Is an L3560 too big for me?

[richarsm]

I'm having a bit of analysis paralysis here. We recently bought a house in Michigan, and I'm in need of a tractor. There's 14 acres total with ~5.5 acres of woods and ~8.5 acres of grass. Not fields, but more like finished lawn. I have attached a very crude picture of the property for illustration. It is a relatively flat piece of land. I need the tractor primarily for snowblowing and maintaining 1000' of driveway. Ideally, I'd like to use it for mowing the open areas as well, but I realize I will also need an additional machine to mow around the house. I was originally thinking a B2650 would be a good do-it-all machine, but I'm pretty well convinced it's too small. I also test drove one and detested the treadle pedal arrangement. I find the pedal on the Grand L much more acceptable. As of now, I've narrowed down the search to a JD 3039/3046R or a Kubota L3560. The Kubota looks to be a larger and much more stout tractor and weighs about 600lbs more than the JD. The JD is obviously lighter and I assume a little more maneuverable. I don't think tractor weight will play in my favor here as ground engaging work will be relatively limited. Is a Grand L too heavy to finish mow what is essentially lawn? I could add more to this post, but I'll leave it at that for now.

 

[diesel85]

If you can afford it, go for it. I own ~10 acres, and I really could use a bigger tractor.

I'm looking to get a L3901 to replace my BX2200. Talk about an upgrade.

As far as mowing lawns, I plan on using that L3901 I mention to mow the lawn. It better not be destroying my lawn, lol.

In fact, my local country club uses a L4310 with turfs with a bat wing to mow the fairways.

 

[jeff9366]

An L3560 is tractor nirvana.

I trust you would mow the 8.5 acres of grass with a Three Point Hitch mounted Finish Mower.

I operate over turf with air inflated R4/industrial tires several days every week without damage. My soil is Florida sandy-loam.

Opt for the high capacity LA805 Loader.

If you will opt for front PTO for a front snowblower carefully establish the final front PTO price with aLL the necessary bits.

MORE: L356 front PTO site:tractorbynet.com - Google Search

 

[richarsm]

Yes, I was thinking a 7' finish mower or possibly 8' if it will handle it. My hesitancy is that the place doesn't have a whole lot of "tractor work" that needs to be done, aside from repairing the driveway, which is pretty bad. If the place needed work, I'd go even bigger with the tractor.

I would like to get a sawmill eventually, so it would be nice to be able to handle large logs. If I go 3560, I'll definitely get the larger loader. I can afford it, though the $11k option for the front snowblower makes me a little sick.

 

[4570Man]

If it’s dry you won’t have any trouble with that size machine. Earlier spring and late fall when there’s no options to mow except when it’s wet you’ll probably have issues. Drop the loader off and you won’t have any trouble mowing around the house. A 21” push mower or a few extra minutes with the string trimmer will easily take care of what’s left.

 

[5030]

My philosophy is, no tractor is big enough, the only limitation is your finances. I'm on my 10th and 11th Kubota's. Every time I bought one new, I went bigger except the last time when I bought the same size for the sake of maintenance items and fluid capacities.

Don't use mine for mowing lawns, have a 60" zero turn mower for that and I mow just under 7 acres. of lawn every other week. Mine are for my Michigan hay business mainly but I'm always finding uses around the farm for them as well.

 

[chim]

We have 3-1/2 acres with trees, creek, sheds, house, etc and the L4240HSTC with loaded R4's and a 7-1/2' Caroni RFM is the lawn mower. It cuts close enough to everything so there's no need for a walk-behind mower for trimming. Whatever the Kubota doesn't reach can be done with one 20V battery in the DeWalt string trimmer.

 

[RjCorazza]

I finish mow my lawn on occasion with an L4060 and Befco 7' mower with satisfactory results. There are some at areas down by my stream that are frequently too wet to get into, but the zero turn also has issues there.
In Michigan, I would want a larger machine for snow (meaning the L3560), particularly on a long driveway. I opted for an L4060 mostly for snow removal clearing 15 or so residential driveways. A cab is also a big plus when it's cold out.

 

[jeff9366]

$11k option for the front snowblower makes me a little sick.

Blowers are for deep snow.

Will a snow PUSH BOX serve?
VIDEO: TRACTOR SNOW PUSH BOX - YouTube



YOUR LOCATION WOULD HELP THIS THREAD DEVELOP.

 

[BRMyers]

I have a L3560 that we use on the small family 80 acre farm. It has been a wonderful tractor and the cab is very nice, but the nicest feature is the HST+ transmission.

 

[richarsm]

Blowers are for deep snow.

Will a snow PUSH BOX serve?
VIDEO: TRACTOR SNOW PUSH BOX - YouTube



YOUR LOCATION WOULD HELP THIS THREAD DEVELOP.

