Friend Wants to Trade....

[OWI77378]

My husband passed away in May, and he/we have a 2007 L5030HST, so its an older tractor but 52hp. I've never really used the tractor, but lately with all the bad weather and having fallen trees, I can see how handy having one can be... so not really planning on selling. We are only on 6 acres (Husband had a deer lease that he used it on). Getting to the point, he has a buddy that is offering to trade for a smaller but newer Kubota. His is a 2018 L3901. What would anyone's thoughts on this trade be. Ours has the LA853 front loader on it, so I have to manually put the forks on which is a pain. His has the quick connect. Should I do it, or is it stupid to give up the bigger tractor?

 

[PaulL]

It's not just that it's bigger, it's that the L5030 is a grand L, so it has quite a lot of additional features than a standard L has.

I personally would rather the older Grand L than the newer standard L. But it all comes down to what you would use it for, and whether it's better for you. I think in sale value the two would be worth similar money, so it's probably not an unfair deal. And if the L3901 does the things you want to do better, then it's a great idea, particularly since it doesn't involve a dealership and selling and buying.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

I would take a L5030 over a L3901 any day of the week!
The L5030 is a lot more tractor, if your good with operating it stay with it!

You can get the SSQA adapter for the loader and make everything easier.

 

[rc51stierhoff]

Good day.

What would be the downside to keeping the L5030 that you have? Or what hoping to gain if you were to trade?

convenience of fork attachment/removal would not be a reason to trade IMO. As Wolfman suggested there is an adapter that could be added.

Those are two pretty different machines IMO. So long as there is not a space constraint to operate, I’d politely question what gaining from a trade. To me it’s sort of like size of cars or a truck. It may seem larger at first (which it is) but with a little time using you will get comfortable with it and not notice.

if not comfortable with operating a tractor in general a smaller machine will not charge that…it might give a false sense of security in a smaller machine but they are just as dangerous. If operator safety is a thought (whether you keep the 5030 or trade down), you might consider to contact local extension service and see if they have an Ag Saftety class for operating machinery near you.

Good luck.

 

[tbk5]

My condolences on the loss of your husband,

I’ll be more direct-the person offering the trade is not a friend. He is taking advantage of the situation. Keep the L5030. It is a better machine all around. Add the quick attach if needed.

 

[Runs With Scissors]

My condolences as well.

Your tractor has the added benefit of not having the complicated emission systems on it.

You simply cannot get a machine that big without the emissions on it any longer.

To a person like me, that has a certain amount of "added value" due to its relative simplicity.

I would keep your tractor and get/add the SSQA adaptor.

Unless there are some "crazy differences" like your machine has 17,000 hours and the 3901 has 25 hours and a warranty, or something like that.

Good luck.

 

[BAP]

My condolences to you. Sounds like your neighbor is trying to take advantage of your situation and loss to be able to get a bigger tractor for nothing. Not only is your tractor bigger, but it is old enough not to have any problematic emissions systems. Could be he has problems with his emissions and wants to use you to get one without emissions for free and dump his problems onto you. If you don’t use your tractor much, then you are going to have problems with owning a tractor with emissions on it.

 

[woodman55]

The L5030 is not a hard tractor to operate. I had a L5030hst with the cab, and my (at the time) 14 year old girl could operate it to feed round bales in the winter. I trained her how to use it and she did well.
If you can get some one, or a training course to learn how to use it better would be a great idea. Plus the extra power and weight of the bigger machine makes doing tasks easier than with the smaller tractor.
I put ice chains on mine front and back, and that made a big difference also, especially on ice.
Converting it over to ssqa will not only make your life easier, it will also increase the valve of the tractor. I would contact a trust worthy field mechanic or welding/fabrication shop about converting it over. Most people cut the mounting ears off their bucket and weld the adapter plate on to in instead of getting a different bucket.

 

[mcfarmall]

I'd tell your neighbor, "No thanks."

 

[mcmxi]

I really hope that @OWI77378 takes the excellent advice given here. I can't stand it when someone gets taken advantage of, even if I don't know the person. Just hearing about this sort of thing makes my blood boil. I've seen it too many times in my life, and heard some boast about the amazing deal they got, and even boasting about how they "stole it".

Condolences to you @OWI77378. I hope you're doing ok. Time doesn't heal anything, we just learn to live with the loss and sadness.

 

[D2Cat]

As most all replied, keep your tractor.

My condolences for the loss of your husband. You have a nice, reliable tractor and keeping it and using it as needed would be a tribute to your husband. Use it with honor!

I would suggest you find someone to give you some lessons on the operation of your tractor so you feel more comfortable operating it. If you want to change the loader attachment procedure, have it modified as suggested above.

Welcome to this forum. Stick around and ask any questions you may have. You will usually get quick, sincere answers. Take some pictures of the tractor of things you're not sure of (so you can post them here), what a lever does, how/when to use it, or anything else. We can help you feel more comfortable using your tractor!!

 

[SDT]

It's not just that it's bigger, it's that the L5030 is a grand L, so it has quite a lot of additional features than a standard L has.

