Lx 4020 rops or cab (or 3520 cab)

[MartyTractor]

Considering cab versus open station for LX 4020. Live in SW virginia, Appalachian mountains. Cab with AC and heat sounds nice. Also no bugs or dust and not getting sunburn/skin cancer. Will spend 50-60% mowing 6 acres. Rest grapple work clearing out edge of woods and hoping to get a wood chipper to make mulch. Also tilling garden yearly. Plan to also fence in 10 acres or so with post hole digger. Also have 500 feet driveway to plow when we get snow. Also considered using square baler with the 4020.

I like the middle mount mower as I have many Christmas trees and fruit trees to mow around.

I currently have a BX and feel it’s a little tippy for loader work along my woodline as it’s on a hill. 20-25 degrees steepest hills at most but can go up and down most of the hills and don’t have to do much side hill driving. My concern would be that the cab model is significantly less stable than rops. Anyone have any thoughts. Either way would fill tires and likely get the oversized R14s as the larger tires are also 2.6” wider or so which is basically like wheel spacers.

Looking for people to steer me one way or another. Cost isn’t issue but if someone can convince me the 3520 is just as good wouldnt mind saving money, but doubt it can run a baler. Thanks

 

[BBFarmer]

Get that cab brother! Life is so much better with one... at least for me down here in the dirty south.

 

[S-G-R]

Another cab vote and go with the most pto hp you can afford.

 

[bobnic]

I bought an LX4020 cab last year and kept my BX2370 mainly for mowing and working in tight spaces. I love having the cab on the LX4020, bug free and cool in the summer and warm and dry when snow blowing in the winter. I also have the oversize R14 tires and they are filled. All that said, I would rate the "tippyness" of both tractors to be about the same. An LX4020 ROPS with the same filled tires would obviously be less tippy, but also less comfortable in the heat of summer and the cold of winter.

 

[GrumpyFarmer]

Good day.

I had a BX before I had a B (and also have an MX).

Both the B and the BX run out of traction before they run out of power. IMO the upgrade to the B was not much of an upgrade. Sure the B weighs a little more, as a percentage, but not really much when it comes to ability to push / pull or lift. Sure it lifts more as a percentage, but not much more in actual weight if consider how many more blocks on a pallet or bags of feed. It looks like an LX can lift a bit more, but if the machine doesn’t weigh much more that means gonna need to consider how you ballast if you need that much lift. (LX to me seems like a B with a heavier frame, lots more HP and some marginal lift - but I don’t understand that it weighs significantly more to be able to pull or lift much more safely without quite a bit of ballast - I don’t know that to be a fact as I don’t have one and have not operated one…this is just based on using a B regularly)

To me the B offers more ground clearance and slightly marginal more lift. However I believe the BX had a lower center of gravity and more stable. My B does bog down/lug engine going up steep hills when using the PTO…so an LX with more power may have a significant advantage here, especially with an HST, which imo have a felt loss of of power going up a hill relative to a geared machine…it’s a belly rub opinion, I don’t have a reasonable way to prove that but I believe an HST has a 15-20ish percent felt loss when it lugs.

my recommendation would be to first decide want a cab or not. Then if not happy with the traction you have need to upsize based on weight of the machine you’d like to have for your tasks.

I think the LX would offer significant increase from a PTO application. If really need a 35 or 40hp machine why not look at an L, unless working in really tight quarters or really want a mid pto? IMO the standard Ls are much more tractor for the $ and I believe can get a cab in a 3560. Just a thought. (If need the HP an LX offers, do you need the weight to go with it or just need more power for PTO application?)

I’ll probably always have a B or maybe eventually a small L…I really like the ease of install and service of a 3pt cutter. Looking back I should have either have kept the BX (and never bought the B) or I should have started with a standard L and enjoyed a rear mower. (I wanted the MMM)

not sure that helps or not, but I would believe the LX (sure it weighs a couple more pounds)to be very similar to the B and would most likely run out of traction before it runs out of power.

