Should I trade my L2501

[TBone]

I bought a new Kubota L2501HST in 2018 and use it strictly for bush hogging and a little loader work. I love this little tractor except for one thing. It does not have enough power to bush hog heavy vegetation. For loader work it's great and for light cutting it's ok. I know some will say I need to sharpen the cutter blades, adjust the angle of the cut, not cut so close, etc. I have sharpened the blades, I have adjusted the angle of the cut several times and I have no intention of leaving more than a couple of inches of vegetation behind after I run over it. The sad truth is the little tractor simply does not have enough power to do what I want it to do.
I wanted more power when I bought it but settled for the 25 hp because of the tier 4 emissions crap. Now I am wondering if I made a mistake and am considering trading it in for a L3901. I think the L3301 would be enough but if I take the plunge into the regen engines I'm gonna make sure I'm overpowered rather than underpowered. I often read of regen problems but don't have a good feel for their frequency. I understand that anything mechanical/electronic can experience occasional problems but if regen problems are rare rather than often I can live with it. I would be interested to hear from owners of Kubotas with tier 4 emission controls. Trouble free, occasional trouble or lots of trouble?

 

[jyoutz]

One cheaper option to try if you need to cut heavy vegetation is to get a smaller cutter or just take a narrower bite with your current cutter.

 

[MapleLeafFarmer]

for sure you will appreciate the 60% more hp.

We have a L3301 and the regen is a non issue. Easy to tell when its happening because you can hear, feel, and see the light on the dash when regening. Worst case is it asks for more rpm (to create more heat) which is mostly a winter (-30c or colder) issue. REgen has been a non issue on all our stuff so far... fingers crossed.

A light on the dash tells you to increase RPM if needed.

Should be good for 3,000 hours or so of use before you need to worry about it.

 

[sea2summit]

The market for used is so hot right now you could probably sell it for what you paid for it. More power is always fun, I regret not having my BX anymore because of some of the places I could take it (like driving it inside through double doors to move a gunsafe) but don't miss how slow it was.

 

[JWR]

There are lots of low-hours medium sized used tractors in the 40-50 hp range. You can probably get top dollar for a one owner 2018 2501 on trade-in or just selling it outright. You can probably find a tractor like that (larger, more hp) without the DEF and Regen issues though a lot of people are paying more for them knowing all this.

How heavy a vegetation are we talking here? Clusters of 1" to 2" stuff can be as bad or worse than widely spread individual 3" saplings. What kind of hog? If most of your work is bush hogging, the implement matters a whole bunch. A truly HD cutter has a lot more rotational momentum weight than a lighter duty unit. Is your vegetation too much for a heavy duty flail with sheep's foot cast flails?

By the way, I do not own a Regen or DEF tractor but there is a lot of safety in numbers -- there are millions of them out there and the manufacturers have had lots of time to refine what is going on. I'd bet you can go to any size tractor WITH Def requirements and/or Regen periods and find they are not all that much grief.

 

[bdhsfz6]

The PTO on your L2501 HST is rated at 19HP which is a bit underpowered if you're using a 60" brushog. Getting a smaller cutter as mentioned above is one solution and would certainly be cheaper than a new tractor. The minimum track width of the L2501 is 56" though so going smaller may not be the best idea. A lot would depend on how many acres you cut.

The upside if you do trade the 2501 is, you'll likely get most of what you paid in trade. The down side is the prices on new machines have gone way up, assuming you can even find one.

I have two Kubota tractors with regen and I can tell you from experience, it really is a non issue. If you plan on keeping the tractor beyond 3000 hours or so, it might become more of a problem.

 

[beckmurph]

What size of bush hog are you using?

 

[Forky]

Maybe not wait so long between cuttings and take alot of stress off the cutter and the tractor...That's what I would do.

 

[TBone]

Thanks for the replies. My cutter is a 60" medium duty Land Pride. I like the width because it cuts out my tire tracks. Really don't want to move down to a 48" and don't want to make two passes instead of one. Used pre-tier4 tractors are scarce as hens teeth around here.

 

[Thomas]

As other have written try lower range dryer condition see what happens.