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This is in response to Gordon's last post on the tail end of the 4 in 1 thread. I thought I'd start with a new thread.
The hoe on the L35 is quite the piece of equipment. A "typical" Kubota hoe or Arps (which was sold as Ford 758, JD 8, etc) is rated at roughly 3000 lbs (SAE measurement procedure) bucket force and 1800 dipper stick (SAE). (If you see a spec on a hoe and it doesn't say SAE it can be ANYTHING they want it to be.)The L35 hoe is rated at 5000 bucket and 3000 dipper. The difference is significant. What makes it all work is that the hydraulic pump (17.3 gpm total) makes it faster than my old "little power" hoe. It will run at a comfortable speed (to me) at a pretty low tractor rpm. It's about at the limiting factor of operating in that you have to really wedge the loader bucket in the ground to keep it in place and even that isn't always possible as you can start plowing with the loader bucket going backwards. I'm learning to take shallower cuts to prevent that. Repositioning the tractor with the hoe can be done with the tractor almost idling and is very exact and you feel like the hoe isn't working to do this and the tractor doesn't care either!
The major factor that sold me is the compactness of the unit and how the hoe is attached to the loader. It can still be removed quickly, but it has a well engineered system to make life with the hoe easy on the tractor. Visit the backrow of your neighborhood dealer, they probably have at least one tractor they are going to sell just as soon as someone drills and taps out whatever broke off while a typical backhoe was attached! The L35 appears to be designed for a hoe and loader, which I couldn't find in any other brand or model.
The loader is another dream to use, with the flow of the hydraulic system it moves up and down an inch in split second for changing position while grading so you can immediately act when you see a cut or fill needed. And this is at a low tractor rpm, where I usually run. It has compound linkage (4-bar) so it curls back 45 degrees, enough to carry it's full load with it on the ground. It dumps like a 580, one second and it's dumped. Normally I'm not a speed freak, but on my Ford, it dumps much slower and with a load of wet clay type dirt I sometimes have to get off and start shoveling if it doesn't come out the first drop. (At least before I learned not to load it so it is compacted into the bucket!)
I find the GST to be a great transmission (I love being in the minority!) I can run at a low rpm and just nudge the pedal and have all the power I want. Changing gears without the clutch all through the range is much different than my old 3 x 4 NH where you had three gears on the go but had to stop every time to change the danged range.
The HST GST choice was easy as the HST isn't offered. Now that I've used the HST in the BX2200 I still feel glad the bigger unit is a GST. Maybe I'm just old fashioned, but I just don't like having to run the tractor at a higher rpm to get it's power immediately (or use the hand throttle back and forth) and I don't like the whining sound.
The HST in the BX is great for it's uses, or would be if I could keep my foot where it has to be to hit reverse without looking down. If I run it at an rpm to have power the pedal is so sensitive it is about impossible to keep a slow speed or stop without jerking yourself around. I realize (hope) that these two are a matter of time, but for occasional use they are an annoyance.
The biggest problem with the GST is that there is no position to hold the damned tractor on a hill. If they couldn't do it with neutral there should have been a "Park" position or some kind of interlock lever. I'm really surprised no one has been killed by one of these. If I had my druthers I'd rather have a straight 8 speed synchro trans that required clutch use rather than either the HST or the GST. Half the time I use the clutch anyway just out of habit. As to previous comments about the excellence of the parking brake on these. I'm able to drive off at idle with either one of these machines with the parking brake on and not even notice a difference. At least my Ford NH let me know when I was dumb enough to leave the brake set. The L35 has an idiot light, but the idiot's got to look at light for it to work!
It's almost too bad the driveshaft wasn't exposed on the L35, if it turns when the tractor freewheels in gear with the engine off at least you could stick a tire iron in it! Crude but effective.
I don't know what I'm going to do if I ever get attacked by a bee again on a slope and have to get off the tractor in a hurry. Even the HST's keep on going but not at the rate the GST's will.
With the "Ag" tractors I can see Kubota mumbling an excuse about farmland being flat. With the L35 being a "Constructon" Tractor apparently no one told them it might be used in a rough area around a building site etc that is not flat.
Yeah, both of these have bugs but I can't see what I'd replace them with. I have to look at it the same way I look at losing the lottery the few times I get down to get a ticket. If life was meant to be easy with no challenges, I'd probably just get old and soft quicker!