Location is Lapeer, Michigan. Snow pusher is certainly a cheaper option, though I'm not sure how well it would work on such a long driveway.

 

[nybirdman]

Buy the L3540;you won't regret it!Forget a snow pusher for a long drive;a snow-plow is a cheaper and faster option.

 

[jeff9366]

Forget a snow pusher for a long drive. A snow-plow is the cheaper, faster option.

VIDEO: snow plow on compact tractor - YouTube

 

[fried1765]

Blowers are for deep snow.

Will a snow PUSH BOX serve?
VIDEO: TRACTOR SNOW PUSH BOX - YouTube



YOUR LOCATION WOULD HELP THIS THREAD DEVELOP.

I would modify that statement to read: Blowers are for deep .... or DRIFTING snow.
After several plowings, and a bunch of wind, a blower is a godsend.
Get a blower!
It is your money....not mine.

 

[AllByteNoBark]

Love my L3560. We have 20 acres and it is just the right size for what I need to do. Also really like the cab. No snow here but the heat can be oppressive at times. I am not currently doing any finish mowing with mine as I have a 61 inch Scag for that. We mow about 3 acres of thin grass and I have been considering a finish mower for the tractor just so I so not have to breath so much dust and dirt when it is dry.

 

[diesel85]

Depending on where you live, a blower is the only way. Especially if you want to have no (or minimal) snow piles.

My neighbor has a NH35A (same size as a L35xx series), and he's called me over quite a few times to snow blow with my little BX because it was just taking him too long with a plow OR he didn't have anywhere else to put the new snow.

Not to brag, but some of my neighbors who elect to have contracted people plow their driveways get stuck sometime during the year and requires a winch out with a tow truck. It's hilarious.

Whereas the little BX with a snowblower can eat up 4 feet of snow like it's a walk in the park.

 

[dstig1]

No it is not too big for that size property. I would strongly recommend you step up one engine size, as I had the smallest engine on a previous L and it was pretty thin on power. I now have a 5240 which was only slightly less power than the 5740, which was top in the series, and it has great power now. I have 10 acres, mostly wood, very hilly, and use mine most heavily for snow clearing in the winter.

 

[jjp8182]

Primary use for my L3560 is mowing my lawn and pasture total area a bit under 3 acres - works well as long as I don't try to mow like I'm using a zero-turn.

I'd say with the trees there will inevitably be fallen limbs/debris/tree problems (which may eventually require more ground engaging ability than you may initially suspect).

Unless things have changed drastically since I've had to deal with snow removal; snow blowers are great for light powdery snow, not so great for heavy slushy snow. Growing up in Minnesota snow removal around the family place was mostly done with a rear blade, and the loader on a tractor (and shovel work) as snow blowers tend to require a fair amount of HP per foot of working width (even for the light fluffy snow).

Just for the sake of comparison it might be worth looking at the HP per foot of working width of a good walk-behind snowblower and then compare it to what the PTO would be providing a tractor-mounted blower. Just as something to keep in mind when looking at snow removal options as less HP/ft can work though it may become a limitation depending on how much (and what type of snow) you're needing to move all at once (especially if time to move it is also a constraint).

In all likelihood depending on how big of snow falls, and the type of snow odds are you may eventually end up with multiple attachments for snow removal. My personal bias would be toward starting with a rear blade and (possibly) a light-material/snow bucket as that's what I'm most familiar with (albeit on a large/heavier tractor) and would be most comfortable spending money on as a starting choice - but that's just me.

Of course if money wasn't a concern, I think I'd go straight to the L6060 as it would have the higher PTO horsepower (which may offset it being a slightly wider tractor as well).

On a side note, since I was curious and looked I thought I'd share:
St. Cloud, MN (my home town) averages 48 inches of snow per year
Lapeer, MI averages 35 inches of snow per year

 

[check 6]

I ha e had several B and BX tractors and as I get older the throttle peddle is becoming more painful ( lots of disc damage) additional,y climbing a ladder to fill the diesel is a pain .
Bit the bullet and have a L3560 coming ..... and my wife said don’t forget the cab .... love that lady. I only have an acre but I do lots of work around our sub division including maintaining the runway . Yes it’s more tractor than I need but the throttle pedal, HST plus , fuel filler etc at my age 78 plus makes it worth it . Let my kids worry about it when I’m gone in the meantime I’m working in comfort in a very stable machine
need to apologize to those reading arthritis in my hands make typing harder and more errors result.

 

[oosik]

I have a Kubota M6040 on my property. I have 80 acres and a mile long driveway. Driveway maintenance, moving large rocks & moving large chunks of Ponderosa pine. Many other rural living projects.

If you can put your largest implement on your tractor - make a 360 circle and still stay within your property lines - that tractor is not too large.