I’d recommend if think want a LX ask your dealer if you can demo one where you use your BX and make sure it meets your expectation. JMHO

happy shopping. Send us some pics.

 

[chim]

Lots of cab/no cab discussions. I wouldn't be without a cab.

With regard to working in tight quarters, reviewing specs can be valuable. Below is part of a post of mine from a while back after using the L4240 and thinking it felt more nimble than the L3200 it replaced. After buying the 4240 the 3200 stayed around for a year, so it was easy to do comparisons:

"The size of the tractor had little to do with the turning radius on three of my tractors. Quote from a post of mine some time ago. The radius (actually diameter) was measured from the inside of the rear when turning in a circle. Shoved a stick in the ground at the rear tire, then drove from 3:00 to 9:00 and measured from stick to tire:

I SUSPECTED the tightest turning tractor of mine would be the Ford 1210. Then the L3200 and L4240 would follow in that order. Measuring from the face of the rear tire at 3:00 and 9:00 with the steering to full lock surprised me. The L4240 was 71", the 1210 was 80" and the L3200 was 98".

I've only used RFM's for 30 years. To mow around trees and things it's easy to swerve and leave very little uncut."

 

[PaulL]

I thought the larger tires weren't compatible with the mower - one or the other. They interfere when you turn sharply I believe. So if the reason for the LX is the MMM, then the larger tires may be a no go.

Spacers are important if you care about stability. I don't believe an LX (or an L) to be any more stable than a BX, other than (as you say) with a loader. The BX loader shifts the centre of gravity a lot. I'd recommend mowing without a loader though.

My vote is LX4020 with cab. Not my money.

I think 40hp is a bit much power in the LX chassis, other than if you have a really specific use. Like a baler..... but how much money are you going to pay extra to be able to run a baler?

The LX can take a front snow blower. The L cannot. And the L doesn't have a factory cab. Have you considered a grand L? But I agree, a MMM is quite a bit easier if you have a lot of trees.

I believe a zero turn would be better still if you have a lot of trees. Or I guess an F series. Then you could have whatever tractor you want, since it's not mowing. Or you could spray between the trees, so then you only have to mow the straight bits in the rows. Can you have sheep with Christmas trees, or do they graze them?

 

[PoTreeBoy]

I haven't been around hay baling for a looonng time, ttl, but a baler of old behind an LX anything would be a miserable experience for operator and tractor. It may have enough power, but it's lacking in the mass department.

 

[Nomore67]

Added 4" (2" per side) Bro-Tek spacers to the LX4020, what a noticeable difference they made. I have off camber areas on trails and with the weight of the cab there have been times that it felt a little top heavy, spacers seemed like a good addition for a little more safety and piece of mind.

Couple of before pics, and a couple of after pics.

 

[Old Machinist]

A couple of observations from a LX3310 cab owner. I love having an air conditioned cab for mowing.

I can't get that close to trees with my 72" MMM. I have a bunch of sand pines that are similar in shape to Christmas trees. I either use my JD front deck mower to mow around the trees or I also pull a 60" Swisher offset that I can get closer to them with but not as close as I can with the front deck mower. I have other trees I keep limbed up so the cab clears and mowing around those works okay. It still involves some back and forth direction changes since the turning radius doesn't just go around the trunk.

My tractor feels a little tippy on fairly level ground when doing loader work. It has the R14s with the rears filled. Spacers might be nice and I think I might consider them. I have wider stance rear wheels and fronts set to the wide setting on my JD 4310 tractor and it feels 100% more stable but it is ROPS and also weighs a 1000 lbs more than the little Kubota.

Doing any kind of tractor work with the MMM mounted is a waste of time for me. I'm not sure if it would get old taking the mower off and on or if I would get better at it so it wasn't that much trouble. It's not a bug deal to get it off and on but I still struggle with it wanting to slide when I start to drive over the deck. I have to chock the deck and place pieces of 2x4s to drive up on before the tires hit the deck or they would never mount it to go over even in 4WD. Even using 2x4s I have to use 4WD to drive over the deck.

