Johnbro
Gold Member
So almost exactly a year ago the L4240HST-3 showed up on a snowy day:
Options included SSQA HD bucket with cutting edge and hooks (installed later), top and tilt with 3 rear remotes, and sunshade. We also bought a Land Pride 72" box scraper with hyd scarifier up and down. Trade in was the 1987 L2250 with about 1050 hours, 42" BB and 3rd party FEL.
We already had some implements from the old tractor and shortly thereafter bought 4000 lb pallet forks for the FEL.
What I overlooked was getting the tires filled and moved to the widest position at the dealer before I took delivery (recently corrected).
Only modifications so far was the installation of Harbor Freight lights with switches (two forward and one rear) on the ROPS and, as noted, filling the rear tires and moving them to the widest position.
Currently the tractor has 155 hours on the meter.
I was a little concerned about this model because I was afraid it would be too big, compared to the L2250 which I thought was a good size for a small (5 acre) property. and, in fact, sometimes the size is a detriment and a smaller tractor would be more useful. However, the power of this machine and the lifting capacity of the LA854 loader more than make up for those infrequent times when I have to maneuver oh so carefully around obstacles.
Big changes from the L2250, aside from sheer power, include the HST and sunshade. The HST is a godsend and I would never be without it again. I find the high-low range selector on the steering column gets a ton of use to quickly change speeds from fast travelling to slow and careful movement and control. The auto throttle advance I find of little practical use, although once it has been reset from the factory it's of some utility. for example, if i have to drive the tractor through some pasture gates I use the ATA so I can stop before the gate, hop off the tractor, open the gate, drive through, hop off and close it, all without having to adjust the hand throttle.
The sunshade is quite useful--in the rainy Pacific NW it's more of a rain shelter than sun shade, but I like that if I remember to tilt the seat forward when I park the tractor it will stay dry until I need to use it again (no more wet butt). Downside of the sunshade is it makes the tractor MUCH bigger--there are a few places I can't get into because of the lack of overhead clearance.
The swivel seat is also a nice addition--I crank it to the right when dragging our road so I can more easily look back at the scraper to see what's going on.
The tractor is noisy (but aren't they all) and the HST whine is annoying but I have gotten used to it by now. I always wear ear muffs when using the tractor so the noise isn't dangerous just tiring.
The other big change-up between this unit and my old tractor is the difference between R1 and R4 tires. My old tractor had R1s and had much better traction in mud than the R4s offer. However, if the bucket was loaded the front tires--even with a lot of air pressure--would almost collapse. The R4s, on the other hand, never flinch no matter how much I carry on the loader.
I found the 4240 to be quite tippy when using the pallet forks with a big load. How much of this was the sheer capacity of the loader and how much was the sub-optimal rear tire setting remains to be seen. Since switching the tire position and filling them I haven't had a chance to test this out.
I think one issue with these bigger tractors is that the FEL capacity grows faster than the weight of the tractor. The L4240 doesn't weigh THAT much more than my old L2250 but has at least twice the lifting capacity of the FEL. I know I have lifted a pallet with 2000 lbs of bagged ice melt on the pallet forks--over the stated capacity but I did it. I never lifted the pallet more than I needed to keep it off the ground and I drove about 1/2 mph over the flattest route I could find to put it down. somewhere I have a picture...
So I always wear my seatbelt and think long and hard about driving with a full load in the bucket or on the forks.
Final conclusion is that this is a terrific tractor and I would highly recommend it to anyone.
Edit: Reading another post brought to mind a couple of points that are pretty important but I've come to take for granted.
First is 3PH implement attachment. My 2250 had the "traditional" 3PH with no TNT. Frankly getting implements on and off was a huge PITA and required WD40 (to loosen perpetually frozen turnbuckles), large box wrench (for leverage to turn turnbuckles), and a sledgehammer to pound the arms on or off the implement. I think my bushhog was on there for about 3 years because it was too much trouble to take it off. The L4240 changed all that with the pin-style lower arms and telescoping connections. Plus the TNT means I can move both the top link and the relative height of one arm just from the hyd controls. It's till no easier to hook up a driveshaft for a PTO implement, but the 3PH arms are quite easy to line up and put on/take off. I would never go back to a turnbuckle style 3PH again.
Second is trivial but well, not so trivial. The 2250 had a sight glass to check the hydraulic fluid. Problem was, I could never tell if the sight glass was over-full or empty, since I never saw a line in the middle of it. This led to a well-intentioned but idiotic neighbor over-filling my transmission case when he borrowed the tractor by several gallons. The fact that the 4240 has an actual dipstick (and an easy one to get to) is a real plus in my mind. As a matter of fact, the overall accessibility of important service items (filters, fillers, zerks, etc) is pretty good on the newer models.
