TRADING UP, BUT DOWNSIZING TOO.

[Gary Fowler]

I don't think I would ever trade two tractors for one especially if you are in business. Two smaller tractors can for sure outwork one larger one.
Keep the B3200 if you can afford payments on two tractors and get something larger HP and heavier for your firewood business but not so big that you couldn't run a bush hog with it also.

 

[namesray]

well, thanks guys.

jeff9366 and dt86 I am sorry about my sloppy writing skills. I was tired last night and wasn't doing a good job wording what I wanted to say. I figured if all the words were there, it didn't matter how they were spaced, so long as the sentences made sense. I will try to put more emphasis towards my grammar skills. in a way you 2 might have helped me because I was starting to wonder why I don't seem to get too many responses on my topics.

thanks cobyrupert for the rewrite. it does look better the way you retyped it for me.

john Thomas, thanks for cheering me back up. I have seen you have had a lot of experience with "many" kubotas. they are good machines I think and I like the set up and controls they have. they just seem to fit me.

I proposed my trade deal to my local dealer and they are crunching some numbers and will get back to me soon. I want to go look closer at one on Friday.

I agree, I probably won't get the clean pay off deal I want, but I set my goal high and the dealer and I can dicker back and forth a bit and see how I could come out.

I am also looking at the L3200 (as well as the L3800). might be able to come closer to getting my deal with that, but agree, staying with the same horse power but adding more weight might be lacking in the power I want. I looked at the reviews here on tbn on the L3200 and all were good.

I do want to stay away from the tier 4 final engines as I have seen the problems they have caused in the big trucks where I work at the state highway dept. my dealer does not have any L3800 "hst" only a gear one.

gary fowler, your idea is where my mind was at when I bought the b3200, and I still agree, however i work alone most of the time and figured just 1 tractor would save me money and parking space. i only do this side business after my "full time" job, but i do end up working a lot at it too. almost as much as my full time job. i do agree that having the 2 tractors have saved me from unhooking 3ph implements, but since i tried to make each tractor as versatile as possible, i still found myself hooking and unhooking implements. i figured if i just did jobs smarted and more grouped, i could save the switching of implements all the time too. keep the opinions flying and i will let you all know what i find out at my dealers on Friday. thanks again.

 

[wmonroe]

If you are going to trade I would go a little bigger and get a MX4700. It's a bigger, heavier tractor with more hp without being to big or heavy. Just my $.02.

 

[Verticaltrx]

How about keep one of the B's and trade the other for a L3200/3800/4600 DT without a loader? It would be heavier for skidding and most work in the woods doesn't really need a HST. You could add a loader later if you wanted. The tractor we use in the woods is a gear drive and it is fine. I do really like having the little B3200 with HST for other loader work though.

 

[coldfingers]

I think once you get the numbers you will know if you want to do it or not.

 

[Fallon]

I have a L3200hst with loader & R4s. Before I loaded the tires it was noticeably traction limited & had a ballast deficiency for the loader. Now with the tires loaded (still using a box blade as ballast as well) the loader won't make the back end spooky at max lift. The tractor is now HP limited unless it's muddy or slick. If I had it to do over, I might cough up the extra $1k for the extra 6hp.

The new tier 4 tractors are going to be a couple grand more than a L3200/3800. There are insignificant cosmetic changes, obviously the emissions junk & probably a smooth 3pt hitch. The L3200/3800 and several previous generations had a notoriously jerky hitch. Mine is annoying, but liveable.

 

[troutsqueezer]

>I to think there are some "to harsh" members. I was able to read the entire post, did read the entire post and am glad to respond to the post. I also taught College classes for 6 years and a high school class one semester so maybe that helped me to be able to read it without trying to grade it or "teach" English/writing class here on the tractor owners forum. Is that to harsh?
I owned a B7800 for 3 years and did lots of work with it. Decided I needed bigger and more deluxe features after hearing the "bigger is better" puffing for a while. Traded to a Grand L 3240HST+ to do my hillside, rocky, treed, gullied 5 acres. The L weighed twice what the B7800 weighed and the seat on the L was way higher off the ground. The higher off the ground scared me and the same HP for a twice heavier machine was also a disappointment. Hauling (trailering) an L instead of a B was also quit a bit more formidable. After 6 months or so, maybe a year (guess my/you critics have stopped reading by now, due to long paragraph, which is OK with me ) I traded the Grand L3240HST+ to a B3200. I also owned BXs during this time which I used for mowing until I bought my first F mower.
(Next paragraph) The L was a great flatland traction gripping machine. If I plowed flat land, never had to move it from property to property and needed more traction, the L would be the preference. If I was going from a B with 31/32HP to a quite heavier L I'd want to step up to more HP than I did which I see you are proposing/pondering.
(Obviously new paragraph, not sure the last one broke so obviously) Going from 2 tractors to one will also bring some vexing issues. I've owned a couple before to save switching implements and it sure was time and back saving.
OK, grade for spelling? Syntax? Proper grammer? Last of all, by some critics, content. Oops, also clarity? I know the content and clarity doesn't mean much to the "graders" but that's life and the chances one takes when they deal with the anonymous public that aren't dealing with people face to face, just hiding behind a fake name. To harsh again?

