Old, new, and antique Kubotas

[s219]

I decided to upsize from a B2920 to an L3200, and my local dealer gave me a pretty good trade in offer on the B2920. So Monday I gave them the go ahead, and we did the switcheroo today.

Here's a shot of my 2920 after I unloaded her at the dealership:



This little tractor did everything I needed over the last two years (during which I racked up 135 hours). While we were building our new home, I trailered it up to our new property nearly every weekend, and some weekdays in between, to do logging, site work, grading, driveway maintenance, you name it. I saved about $20K in clearing, site work, and landscaping by doing it myself with the 2920. The difference between what I paid and the trade-in value was $4000, and I feel like I definitely got my money's worth out of the tractor. If you're looking for a small nimble tractor with copious power (perhaps over-powered), the 2920 is hard to beat.

Now that our land has been partially cleared and house built, I have felt the need for a bigger tractor with more weight and more front loader capacity. I managed to lift some large heavy loads with the 2920, but the small bucket and narrow loader boom spacing was clearly a limiting factor, and the small footprint and light weight (which was a plus when logging) wasn't so optimal for work in wide open spaces. So after much deliberation, the L3200 emerged as the best option for my budget. I got her with the LA524 loader and standard pin-on 60" bucket, a 60" Howse box blade (traded in a 48" Howse box with 2920), and loaded rear tires. Here's a shot of the new L3200:



I was able to move my LED work lights from the B2920 to the L3200 very easily, as both are wired with a work light circuit to a rear fender. I need to get a different connector and mount switches on the L3200, and it will be ready to go with very little work.

My first impressions of the L3200 (beyond test drives) is that it offers a lot more stability and traction than the B2920, and isn't as big feeling as it looked to me at first. The wide loader booms and the larger bucket are a nice improvement, and it seemed like the 60" bucket holds exponentially more firewood when I brought a load in tonight. Getting on and off the L3200 is not nearly as easy as the B2920, and the foot room seems cramped, but the operator's station is very comfortable once seated and working. I prefer the B2920's loader stick arrangement, but can't say I have any real complaints about the L3200 setup other than it limits seat access to the other side of the tractor. The stick is right where I reach.

The L3200 is adequately powered, but feels like a turtle compared to the B2920, which was at least 1500# lighter with almost the same HP. But the L3200 gets around just fine with a little more RPM.

The main downside to the L3200 is noise from the HST, which is hideous in high gear at road speed (not something I do frequently, thank god) compared to the 2920. I am sure some of that is gear noise which will abate as the gears cut in, but the HST pump noise won't change much. I felt the same way about HST noise when my 2920 was new, but got used to it, and imagine that will happen with the L3200.

I learned a couple new tricks loading and unloading the L3200 to get it home. My trailer is a 7x16 landscape trailer with tandem 3500# axles. The deck is fine for the L3200, but the rear mesh gate -- which worked great for the B2920 -- is not beefy enough. So I left the gate at home. When I got to the dealership, they had me drive over a swale in their parking lot (the swale leads to a drainage pipe), which put the rear of the trailer only a few inches off the ground. We got the B2920 off very easily, and the L3200 crawled right on. With some tweaks to balance tongue weight, I was on my way, and my tow vehicle (mid size SUV with 5000# tow capacity) towed the heavier tractor with no noticeable difference other than needing to boost the brake controller up to 10 (from 8). Once I got home, I backed the trailer up against a bank near my driveway, and backed the L3200 off very easily. Who knew -- no ramps needed! That is great to know -- since I trailer tractors so infrequently now, this technique is all I need to get back and forth to the dealership if the need arises.

While at the dealership, I saw this little gem:



It's a circa 1970's vintage B7100. I forget the hours, but it wasn't bad. The dealer wanted $2000. It runs like a top but needs a new clutch. I was tempted to load her up too, as a fun restoration project to get a great little mower, but my wife probably would have killed me. It was really cool to see this old Kubota though.