 

[PaulL]

Doing any kind of tractor work with the MMM mounted is a waste of time for me. I'm not sure if it would get old taking the mower off and on or if I would get better at it so it wasn't that much trouble. It's not a bug deal to get it off and on but I still struggle with it wanting to slide when I start to drive over the deck. I have to chock the deck and place pieces of 2x4s to drive up on before the tires hit the deck or they would never mount it to go over even in 4WD. Even using 2x4s I have to use 4WD to drive over the deck.

I have a B, not an LX. But it's massively better than a BX for taking the deck on and off, and I think the LX is similar. I can get it off in a minute, back on in two. But I had to sit down and think how it works, and work out that Kubota actually made it pretty easy once you work out how they meant you to do it.

An LX might be a bit harder because it's a ground contact deck I think, so it rides on the wheels? That would mean the wheels hold it up a bit more.

I always take mine off on the lawn, not on a concrete area. Then it can't slide around. Most of my tractor time is mowing, so I usually put the deck back on at the end of the day, so next time I want to mow it's ready to go. That means no big deal to just leave it on the lawn till I come back and refit.

When taking it off, I always set the height adjust to minimum. Then I don't have to lift the deck a bit by hand to get it to connect. With an LX I don't think you have a height adjust on the tractor - but how hard is it to set the gauge wheels to minimum so the deck touches down?

4wd is essential, as the front wheels grab the deck that way, rather than it sliding when they run into it. Low ratio also helps I find. Did your deck not come with ramps? Mine on the B has ramps that I take off and put behind the wheels, again helps the fronts to grab.

Putting it back on, the key insight was that the arms that grab the deck have a "funnel" on them. So you put them down then drive over the deck, they align the deck for you. I can then unclip the clips, and sit on the tractor to roll back and forth slightly, lift the 3pt up and down a little, and they'll click in. If I lean over hard I can see them from the seat and line it up.

Other than putting on the driveshaft, which still always involves lying on the ground, there's no lifting or manhandling left in the process for me. To be fair, it took me a year or so to work all this out, and it's not like Kubota gave me an instruction video.

 

[Runs With Scissors]

I voted for the bigger cabbed model.

Don’t get me wrong, I love my L2501, but it’s a “toy” for me. (However just this weekend, I used my forks to carry a refrigerator and a freezer, from the trailer to the back door, and of course it was raining. I got soaked, but it sure beat ‘hefting” those damn things)

It sounds like your going to be doing some serious work, so being out of the elements would be a good thing, and the “X-tra Hp” is never a bad thing.

Just my .02

 

[McMXi]

Another cab vote and go with the most pto hp you can afford.

This sums it up for me too based on personal experience over 10 years with a BX (5 years), MX6000HST (1 year), MX6000HSTC (4 years) and an M6060 (3-1/2 years). I've run and continue to run all kinds of implements with those tractors in all kinds of conditions doing all kinds of tasks, and for me a cab is the only way to go.

@GrumpyFarmer stated it well. The first decision to make is cab vs. open station and that's the single most important decision when buying a tractor. I'd buy an MX5400HSTC over an MX6000HST every day of the week and twice on Sunday because a cab is more important to me than 6hp.

Yep, @S-G-R summed it up nicely. I've stated more than once that I'd never buy another tractor smaller than around 60hp and would never buy another open station. But that's just my opinion based on my needs and wants, and personal experience. However, I am confident that far fewer owners think of upgrading to a "better" tractor when they have a cabbed model with sufficient hp.

That would be an interesting poll. Why do people upgrade, what do they upgrade from, do most upgrade from open station to open station, what percentage upgrade from open station to cab, how many go from cab to open station, how many go the other way and choose a smaller tractor. All great questions that I'm sure companies like Kubota want to know the answers to.