New L48

ElBarranco · May 17, 2007

I took delivery of my new L48 a couple of weeks ago. With it I got:

* Front Aux hyd
* Rear remotes
* Top N Tilt
* Virnig 4-in-1 78" bucket
* McMillian Hyd PHD with 9" auger
* Rhino HB84 box blade w/ hyd scraper
* Rhino TW72 rotary cutter

I had been looking to buy in the Kansas, but my local dealer in CO ended up making me an offer which kept the deal close to home. I'm happy about that because I get great service, and feel well taken care of.

I've got less than 20 hours on the tractor, but I feel I made the correct choice. Did a lot of reading here to learn about implements, etc... The box blade does a pretty good job on our road, but I would like to get a gauge wheel on it.

I totally dig the hydraulic PHD. Very convenient to use. I especially like that I can reverse it. When I get stuck in rocks, I can reverse, get unstuck and try again. With a PTO PHD I had to shut down the machine, get my bar, manually turn the auger in reverse, etc... Also, no worries about shear pins with the hydraulic.

Also, the 4-in-1 makes this thing a very different machine. I can pick up logs, big rocks, stumps (after they've been extracted), with ease.

I've used all my toys, er, implements, so far, and its great to feel like I got just what I needed. Got a lot of help here, both from responses, and from reading old threads. Excellent resource. Thanks everyone.

-robert

LarryRB · May 17, 2007

This September will be three years with mine, Have no where near the toys and doo dads that you have, however, tractor has ran flawlessly without a single problem. I would get the same machine over and over if needed,

curtisfarmer · May 17, 2007

I went to the dealer yesterday to get a quote on a new L48 without backhoe before the upgrade. I have a L48 (2 years old) with custom thumb, so I want another for cross swapping the hoe when not needed. I bring my KX121-3 and L48 to all my landscape construction jobs and I feel having another will provide for 2 set ups for 2 seperate job sites. When my L48 is with my excavator, I don;t bring the hoe. If I wait to the L48 upgrade, this winter, I will have to get both the hoe and tractor as the L48 hoe will not match the new whatever L# it will be. I have no complaints about the L48 and am so pleased I'll have another. I know people complain about how slow M is, but driving a heaped L48, which can pick up other tractors off the ground, any faster is dangerous and damaging. I still cannot find a suitable replacement for the L48. I hear no cab on the upgrade but larger lift capacity and still below 10,000 lbs. for non-CDL reasons. I also want another before they "L39" it with sleekness replacing boxy, thick steel construction. Time will tell.

_RaT_ · May 17, 2007

" I know people complain about how slow M is, but driving a heaped L48, which can pick up other tractors off the ground, any faster is dangerous and damaging."

The L48's lift ability is not that much more then the L39. It can carry in the stock bucket about 20 cu ft. At that weight and for the size of the tractor, driving faster then 4.3 mph (or what the max mph is in medium) in my opinion is not dangerous or damaging. I almost always found myself using my L48 in high range after I loaded my bucket. Of course the speed I went entirely depended on the terrain. If there was any incline, I had to use medium range as the L48 had very little umph in high range.

curtisfarmer · May 18, 2007

People always claim the ability of the L39 to be that of an L48, which it is not. I can pick up a huge heaping mound, wet if need be, and load a 10 wheeler with my rear wheels almost coming off the ground. I have also picked up the 3 192? Fordsons I have,(soild steel) check out curtisfarm.com, and barely did it. Park a L39 next to the L48 and make your own choice. I doubt the L39 would do either of the above mentioned tasks. If so, why is the L48 so much bigger? Regarding driving an L48 with 3K+ in the bucket past M and faster doesn't seem accurate or safe to me with all due respect. I would fire one of my workers if I saw them do that. That is called beating a machine. If that machine cannot work, neither can I. I hear mine twist and groan and can tell that when maxed out, anything faster than 5mph+ is damaging. Broke a loader pin last week. Ever do that? The thing is huge and snapped??? Driving around in H fully loaded does not seem advisable to me. Maybe we do different things? I use mine commercially and I love it. Big rocks, lots of dirt, and stumps. No problem.