And leaving that cupholder out on the L35 is unforgiveable! /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif
del
[email]oldcarparts@mygarage.com [/email]
The hoe on the L35 is quite the piece of equipment. A "typical" Kubota hoe or Arps (which was sold as Ford 758, JD 8, etc) is rated at roughly 3000 lbs (SAE measurement procedure) bucket force and 1800 dipper stick (SAE). (If you see a spec on a hoe and it doesn't say SAE it can be ANYTHING they want it to be.)The L35 hoe is rated at 5000 bucket and 3000 dipper. The difference is significant. What makes it all work is that the hydraulic pump (17.3 gpm total) makes it faster than my old "little power" hoe. It will run at a comfortable speed (to me) at a pretty low tractor rpm. It's about at the limiting factor of operating in that you have to really wedge the loader bucket in the ground to keep it in place and even that isn't always possible as you can start plowing with the loader bucket going backwards. I'm learning to take shallower cuts to prevent that. Repositioning the tractor with the hoe can be done with the tractor almost idling and is very exact and you feel like the hoe isn't working to do this and the tractor doesn't care either!
The major factor that sold me is the compactness of the unit and how the hoe is attached to the loader. It can still be removed quickly, but it has a well engineered system to make life with the hoe easy on the tractor. Visit the backrow of your neighborhood dealer, they probably have at least one tractor they are going to sell just as soon as someone drills and taps out whatever broke off while a typical backhoe was attached! The L35 appears to be designed for a hoe and loader, which I couldn't find in any other brand or model.
The loader is another dream to use, with the flow of the hydraulic system it moves up and down an inch in split second for changing position while grading so you can immediately act when you see a cut or fill needed. And this is at a low tractor rpm, where I usually run. It has compound linkage (4-bar) so it curls back 45 degrees, enough to carry it's full load with it on the ground. It dumps like a 580, one second and it's dumped. Normally I'm not a speed freak, but on my Ford, it dumps much slower and with a load of wet clay type dirt I sometimes have to get off and start shoveling if it doesn't come out the first drop. (At least before I learned not to load it so it is compacted into the bucket!)
I find the GST to be a great transmission (I love being in the minority!) I can run at a low rpm and just nudge the pedal and have all the power I want. Changing gears without the clutch all through the range is much different than my old 3 x 4 NH where you had three gears on the go but had to stop every time to change the danged range.
The HST GST choice was easy as the HST isn't offered. Now that I've used the HST in the BX2200 I still feel glad the bigger unit is a GST. Maybe I'm just old fashioned, but I just don't like having to run the tractor at a higher rpm to get it's power immediately (or use the hand throttle back and forth) and I don't like the whining sound.
The HST in the BX is great for it's uses, or would be if I could keep my foot where it has to be to hit reverse without looking down. If I run it at an rpm to have power the pedal is so sensitive it is about impossible to keep a slow speed or stop without jerking yourself around. I realize (hope) that these two are a matter of time, but for occasional use they are an annoyance.
The biggest problem with the GST is that there is no position to hold the damned tractor on a hill. If they couldn't do it with neutral there should have been a "Park" position or some kind of interlock lever. I'm really surprised no one has been killed by one of these. If I had my druthers I'd rather have a straight 8 speed synchro trans that required clutch use rather than either the HST or the GST. Half the time I use the clutch anyway just out of habit. As to previous comments about the excellence of the parking brake on these. I'm able to drive off at idle with either one of these machines with the parking brake on and not even notice a difference. At least my Ford NH let me know when I was dumb enough to leave the brake set. The L35 has an idiot light, but the idiot's got to look at light for it to work!
It's almost too bad the driveshaft wasn't exposed on the L35, if it turns when the tractor freewheels in gear with the engine off at least you could stick a tire iron in it! Crude but effective.
I don't know what I'm going to do if I ever get attacked by a bee again on a slope and have to get off the tractor in a hurry. Even the HST's keep on going but not at the rate the GST's will.
With the "Ag" tractors I can see Kubota mumbling an excuse about farmland being flat. With the L35 being a "Constructon" Tractor apparently no one told them it might be used in a rough area around a building site etc that is not flat.
Yeah, both of these have bugs but I can't see what I'd replace them with. I have to look at it the same way I look at losing the lottery the few times I get down to get a ticket. If life was meant to be easy with no challenges, I'd probably just get old and soft quicker!
And leaving that cupholder out on the L35 is unforgiveable! /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif
del
[email]oldcarparts@mygarage.com [/email]
