L48 Tlb - Machine Underground -Tractor & Commercial Equipment Discussion Forum

Bill41 · 04-05-2008, 11:36 PM

I will start this thread for those who may be interested in the L48. I bought mine with 286 hrs on it. It was delivered to the original owner in Dec of 2004. He evidently was a collector of Kubotas as he owned 8 different models and traded this one for a new L48. That seemed a little unusual but I didn't detect anything suspecious when talking to the dealer.

I noticed this morning that the hr meter was at 308. It doesn't seem like I have spent that much time on it but have been running it 3 or 4 hrs a day clearing land by digging out about 20 stumps (so far) ranging from 6 to 20". The ground is still frozen in the shadows so it takes about 10 minutes to break through the 2" of crust and then another 5 min for a 6" stump up to an hr for a 20" basewood. Hopefully I'll get a bit faster as I get used to the backhoe.

One of my concerns when researching which tractor to buy was the ground clearance. The L48 lit specs it as 13" in the backhoe spec but nothing for the tractor. Now that I have the tractor owners manual I find that the tractor ground clearance is actually 14.6" at the transmission case. That seems to be high enough to get through a lot of mud. When it got down to the axles it still would continue to push the mud to the side but I elected to head out of the stuff so I didn't knock something against the hydraulic filters. Once I had to use the backhoe to set the rear end over on to some solid ground and another time pull it out backwards when I buried the front axle.

I taped a line level to the horz bar on the backhoe so I could do some rough grading and that seemed to work ok. I have not gotten the hang of grading with the FEL yet but hope it will come as I find some dry ground to work with. About all I can do for now is back drag as everytime a wheel drops into a soft spot it spoils the grading.

It seems to have all the power I need at this point. I have yet to use the boxblade, pallet forks to move stumps etc, the Farmi winch or the wood chipper.

Let me know what you would like me to report on and I'll try to work it in and report back.

**Ducati996** · 04-06-2008, 11:34 AM

There is a bunch of us who are very interested in learning more about the L48, especially since the arrival of the M59.

I certainly would enjoy pictures along with some info on how you trailer this unit, and if you have an idea of its weight?

Best of luck with this machine and nice find indeed -

Duc

Dougster · 04-06-2008, 12:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bill41

Let me know what you would like me to report on and I'll try to work it in and report back.

Most TLB fans here know the L48 quite well.

It has been around a while and I have personally drooled all over them for 2 years at my local Kubota Palaces and over at my good friend and mentor LarryRB's lakeside Connecticut estate. He thumps me good every time I suggest that the JD 110 TLB is the L48's equal.

I know it's not... but I love to kid him about it!

The L48 has long been the gold standard in a compact (pick-up truck trailerable) TLB. Kubota supposedly spec'd, designed and built the L39 as a replacement for BOTH the L35 and the L48... and crazy small tire size aside, I believe they did a great job.

Many will say that the M59 is the new gold standard in compact TLB's, but the weight and trailerability (not to mention the ~$50K pricetag) are serious concerns for most of us normal people here. It will be interesting to see how many rich L48 owners (like Larry) decide to "upgrade" to the M59 in this introductory season... and what it will mean to the availability of good used L48's at decent prices in the used marketplace.

Dougster

SunDog · 04-06-2008, 06:08 PM

Quote:

Let me know what you would like me to report on and I'll try to work it in and report back.

I'd be interested in knowing how well you can dig with the front end loader, and what the breakout force is with it. My L4630 digs pretty well, but sometimes I have to slow down & wait for the hydraulics to 'catch up' if I'm working a pile of really heavy dirt & stone.

