I want to buy a Kubota, but....

[famousguy]

I want to buy a Kubota, but I do not know how big I have to go to have one that will do what I need. I want a brand new one. Here is what I need.

FEL
Pallet forks (Need to be able to occasionally lift a 1,000 pound skid off the back of a semi)
Belly Mower
Rear Blade


I guess my biggest concern is how much they will lift with pallet forks on them.

Any help would be great.

Thanks

 

[avi8tor]

I have an L2800 with FEL and the it is supposed to lift just over 1000 lbs. With forks the weight would be further out in front so it would be considerably less. You probably need to talk to a dealer and get their recommendations. I think the L3400 and L4400 would be marginal, while M series would be the better option. It is much better to have a little extra tractor than to not have not quite enough. The M series would be better at handling the weight on the forks. Just my 2 cents.

Oh almost forgot - Welcome to OTT !!!

The guys on here are great and very knowledgeable!!!

 

[doskiez]

I have an L2800 with FEL and the it is supposed to lift just over 1000 lbs. With forks the weight would be further out in front so it would be considerably less. You probably need to talk to a dealer and get their recommendations. I think the L3400 and L4400 would be marginal, while M series would be the better option. It is much better to have a little extra tractor than to not have not quite enough. The M series would be better at handling the weight on the forks. Just my 2 cents.

Oh almost forgot - Welcome to OTT !!!

The guys on here are great and very knowledgeable!!!

Welcome, I am new here myself and have to agree with avi8tor. We just got a new (to us) tractor and it is a little too small for all the things we need. It will do 85-90 percent of what we need, but trust me you will always worry about that 10-15 percent. It is worth it to have a little extra tractor because you never know when you might need that little little extra to get the job done.

 

[skeets]

Get the biggest one you can afford that will do the job,,, after all, Bota's is like bikes,,mine is bigger than yours,,,lol

 

[dusty-t]

A little bit of overkill is best when considering a loader. You plan on lifting only a thousand pounds but at 40 inches from the loader pins that turns into a lot more than a thousand pounds. The extra money for a tractor that will do what you want without straining the snot out of the tractor is well worth it. Just my 1&1/2 cents. Let us know what you get. Dusty

 

[Eric McCarthy]

I say get both a Kubota do to the dirt working and a forklift for the unloading. The thing about a tractor to unload a big rig is you can not side shift the pallets to grab them and take them off the truck, With a forklift the mast will shift side to side to help in geting a pallet. In my experiance a tractor with pallet forks is a nightmare to operate trying to unload a tractor trailer and its a slow going process. You can see what your doing all that well because the forks are alot further away on a tractor then on a forklift.

 

[eserv]

I would recommend one of the MX tractors, probably the MX5100 would be best. It is available in HST or mechanical drive with synco shuttle.
Ed

 

[traildust]

Get the biggest one you can afford that will do the job,,, after all, Bota's is like bikes,,mine is bigger than yours,,,lol

Famousguy - Welcome to the OTT!

Now what ever tractor you end up purchasing, just remember one thing: Keep hands and arms in the vehicle at all times less you end up like our favorite one handed hunting chicken pecker that took an hour to type that quoted post above

 

[Orange Tractors]

I say get both a Kubota do to the dirt working and a forklift for the unloading. The thing about a tractor to unload a big rig is you can not side shift the pallets to grab them and take them off the truck, With a forklift the mast will shift side to side to help in geting a pallet. In my experiance a tractor with pallet forks is a nightmare to operate trying to unload a tractor trailer and its a slow going process. You can see what your doing all that well because the forks are alot further away on a tractor then on a forklift.

I think Eric is correct on this one. By the time you get a tractor that is big enough to comfortably handle a pallet or skid with 1,000 pounds or more on it, it is getting awfully big for a belly mower.

I'm not sure what the models of current Kubota tractors are; but one in the 15-20 HP range will comfortably run a five foot mower. Then get a small (4,000 lb capacity) forklift, it will be so much more efficient and safe when handling material.

Or you could go with a skidsteer Bobcat typeloader with pallet forks; they don't handle pallets as well as a purpose built forklift; but they are better than a tractor. The loader bucket will also move dirt a lot better than a tracors FEL.

Hope this helps,

Robert

 

[Will In Tx]

Tires need to be construction type, no ag./lug tires
If you do move up to M they should have quick attchment for forks

3 1/2 cents

 

[Sam427]

You would be pushing your luck with the L3400, it might unload 1000 pounds out of a truck, and might not. Certainly the MX5100 would do the job as suggested above. The L3400 will do allot of work though, I have an L3410 GST and I am amazed at what it has done. My tires are filled and I have scooped up a full bucket of dirt in the past and had the back tires bob off the ground when I hit a bump.

 

[Orange Tractors]

Sam427 brings up a valid point -- balance and weight. When moving material, the machine is safer and more stable the lower the weight is. Inother words don't run around with a full pallet high enough to load on a truck, keep it within a foot of the ground.


Robert

 

[Bulldog]

Do the pallets that you plan on unloading have the 1000 lb weight all contained on the pallet or does it hang off the side as well? As some of the others have said the farther away from the arms the weight is the harder it will be to lift. I have a L 3000 DT with forks for it. 1000 lbs is not a problem to lift as long as it doesn't stick out to far. I asked my dealer before I bought my forks about being able to lift rolls of hay if I needed to. They told me that it may be able to pick the bale up high enough to move it but that would be about it. That wasn't my main use for the forks so I got them on order. I can't do much with high moisture silage bales but normal grass 4x5 rolls it does fine with. The biggest thing is trying to keep the rear tires on the ground. I keep my 5 1/2' bushhog box scrape on the back for a counter weight. This works just fine. I mowe my grass with a 72" bushhog finishing mower. I can certainly understand you wanting to have one machine to handle your needs. It may not be the best choice for every situation but from the way you described what you want to do I wouldn't hesitate to jump right on this chore with my 32HP L 3000. The one thing I would make a requirement on the tractor I bought would be 4WD. Having 4WD would insure that you never had a lack of traction issue.

Money is to hard to come by and having one machine for each job is hard to justify in my world. I am a firm believer in multi tasking.

 

[KubotaTech]

If you want a loader and mower, I think the biggest you could get is a L5740. I dont think a mid mount mower can be put on an M- I could be wrong. A quick hitch for the loader could be a good idea, so you can easily change the forks and bucket back and forth.

 

[Bulldog]

My L 3000 has a quick hitch on it. It;s a Kubota design and I like it even better than the skid steer type. It doesn't have any moving parts to wear out. I have pics in my gallery.

 

[traildust]

Bulldog, great pictures you posted.

This one is what it's all about and I'm sure you are very proud!

 

[Bulldog]

You hit that one on the head. Proud poppa for sure. That little fellow was ready for bed at the end of that day. He took a few breaks and got my wife to take over for him. She spread dirt for me as well but we put 130 loads down that day.

 

[traildust]

And a proud poppa you should be

I'm sure he was beat after doing enough tractor work to help move 130 loads. What a trooper!

 

[Bulldog]

He's a big help around here for sure. He is a little shy on anything new that he lacks confidence in so he don't want people around watching. He had been on everything from a B 7100 to a 120,000 lb Komatsu loader and everything in between. He should be a good operator when he gets older. I've done my best to teach him the right way.