Buying Advice L3800 or MX4700 or MX5100?

[TripleR]

Not only will a larger tractor sometimes not fit where you are trying to do work, but sometimes they are just harder to use for certain tasks. After trying to do precise loader work or finish grading with our M9540, I'm actually relieved to get back on my little B3200 to do the same tasks. Granted this is a much more extreme size difference than a GL vs MX, but the principles are still the same. With the larger tractors you are just so far away from the attachments that visibility is poor at best. With the loader you just have to watch the level indicator and have a 'feel' for what the bucket is doing and where it is. Using pallet forks is a guessing game as well on a large tractor.

I sure know what you mean, I don't even attempt "precise loader work" with our M8540, just dig dirt, move stuff and push things over. There are times even when our L5030 is too big and it would be nice to have something between it and the BX2660, but even I have to admit, you really can have too many tractors.

 

[crazyal]

Like TripleR says, there is no one right tractor. My personal advise would be to look hard at the GL3540 with HST. Others could answer this better but I'm wondering if the 3240 would have enough HP for a 6' brush hog. It does have a third valve option. FYI It also does have an option of adding a mid PTO in case a front sweeper or snow blower might be something you would want.

As you can see I went with a GL and never regretted it one bit. The 3540 was my original choice but I opted for the 4240 because the loader has slightly more height (I have an older international dump truck and I wanted to have a little more reach when dumping things into it). My needs are different of course but it at the end of the day when it came to making a choice I like and use the extra features.

When you fill it up if you turn the key on it beeps. If it's near empty it beeps slowly and as it fills up it beeps faster. Once it's almost full it's a solid tone. I don't know what other models have this but it's real nice if you are using a 5 gallon jug to fill it with.

The H-DS is probably the most used extra feature I use. Most of what I do is in mid gear. When scooping up dirt from a pile you just flick a lever (like flashing your high beams) and without even letting off the HST pedal it drops down to low. Then as you back up you flick it again and your back in high. I use it quite a bit if I'm using the cruse control while grading. Going up some of my hills or if I want to make a tight turn and I want to slow down just flick the lever without canceling the cruse.

I do use the auto throttle. It turns the HST pedal into more like a car as it ties the throttle to the pedal. If you let off the engine goes to idle, if you push down on the pedal it revs the motor up. I usually leave the stall guard on, never stalled so I guess it works. I use the tilt all the time when getting off the tractor. The seat does swivel a little bit but I don't use it too much.

 

[foreman Etexas]

I sure know what you mean, I don't even attempt "precise loader work" with our M8540, just dig dirt, move stuff and push things over. There are times even when our L5030 is too big and it would be nice to have something between it and the BX2660, but even I have to admit, you really can have too many tractors.

Dont tell my wife that,please!!!I have already a 5040,7040,Belarus 802 and just let my uncle have my completely redone ford 2000 and after this forum I am thinking about getting the L3540,4wd HST with the R4s.I have lease land all around and hardly ever have my tractors at the same place so I dont think it really sinks in with the wife,im just wonting something to take too the deer lease and use a 5ft shredder and little easier to get around.

 

[gwdixon]

It sounds to me like you really want that larger tractor so I would say go for it. You will always wish you had if you don't. If you do, and find that it is really awkward, or hard to use for some things then move down.......... it isn't the end of the world. The only way we can experience the things we want to is to do them. If we had to justify every little thing about the tractors we buy, we sure wouldn't buy many. I like my small tractor, but I have to admit there have been times when I wish I had enough land to turn one of the big ones around.

It is a dilemma for sure. I have a M-series and previously ran a L-series. The M is for serious farm work in my opinion. It is well suited for a 10 - 12 hour workday and 100+ acres. Plowing, discing, subsoiling, and other ground engaging tasks that require a stout tractor that pretty much beats the job to death.

The OP has many "delicate" jobs to do that the L-series is perfectly suited to do. The Grand L is more versatile than the M-series in my opinion. As stated before, when you want to do a little job it is there and most really big jobs can be done with a little lower gear or a bit more time.

Normally I'd be advocating for "more power" but in this case there are such a variety of tasks that versatility wins out over brute strength.

 

[ChuckinNH]

Chuck....I noticed your profile said you have and hate v-bar duo grip chains...now I'm wondering since I was thinking about buying a set

This is a bit off track, but yes I have those chains, and they are wonderful in the woods, or plowing through snow out in the field, but they are terrible to ride on on pavement, and most of my snowblowing is on that kind of surface. The spaces between the chains are never really in sync from side to side, and it rides like a baby buggy with square wheels that are out of sync. I didn't bother to put them on last winter, but I think the style is basically OK, you just need the version that has a continuous chain all around the tire, or just two link bar chains.

