Upgrading to L39 or L48?

[Doug Sinjem]

Found this forum when I was doing research. So this is my first post. Currently I own a 3130 hst(265 hours) with front loader, BH90 and three way gannon. It's been a great tractor but I need to up grade. I need a bigger loader and bigger backhoe. My use is primary for home construction...footings, trenching, grading etc. I've narrowed it down to the l39 or l48.

What I like about the L39 is the low center of gravity which is especially good for digging footings on hillsides etc. I'm not sure if the GST is a plus? I have used a shuttle transmission on full size Ford skip loaders and the seem to work well. The L39 only has a few more hp than my current 3130 so that was my thinking for also considering the L48 because of the higher hp. In comparing the l39 and l48 the capacities on the hoe and loader aren't that much different with the edge going to the L48. I would think for loader work the HST would be better than the GST. Again I do like the compact size of the L39 for getting into tight places and am wondering if the L48 is getting too big.

Any help, comments or advice would be appreciated. My salesman has an L39 on the lot and says he can still get a leftover new L48. But I need to sell my 3130 first. Btw the BH90 on my 3130 is a pretty good hoe overall and very well balanced on the tractor. But for what I do the LA723 FEL just doesn't have enough capacity.


Doug

 

[MarkV]

Hi Doug welcome to the forum. I have an L39 with about 300 hours on it at this point. If I were in your position I would be looking at the L59 rather than considering the L48. The L48 is a great tractor from what owners say here on the forum but the difference in capacities between it and the L39 just were not enough for me to pay the extra price for the HST tranny. Now before we start a gear verses HST thing, I like HST and have it on another tractor we own. If I were buying today, now that the L48 has been discontinued , it may be there are some deals out there that would have changed my mind. At the time I was buying there was a 10K difference and that was too much for me.

The L39 may only have a few more hp than your 3130 but there is a big difference. It is all about hydraulics and weight when you talk loader capacity and backhoe. I think if you compare those numbers you will get a better comparison between the two than you will comparing horsepower.

Good luck on your hunt and let us know what you decide.

MarkV

 

[Doug Sinjem]

Hi Doug welcome to the forum. I have an L39 with about 300 hours on it at this point. If I were in your position I would be looking at the L59 rather than considering the L48. The L48 is a great tractor from what owners say here on the forum but the difference in capacities between it and the L39 just were not enough for me to pay the extra price for the HST tranny. Now before we start a gear verses HST thing, I like HST and have it on another tractor we own. If I were buying today, now that the L48 has been discontinued , it may be there are some deals out there that would have changed my mind. At the time I was buying there was a 10K difference and that was too much for me.

The L39 may only have a few more hp than your 3130 but there is a big difference. It is all about hydraulics and weight when you talk loader capacity and backhoe. I think if you compare those numbers you will get a better comparison between the two than you will comparing horsepower.

Good luck on your hunt and let us know what you decide.

MarkV

Thanks for your input MarkV. I saw the M59..too expensive and too big. If I need a hoe the big I can rent one. I still want to stay somewhat compact and that why I was leaning towards the L39. I also like the low center of gravity for those hillside jobs. I also am not crazy about buying a tractor that's been discontinued(L48). I guess when you get right down to it your right, I am looking for bigger capacity and bigger hydraulics like they offer on the L39.


Doug

 

[Chuck K.]

Thanks for your input MarkV. I saw the M59..too expensive and too big. If I need a hoe the big I can rent one. I still want to stay somewhat compact and that why I was leaning towards the L39. I also like the low center of gravity for those hillside jobs. I also am not crazy about buying a tractor that's been discontinued(L48). I guess when you get right down to it your right, I am looking for bigger capacity and bigger hydraulics like they offer on the L39.


Doug

Really tough choice IMHO.. I started out with the L3400 and LA463 loader. The loader was far to weak for me.. I was looking hard at L-39 impressive FEL and BH numbers but did not like the ~32 PTO hP. The new HST plus is truely awesome after test driving one at a local dealer.. I ended up with L5240 with with Woods BH90x.. The 90x is an improvement over the little BH-75 but not as much as I expected. As luck would have it months after my purchase out comes the M59 dont know if I could swing the additional money but its a mute point at this time. The LA-854 FEL does a good job but still wish I had a little more at times.. Best of luck what ever route you take..

Chuck.