 

[ultrarunner]

I've seen similar vintage Kubota no where near as nice...

Typically, they look like scrap from abuse and yet run fine and still on the job... must really be tough and part of the reason I went Kubota when I bought.

I find the sidewalk curbs to be the perfect height for loading and unloading the car trailer... it tilts and it is feature I just about never need.

 

[JOHNTHOMAS]

Congrats on the trade:thumbsup: I've done it a few times myself. I went from a B7800 to a L3240HST several years ago. About the same HP but the L was about 1700lbs heavier or almost twice the weight as the B. I'm on hillside property. Had a Landpride rear finish mower 6' and it was a tank. It would swing the tractor when I'd make the turn at the bottom of the hill but the B handled it fine other wise. The L handled it like it wasn't back there but the L would start slowing down as I'd near the crest of the hill. Weight gives a more stable feel on flat ground but higher off the ground is worser/scary on a hillside. Got rid of the L pretty quick for a L3200.
I to have a dual axle 3500lbs per axle 16' trailer with the mesh rear gate that hauled the Bs fine and still does but the L tore the mesh loose loading it so had 2 more pieces of channel iron welded between the piece that was there already up the middle of the gate and never had another problem since. You may one day want to consider doing that since you may need to take your tractor some where that may not provide an off loading bank.
Another story of how buying a tractor saves money and not even considering the availability when you want/need it tractor plus the back breaking savings factor.:thumbsup:
Your wife should never doubt your intelligence again when spending money.:laughing:
I just bought a B7100 HST 4wd 1100 hours and near new mowing deck that runs like a top but doesn't look this nice, yet. I couldn't pass up the deal so it's for sale or trade.

 

[Thomas]

Congrats on the up grade.
B2920 looks in showroom condition see why dealer was interested..well taken care of.

Also went from B to L you nail description/findings.

Those B7100 are work mule even w/FEL,only bad thing no power steering...ouch.

 

[rpraymond]

My old B6100 is the reason I stayed with Kubota. That thing was a tank. I wish I could have kept it.

 

[DieselnHooters]

I still see lots of those small B's around, 30-35 years on the job and nowhere near retirement yet

 

[s219]

Congrats on the up grade.
B2920 looks in showroom condition see why dealer was interested..well taken care of.

I cleaned her up good and made sure all the fluids and grease points were topped off. First time I cleaned the B in many months, and was surprised to see such a nice shiny tractor underneath the grime. The B spent most of it's life stored under a pole barn, but has been outside the last 4-5 months at our new property. The only real wear and tear was on the front bucket and the seat (vinyl had rippled at the base).

Sounds like the dealer already had a prospective buyer when I dropped it off, which made me happy to hear -- I hope it goes to a good home.

If I had the space, money, and time, I would have loved to keep the B around. As my first tractor, and one that helped us build our new place, it will always be remembered fondly.

 

[s219]

My old B6100 is the reason I stayed with Kubota. That thing was a tank. I wish I could have kept it.
View attachment 352033

That one's a beauty -- paint still looks good!

 

[s219]

I to have a dual axle 3500lbs per axle 16' trailer with the mesh rear gate that hauled the Bs fine and still does but the L tore the mesh loose loading it so had 2 more pieces of channel iron welded between the piece that was there already up the middle of the gate and never had another problem since. You may one day want to consider doing that since you may need to take your tractor some where that may not provide an off loading bank.

I may do something like that. The gate has 1-1/2" square tubing for the frame, with verticals spaced every 12". But I think it's only the 0.0625" gauge tubing. I was thinking we could weld some c-channel under where the L tires run, and then maybe weld an angle across all the verticals and c-channel to tie it together.

The gate has three hinge pins, two of them are near where the tires run. They are 5/8" solid round stock. That's probably enough to hold the gate on, but I might see if we can put some sort of extra support just in case. It looks like we bent one of the hinge pins down yesterday, probably when climbing the L3200 on, so I will straighten that out today (I think I'll just heat it and jack it up).