_RaT_ · May 18, 2007

curtisfarmer said:
People always claim the ability of the L39 to be that of an L48, which it is not. I can pick up a huge heaping mound, wet if need be, and load a 10 wheeler with my rear wheels almost coming off the ground. I have also picked up the 3 192? Fordsons I have,(soild steel) check out curtisfarm.com, and barely did it. Park a L39 next to the L48 and make your own choice. I doubt the L39 would do either of the above mentioned tasks. If so, why is the L48 so much bigger? Regarding driving an L48 with 3K+ in the bucket past M and faster doesn't seem accurate or safe to me with all due respect. I would fire one of my workers if I saw them do that. That is called beating a machine. If that machine cannot work, neither can I. I hear mine twist and groan and can tell that when maxed out, anything faster than 5mph+ is damaging. Broke a loader pin last week. Ever do that? The thing is huge and snapped??? Driving around in H fully loaded does not seem advisable to me. Maybe we do different things? I use mine commercially and I love it. Big rocks, lots of dirt, and stumps. No problem.

If I had an employee going that slow, I'd have to go wiggle him to see if he was sleeping.

Kendall69 · May 18, 2007

ElBarranco - What price did you give for the tractor?

Also, what this about a NEW L48???

curtisfarmer · May 18, 2007

I hear new L48 in Sept. and for sale in Jan. 08. No cab, under 10K lbs. with larger lift and the new HST Plus. On the cab, I hear they did not opt to offer one cause it puts the price near a full sized backhoe. Also, remember the problems with cabs and detachable hoes. Have not tried the new HST Plus, and am happy with my current L48. I was quoted $39,900 for TLB L48 and $29,800 for just tractor loader, no hoe. I personally like the current simplicity and boxy steel construction of the L48 as opposed to the fancy HST and the Intellepanel that only the dealer can fix. Call me old fashion but I look at the future maint. costs as well.

ElBarranco · May 18, 2007

Kendall69 said:
ElBarranco - What price did you give for the tractor?

Also, what this about a NEW L48???

I paid a bit over $50k for the whole shooting match. In shopping I found it very difficult to compare prices without getting quotes specific to an exact configuration. In my case, very roughly, the tractor was around $40k, and the implements were an additional $10k.

Regarding the low M range, that was one of the cons of the L48 for me. At my house I have 2 miles of driveway with 12% grade. I can't climb home in H. If I have to go work on something at the bottom it's a long climb home in M. Something between M & H would get me to the beer more quickly

As for the L48 being not much more machine than the L39, that wasn't my experience. The L48 has about 25% more hp, and that is important to me.

I don't know much about the L48 upgrade. My dealer told me they were coming, probably this year. I wasn't all that interested. The two things I'd like are a turbo and better gear ratios. Don't know if the new model will give me either of those. In any case, I needed a tractor now, and this was the right money for me. Give the upgrade a few years to settle in and I might be interested, but for now, solid, tried and true is good for me.

-robert

_RaT_ · May 18, 2007

Robert, sounds like you did your homework. You knew what you wanted, what the short comings were and dealt with it. My wish list for the L48 would be similar to yours with a few additions. I had the first L48 on TBN. Shortly after the JD 110 came out. I like various things on each tractor. If I had a list for the L48 it would be the same L-M-H ranges but with medium up in the 0-7 mph like all the other tractors Kubota makes with 3 range HST. Then add the 2 speed electronic kick down or whatever they call it. That is really what the L48 needs badly. I would still like to understand why the L48 can't get out of its shadow in high. My L3830 HST had much better power in high range. I would like to see straight arms on the loader, much like the L39 or the industrial JD 210. I think many folks would like to see GST on the L48 as an option, I found the HST superb. I like the thicker tin on the engine and rather like the square look as opposed to the round hood. The hydraulic auger you picked up is a really nice way to go. Nothing like having reverse and hydraulic flow to keep things from coming apart and shearing bolts.