L3130 Questions

[SteveH_CT]

/forums/images/graemlins/cool.gifWell I guess I could do that, but there are so many attachments... and so little money!

 

[Golfgar4]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( 2 years! - Wow - you are a man of great patience. )</font>

I don't know about that. It's driving me crazy having to wait so long, but I just can't swing it until after I retire.

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( What one are you looking at? )</font>

/forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif I look at anything that even remotely resembles a tractor! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Seiously, I've been careful to remain color blind, so I'll consider any kind while I'm still looking. I've decided that for me, having a quality dealer is probably the most important factor, so I try to visit various dealers and really talk with them. I decided that I would be willing to travel up to 100 miles one way for any dealer I might decide to go with. Based on that, I'm lucky because we have all kinds of dealers within those distances.

I'll be getting a tractor in the 35hp to 40hp range. Based on the dealers I've spent some time with so far (and there are LOTS more to visit), the leaders are AGCO (ST40), KIOTI (DK35 or DK40), and then Century (3045?). The big 3 in my immediate area all seem to have the idea that they're doing you a favor by letting you walk in the door, so I've pretty much elimnated them. However, there are a number of other big 3 dealers in my 100 mile range that I haven't even visited yet.

This is the ONLY good thing about having to wait to get the tractor. I do have plenty of time to shop around, so that when I'm ready to buy I should be pretty sure that I'll know exactly what I'm getting. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[CTKOB]

I have the same thing you want. Its been great,I can't believe where the thing will go with out getting stuck.I got mine from Kahn in Franklin. They were about the same price as the other dealers around here and they took my case 680 in trade.I am in Hadlyme and have the some those Ct rocks here as well. I delt with Jean at Kahns she is very nice and if she did not know the answer she found out right away. If you have any questions please ask .

 

[SteveH_CT]

Great to hear from you - so you're familiar with the rock situation. It seems that your 3130 has handled it well. I met with Jean once about a month back when I was starting to research models. At the time I was looking at a BX7500 and I think I got a fair price from them on it. I have since decided the 7500 may be a bit too light for what I want to do with it. I intend to contact her again and see how they'll do on a 3130. The current price I have for a 3130 is from Midstate in Middletown. Did you go to them as well? It seemed like a good dealership, and they were great with free advice. I even asked ... I think his name is Braz, which way he'd go - 4310 or 3130, and he felt they were very close but he leaned towards the 3130 as well. I took that as a valid and informed opinion since he's worked on and sells both models.

Thanks again for your information. It really helps knowing someone with the same type of land has been happy with the Kubota.

 

[JD2K]

Hey Steve,

Congrats on finding the right machine. Good luck.

Now the bad news. Well not too bad and there is a very happy ending.

I will relate to you the best peice of tractor advice I have ever heard. Way back when I was looking for a new compact tractor I visited this website for info. I never joined but I looked at a great many posts.

One fellow and this was around 1999 was dead set on a new John Deere. He asked this question." For clearing a 10 acre house lot with alot of stumps and rocks, would I be better off with a John Deere 4700 or would a 4400 do the job".

Without benefit of further discussion a very wise person wrote hima back and said "neither". Hire an excavator or Rent one or what have you. The Idea was that no Compact or even utility can do in a week what a D-8 can do in a day. Save your machine alot of undo strain.

I agreed. I bought a JD4700 with 48 backhoe. I have 2000 hours on it and it is wonderful. I have pulled stumps and dug 1000's of feet of water pipe, septics, etc. But when I had a 13 acre lot to clear for some fruit trees, organic veggies and raspberries I hired a Pro. In 4 days the lots was cleared and ready for tilling. $4,000.

Shoot hire a logger collect the stumpage and use that to pay the excavator. I don't know any loggers there but there should be some up your way. On Thanksgiving Day
There was a Timberjack Skidder Parked on Rte 69 in Bethany on the right going toward The Haven. It looked like he was cutting hardwood for a new home site.

Another JD4700 I had was traded, just a week ago for a Kubota M 6800. Why? Because a local custom baler asked if I could work with him during haying. He was sure the 4700 could carry a 5 or 6 ft round bale. I am sure it could too. But not for 10-16 hours a day for 3 or four days five times a year. I also use the M6800 to load logs onto my flat dump, when a log truck can't get into the landing. The 4700 was taxed severely in that job even though none of the logs was even close to it's lift capacity of 2200lbs. The M6800 has only a slightly higher lift capacity but the loader is much much more ruggedly built.

My point is that the compact you buy can do many wonderful things, but it can also be abused. The Orange Glow which will come upon you will tell you that this is not true. But beleive me tractors are not meant for stumping acreage. Pull a stump, lift a heavy load, work your tractor but when it comes to hard extended work pay a pro with a real excavator.

Or buy a used dozer, clear your lot and then sell the dozer. A JD 450 is a great one for that. They are under $12,000 and you'll sell it for that, or just tell her that and then keep it forever.

Anyway I lived for 18 years in CT. I know all about the rocks. People here in VT think they have rocks, Forget it. When I moved back I just laughed at the rocks here. CT is made of rock.

Please for the love of the Kubotas as yet unborn do not clear 10 acres of CT forest with a CUT.

Good Luck with everything. Grease your loader and backhoe with the JDMolyEP every single time you use it. I'm going to try the Kubota grease this summer, but I doubt I will switch.

And for the love of Christ read the posts about Block heaters. Get one get one get one Please!

And Thanks again to whomever was the sage who gave that great advice. Do any of you guys recognize the thread?

Can you tell why I have just the one friend?

Cadillac Tony P /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

 

[5030]

SteveH:

You made a wise choice. As far as the quick hitch, you mean the Bobcat Style Quick Attach, I have it. It is real handy and the mount and dis-mount of various buckets, forks, etc., is about 30 seconds each way.

The only thing I have noticed is that you may need to do a little grinding on the attachment if it an actual IR attachment. The pins on the Kubota unit are just slightly larger than the lock lip on IR attachments. I have added a picture of mine for your enjoyment.

 

[_RaT_]

Cadillac Tony, excellent advice and I concour. While it is very rewarding to do a lot of things yourself, it can also be a source of frustration and a lot of wear on the machine. I am one of those who tries to do everything myself. Recently I hired a backhoe to come in and remove some massive shrubs and trees down in my stream. It was a CAT 426 with 21' of reach. It took him all of about 30 minutes to do what would have taken me days. Cost, $80. I got a bargain. It left me with time and energy to do my work. You make an excellent point. The compacts will do many things that you would otherwise just not want to do, the large industrials do things that the compacts really cannot do practically. I agree, save the compact and let a industrial in to do the really tough stuff, they do it like it's not even there. Rat...

 

[art]

I find many people that come back after buying, and when talking later, after the purchase they wonder why they waited so long.

 

[txdon]

SteveH, I spent about 5 hours digging about 40 mesquite last weekend with the BH90 - works great. Mesquite has a long tap root and if you don't cut it off about 2 feet down it will re sprout to be a three foot, tire piercing, thorn bush by the end of next summer. I also had about 7 acres cleared by a dozer a couple of years ago and the CUT is great for smoothing the land for grass planting. However if you intend to push brush or brush piles together you might want to consider modifying your "bumper" to be a brush guard. (see impaled in customization forum). I have found my tooth bar to be very useful for brush moving and digging and raking. (I have not tried it on rock yet.)
I know you will enjoy the 3130, it was the first tractor I drove when I was looking and it impressed me. The HST is great for brush clearing and FEL work. The Cruise control works great. Good Luck.
TXDon
L5030 LA853 BH90

 

[txdon]

As you can tell Kubota's like brush clearing.
TXDon