Which tractor should I wait 10 months for?

[drivefly44]

Hello there. Looking for some guidance and opinions on which tractor to purchase as I've approached paralysis through analysis by way of online research, 100's of YouTube videos, etc. But I've found online forums like this helpful in making an important decision for a piece of equipment I hope to have for 25 years but costs 10x more than the car I drive!

We have a 20 acre mountain property at 4,000ft elevation with a mile dirt/gravel road. Some of the intended uses are:

Maintaining gravel road
Building retaining walls
Snow Plow (we average 75" per year and just got 4 feet over Christmas)
Grading land around house for garage and/or storage sheds
Removing smaller trees/stumps
Hauling and harvesting wood (cedar, oak)
Trenching for irrigation for small family orchard
General land/property maintenance

The slope around our house I estimate in the 15-25 degree range with other parts steeper (where I don't intend to take the tractor). I've decided I want a cab for a variety of reasons and thought a wider tractor would be best for stability and safety (along with spacers and/or filled tires). Neighbor next to me has a L3560HSTC and seems to be satisfied with his. Like many suggest and abide by, I'd like to go as large as I can afford (which might have changed with price increase 1/1/22).

I'm well aware of the current shortage and potential wait times if I have to order one. I plan on heading down to a dealer (2 hours away) next week and I want to make good use of the time to make some decisions. Being that their lot is empty, I won't be able to have any hands on experience with the different models and attachments. Only will be able to look at the glossy brochures.

Planning on some kind of box scraper and also a front snow plow blade (will get 3rd function).

Anyone have any thoughts on what might a good fit for me? I've been concentrating on units in the 30-40hp range Thanks .

 

[MOOTS]

Sounds like you have it pretty narrowed down. L60 series will get you the cab, just pick the HP you need 35,40,47. The MX is the next size up that offers a cab with 54 or 60 HP.

 

[jimh406]

I think the L60 would be a good choice with a front mounted snowblower and mid-PTO. Cab would be nice, but not necessarily required. Otherwise, I would think about what attachments you would use. MX is out for a front mounted snowblower with no mid-PTO, but could work with a rear one. I'd definitely lean toward a snowblower of some type with that much snow.

 

[drivefly44]

I think the L60 would be a good choice with a front mounted snowblower and mid-PTO. Cab would be nice, but not necessarily required. Otherwise, I would think about what attachments you would use. MX is out for a front mounted snowblower with no mid-PTO, but could work with a rear one. I'd definitely lean toward a snowblower of some type with that much snow.

Thanks for commenting. It appears the L60 is going to be a good fit. What do you think about snowblower versus blade considering we have a long dirt/gravel driveway?

 

[jimh406]

Thanks for commenting. It appear the L60 is going to be a good fit. What do you think about snowblower versus blade considering we have a long dirt/gravel driveway?

I have a L2501, and handle the snow for my 1/4 mile gravel driveway along with about 1/2 mile down to the "maintained" part of the community road. I have a RB2684. It works pretty well although keeping it wide enough is an issue, and that's why I suggested a snow blower.

 

[mcmxi]

@drivefly44,
I'm in a similar situation being on 20 acres at 3,200 ft elevation with many of the same tasks to accomplish. I would get the most hp you can afford and never look back.

I have a friend that has an L4060 and it struggles on his long, windy and in places fairly steep driveway. He often mentions that he should have opted for the L6060 but the local dealer only had the 4060 available and there was a long lead time for the 6060. Seriously, get a four cylinder engine and nothing smaller than an MX5400 or L5460. Given the marginal price difference between the MX5400 and MX6000 I would get an MX6000 HSTC and never look back, or better yet, an L6060 and laugh at the MX6000 owners!

Just my $0.02 as an owner of a MX6000 HST since February 2021 (101 hours) and an MX6000 HSTC since December 23rd, 2021 with almost 20 hours of seat time already. Both tractors showed up with about an hour on the meter so the hours in the seat have given me a pretty good appreciation for what these tractors are capable of. I run a 7ft rotary cutter, box blade, land leveller, rear blade, front snow blade, rear snow blower, HD bucket, rock bucket, pallet forks and a grapple. I also pull a 10'x5' single axle PJ dump trailer behind the tractors and would not want a smaller tractor for any of those tasks.

Good luck in your decision, and unfortunately the prices jumped up January 1st so you'll be paying a bit more now.

 

[dgtvrpepair]

I have a L4760hstc cab tractor. It is more than capable of your needs, although you can never have too mush horse power. If funds are capable go with the l6060hstc cab. Coming from an L3540hstc I would not recommend the L3560, not enough horse power for the size of the tractor. The L4060 should be fine also.

 

[fried1765]

@drivefly44,
I'm in a similar situation being on 20 acres at 3,200 ft elevation with many of the same tasks to accomplish. I would get the most hp you can afford and never look back.

I have a friend that has an L4060 and it struggles on his long, windy and in places fairly steep driveway. He often mentions that he should have opted for the L6060 but the local dealer only had the 4060 available and there was a long lead time for the 6060. Seriously, get a four cylinder engine and nothing smaller than an MX5400 or L5460. Given the marginal price difference between the MX5400 and MX6000 I would get an MX6000 HSTC and never look back, or better yet, an L6060 and laugh at the MX6000 owners!

