noobie asking for advice

[tlbuser]

That L39 looks sweet Do you think I could pick up and hook the bucket on with 1 hand? Kubota Tractor Corporation - TLB Series - L39 Loader/Landscaper Tractors

Sure that would be doable. I keep a length of pipe on the machine to help move the levers on the q/a. The pins need to be greased regularly.
Saturday at my friends place, running his older L48, I coulda used three hands. He has the aux. hyd. valve mounted on the fender, the loader valve is forward and no hands left for steering. I did not like his setup at all. Way too clumsy and awkward for me. He has a grapple on his digging bucket and that really made me appreciate having a dedicated grapple setup.

 

[newbury]

Well I've had a while to surf and think about things and it looks like my wishes and my wallet will have to meet somewhere higher than I had hoped.
I'm looking strongly at things ranging from a $10K or less used Bobcat to a used Kubota L39 for about $25K. Got to keep it around 6K LB or less.

I realize the BH on a Kubota could be worth $5K or more.

Questions for here about the Kubota's:
Are there any worthy competitors in the Kubota L35/L39 weight range ?
What about the B26?
Is the main difference between the L35 and the L39 the BH and 4 hp?
Does the L35 use about the same BH as the L26/L21?

Are there major "repair hours" points? Is 1,000 hours to many generally? 2,000?
Do you generally have to replace some thing-a-ma-jig after X hours? For instance plan on replacing tracks after 2,000 hours on an MTL.

Again thanks people for all the input.

 

[tlbuser]

Hmm, I thought the L35 included the backhoe. Difference in HP and probably BH digging depth/reach.

Price is another who knows right now. Was shopping for a Kubota MX5100 or Kioti tractor for the farm. Price sent me back to Kubota. On the way to double check, one last look see, on the Kubota and saw a new JD 5305 w/522 loader on a JD dealers lot. Stopped by to look and gawk, salesman convinced me that I wanted to own a new JD. It's being delivered today for less than I could get the Kioti or Kubota.

Have you checked places like Construction Equipment at Machinery Trader: Caterpillar, Komatsu, Case, John Deere, Volvo

Hours are another variable, no tried and true hour meter numbers (that I can think of)for expensive maintenance. Rubber tracks don't either though......usually the operator(s) and lack of regular maintenance help determine the breaking points.

 

[newbury]

Hmm, I thought the L35 included the backhoe. Difference in HP and probably BH digging depth/reach.

Yes L35 is supposed to include BH, but the BH on the L39 "looks" more substantial than that on the L35, B21, B23. But I've not stumbled acroos a part number reference guide.

Price is another who knows right now. Was shopping for a Kubota MX5100 or Kioti tractor for the farm. Price sent me back to Kubota. On the way to double check, one last look see, on the Kubota and saw a new JD 5305 w/522 loader on a JD dealers lot. Stopped by to look and gawk, salesman convinced me that I wanted to own a new JD. It's being delivered today for less than I could get the Kioti or Kubota.

Have you checked places like Construction Equipment at Machinery Trader: Caterpillar, Komatsu, Case, John Deere, Volvo

Yes, that and prices at IronPlanet and Craigslist.

Hours are another variable, no tried and true hour meter numbers (that I can think of)for expensive maintenance. Rubber tracks don't either though......usually the operator(s) and lack of regular maintenance help determine the breaking points.

I did see someone post in the Kubota forum that one should expect to rebuild a diesel after 2,000 hours, which seemed kind of soon to me. However I've seen a lot of posts about rubber tread life being short.

With my diesel VW we worry about timing belt replacement at 100K.

Once again, thanks for the info. If only I could exceed the 10,000 pound load limit.

 

[forester2]

To answer your question about add on tracks, a friend bought a set for his Cat skid steer and they were junk after 2 years. 2 other friends have ASV units and love them. I agree with hiring out dozer work instead of trashing a multi purpose machine.

 

[cbturf]

I will not add anything to the equipment choice debate but I would like to suggest that you carefully consider what these guys say. Eddie in particular has a LOT of experience doing exactly what you say you want to do. I own some equipment (mulchers) and have worked in the woods all of my life and I can tell you that no matter what you end up with you will run out of power and capability by lunch on your first day. Get the biggest and most powerful whatever you buy! A big ole TLB is hard to beat for versatility and capability but skid steers are hard to beat for speed and agility. Get the newest and most up to date machine you can find, since you will be working on your own land breakdowns will not be as costly as it would be for a contractor relying on his machine to feed the kids but frequent breakdowns are still frustrating and expensive. Consider contracting or renting the big jobs and then getting a smaller machine for maintanance after the big work is done. This was my very long winded way of saying listen to guys who have already done what you are wanting to do, it will save you trouble.