 

[Charlesaf3]

I don't find the M59 to be too big, its really not a whole lot "bigger" feeling than my B3030. And it hugs the side of the hills I'm on beautifully with loaded tires.

And I love the heavy duty loader. Spread 20 tons of gravel nicely yesterday in an hour and a half. Then raked it with the b3030, and it was beautiful, and quick.

 

[bandit67]

Blah, blah, blah, my new M59 this, and my old reliable B3030 that.

Give me a break! Mr. I'm not a contractor, but I have all this cool equipment.

Quit bragging, pal!

 

[Carpenter]

Doug,

I was in the same position as you a couple of months ago. I was able to demo an L48 and L39 and ended up with the L39. The L48 was a great machine but I wouldn't have been able to haul it with my current PU and trailer and it was hard to find a used one in my area. I bought a new L39 @ 0% for 42 months because it penciled out about the same as the used ones I looked at.

So far I've dug up and removed a 400 gal. fuel oil tank, replaced a septic tank, removed apple tree stumps from the orchard, repaired a broken water line and have moved a bunch of dirt and gravel. I'm happy with it so far.

The advantages of the L48, IMHO, would be it's greater weight (except for towing) as the L39 can be dragged around by the hoe and the HST vs GST. I've used HST for the last 7 years and the GST has taken some getting used to.

I don't think you'd go wrong with either. The L39 just happened to fit my needs and finances better at this time .

 

[Chato]

Doug, I'm new to the forum too. Looks like many experienced folks here.

When I bought my L39 three years ago like you, I considered the 48 but decided on the L39 because it offered just about as much, cheaper and the L39's hydraulics cinched it for me.

I use my L39 in very rough country. It's a first class and durable tractor hands down. While I'm trading it with 240 hours on a nw M59 (better/heavier machine for tight back country work), I wouldn't hesitate recommending the L39 to anyone. Easy to service and so far has good resale market in the SW.

 

[Charlesaf3]

just the truth bandit!

And I was going to get rid of the 3030 until the people on this site convinced me the only sane thing was to keep it... my gf remains unconvinced that this is a sign of sanity, but then she's hard pressed to say anything I do is a sign of sanity...

 

[Doug Sinjem]

Thanks for all the input. It's going to be a tough decision to make. Guess I'm going to have to make a pro and con list between the l39 and m59. Need to sell my 3130 first.

Doug

 

[SkyPup]

As much as I love the GST tranny on my L-39, if I were working in hills and slopes, the HST of the L-48 would be safer to use.

 

[_RaT_]

As much as I love the GST tranny on my L-39, if I were working in hills and slopes, the HST of the L-48 would be safer to use.

Skypup brings up an interesting point. For super safe crawling around on hills, I don't know how you beat HST. On the otherhand, if I was looking at TLB's, I would be going for the L39. I owned the L48 and found its shortcomings something of an issue. I sold it hoping no one else knew about the L48's "issues". I liked the L48 but the HST range is terrible. There have been plenty of arguments here about it, but, in my opinion the HST range of medium is waaaaaaay to slow. H is way to high so you suffer with plenty of power and no ground speed in M, the typically range for most use's. If all you do is hoe work, I think the L48 would be fine. It has some huge positives. It has thicker steel everywhere, lower links that really attach to beef, tons of L range power and plenty of hoe and loader. If the M range on the HST was higher or better yet, there was a L, M, MH, H, the L48 would be king. The engine is superb, the loader strong and the comfort fit great. I know nothing about the M59.

 

[Chato]

As to your question about the M59, I spent yesterday working a rocky canyon climbing road, often at pretty steep angles. The tractor spends 100% of its time off road.

IMO the 59 did a better job than the 39. Faster, easier and I definitely felt more secure when I was off center.

The 59s' climbing and descending travel speed in rough country was choppy. In Auto Throttle and "M", I have to work the pedal to smooth out the ride. If I set the auto thottle to Off and manually set the tractor speed it rode better. I would agree, "M"'s speed range is a little narrow on the high side but on uneven ground it's fine.

 

[Builder]

Thanks for your input MarkV. I saw the M59..too expensive and too big. If I need a hoe the big I can rent one. I still want to stay somewhat compact and that why I was leaning towards the L39. I also like the low center of gravity for those hillside jobs. I also am not crazy about buying a tractor that's been discontinued(L48). I guess when you get right down to it your right, I am looking for bigger capacity and bigger hydraulics like they offer on the L39.


