Buying Advice LOOKING AT AN L3240 VS. L3400

art · Feb 4, 2012

kevincook said:
Just to capture some of the things I mentioned the other day.

The L3240 is available with the LA724 Loader with is considerably stronger than the standard LA514 loader. The L3400 comes with the LA463 Loader and the L3800 comes with the LA524 Loader. Either loader on the L3240 is stronger than the loaders available on the L3400 or L3800. The LA724 also has 15ｰ more rollback on the loader bucket with is important if you want to carry any loose gravel, sand, mulch, etc. Now matter what you decide, make sure you order the heavy duty bucket.

You might also want to consider a grapple on the bucket if you plan to move any trees around. I attached a picture from this site so you can get an idea of what I'm talking about.

The L3240 weighs 3395# which is significantly more than the L3400 @ 2600# and the L3800 @ 2668#. I think for your application the more weight is beneficial.

Consider R4 tires instead of R1 tires if you'll be in the woods at all. The R4's won't have as good traction but they will be MUCH more puncture resistant. In either case you may decide to add tire chains depending on how muddy your conditions are. I attached another picture from this site with R1's on the left and R4's on the right.

Consider rear hydraulics if you want to run a log splitter, snow blower chute rotator, etc.

The options can add up fast so you'll really need to think about what exactly you want to do with the tractor.

I'm sure other people with respond with better advice.

Good Luck,
Kevin

Kevin, two things on safety and I know what I've done with my boys on a tractor as well as grandson. I feel sometimes that I'm more excited at getting them involved then I should be but! The size of the tree extending across the lanes on the road as well as a unfastened child, I wish you and your family the best of luck.

TripleR · Feb 4, 2012

mmorisoli said:
I thought I would add my $0.02 worth. About 2 years ago I was in the exact same situation you are in. We have two ranches one is about 70 the other is 200. At first I looked at the L3240 but was a little concerned it might be a touch too small so I rented one for a weekend from a local Kubota dealer. It was great but in the end I decided to go with the L3940 with the skidsteer option on the loader and opted for the factor third function to be added for a grapple.

Since then I have put about 300 hours on it a cleared over 40 acres of cedars, box blades roads, shredded many acres, moved dirt and ran the disc harrow all over the place that that little girl!

The additional horsepower has be well worth it to me and I almost wish I had one a touch bigger now, but I would never say that in front of her...

Good luck with whatever you decide, you will love a Kubota!

Mike

Same here, my wife and I really liked the 3240, but upon further review, we bought a used L5030 HSTC and while I initially thought it was more than we needed, my wife didn't and I am sure glad I listened to her.