Just my $0.02 as an owner of a MX6000 HST since February 2021 (101 hours) and an MX6000 HSTC since December 23rd, 2021 with almost 20 hours of seat time already. Both tractors showed up with about an hour on the meter so the hours in the seat have given me a pretty good appreciation for what these tractors are capable of. I run a 7ft rotary cutter, box blade, land leveller, rear blade, front snow blade, rear snow blower, HD bucket, rock bucket, pallet forks and a grapple. I also pull a 10'x5' single axle PJ dump trailer behind the tractors and would not want a smaller tractor for any of those tasks.

Good luck in your decision, and unfortunately the prices jumped up January 1st so you'll be paying a bit more now.

Per: drivefly44...... "get the most hp you can afford".

Best advice ever, for a long windy/steep driveway at 3,200 feet!
Learn from your neighbor's mistake!
L6060!
The old adage is: "Buy enough tractor!"

 

[JimmyJazz]

I agree with all said in that you will need more than 40 hp. I "perform" similar tasks on my mountain property and would not want anything smaller. I tip my hat to your forthcoming manly pursuit. Make sure to "invest" in a new flannel shirt or two. Maybe a snakebite kit. Good luck ! Send pictures.

 

[MBinPA]

Congrats can't go wrong with Kubota. I ordered my L3901 Feb. 2021 and took delivery in July. I have 12 acres and have very little level ground. I could not imagine having a larger tractor, as I am very careful negotiating the hills. I need the horsepower for using the box blade and rotary cutter, but really I could have done just as well with a B or LX model. I use it mainly for cutting trails and light logging. Tough decision but you will find one and keep coming back to the same model. I tell my wife I got the bigger tractor for a chick magnet, lol.
Good luck!

 

[jyoutz]

I live at 6,000’ elevation. My turbocharged MX6000 is never lacking power to do anything I need to do.

 

[Brian H]

Another vote for the Mx6000. It should be cheaper than a Grand L. Most importantly get R1 tires for your uses. Traction sucks with R4s.

 

[rc51stierhoff]

Hello there. Looking for some guidance and opinions on which tractor to purchase as I've approached paralysis through analysis by way of online research, 100's of YouTube videos, etc. But I've found online forums like this helpful in making an important decision for a piece of equipment I hope to have for 25 years but costs 10x more than the car I drive!

We have a 20 acre mountain property at 4,000ft elevation with a mile dirt/gravel road. Some of the intended uses are:

Maintaining gravel road
Building retaining walls
Snow Plow (we average 75" per year and just got 4 feet over Christmas)
Grading land around house for garage and/or storage sheds
Removing smaller trees/stumps
Hauling and harvesting wood (cedar, oak)
Trenching for irrigation for small family orchard
General land/property maintenance

The slope around our house I estimate in the 15-25 degree range with other parts steeper (where I don't intend to take the tractor). I've decided I want a cab for a variety of reasons and thought a wider tractor would be best for stability and safety (along with spacers and/or filled tires). Neighbor next to me has a L3560HSTC and seems to be satisfied with his. Like many suggest and abide by, I'd like to go as large as I can afford (which might have changed with price increase 1/1/22).

I'm well aware of the current shortage and potential wait times if I have to order one. I plan on heading down to a dealer (2 hours away) next week and I want to make good use of the time to make some decisions. Being that their lot is empty, I won't be able to have any hands on experience with the different models and attachments. Only will be able to look at the glossy brochures.

Planning on some kind of box scraper and also a front snow plow blade (will get 3rd function).

Anyone have any thoughts on what might a good fit for me? I've been concentrating on units in the 30-40hp range Thanks .

Do you have any specific criteria or spec for how much you want to be able to lift with a loader? Seems from the description weight will be pretty important for traction. Also seems like snow removal could be pretty important in an emergency situation with what you describe. I am not familiar with mountain property management but I am familiar with forested properties. I suspect you may have trees to go with all that snow? And long drive/elevation. At least for me I’d be thinking about how to make it easiest for spousal unit to open the drive up in a storm if I am hurt or need hospital. I think size and weight is the answer, but I really don’t understand do you have suffienciet room to manuver a large tractor with a loader and snow blower on? If you have large trees along the drive and road think about if you cut each end how much log someone needs to move to open the drive or road? In emergency you’d want to make it quick work. If you are not set on HST then maybe sneak a peak at an M. I stopped at MX as I wanted the MX for spouse to be able to operate safely. Otherwise I would have thought about more of a mid size unit. Depending on the snowblower you want to use, I’d think you want to be in the upper range of the PTO HP range. Just my thoughts….site unseen spending someone else’s money, yeah I’d be drooling on an M4.

 

[NHSleddog]

From a tractor, snow blowing or plowing will be a job for a mile long road. Personally, I would plow the road at 25MPH with the truck and clean up/stack/push back with the tractor.

Sounds like a sweet property, good luck with your new machine. I have never run a kubota I didn't like.