You know what they say...a wise man learns from his mistakes, but a very wise man learns from others mistakes.

 

[AKfish]

Well I've had a while to surf and think about things and it looks like my wishes and my wallet will have to meet somewhere higher than I had hoped.
I'm looking strongly at things ranging from a $10K or less used Bobcat to a used Kubota L39 for about $25K. Got to keep it around 6K LB or less.

I realize the BH on a Kubota could be worth $5K or more.

Questions for here about the Kubota's:
Are there any worthy competitors in the Kubota L35/L39 weight range ?
What about the B26?
Is the main difference between the L35 and the L39 the BH and 4 hp?
Does the L35 use about the same BH as the L26/L21?

Are there major "repair hours" points? Is 1,000 hours to many generally? 2,000?
Do you generally have to replace some thing-a-ma-jig after X hours? For instance plan on replacing tracks after 2,000 hours on an MTL.

Again thanks people for all the input.

The Deere 110 is every bit as capable as either the L35 or L39 - IMO. Nearly identical specs to the L48; minor details different. Quite a few good used ones available in the $25K range, too.

I rented a B21 or B24 (not sure exactly) about 10 years ago to redo my lawn top to bottom and all the final work on a 1 acre horse pasture - rototilling, leveling, seeding, fert application, packing.

Very capable machine but I think you will find it to be pretty small for many of your purposes. The B26 is about 7.5' high and 4.5' wide with the hoe and weighs in around 4K. That fits your trailer requirements.. but those 300 acres will make it (and many machines) real small - real fast.

Unless a machine has been used pretty hard and "put up wet" with little or no maintainance - the 2,000 hr overhaul need is not a reasonable concern. Kubota makes a super reliable engine for many applications and they will normally run - reliably - 3 times that figure (or more).

The hoe on the B series is about a foot and a half less digging depth than the L35-39. Not the same hoe.

With hours and use; the wear points on the loader and hoe will get loose and the bushings will need replacement but generally not in a 1,000 hrs if it's been regularily greased. 2,000 yah, I'd think that would be a reasonable expectation.

AKfish

 

[newbury]

The Deere 110 is every bit as capable as either the L35 or L39 - IMO. Nearly identical specs to the L48; minor details different. Quite a few good used ones available in the $25K range, too.

I've disregarded the Deere 110 because on the Kubota web site it puts the TLB weight of the 110 at about 8,100lbs. On the JD web site (Product Specification for 110 TLB) they only list the weight w/ the loader, not the BH, and that's about 7,300lb.

I rented a B21 or B24 (not sure exactly) about 10 years ago to redo my lawn top to bottom and all the final work on a 1 acre horse pasture - rototilling, leveling, seeding, fert application, packing.

Very capable machine but I think you will find it to be pretty small for many of your purposes. The B26 is about 7.5' high and 4.5' wide with the hoe and weighs in around 4K. That fits your trailer requirements.. but those 300 acres will make it (and many machines) real small - real fast.

Yes, I figure it's on the small side, but then so are my expectations.

Unless a machine has been used pretty hard and "put up wet" with little or no maintainance - the 2,000 hr overhaul need is not a reasonable concern. Kubota makes a super reliable engine for many applications and they will normally run - reliably - 3 times that figure (or more).

The hoe on the B series is about a foot and a half less digging depth than the L35-39. Not the same hoe..

With hours and use; the wear points on the loader and hoe will get loose and the bushings will need replacement but generally not in a 1,000 hrs if it's been regularily greased. 2,000 yah, I'd think that would be a reasonable expectation.

AKfish

That's good to know - but is the hoe the same on the L35 as the L39?
/edit - I know they are probably different model numbers (L35 seems to be listed with a BT900, versus the BT1000(?) on the L39.

Again, thanks for your input.

 

[AKfish]

The 8K+ lb is pretty well spot on for the 110 with the thumb and replaceable edge on the front bucket. Yah, it will be right in that range - and I'd guess that the L48 won't be too far off that weight, either with the same options.

Soon as you add the HD buckets front and back, extra lights, thumb, top n tilt, belly pan shields, cutting edge, etc. those pounds start adding up. And the manufacturers always quote the bare bones machine.

I'd be surprised if there's more than half a foot difference in the hoes on the L35 vs the L39. You'd be hard pressed to know which one you were looking at from 100 feet away...

AKfish

 

[newbury]

Well once again I'm back asking for advice.
It seems that I can add a BH to about anything short of my new TDI, for about $6K
For my previous stated requirements are there any advantages/disadvantages for going for a tractor base machine, like the Kubota B series, versus the Kubota TLB series?
I know I need a FEL and a BH, but I don't know about the other differences.
tia