When I bought in 2003, I eyed the L48 but couldn't justify the extra $

Bill41 · 04-08-2008, 08:53 AM

996: I don't trailer it. It stays on the property. If I have to have shop service done I'll need to get a friend of mine with a trailer to move it to the shop. It was delivered on a flat bed car carrier. All I have on the weight is what is listed in the owner's manual. Tractor=4833, backhoe=1953, loader=1080. Total=7866. The rear tires are not loaded. Tractor, Operation, Rear Ballast. (Page 39) "When the BT1000 backhoe is installed to the tractor, rear ballast should be removed" The dealer recommended that a rear weight box or implement be attached when the backhoe is removed. If the rears were filled they would need to be drained when the backhoe was on.... Not very convenient I can't answer why. You were probably hoping for a weight from a truck scales. Sorry, I don't have that figure.
LarryRB: It's a big improvement over the F-14 and 8N I drove when I was a kid

This is as much fun for me now as they were when I was 14.
SunDog: Breakout force on the loader is listed as: pivot pin = 4375. In real life terms, I used it today to skip load some wet clay and pile it ~ 5' high with no problem. I can't give you a good cycle time reference yet as I am still slower than it is. When it can't keep up with me I'll let you know. How well can "I" dig?, not very well. I tried to do some grading today and didn't do very well. I don't think there is a level place on the whole 10 acres that isn't water logged at this time so can't try it on a nice flat spot. Trying to make a sloped logging road level seems almost impossible at my experience level. However, I taped a line level to the backhoe and found that I can set it up level and scribe an arc with the hoe and use it for my level line. Just need to take a few divots and then connect the dots.

SunDog · 04-08-2008, 01:55 PM

Bill,

Thanks for the report. It takes a while to get good at grading and digging.... For me, it took a couple of years part time. The pros make it look easy

Bill41 · 04-09-2008, 05:01 PM

I took the BH off today and tried the FEL with no weight. It would pick up a load of wet topsoil but when I tried to back up a small incline the rear wheels would spin. Not enough rear weight. Need that weight box. When I tried to pick up that heavy wet clay the rear wheels actually came off the ground and it wanted to tip. Woooh, stop! Which way lets it back down?? I had to think it out as my reflexs match the backhoe not the FEL. Wheew

Back to terri-ferma. Lets dump this bucket and put the BH back on. I might be able the use the FEL to move some wood chips without weight in the back but thats probably about it.

Dougster · 04-09-2008, 06:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bill41

I took the BH off today and tried the FEL with no weight. It would pick up a load of wet topsoil but when I tried to back up a small incline the rear wheels would spin. Not enough rear weight. Need that weight box. When I tried to pick up that heavy wet clay the rear wheels actually came off the ground and it wanted to tip. Woooh, stop! Which way lets it back down?? I had to think it out as my reflexs match the backhoe not the FEL. Wheew

Back to terri-ferma. Lets dump this bucket and put the BH back on. I might be able the use the FEL to move some wood chips without weight in the back but thats probably about it.

Such is life Bill.

If I remove the Bradco 509 backhoe from my Mahindra 4110 and try to use the FEL, I will get the same "anti-gravity" effect. Whenever my BH is off and I need to use the FEL, the box blade goes on. Even at that, I've got to be darn careful 'cause the box blade weighs nowhere near what the BH weighs.

Dougster

SunDog · 04-09-2008, 11:15 PM

Bill,

Weight box sounds like the thing. I have loaded tires on my tractor, which have the same effect, only permanent.

Bill41 · 04-11-2008, 03:48 PM

I bought the yellow 5 gal fuel can with the fancy wancy nozzle that is spring loaded to keep the fuel from running out untill you have it in position. Then you push it down and the fuel drains out. Nice and easy to use and lets gravity do the work. Only problem is that the little knob on the spout isn't quite big enough to catch on the edge of the tractors filler pipe every time. I got away with it for about 8 fills and then it slipped and pushed the filler screen into the tank. Has anyone else done this stupid trick yet or willing to fess-up. It probably won't hurt anything other than block the tank sensor at some point when I least expect it and run out of fuel with the gage on half. I haven't tried to fish it out yet but was thinking of using a spring loaded grabber and flashlight. Any other ideas out there?