Sold the L3830, time for a new one!

[buckle97]

After having owned it almost two years to the day, I have sold my L3830 2wd in expectation to upgrade /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif. I absolutely loved the tractor and it was the perfect size for my place, but as many told me when I bought it; I should have gotten a FEL. I called my dealer this morning to get prices on the units I am interested in:

L3830 FST R4 w/ LA723 $19,703
L3830 GST R4 w/ LA723 $20,683
L4330 GST R4 w/ LA853 $22449

Bush Hog SQ720 rotary cutter $1,315
Bush Hog MBX720 box blade $845

Anybody have any opinions about going from a 3830 to a 4330? In two years, I can’t remember ever thinking I needed more power than the 3830 had to give. I know this might change with the new uses I have for a FEL. I would still like to be able to use my finish mower with the new tractor around the house.
I am also having timber cut on my place right now. I plan to have about triple the area to bush hog as I currently have (about 8 acres now).

Thanks for any input!

Lawrence

 

[_RaT_]

I think that either the L3830 or L4330 would work well. For the extra lift height and little more power of the loader you might consider the L4330 if those are important to you. For brush hogging, both will work very well. The GST transmission would be my choice between the shuttle or glide shift.

 

[JLoaf]

I bought a 3830DT(gear) w/LA723 about 18 months ago.
I love it, but after 180 hrs of use, I wish I had gotten the GST trans. The 12 clutchless forward gears is very appealing. There are many times when I need to shift from 4th to 5th gear - you know what that means - clucth, come to a complete stop, shift transfer case, shift gear, clutch, go. And then back to 4th gear .
Sometimes having a gear between 4th and 5th would be perfect! I don't have it .
Sometimes 5th is a little to slow and 6th is alittle to fast.
With GST you have more options. I think I would really like that.
Any-hoo, I believe 4WD and GST will provide a substantial improvement over 2WD-FST, whether 3830 or 4330.
Enjoy!!

 

[frank_f15]

Which ever you decide on , just make sure it is 4wd and FEL equipped

 

[Deerlope]

Check the Hyd pump output on the 4330 as compared to the 3830. the bigger loader on the 4330 will seem slow at first.

 

[rbargeron]

<font color="blueclass=small">( I would still like to be able to use my finish mower with the new tractor around the house.)</font>

To have the least "impact" on your mowing operations, the L3830 GST would seem a good choice. The FEL will not need more power - and rotary cutters don't use as much power as a finish mower of the same width, so you may not need the extra power of the 4330. Also the 723 loader will go on and off a little quicker (lighter) which you may be doing regularly for mowing.

Bigger and heavier are tempting - but if you are concerned about having a light touch on the lawn, it might make sense not to go bigger unless some other work needs it.

 

[Rolando]

I'll qualify my comments by saying I'm new to this and still waiting on my tractor, but I'll add that a lot of folks here have said that a big plus of going with a 3830 or bigger tractor was being able to get the bigger 852 loader.

You might also want to think about the HST transmission. Many have said that for loader work, it is much more convenient. This may not be applicable for you depending on how much loader work you'll do. Perhaps more experienced people can comment on this.

 

[_RaT_]

Your going to find the weight of the tractors indistinguishable. I only mow with the loader off. I have a 84" finish mower and must say the L3830 HST I have spins it without a hitch. Again, if loader work is a major part of your tractoring and even more important, loading a dumpster, I would definitley get the L4330 and LA 852. I do use my loader considerably but have opted to stick with the L3830 with the LA 723 even with the better specifications of the LA 852. It works very well and after having had a Kubota L48 with a much larger capacity loader, find the LA 723 very qualified to do the loader work I do. Removing/installing the loader is very, very easy and fast. I really like that about it. It's nothing to install or add it several times a day, it's that simple. When mowing, the loader does make it much tougher to mow around my place with all the obstacles and as importantly, adds a considerable amount of bounce to the tractor. I rarely mow in 4WD as it too adds bounce, don't ask me how, but there is a difference. Maybe its a lead or lag issue.

 

[JimMorrissey]

I'd add that the 4330 also has a four cylinder engine that is not quite as efficient as the three cylinder in the 3830.

I would think that 4WD would be an absolute must for loader work!

 

[JimMorrissey]

Agree....GST with 4WD = Happy Tractoring.