking. It can pull a 12-2 bottom plow, but you will need R1's and do it in low gear or it will spin like crazy. I have R4's it can be a real pain. Even with the extra weight.

Bottom line is how much time you want to spend working the ground, more weight and power the less time it takes to do the chore.

In the past the 3PH had some issues with the position control being very jerky. (Again you can search the site for the details) Mine is a 2007 and it works fine with the newer valve assembly.

As for a BH, I can tell you with an 8 ft BH it does very nicely once you tweek the hydro pressure a bit. If you search on this forum you will find that several L3400 owners have put shims in their bypass valve to increase the max pressure to be closer to the listed rated pressure than what comes from the factory.

In general while I love mine for what I do, I think you might want to consider a slightly larger grand L for both weight and horsepower.

But that is just my suggestion.

Cheers,

 

[cdnt]

Thanks for the input guys. I still have some time so I'll spend some time looking at both the 3400 and 4400 models

 

[mike69440]

I have a ballasted L39, my neighbor has the L3400 HST. I used it quite a bit.

Loader will not move anything that is not loose dirt. Tractor is very light even with filled tires and my 6' HD box blade.

But it brushhogs and moves and spreads loam ok.

I'd hate it and probably break it if it were my tractor.

I'd go much bigger.

 

[magicheater]

Thanks for the input guys. I still have some time so I'll spend some time looking at both the 3400 and 4400 models

I have had an L4350 for 10+ years and a B7800 for 1+ years. I am continually amazed at how much the B7800 does. So much so the big one sits very often, and I swore I would never get another tractor! For the big stuff, lift capacity, both 3PT and Loader, the L4350 is King. What truly amazes me is how quickly I can get things done with the HST B7800. It has become my favorite in MOST instances. Now, does the HST play a role? perhaps, the instant fwd and rev is superb. Have my needs changed, perhaps. So I would ask: Do you want to take a little more time to do the big things, or do you want to take a little less time doing the small things? :confused3: We all want to be on :cloud9:, granted, but hey, maybe the BX guys have it right!

 

[k0ua]

Loader will not move anything that is not loose dirt. Tractor is very light even with filled tires and my 6' HD box blade.

I will guarantee you that loader has the system pressure shimmed too low.
my loader will lift easily a heaped bucket of 0-3/4 crusher run gravel, move it fast and ask for seconds. Yes you need to ballast the tractor correctly, your box blade probably does not weigh as much as my 750 lb ballast, and before I loaded the tires. (A VERY good idea), I raised both rear wheels 2 foot off the ground with a very large rock I chained into the bucket with that ballast on the 3pt. my guess you could not raise any rear wheels off the ground with that loader and box blade combo, because the loader wont lift something too heavy. I have dug up lots of dirt and rock, in undisturbed earth with the loader, and that is without a toothbar. It is a good strong economical not too big (goes thru the woods well) tractor. There are bigger, stronger and more capable tractors, you just have to decide if you need/willing to pay for one.
James K0UA

 

[CANdiyMXER]

Like you I was searching a long time for the "right" tractor, in fact I looked for over a year. I rented a BX 26 and a B7800 both with backhoes. While I was impressed with their capabilities I found them light and unable to work well in snow with R4 tires.

Our property is covered in large trees and is quite rocky with steep slopes to the water. I found the HST transmission nerve racking at low speed going down a hill, I relied totally on the brakes to slow down, not a good feeling.

Two years ago I settled on a 50 Hp MX 5000 with AG tires. It had the weight; almost 6000 pounds with L852 loader and ballasted rears. I have pulled huge trees around with it, built roads, equipped it with forks and lifted 2000 pound armour stones and even pulled out a stuck single axle dump truck.

I have a 6' box blade, 7' back blade and a 7.5' snow plow. It pulls or pushes all of them as if they were in the air. As it is considered a utility machine, it is much more economical than the L models and HST equipped machines.

It is truly a very strong reliable workhorse.

 

[cdnt]

All interesting points. I'd hope that it would lift a bucket of gravel. As I mentioned, I think it comes down to how much weight I need. I'll try and do some looking during the holiday break.

 

[SuperDave]

I have a similar property in Canada. 80 acres in a valley with about 60% bush. I maintain a 1 mile long driveway and have recently tilled 3 acres of virgin pasture. I do all this with a B7800. While it is light, I have loaded the R4's and run chains on both front and back tires in the winter. I have dug out 1500 + lb rocks with the tractor. It will handle a 5' king kutter tiller and 5' king kutter brush mower. There are times I wish I had a bigger tractor, but the B7800 gets the job done every time. I have put 850 pretty hard hours on it and it hasn't let me down. Hope you find the right tractor.

