Comparison Kubota L3301 vs Mahindra 1533/2538

[Blackgreyhounds]

Yet another yuppie who lives in the woods looking to buy his first tractor. My apologies if this sounds like a broken record around here. BTW, I did spend plenty of time with the Search function already. Background: 16 acre lot = 0.5 ac. lawn and house + 15.5 ac. of mature woods, on a gentle slope, stoney/bouldery soil, 1/4 mile of stone lane that gets pretty abused by snow plowing and runoff. Want tractor for general landscaping (moving boulders and soil/gravel), fire wood and timber harvest (I have harvested oaks up to 30" dbh x 10' logs) and lane maintenance. I'm looking at ~30-35 h.p., FEL and box blade for now and adding a skidding winch later. I DO NOT need a mower (own an X304 w/ 42" and push mower), snow blower (own an 8 hp, 24" Ariens beast), any pasture attachments (ain't got no pasture, just a small veg. garden and an old reliable TroyBilt rear tine tiller), hay bailing/transporting (no livestock bigger than chickens).

So, I have visited the local JD dealer, good people I've worked with for 7 years since I moved out of town, but I'm just not impressed with the 3032E/3038E, hate the DPF system, way too fussy, and the R's are way out of my price range. Local Kubota dealer seams reasonable. Really like the L 2501/3301/3901 HST's except for the brake over the fwd rocker. I've had some near misses running Kubota's before, where my heal hit the FWD rocker when I was hitting the brake and the tractor jumped forward. Next stop is Mahindra to look at the 1533/2538. I really like the idea of the no DPF, but, I'm more than a little skeptical. I bought my wife a 2013 VW Jetta Sportwagen TDI. Love the car, but a year after we bought it we found out that VW totally scammed us! Still love the car, but the resale value is now non-existent and the "fix" will no doubt detune the "peppiness" that was one of the main reasons we bought it originally. Sorry for the rant...

So back to the original question, any advice L3301 vs. Mahindra 1533/2538 would be greatly appreciate and taken with a grain of salt, all at the same time.:thumbsup:

 

[teg]

Both will do the job... have you put your butt in the seat of either? Test them out, see how you like them. You'll get used to the rocker. I only use the brake for parking. Let us know how it turns out.

PS. Welcome to TBN....

 

[MtnViewRanch]

Any of those will serve you fine. Simply cannot emphasize enough to actually put you butt in the seat of each one. What is all comfy and feels great to one of us may be the absolute wrong machine for you.

 

[Fallon]

I'm happy with my L3200 (same exact tractor minus tier 4 emissions crap). I'm pretty happy with it & found it a better deal than JD too.

Brakes are less of an issue with a HST than you'd expect. They have 3 uses. Parking brake, turning brakes (you have to ride side saddle to hit both pedals, & staying precisely in one spot when loading or unloading something. The whole slowing down thing happens nicely due to the HST itself (aggressively in low, leisurely in high).

Make sure you are aware of how big those rocks & logs are, the L3200 only lifts about 1,000lbs. I've helped a neighbor move some big square bales... It will get it done, but its not the right machine for that job, not nearly big enough.

I've never done any haying nor plan to, but I always hear 3,000 series machines are not enough tractor for that. 4,000 series are even a bit marginal.

If you do get one, load the rear tires, its way to light to put the power to the ground without it & really not safe when doing loader work. Even with that you still need proper ballast on the 3pt.

I'm happy with mine plowing/blowing snow, mowing, maintaining gravel roads. Actually that is a little bit of a lie... Its to cold in the winter & hot 'n dusty in the summer. I'm looking at upgrading to a cabbed machine eventually. Still very happy with my L3200 for what it is though.

I sold my push blower when I built the truck plow for my loader (get the SSQA loader, my bucket is possibly my least used impliment, pallet forks rule). I did end up needing to later get a 3pt blower as some snows were just to much for a smaller tractor to plow.