 

[ChuckinNH]

It is a dilemma for sure. I have a M-series and previously ran a L-series. The M is for serious farm work in my opinion. It is well suited for a 10 - 12 hour workday and 100+ acres. Plowing, discing, subsoiling, and other ground engaging tasks that require a stout tractor that pretty much beats the job to death.

The OP has many "delicate" jobs to do that the L-series is perfectly suited to do. The Grand L is more versatile than the M-series in my opinion. As stated before, when you want to do a little job it is there and most really big jobs can be done with a little lower gear or a bit more time.

Normally I'd be advocating for "more power" but in this case there are such a variety of tasks that versatility wins out over brute strength.

That is pretty much my feeling too, but sometimes it is just best to buy what you want, and get it out of your system. Perhaps the M will work for him, and he will be very happy. I see folks using grand L's in RV parks, and they have had them for some time so they must be working for those folks. Everyone is different though. I have an Engineer friend who loves his full size backhoe / loader, and only wishes it had more clearance, and 4wd. He just isn't happy with less than 50 hp, or so for any task, and that is the kind of thing I was addressing with my comments. Only you know how you want to do things. I poke around between all the obstacles in my woods with my little tractor, but my friend Pete just loves to drive over that stuff.

 

[TripleR]

Dont tell my wife that,please!!!I have already a 5040,7040,Belarus 802 and just let my uncle have my completely redone ford 2000 and after this forum I am thinking about getting the L3540,4wd HST with the R4s.I have lease land all around and hardly ever have my tractors at the same place so I don't think it really sinks in with the wife, I'm just wanting something to take too the deer lease and use a 5ft shredder and little easier to get around.

I live on one of our farms while another is four miles away and the other is six. We have a M8540, Massey Ferguson 375, Case 995, L5030, 1954 Ford NAA, 1955 Ford 600, 1961 Ford 600 John Deere 2305 and BX2660 as well as an old Case back hoe, so we are close enough to drive between farms.

If I was in your situation, I sure would want something like a L3540 and just between you and me, I would like to have one anyway.

We do have a gooseneck trailer and truck to pull it, we just don't have anywhere to go so the trailer tags are expired.

My father in law had deer leases and here is his solution; always scared me to death.

 

[ChuckinNH]

When I worked in the game preserve years ago, I was the one that spent most of the time on the John Deere 1010 we had. Mostly I was mowing rough fields, (the boar sure would root them up) and any place I could find to get in to, and keep trimmed, and I would do that for many days at a time. I had just returned from Vietnam, and it was good for me to take a lunch, pack my handgun, and just head out for the full day, returning to the lodge late in the day. The preserve is 36,000 acres so sometimes we would move the tractor by truck to be closer to where I had to mow for a few days. The back tires on that 1010 stuck out an inch, or two on both sides of the flat bed truck, and no matter how tight you cinched it down, (never thought to air down, and then air back up after I cinched it down) it would bounce a little as you drove along, or feel like it was anyway. Driving that truck with the tractor on it was sure one of my least favorite things to do! Stil, being outside on that tractor all day, every day with Elk, (though only in the highest places in the summer) Russian wild boar, deer, and all kinds of other wildlife around was a good way to "come down" from the war, and ease back into civilian life. The places I chose for my lunch were often beautiful, and always peaceful. That was a gas 2wd tractor, and we had a loader on it, but it wasn't great for loader work. The manager of the preserve grumbled about that tractor all the time, but after shoveling hundreds of spreader loads of manure by hand, hydraulics were a wonderful thing to me.
So, sorry to go off track, but that picture of the tractor in the truck sure brought back some nice memories.

 

[ravencr]

Hey guys, I saw a 2007 l4630 with cab and bushhog on my way home yesterday that appeared to be in pretty good condition. It didn't have a loader, but he had some weights on the front. Outside of that it appeared to be a basic grand l. I think he said it had 550 hours on it. Anybody have any idea what it could be worth? And, I was wondering how much it would be to add a loader to it approximately? I built up a basic l4730 assuming that is it's replacement and it was around $36k. When looking at a used tractor is it normal to have a reputable dealer do an inspection of the tractor to check everything out?

Thanks for the help guys,

Chris

 

[teg]

2007 Kubota Tractor L4630 46 hp with snow blower | eBay

KUBOTA L4630, Used KUBOTA L4630, KUBOTA L4630 For Sale At TractorHouse.com - Page 1

Subtract from these the cost of a loader but I'm sure you can add an aftermarket loader to the one you saw... did it look clean and taken care of?