 

[veresjwv]

I will guarantee you that loader has the system pressure shimmed too low.
my loader will lift easily a heaped bucket of 0-3/4 crusher run gravel, move it fast and ask for seconds. Yes you need to ballast the tractor correctly, your box blade probably does not weigh as much as my 750 lb ballast, and before I loaded the tires. (A VERY good idea), I raised both rear wheels 2 foot off the ground with a very large rock I chained into the bucket with that ballast on the 3pt. my guess you could not raise any rear wheels off the ground with that loader and box blade combo, because the loader wont lift something too heavy. I have dug up lots of dirt and rock, in undisturbed earth with the loader, and that is without a toothbar. It is a good strong economical not too big (goes thru the woods well) tractor. There are bigger, stronger and more capable tractors, you just have to decide if you need/willing to pay for one.
James K0UA

Hear, Hear!I,m with you on this one, My L3400 will pull plows, disks, tillers, bushhog, and the loader has lifted the (filled) rear tires off the ground many times with box blade on the 3 PT. I love it!

 

[k0ua]

Hear, Hear!I,m with you on this one, My L3400 will pull plows, disks, tillers, bushhog, and the loader has lifted the (filled) rear tires off the ground many times with box blade on the 3 PT. I love it!

Yep, there are tractors out there in this size class with better specs, (Kioti, BobCat, and Mahindra) on the front end and 3pt too., but I sure dont think of my front end loader as anemic. It will lift a lot.. In my opinion, it will lift all that the weight that the ballasted tractor needs to lift, plus a little! I think some of them are set too low at the factory, I have seen threads here that guys have found that, that may explain some of the dissatisfaction that the one gentlemen expressed. Also I dont understand what the one gentleman posted about the Hydro-stat, going down a hill, I have a hill I go down that is so Da** steep you can not walk down it comfortably without worrying about slipping and falling, and you can be going down it in the L3400 a pretty good clip, and if you jerk your foot of the hydro quickly it will throw you "through the windshield" (if it had one) stopping.:laughing: It will then just creep down the hill very slowly, I dont understand the needing to ride the brake going down hill's thing.. I think something was wrong with that Hydro.. cause mine sure dont work that way. The hydro is the most sure footed thing on a hill, no worrying about swapping gears and going thru neutral or the tractor "getting away" from you. Much easier for a novice to operate and safer too in my humble opinion.. just my biased 2 cents worth. I like mine a lot.
James K0UA

 

[PoorMansCat]

I have the L4400 GST... To date, I have rebuilt approx. 500 ft. of driveway, hauled countless round bales of hay ( 1400-1500 lbs) on the FEL. Moved a HUGE downed oak tree..(that I really didn't expect it to move) Only have 10 hours on it.
Havent mowed with it yet, don't expect it to have any issues... I would purchase as much tractor as you can afford...

 

[Jon Chanoski]

Thanks for the input guys. I still have some time so I'll spend some time looking at both the 3400 and 4400 models

I have L3400 with loader and 8' Bradco 408 the Bradco is 2times the hoe over the Kubota hoe more power the parts are 4times as thick an excelant match for the L3400. The loader is strong enough the way I got it no need to add more psi. I also foam filled my tires for 1000lbs more weight and no flats. With the foam and the rear tires spread out as far as they go this is a very stable tractor. If you need something bigger than the L3400 you should really consider a full size tractor.

 

[Fxfymn]

You didn't say if you were looking new or used. I'd look long and hard at any used 3400 and up HSTs you can find. I think any of them would work fine for what you are planning on doing, and with the conomy like it is there are some good buys on used stuff out there.

I use a 72" tiller on an L3430HST and I have never felt that I didn't have enough power for it.

 

[Groo]

I'd be looking more in the 50hp class of machines in your shoes

I've got an old l2250. it is a bit smaller than the 3400 (about 8hp down), but not so much so that I can't speak to your situation. the hobby farm in my case is much bigger, but we only have about 1 acre for a fenced off garden. we do some logging and road work with it. In the past we've moved plenty of large rocks and snow plowed. it was too little machine for what we were doing with it. now those jobs are being done by a dozer and a truck mounted plow.

the back-hoes on that sized machine aren't super useful either IMHO. the reach isn't long enough, and you end up having to move constantly to get the job done. Moving around that much, you might as well use the bucket most of the time. I'd almost say the best use of the backhoe has been as an adjustable counter weight, and an occasional self-unstucker.

now the most common jobs for the Kubota are dragging logs out of the woods and loading gravel into the back of dumping pickups. Both could be done easier with a larger machine.

as for tilling, it takes a while and works the tractor hard, but we have much less land for dedicated gardening. heck, I used to till over a half acre as a kid with a walk-behind before we got the 3 point tiller.

Its better to have too much machine for the job and end up working the machine easy, then over working it and constantly breaking it. you also wont necessarily save any fuel with a smaller machine, unless you are joy riding or idling quite a bit. If your work has you putting say 75hp-hrs into the ground, it doesn't matter if its 75hp over 1 hr or 25hp over 3 hrs. If you end up having to go back and forth several times working it hard vs. 1 or 2 passes of a cakewalk for the larger machine, the smaller machines can even burn more fuel.
I was once considering buying a semi-tractor, and figured a smaller engine running at higher boost and an automatic tranny might save me some fuel, even more so because I could get them with a smaller cab and chassis. My friend, and engineer at CAT said "good idea, but it isn't so." The manufactures figure the customers for the smaller engined machines weren't as picky about fuel efficiency as the big guys, so the big engines are actually more efficient.

be careful about your assumptions when it comes to stuff like this.

ps. Hydrostatic drive is MUCH less efficient than an old fashion gear drive