 

[Blackgreyhounds]

Spent a bunch of time today in the L series tractors. Going to visit the Mahindra dealer tomorrow. FWIW, Kubota dealer is 20 min. away and Mahindra is 1:15 drive.

 

[Blackgreyhounds]

I'm happy with my L3200 (same exact tractor minus tier 4 emissions crap). I'm pretty happy with it & found it a better deal than JD too.

Brakes are less of an issue with a HST than you'd expect. They have 3 uses. Parking brake, turning brakes (you have to ride side saddle to hit both pedals, & staying precisely in one spot when loading or unloading something. The whole slowing down thing happens nicely due to the HST itself (aggressively in low, leisurely in high).

Make sure you are aware of how big those rocks & logs are, the L3200 only lifts about 1,000lbs. I've helped a neighbor move some big square bales... It will get it done, but its not the right machine for that job, not nearly big enough.

I've never done any haying nor plan to, but I always hear 3,000 series machines are not enough tractor for that. 4,000 series are even a bit marginal.

If you do get one, load the rear tires, its way to light to put the power to the ground without it & really not safe when doing loader work. Even with that you still need proper ballast on the 3pt.

I'm happy with mine plowing/blowing snow, mowing, maintaining gravel roads. Actually that is a little bit of a lie... Its to cold in the winter & hot 'n dusty in the summer. I'm looking at upgrading to a cabbed machine eventually. Still very happy with my L3200 for what it is though.

I sold my push blower when I built the truck plow for my loader (get the SSQA loader, my bucket is possibly my least used impliment, pallet forks rule). I did end up needing to later get a 3pt blower as some snows were just to much for a smaller tractor to plow.

Thanks. I'll take a close look at the 3901 too. Big logs up to a ton are the "worst case" scenario and a relatively rare occasion. Obviously, wouldn't be looking to pick them up completely, just one end a couple inches off the ground to skid up to 100 yds to the road for loading or sawing. In the past, we skidded them with my neighbor's ~25 hp B series (not ideal, but we got it done). I've had a local sawyer come by with his Woodmizer LT40 portable bandmill w/ 33hp Cummins and full hydraulics to mill lumber.

 

[wallab]

I'm in the same boat as you. My plan was to buy one of the last remaining Tier 3 Yanmar ex3200 until I sat on one. Then I went and sat on a JD 3033r and a Mahindra 1533. The 1533 was the only one that felt roomy enough for me. They are all good tractors, but you have to go drive them to find the right one for you.

 

[wcampbell47]

I purchased my 3rd Kubota last August - an L3901 which is now showing in excess of 360 hours. I went for the most horsepower in the bunch as well as the clutch on the left and the brakes on the right. A unit with no clutch and brakes on the left is just plain not right for me. I have had no catastrophes or close calls that come to mind with the treadle and brakes being on the same side which includes 1200 hours on my previous model a B3200. I think the L4601 is clutchless with the brakes on the left. The major use of the L39 is moving, spreading and loading dirt. I normally run about 2000 RPM. The loader hydraulics function very smoothly at the higher RPM's. I say that because my B32 seemed a bit jerky over 2000 RPM's. I don't seem to lack for power if I am running in the right range. It is a bit light on the rear end but I can still load a full bucket of dirt or crushed limestone without tipping. The ground where I live can remain squishy for long periods after rain so a not so heavy tractor fits right in with my work. All in all this is the best tractor of all my purchases. I still use my B7510 mostly as a mower but the B3200 was traded in on the L3901. I thought the dealer gave me a good deal. Besides don't you always need a bigger tractor??

 

[bookmyer]

I don't know if this will help or not. I had a Mahindra that I sold last year. I did a lot of work with it over the years that I had it but it seemed to always be having some kind of problem. I do feel like I got my money worth out of it though. I ended up selling it because the local dealer closed its doors and I thought it would be a good time to get rid of it while it was running good. Plus I wanted a bigger tractor. I currently have two Kubotas and have not had any problems with either one of them. I do think they are better built machines than the Mahindra I owned.