The other option is to have some ramps welded up and ditch the gate. I looked at the ramps on the equipment haulers at the dealer yesterday, which are otherwise like my landscape trailer except for the dovetail and different framing sizes. I could probably do something similar.

I will say this, my rig towed a heck of a lot smoother at highway speeds yesterday without that mesh gate. It's such a parachute.

 

[chim]

Congrats! You'll love the L3200. I prematurely changed the hydro fluid in mine and refilled with Super UDT2. It seemed to take the edge off the whine.

 

[jackl]

I don't have a vintage Kubota to boast, just a 52 Ford 8N, but last summer I traded up from my 8 year old B7510 with 450 hours to a new B2920. I got such a great deal on the trade in that I didn't have to make too many promises to my wife other than that this would be my last new tractor. I also transitioned from turf to R4 tires given my need to do additional FEL work in muddy conditions that previously loaded up the turfs. The turfs just don't have the sidewall strength or durability to standup to the rigors of moving dirt.

The ~50% increase in HP makes a very noticable difference in all applications. Instances where the 7510 labored when mowing heavy grass with my 5ft finish mower, are a walk in the park for the 2920. The egine doesn't even wince. I've also read a lot of threads on turf vs industrial tires and I can say after having both, I love the R4s. Yes, they can damage the lawn in 4WD when the grass is wet, but so did the turfs. For loader work, there is no better option. For snow, I've read stories where turfs were preferred to R4s, but I experience absolutley no difference in the ability to push snow and we get plenty of it in upstate NY.

The only question is, will I keep my promise to my wife that this is my last tracror, or is there a L3200 or something equivalent in my future?

 

[s219]

The only question is, will I keep my promise to my wife that this is my last tracror, or is there a L3200 or something equivalent in my future?

Heh, I'm already getting a lot of grief from my wife about trading up. It didn't help that the main thing I did with the L yesterday was to take the trash can out to the curb and then back, though it's a heavy can and a 650 ft driveway, so I thought it was fair. Tonight she heckled me for putting the L in the garage (super cold temps overnight, and I didn't know if the diesel had been winterized). So I told her we're almost out of firewood on the porch and she ought to go cut down a tree if she wants to stay warm, since me and the tractor going to be on strike tomorrow!

I like the L a lot, but miss the B2920 mainly because it played a key part in building our new place, and served me well. One thing I didn't appreciate about the B2920 until now was how amply it was powered. I could loaf around at low to mid RPMs all day long doing everything. With the L, I need to get up to 1800-2000 RPMs just for normal operation. That's the difference between a tractor that's overpowered for the size (B2920), and one that's just adequately powered for the size (L3200). Since hours are tied to engine RPM, no doubt I will rack up hours more quickly on the L3200.

So wife issues aside, I'd say you should appreciate the B2920 as much as you can! You'd almost need to trade to an L4600 to get the same power/weight specs I think....

 

[TomSeller]

I would have kept the B2920, but I am a tractor hoarder. I have bought 11 over the years but never have sold one.

 

[JOHNTHOMAS]

I had a B7800 HST FEL (31/32HP) for 3 years and did some major work on my hillside with it. Traded it to a Grand L3240 HST which weighs more than twice the B7800. Traded back to a B3200 within the year and around 50 hours on the L. Bigger isn't better. If I had flat land then the L would have been OK. The weight difference showed up a few times. A 6' Landpride rear finish mower would swing the B around at the bottom of the hill but never swung the L. The Landpride 6' RFM would slow the L down pretty bad as I'd near the crest of my steep hill but never slowed the B7800.
HP and weight are major factors plus for me on a steep hillside the distance of my butt or eyes from the ground made a major difference.
I do home landscaping, no farming, haying, logging (other than yard tree planting/moving/removal) or 1000' gravel road maintaining. I also don't plow snow for me and all the neighbors because we rarely have snow.
The jobs that need to be done on a regular basis should determine the specific tractor size and implements.