John, not bad for a school teacher but I did spot a few areas where something is amiss. I put them in bold but won't go into why they are improper. I didn't evaluate content. No charge for this service. :stirthepot:

 

[namesray]

I went to the dealers today and here is the GOOD, the BAD, and the I STILL DON"T KNOW YET. (sorry up front if post is too long) I tried my best.

THE GOOD>
*I looked both the L3800dt and L3200hst tractors over, starting with the rear end/3ph area. looked quite a bit beefier then the B series. So it should hold up more with the strains of the winch.
*The dealer figured with tires loaded and loader on, the L3200 weighed about 4000lbs, so that is good for winching more firewood logs and pushing and pulling and such. will come in handy over the B series with those long skids out of woods to the landing as I can put more logs behind tractor and make less trips.
*The loader will work better with loading round bails to the wife's horses, as this task maxed out the B7800 and LA402 loader. The loader also has the quick attach for bucket, forks, and snow plow (I think they make a front plow with quick attach), which would all come in handy.

THE BAD>
*Dealer only giving $9,000 for B7800 LA402 loader with 1500 hours and $11,000 for the B3200 with 60" mmm with 500 hours. New L3200 hst with rear remotes and work light will be $24,503. To be quick, I will end up owing $4503 more to Kubota with one heavier, new tractor, then what I owe now with two older, lighter tractors (still only ONE operator most of the time). My payments per month will be less, but over all I spend $4503 more.
*I didn't care for the hood and engine compartment setup. With the hood open, the L series is much more crowded and has more difficult access then the B series.
*Dealer only had a gear L3800 (won't work for me or the wife) so the L3200 is the only choice with this dealer. When I asked about it being a little under powered for the extra 1000lbs, he said it is geared different to accommodate that????(is it)
*The extra weight might work against me when I do some work on lawns.

THE "I DON'T KNOW YET"
*Dealer going to get back to me as to if I can have a demo on my hills and with my 3ph equipment attached to see if it will work good for me. Upon sitting in seat, it was noticeably higher then the B series (made me worry about side hills), but when looking out at the rear tires from the seat it looked/felt stable looking.
*Maintenance on the L will be different and I probable won't know how much I will like it as compared to the B series until I do it for first time.
*Over the years I have become kinda attached to the 2 B tractors I have (as many people do with their equipment I think) and even if the L3200 works out "good" I don't know if I will regret trading those 2 B series tractors in. I do get very indecisive at times. That is why I like TBN.
*I Don't know if I could do better on a private sale of the 2 B tractors and go get the L3200 with some cash to put on it or not. I don't think I have much time, as all dealer is getting in is the new tier 4 engine models and I DO NOT want them at this time.

 

[Fallon]

I paid $24k for my L3200 HST with R4s & a SSQA bucket along with a 5' Land Pride rotary cutter & back blade. Your dealers price seems pretty high compared to mine 8 months ago, but supplies of the non tier 4 machines is getting low.

I later got the tires loaded for $300ish & paid $100 for 4 nice LED lights that took an hour or 2 to install.

I've calculated my tractor at 3,800lbs with loader & bio ballast (not beet juice, but closer to that than calcium) A hair lighter than their estimates by about my fat ***.

 

[Verticaltrx]

I think you should keep at least one of the B's, maybe both. You could look for a used L2800/3400/3700, or maybe keep both and get an old 40hp utility tractor for the woods. You could buy one for the $4500 difference you mentioned and it would pull a lot more than even an L3200/3800.

A few things, having a good amount of experience with both the B3200 and L3200, myself having a B3200 and my parents a L3200. The L3200 is built heavier and is beefier all around. It will pull more, how much I do not know, but not double the amount or anything like that. The loader won't really lift more than the B3200. They are rated about the same and the short wheelbase and longer loader work against the L3200 as far as stability with a heavy load. The L3200 is not underpowered at all. I've used it with a 5' bush hog, 5' tiller and for numerous other task around the farm and it felt to have the same power as my B3200.

Here is some further reading on the subject from a thread a while back (with comparison photos): Difference between B3200 and L3200