 

[MessickFarmEqu]

you've got a killer local Kubota dealer. One of the best if I do say so myself.

 

[dickfoster]

Yet another yuppie who lives in the woods looking to buy his first tractor. My apologies if this sounds like a broken record around here. BTW, I did spend plenty of time with the Search function already. Background: 16 acre lot = 0.5 ac. lawn and house + 15.5 ac. of mature woods, on a gentle slope, stoney/bouldery soil, 1/4 mile of stone lane that gets pretty abused by snow plowing and runoff. Want tractor for general landscaping (moving boulders and soil/gravel), fire wood and timber harvest (I have harvested oaks up to 30" dbh x 10' logs) and lane maintenance. I'm looking at ~30-35 h.p., FEL and box blade for now and adding a skidding winch later. I DO NOT need a mower (own an X304 w/ 42" and push mower), snow blower (own an 8 hp, 24" Ariens beast), any pasture attachments (ain't got no pasture, just a small veg. garden and an old reliable TroyBilt rear tine tiller), hay bailing/transporting (no livestock bigger than chickens).

So, I have visited the local JD dealer, good people I've worked with for 7 years since I moved out of town, but I'm just not impressed with the 3032E/3038E, hate the DPF system, way too fussy, and the R's are way out of my price range. Local Kubota dealer seams reasonable. Really like the L 2501/3301/3901 HST's except for the brake over the fwd rocker. I've had some near misses running Kubota's before, where my heal hit the FWD rocker when I was hitting the brake and the tractor jumped forward. Next stop is Mahindra to look at the 1533/2538. I really like the idea of the no DPF, but, I'm more than a little skeptical. I bought my wife a 2013 VW Jetta Sportwagen TDI. Love the car, but a year after we bought it we found out that VW totally scammed us! Still love the car, but the resale value is now non-existent and the "fix" will no doubt detune the "peppiness" that was one of the main reasons we bought it originally. Sorry for the rant...

So back to the original question, any advice L3301 vs. Mahindra 1533/2538 would be greatly appreciate and taken with a grain of salt, all at the same time.:thumbsup:

Well for Mahindra the diff between the 1500 HST Kubota like with the rocker pedal and the 2500 HST is a two pedal HST so isn't like the Kubota in that respect. I have a 1538 shuttle because I didn't like the rocker pedal at all and don't do much fore and aft loader type work plus I have a lot of sloping terrain. The 1500 series are Mitsubishi built and are supposed to be a little nicer while the 2500s are TYM Korean built machines. I like the Mahindra no DPF tier 4 approach too but I think the dealer is a larger part of the equation.
For what you're doing you might want to think about the 38's for the larger tires and small capacity increase. Maybe even a bit larger. For all that lane and snow you might want to think about a snowblower in your future so for a front mount blower look at adding the middle PTO now and for a blower I'd get a cab too but that would be a pain in the woods so maybe a removable soft cab. For moving rocks around you'd want the backhoe.

 

[Blackgreyhounds]

you've got a killer local Kubota dealer. One of the best if I do say so myself.

I've been there many times for many reasons in the last 15 yrs, including 1+ hrs yesterday.:thumbsup:

 

[Blackgreyhounds]

Well for Mahindra the diff between the 1500 HST Kubota like with the rocker pedal and the 2500 HST is a two pedal HST so isn't like the Kubota in that respect. I have a 1538 shuttle because I didn't like the rocker pedal at all and don't do much fore and aft loader type work plus I have a lot of sloping terrain. The 1500 series are Mitsubishi built and are supposed to be a little nicer while the 2500s are TYM Korean built machines. I like the Mahindra no DPF tier 4 approach too but I think the dealer is a larger part of the equation.
For what you're doing you might want to think about the 38's for the larger tires and small capacity increase. Maybe even a bit larger. For all that lane and snow you might want to think about a snowblower in your future so for a front mount blower look at adding the middle PTO now and for a blower I'd get a cab too but that would be a pain in the woods so maybe a removable soft cab. For moving rocks around you'd want the backhoe.