I personally would rather the older Grand L than the newer standard L. But it all comes down to what you would use it for, and whether it's better for you. I think in sale value the two would be worth similar money, so it's probably not an unfair deal. And if the L3901 does the things you want to do better, then it's a great idea, particularly since it doesn't involve a dealership and selling and buying.

I would certainly not make that trade.

 

[PoTreeBoy]

My husband passed away in May, and he/we have a 2007 L5030HST, so its an older tractor but 52hp. I've never really used the tractor, but lately with all the bad weather and having fallen trees, I can see how handy having one can be... so not really planning on selling. We are only on 6 acres (Husband had a deer lease that he used it on). Getting to the point, he has a buddy that is offering to trade for a smaller but newer Kubota. His is a 2018 L3901. What would anyone's thoughts on this trade be. Ours has the LA853 front loader on it, so I have to manually put the forks on which is a pain. His has the quick connect. Should I do it, or is it stupid to give up the bigger tractor?

I'm sorry about your loss. Traditional wisdom is wait a year before making major changes, maybe that applies here.

In the meantime, if you could post pictures of the attachment areas of your tractor, bucket and forks, we could see what you're dealing with. You may have to have 5 postings before you can post pictures, IDK. Or you might PM (OTT calls them conversations) them to me and I'll post them.

 

[hedgerow]

My husband passed away in May, and he/we have a 2007 L5030HST, so its an older tractor but 52hp. I've never really used the tractor, but lately with all the bad weather and having fallen trees, I can see how handy having one can be... so not really planning on selling. We are only on 6 acres (Husband had a deer lease that he used it on). Getting to the point, he has a buddy that is offering to trade for a smaller but newer Kubota. His is a 2018 L3901. What would anyone's thoughts on this trade be. Ours has the LA853 front loader on it, so I have to manually put the forks on which is a pain. His has the quick connect. Should I do it, or is it stupid to give up the bigger tractor?

I am sorry to hear about your husband. I wouldn't make the trade. You know the tractor you have now. I would take the tractor out in open areas and operate it and get used to it. I would look into getting a SSQA adaptor installed on the loader and the plates installed on your current bucket and forks.

 

[OWI77378]

I'm sorry about your loss. Traditional wisdom is wait a year before making major changes, maybe that applies here.

In the meantime, if you could post pictures of the attachment areas of your tractor, bucket and forks, we could see what you're dealing with. You may have to have 5 postings before you can post pictures, IDK. Or you might PM (OTT calls them conversations) them to me and I'll post them.

I first really want to thank everyone for responding... this has been super helpful to make my decision not to trade. I had that feeling, but everyone helped solidify what I was feeling.

I am slowly leaning how to use the tractor... I live in Houston and we just had Hurricane Beryl come through and I had 8 massive trees come down. I had fun running the logs and dumping them in a dumpster and somewhat learned how to use the tractor... in addition to getting it stuck and learning how to use the bucket to get myself out To make everyone laugh, I ran it in its low gear for a week and literally drove .005 miles per hour until someone asked me why I was running it so slow...turns out, it goes faster... I had no idea. I can only imagine what all the tree guys were thinking as I was slowly tooling around getting the logs moved.

This is the only picture I have off hand. When I get home I take pictures and can post the bucket and forks specifically. For the forks he basically ran a threaded rod (probably 2" or so) through the eyelets that are welded at the top of the bucket, rod went through the holes at the top of the forks and then through the eyelets.

for the others comment, I think this tractor has less than 400 hours on it, and its kept as shown in the picture below, not really in my way

 

[woodman55]

I would go through the owners manual if you have one. If not I believe it can be down loaded. Just google it. I believe "kubotabooks.com" is what you want, but I may be off a bit. Once you go through the manual come back here and ask any questions you have, there will lots of good answers.

If you do convert over to ssqa, I would buy a set of forks if you need them. What your husband had worked, but the ssqa version will be much easier to attach.

ssqa, stands for; Skid Steer Quick Attach. it is a universal attachment system widely used on small to mid sized tractors and skid steer loaders where it originally came from.

 

[PoTreeBoy]

I would go through the owners manual if you have one. If not I believe it can be down loaded. Just google it. I believe "kubotabooks.com" is what you want, but I may be off a bit. Once you go through the manual come back here and ask any questions you have, there will lots of good answers.

If you do convert over to ssqa, I would buy a set of forks if you need them. What your husband had worked, but the ssqa version will be much easier to attach.

ssqa, stands for; Skid Steer Quick Attach. it is a universal attachment system widely used on small to mid sized tractors and skid steer loaders where it originally came from.

No Operator Manual at KubotaBooks; however, there is a Workshop Manual WSM. The WSM has a maintenance schedule and the maintenance procedures, but not the operating procedures.

Edit: OP can install the myKubota app, add her model and serial number, and the Op Man is available there.

 

[skeets]

My condolences to you and your family.. And just MHO,, you hubbies buddy is trying to screw you and not in a way you will enjoy

 

[DustyRusty]

My condolences to you and your family.. And just MHO,, you hubbies buddy is trying to screw you and not in a way you will enjoy

I'm not touching this comment with a 100' pole! My fingers are glued to the arms of the chair as soon as I finish typing.

 

[skeets]

Yeah I know that came off a bit curt, but I freekin hate to see someone in grief taken advantage of