Doug

You'll probably like it as long as the jobs stay small. I started with full size rentals, then bought a Ford 555 4x4 (7 years), then bought an L-35 (6 years), then an L-39 (1.5 years), then my Case 580. Just try to think about the future and buy the machine that fits today and tomorrow's needs. After owning the L-39 for a year, I knew it was overmatched, but it was a nice little machine. I like the L-48's tougher armor. The L-39 has some delicate areas, like the hood and side mount intellipanel that were worrisome at times.

I'm thinking about a 10K min-ex with a cab and a 75HP 4x4 cab utility to replace the Case now.

 

[Gamer1524]

Not to cloud the issue here...but the L4400 will give you the power you are looking for and they offer and HSt model now...just another option

 

[Doug Sinjem]

Not to cloud the issue here...but the L4400 will give you the power you are looking for and they offer and HSt model now...just another option

Gamer the problem is the loader capacity is not up to par with the L39. Lift capacity at pivot pin on the L39 is #2767 and the loader on the L4400 LA703a is #1818. Same with the backhoe specs. The L39 is more of a dedicated machine.

Doug

 

[Doug Sinjem]

You'll probably like it as long as the jobs stay small. I started with full size rentals, then bought a Ford 555 4x4 (7 years), then bought an L-35 (6 years), then an L-39 (1.5 years), then my Case 580. Just try to think about the future and buy the machine that fits today and tomorrow's needs. After owning the L-39 for a year, I knew it was overmatched, but it was a nice little machine. I like the L-48's tougher armor. The L-39 has some delicate areas, like the hood and side mount intellipanel that were worrisome at times.

I'm thinking about a 10K min-ex with a cab and a 75HP 4x4 cab utility to replace the Case now.

Builder I here you. I have looked at and considered the M59....that is the whole problem, if I knew what I was going to need in the future, no problem. Not exactly sure where my business is going to take me. Especially since the economy for constrution(concrete) is in a huge slump. I guess whatever I go with I can upgrade again in the future.

Doug

 

[Doug Sinjem]

You'll probably like it as long as the jobs stay small. I started with full size rentals, then bought a Ford 555 4x4 (7 years), then bought an L-35 (6 years), then an L-39 (1.5 years), then my Case 580. Just try to think about the future and buy the machine that fits today and tomorrow's needs. After owning the L-39 for a year, I knew it was overmatched, but it was a nice little machine. I like the L-48's tougher armor. The L-39 has some delicate areas, like the hood and side mount intellipanel that were worrisome at times.

I'm thinking about a 10K min-ex with a cab and a 75HP 4x4 cab utility to replace the Case now.

Builder I here you. I have looked at and considered the M59....that is the whole problem, if I knew what I was going to need in the future, no problem. Not exactly sure where my business is going to take me. Especially since the economy for constrution(concrete) is in a huge slump. I guess whatever I go with I can upgrade again in the future.

Doug

 

[Builder]

Builder I here you. I have looked at and considered the M59....that is the whole problem, if I knew what I was going to need in the future, no problem. Not exactly sure where my business is going to take me. Especially since the economy for constrution(concrete) is in a huge slump. I guess whatever I go with I can upgrade again in the future.

Doug

With my situation, it changes from one job to the next. One job will have a small crawlspace foundation, next one is a whole house foundation.

Sometimes I think it would be better to rent the piece I dig with and just keep a decent sized utility tractor for truck loading, blading, raking, backfilling, etc.

I really hate the thought of selling my CASE and I probably won't, but the thought has crossed my mind. Compared to the compact utility tractors and weighing in at 18,000lbs, it's a total beast. The difference is not only the size, but the stability and the hydraulics, but selling used equipment is about the worst situation to be in right now.

 

[Doug Sinjem]

With my situation, it changes from one job to the next. One job will have a small crawlspace foundation, next one is a whole house foundation.

Sometimes I think it would be better to rent the piece I dig with and just keep a decent sized utility tractor for truck loading, blading, raking, backfilling, etc.

I really hate the thought of selling my CASE and I probably won't, but the thought has crossed my mind. Compared to the compact utility tractors and weighing in at 18,000lbs, it's a total beast. The difference is not only the size, but the stability and the hydraulics, but selling used equipment is about the worst situation to be in right now.

My job situation changes too. Whatever I get either the L39 or M59 I want to be able to be able to transport easily and still maintain being compact. I guess if I need a bigger tractor I can rent whatever I need.

Doug