New (to me) Kubota

[jotul8e2]

My '01 Kubota L4610 is gone, and an '07 Kubota L4330 is now at home.

With a 1/4 mile hillside double switchback gravel drive to maintain, 65 acres of timber to harvest wood from, and 10 or so acres to bush hog so it will get some use.

Since the 4610 has been gone all winter I had some chores to catch up on, and I cannot believe how much better the l4330 is, in almost every way. The slightly longer wheelbase is noticeably more stable on rough ground, the shuttle transmission control on the floor rather than the steering column is a marvel, and hydraulic controls are dramatically smoother to operate. In theory the 4610 has more hp, but the engine is the same, and the 4330 is longer, wider, heavier, lifts almost the same with the front loader and lifts more than 400 lbs. more on the 3 point.

As a side note, on multiple occasions over the winter while sitting by the stove in a comfortable chair, I asked myself, do I really need 4 wd? I mean, just look at how much less expensive 2 wd units are! Sometimes, just sometimes, I do listen to myself and in an uncommon display of good sense, did buy another 4 wd. And today I would have gotten badly stuck without it, doing a routine task I do a dozen times a year.

 

[BIGChrisNH]

Congrats on the new tractor. That’s awesome. I’d love to have enough land to make a tractor purchase make sense. Enjoy it

 

[Exmasonite]

Congrats on the new tractor. Great call on 4wd!

 

[Woodsplitter67]

I like the kubuta.. Iv had 4. I now have a 2016 4760 4wd enclosed cab with heat and ac. Love it.. it's a good little worker for me.. it's a durable unit. my tires are filled with beet juice for added weight.. are yours filled with juice or calcium

 

[EODMSgt]

Congrats and enjoy. I just upgraded from a 27HP to a 42HP (with cab) last year. Makes life so much easier. As for 4wd, I can't comprehend having a tractor without it but I'm in heavy snow/mud country so that's a big factor.

 

[jotul8e2]

If you look at the fender on the left in the rear view you will see a pretty nifty weatherproof radio installation. Surprisingly, you can actually hear it with the tractor going. Even so, I think it has to go. And I've got to remember to pick up a pair of plugs for the rear remote.

No fluid in the tires in this one. The old one had about 1,000 lbs. of fluid. So the first thing I did was load up the bucket as full as I could with gravel and drive it around. Frankly it seemed to be fine. I think I will get a box blade to help with the driveway maintenance and let that be my ballast.

It has the L853 loader, and it is incredibly capable. I really like the new-to-me float function. It has cruise control, which I think might be useful with the rotary cutter.

I had driven 200 miles to see this, but I was getting ready to walk away as I felt it was overpriced about $1500. But it had about five hours on a full service, there seemed little likelihood of finding another one this clean and with this service history , and it occurred to me that I could easily spend that much money running all over the country looking at tractors.

 

[kennyp2339]

One of the best things I ever did was have my rear tires get filled, I opted for the innertube then calcium, no beat juice in this area which is much more environmentally friendly.

 

[sloeffle]

One of the best things I ever did was have my rear tires get filled, I opted for the innertube then calcium, no beat juice in this area which is much more environmentally friendly.

I agree, I'd spend the money, and get the tires filled.

 

[Exmasonite]

I hemmed and hawed about filling tires on my 35hp LS I got 3.5 years ago. I don't run her a lot (at least compared to others)... maybe 60 hrs a year mowing 4-5 acres of pasture, moving dropped wood and some snow removal. Have had various projects with mulch, some fill dirt and a little gravel to move around.
My problem is that I do like to move mulch around the house and shuttling firewood nearer to the house. If I filled the tires, I am concerned about the damage to the grass.

When using the loader, keep it low, keep the rops engaged, and be smart. I also tend to "pull" plow with the box blade as opposed to pushing the snow so I don't have as much problem plowing.

 

[EODMSgt]

As others have said, I would recommend getting the tires filled. I didn't with my CK27 and used a ballast box however when I upgraded to the DK42, I had the tires filled with beet juice and am glad I did.

 

[sloeffle]

When using the loader, keep it low, keep the rops engaged, and be smart. I also tend to "pull" plow with the box blade as opposed to pushing the snow so I don't have as much problem plowing.

As my buddies dad says "she'll hike her leg up one time on you and you'll wish you would of had your tires filled". Personally, a tractor tipping completely forwards doesn't bug me, it is when they tip side-side or when one of the rear tires gets in the air is when things start to pucker. I got rid of my JD 770 because this happened too many times for my liking.

Bought a Yanmar YT347 with the tires filled ( approx 800lbs ) and it is night and day difference. The dealership I bought my machine from won't sell a new tractor that doesn't have the rear tires filled with beet juice.

 

[jotul8e2]

As my buddies dad says "she'll hike her leg up one time on you and you'll wish you would of had your tires filled".

I had that happen with my previous Kubota which, as noted, had both rear tires filled. What really bothered me about it was the slope angle was so minor that no one would have thought it an issue. I think it was a combination of factors: The ground was uneven enough that I had to raise the bucket up about three feet; I was in reverse making a sharp turn off the dirt onto my gravel drive, and one rear wheel rode up on to the gravel before the other one. She hiked up about six inches on one side and I just dropped the bucket to the ground.

I really notice the longer wheelbase on the new one.

 

[Exmasonite]

Only other thing I will say is that I am lazy and keep my brush hog on the rear end almost exclusively (except in winter when plowing) and I find that acts as a good enough counterweight for me