Thanks for the input. We have 3+ people on my lane (shared right of way) who currently plow. It turns out that the guy at the very far end of the lane owns the local donut/breakfast restaurant, so he's always got the lane plowed before we wake up, even this year with the 30" snow storm. This leaves only a relativele small paved parking area that is easily handled with the walk behind blower and shovels. I'd probably put a plow on my pickup before the tractor (?). More important to me is routine maintenance of the lane in the Spring/Summer/Fall, patching, filling, moving stone, grading, etc.

 

[varmint]

I was going to mention checking out Messick's, but I see he beat me to it. Kubota offers a good balance of machinery design, quality build, and variety of tractors, which hold their value. A good place to start for your first tractor. The rocker pedal is easy to get used to. HST is also easy to get used to... but get something with 3 ranges, and auto throttle, if possible. SSQA and loaded rears, also all good.

 

[jgiannini]

Mahindra 2538 vs John Deere 3038E - YouTube

 

[GrumpyJoe]

I got my Mahindra 1533 HST last summer and have about 70 hours on it. Love it, love it, love it. Was like you about the 3901 or 1533. I choose the 1533 because of the overall weight and lift capacity. Which is much higher than the 3901. Use mine for lifting logs, dirt work, mowing, and numerous other jobs around my 22 acres. Even though a Kubota dealer is closer I'm ok driving the extra time. And I have only had to go back one time. That was for that 50 hour oil change which I did myself. But like everyone is saying. Go to the dealer and drive them. Then go back and drive them again. They are both great tractors. Sometimes it just comes down to what you look the best on. I think I look pretty **** good on that Mahindra.

 

[arrow]

I have the Mahindra but through default. Yes, I thought there are better built machines but none of these suited me. 1. Kubota has their fel control in the way for a both side exit/entry tractor. This was important to me as I need egress from all sides as I log mostly with the tractor. My woods are tight so I need to be able to get on and off from left or right. Also, I did not like the way Kubota L3 series exposes their tie rods in front of the axle. With all the stick ups and ground obstructions in these woods, I would have made a shamble of these in short order if I did not construct some type of guard. 2. I traded in an old JD 750. The John Deere dealership was showing me $1800 because the thing was in showroom shape even after 28years. The Mahindra dealer was giving me $7000K.

Will the Mahindra 3016 hold up? Who knows but it has done everything I've asked and more. I think the gear selector is kind of clunky and I have seen thicker metal on other machines but this shuttle is easy to operate and provides great traction and strength for what it is so I'm tickled about that. The last thing is that the Mahindra can lift a lot for its size which comes in handy for how I use a tractor.

 

[Steppenwolfe]

I have the L 3301 with shuttle shift / gear drive. I love this tractor. Great little / mid size tractor with plenty of spunk. Very quick response on the fel, and lots of power. I'm on 90 acres, therefore the MX 5100, also. But, I really think the 3301 would handle all my needs if I chose to. Definitely do load the tires, and add wheel weights if need be. I don't know anything about Mahindra, BUT I do know enough about Kubota to know I will never buy another brand of tractor.

 

[Blackgreyhounds]

I gave the Mahindras some good test drives today. 1533HST is a really nice tractor but too expensive for a value brand (pretty similar in price, fit and finish to the Kubota but more comparable to the B series). The 2538 HST is a whole 'nuther beast, more robust and a better comparo to the L's. I can see that the 2538 is designed for high performance and value per$ a the expense of fit and finish. That thing is heavy as heck without ballast. The dealer let me use the FEL on some mixed soil/mulch, and it picked it up like the bucket was empty and the frame never budged. However, the fit and finish were not ideal and the controls were pretty rough to handle. One thing I need help with... How do I compare FEL capacities between the Mahindra 2538 and the LA525 on the L series? I can't seem to find apples-to-apples numbers to compare.

 

[Blackgreyhounds]

Mahindra 2538 vs John Deere 3038E - YouTube

Yeah, I saw that. However, the JD is really not a consideration.