I certainly appreciate all the comments, insight, and suggestions. I put my order in for an L2501 with quick disconnect bucket and BH77 backhoe. I also purchased the HD25 hydraulic auger but opted to rent the bit as the 9" bit from Landpride is $379.00. I can rent several bits for that price. Anyway, the guy in Cedar City was just too green a salesman for me so I opted to buy from Cameron in St. George. I believe he treated me fairly so now it's just a matter of waiting until around mid October before the various parts of the unit arrive in St. George and they put it all together and call me to pick it up. If any of you are in the St. George area, there is a great place to rent a BX 25 there. The business is called Affordable Tractor Rental and you can find him on Craigslist when searching St. George. At $80 per day including the trailer, you can't beat it. Cheers all! george
L2501 or bigger?
- Thread starter greeninfarming
- Start date
I have owned a L2501 for almost 2 years now, w/~300 hours. Also a BX25 TLB and I just bought a T2290 mower. I own an RV Park on the ocean and keep building out. The L2501 is really a work horse that sips fuel and keeps on ticking. I like the weight of the L-series. I too bought this because of the potential future larger engine emissions issues. I saw that crazy huge exhaust manifold on the larger engines and figured it would be a $5000 issue sometime in the future. Now I dont have to worry about that.
The L2501 is decent quality but not exactly where a premium brand tractor should be. There are a few items that bug me: the china hose fittings are garbage as well as the hydraulic hoses that are made in the Philippines. I have gone through 4 hoses so far and replaced them all with Aeroquip hoses. Some things were not designed well - ie: things like the quick disconnect hose fittings that attach to the BH are hard up against the PTO guard. The rear diff lock foot engage arm is just about useless with a big rubber boot full of muck. That needs to be a hand lever (but I guess they dont want us dummies leaving it engaged). I may weld a steel plate on it. The grill guard has to be tilted forward to open the hood and the hood goes up to about a 60deg angle - pretty much useless to access anything in the engine area. This is a very poor design. The ROPS bolts are difficult to remove/install in a hurry to drop the hoop. That needs a redesign.
IMO, I think Kubota spent a lot more time designing the BX25. I think the future replacement for the L-series needs much more attention to the smaller items. Its these smaller items that drive people to the point of looking at other brands. Anyway, generally I am happy with the performance of the L2501. Would I buy another one? - probably not. Next time I will do more research on other models.
The L2501 is decent quality but not exactly where a premium brand tractor should be. There are a few items that bug me: the china hose fittings are garbage as well as the hydraulic hoses that are made in the Philippines. I have gone through 4 hoses so far and replaced them all with Aeroquip hoses. Some things were not designed well - ie: things like the quick disconnect hose fittings that attach to the BH are hard up against the PTO guard. The rear diff lock foot engage arm is just about useless with a big rubber boot full of muck. That needs to be a hand lever (but I guess they dont want us dummies leaving it engaged). I may weld a steel plate on it. The grill guard has to be tilted forward to open the hood and the hood goes up to about a 60deg angle - pretty much useless to access anything in the engine area. This is a very poor design. The ROPS bolts are difficult to remove/install in a hurry to drop the hoop. That needs a redesign.
IMO, I think Kubota spent a lot more time designing the BX25. I think the future replacement for the L-series needs much more attention to the smaller items. Its these smaller items that drive people to the point of looking at other brands. Anyway, generally I am happy with the performance of the L2501. Would I buy another one? - probably not. Next time I will do more research on other models.
I just finished dropping the L2501 into this table that I had of the smaller Kubota models. http://www.orangetractortalks.com/forums/showthread.php
The L2501 isn't a model we get in NZ - we get a smaller lineup, presumably because Kubota don't want to carry spare parts for 100 models - so I've never seen one in the flesh. I was quite surprised that many of it's capacities are somewhere between the B2601 and the B2650, and I already knew it was more of a budget tractor than the BX and B models, which are quite focused on ergonomics and the like.
My assessment was that unless your application really needs weight, most of the other specs you can get in a B2650 (some of them even in a B2601).
The L2501 isn't a model we get in NZ - we get a smaller lineup, presumably because Kubota don't want to carry spare parts for 100 models - so I've never seen one in the flesh. I was quite surprised that many of it's capacities are somewhere between the B2601 and the B2650, and I already knew it was more of a budget tractor than the BX and B models, which are quite focused on ergonomics and the like.
My assessment was that unless your application really needs weight, most of the other specs you can get in a B2650 (some of them even in a B2601).
Thanks for the advice, Bruce. I don't plan on digging out any trees. There are a few suitable cleared areas on our 20 acres for house, RV pad, and a couple of acres to plant. Your tractor looks awesome and I'm glad you are enjoying it. I pass Mesquite everytime I head to Cedar so I know approximately where you are. I'm anxious to get mine and hope their prediction of October isn't off my much. I'd hate to wait 3 months like you did.
George