Options included SSQA HD bucket with cutting edge and hooks (installed later), top and tilt with 3 rear remotes, and sunshade. We also bought a Land Pride 72" box scraper with hyd scarifier up and down. Trade in was the 1987 L2250 with about 1050 hours, 42" BB and 3rd party FEL.
We already had some implements from the old tractor and shortly thereafter bought 4000 lb pallet forks for the FEL.
What I overlooked was getting the tires filled and moved to the widest position at the dealer before I took delivery (recently corrected).
Only modifications so far was the installation of Harbor Freight lights with switches (two forward and one rear) on the ROPS and, as noted, filling the rear tires and moving them to the widest position.
Currently the tractor has 155 hours on the meter.
I was a little concerned about this model because I was afraid it would be too big, compared to the L2250 which I thought was a good size for a small (5 acre) property. and, in fact, sometimes the size is a detriment and a smaller tractor would be more useful. However, the power of this machine and the lifting capacity of the LA854 loader more than make up for those infrequent times when I have to maneuver oh so carefully around obstacles.
Big changes from the L2250, aside from sheer power, include the HST and sunshade. The HST is a godsend and I would never be without it again. I find the high-low range selector on the steering column gets a ton of use to quickly change speeds from fast travelling to slow and careful movement and control. The auto throttle advance I find of little practical use, although once it has been reset from the factory it's of some utility. for example, if i have to drive the tractor through some pasture gates I use the ATA so I can stop before the gate, hop off the tractor, open the gate, drive through, hop off and close it, all without having to adjust the hand throttle.
The sunshade is quite useful--in the rainy Pacific NW it's more of a rain shelter than sun shade, but I like that if I remember to tilt the seat forward when I park the tractor it will stay dry until I need to use it again (no more wet butt). Downside of the sunshade is it makes the tractor MUCH bigger--there are a few places I can't get into because of the lack of overhead clearance.
The swivel seat is also a nice addition--I crank it to the right when dragging our road so I can more easily look back at the scraper to see what's going on.
The tractor is noisy (but aren't they all) and the HST whine is annoying but I have gotten used to it by now. I always wear ear muffs when using the tractor so the noise isn't dangerous just tiring.
The other big change-up between this unit and my old tractor is the difference between R1 and R4 tires. My old tractor had R1s and had much better traction in mud than the R4s offer. However, if the bucket was loaded the front tires--even with a lot of air pressure--would almost collapse. The R4s, on the other hand, never flinch no matter how much I carry on the loader.
I found the 4240 to be quite tippy when using the pallet forks with a big load. How much of this was the sheer capacity of the loader and how much was the sub-optimal rear tire setting remains to be seen. Since switching the tire position and filling them I haven't had a chance to test this out.
I think one issue with these bigger tractors is that the FEL capacity grows faster than the weight of the tractor. The L4240 doesn't weigh THAT much more than my old L2250 but has at least twice the lifting capacity of the FEL. I know I have lifted a pallet with 2000 lbs of bagged ice melt on the pallet forks--over the stated capacity but I did it. I never lifted the pallet more than I needed to keep it off the ground and I drove about 1/2 mph over the flattest route I could find to put it down. somewhere I have a picture...
So I always wear my seatbelt and think long and hard about driving with a full load in the bucket or on the forks.
Final conclusion is that this is a terrific tractor and I would highly recommend it to anyone.
Edit: Reading another post brought to mind a couple of points that are pretty important but I've come to take for granted.
First is 3PH implement attachment. My 2250 had the "traditional" 3PH with no TNT. Frankly getting implements on and off was a huge PITA and required WD40 (to loosen perpetually frozen turnbuckles), large box wrench (for leverage to turn turnbuckles), and a sledgehammer to pound the arms on or off the implement. I think my bushhog was on there for about 3 years because it was too much trouble to take it off. The L4240 changed all that with the pin-style lower arms and telescoping connections. Plus the TNT means I can move both the top link and the relative height of one arm just from the hyd controls. It's till no easier to hook up a driveshaft for a PTO implement, but the 3PH arms are quite easy to line up and put on/take off. I would never go back to a turnbuckle style 3PH again.
Second is trivial but well, not so trivial. The 2250 had a sight glass to check the hydraulic fluid. Problem was, I could never tell if the sight glass was over-full or empty, since I never saw a line in the middle of it. This led to a well-intentioned but idiotic neighbor over-filling my transmission case when he borrowed the tractor by several gallons. The fact that the 4240 has an actual dipstick (and an easy one to get to) is a real plus in my mind. As a matter of fact, the overall accessibility of important service items (filters, fillers, zerks, etc) is pretty good on the newer models.
Last edited:
