Thunder Hill Farm #51 - Kubota L3560 1 Year Anniversary Review

The Kubota L3560 came home on July 1, 2020. Here's a 1 year review of the tractor. Mike goes over how the tractor was optioned out and then his likes and dislikes.
Equipment that we use on the Property:
Kubota L 3560 with HST and Cab, LA805 Loader, Top & Tilt Kit, Loaded Tires
Woods BrushBull 60
Woods 60" Rototiller
Puma 72" rear-mount Snow Blower
Land Pride BB2572 72" Box Scraper
Land Pride SGC1060 60" Grapple
Land Pride QH10 Quick Hitch
Polaris Sportsman 500

[@OShackHennessy]

This video showed up on my feed and I looked at the channel name and thought, hmmm I wonder what they farm. Well I got my answer in the intro. 😂 You earned a like for that!

[@thegreatnorthwoodswithbb2863]

1 year under 200 hours... I've owned my lx now for one year.. just did my 400 hours service today... You're doing good

[@Johnthedagger]

Thanks for the review and well done. Have a L3560 with the BH-92 back hoe and like you, ours is a woods tractor as we're in the mountains of NH. Tractor's 10 months old and have 167 hours on it , zero complaints, and been doing my own maintenance on it which is way cheaper. Beautiful property too and appreciate the update

[@ThunderHillFarmMaine]

Thanks 👍

[@williamforsterjr276]

Thank you I am shopping and your video was very helpful. I too grow rocks and trees. Here in central Pa. Be well

[@tcardinal95]

Nice video! thanks for the review! I have sold L35 tractor and it’s been great!

[@meanderingyogi6562]

Having ours delivered this week from County Tractor, our previous tractor was a 1995 2650. Kubota. Thanks for the video, I subscribed seeing you’re a fellow Mainer and all.. lol.

[@Stumpman61]

Love the video 👍🏻thank you for sharing

[@EvilAdonis]

I have a 3560 open station. I love the bucket level indicators, the flag is set to the bucket, the rod is set to my loader forks, they work great.

[@ThunderHillFarmMaine]

That bucket level indicator seems a little fiddly to me... overly complicated. Mine bent somehow and the dealer couldn't fix it. Eventually they just came and replaced the whole assembly. In the summer I mostly leave the grapple on so I don't use it all that much. I do use it a bit in the winter when I'm doing snow removal.

[@thegreatnorthwoodswithbb2863]

Watching your video because my first choice when I traded in my old Kubota was l3560. Just want to see how much more I need to kick myself LOL

[@whenworkisplay]

Great video, lots of good information on the L3560. I am wondering if , with a bit of tinkering, a guard or cover could keep your elbow from turning off the pto . Maybe something comfortable for your elbow could sit in that spot, and also protect the pto button. All the best, Ben

[@johnparker5069]

thank you for this 1 year review. I just ordered a 3560 cab LE, supposed to be here this week, waiting for 3rd function kit to be installed. 1st time tractor owner. I chose to swap the la555 loader to the larger la805 like you have. do you find that it lifts what its rated for? I can't find much information anywhere regarding upsizing from the 555 to the 805, or if it actually works as well without going to a 4060 or a 4760. I couldn't justify going to larger horsepower tractors for my needs. I live in louisville Kentucky. im a 35 year old electrician that is now semi retired. I live in nice suburb with 800 homes, most of which are 50 to 150 years old. we've got horse and walking trails. most people are white collar types, doctors, lawyers, pilots, small business owners. the average acreage per home is 2-5 acres. 90% of people don't even own a lawn mower and pay for services. I do a lot of small handyman jobs, some welding, electrical, around my neighbourhood now instead of traveling all over Kentucky for industrial and commercial work. I've started getting into small tree jobs. mostly cleanup after storms. we've got lots and lots of trees. if you cut one down, it has to be permitted and the city makes you plant another one. tree cleanup and pallet fork and lifting, rigging is mostly what I got the tractor for....plus I've gotten tired of hurting my back every 3-4 months. I looked at getting an lx series but I didn't think it was going to be able to clear fallen trees very well, or lift and move full pallets or other materials as well as the grand L series.

[@thegreatnorthwoodswithbb2863]

My brother has made a few of that type of bucket levelers.... You set them up right they work good... The only complaint I would have about your 3560 would be them hydraulic hoses outside of the lift arms.. I'm assuming it's the Swift disconnect system? I had that choice on my LX... Wanted nothing to do with it told them I want the old style

[@heathalford4721]

My uncle bought a L3560 this year. He has a list of things it needs to go back to the dealer for. He said it may not come back to house based on it bogs down with a 5ft bushhog

[@bradbruggeman6745]

A 5 ft bush hog won't even clear the tire tracks,will it? Probably need a 6 footer to clear tracks.

[@heathalford4721]

Yeah prolly would need the 6 ft to clear the tires. But the 5ft let’s you get in tighter places

[@NB88]

You did a great job optioning that tractor out...I like it. +1 for the HST. But I gotta say those boots could have been better protected. What did they load your tires with? Mine got loaded with calcium chloride, I won't make that mistake again.

[@ThunderHillFarmMaine]

Thanks, I definitely put some thought into it when I spec'd it. The tires are loaded with rim guard (beet juice). Yea, the calcium chloride was probably not the best thing.

[@bradbruggeman6745]

I test drove a l3560. Really liked the GST tranny. Didn't like the vulnerability of the hydraulic couplers on the loader. Or frame size. I ended up with the JD 3039r due to smaller frame size but yet had the premium features like the Grand L series.

[@profdave2861]

Interesting review. I have had the Grand L4060 (cab) for over 2 years, fully optioned like yours except for the hydraulic links, which were no longer available. Here in Canada, all the other options you have were standard in the Grand L model. Of the things you don’t like, it’s odd that you find the PTO knob in a bad spot. In all the time I’ve had mine, I think I’ve only bumped it and had it turn off once. I didn’t happen to notice but does your seat have arm-rests, and if so, do you use them? The arm rests on my seat seem to help keep my elbow/arm away from that switch. Of the other things you mention, I haven’t checked my light brackets to see if they are painted or rusted inside, but I think I would have noticed the latter. I’ll check next time I’m on it. Overall, in the 200 or so hours I have on my L4060, I have nothing but good things to say about it. I researched and test drove every other comparable brand I could find. My original intention was to buy a Deere, but the features, technical specs, and price of the Deere wasn’t even close to the Kubota. I am 100% satisfied with Kubota, and specifically the Grand L version, and would highly recommend it to anyone looking for an extremely capable compact tractor (in the larger end of the compact tractor range).

[@ThunderHillFarmMaine]

Thanks for commenting Dave. You can get after market hydraulic top links if you have any rear hydraulics. Maybe it's how I sit in the cab the way i keep hitting that pto switch... and I use the arm rests! Love the tractor too. My brother in law has a couple 4060's he loves.

[@gerardofuerte9946]

How do you like the hp? Is it too underpowered for that loader? I got a open cab l3560 and i am currently waiting for the loader to show up. I am scared that by upgrading the loader it will cause the tractor to be too underpowered for it. I mostly need the tractor to spread gravel and dirt, i am hoping it is capable of lifting a full bucket without it stalling or bogging down.

[@bigsway4414]

The inside of your cabin looks dusty. Maybe I am looking at it wrong? Is that from mowing with the doors open or does that much dust get in there with the AC on?

[@truth6612]

Great video. You gave me alot to think about because I've been considering upgrading my B2650 to a L3560. One thing that I noticed on the L3560 that I do not like, is the hydraulic lines for the loader stick out quite a bit near the cab. They aren't protected under the loader frame like the B2650 are. Have you had any issues of those lines getting caught on tree branches?

[@ThunderHillFarmMaine]

Mine are out a bit more I think because of the 3rd function valve. I haven't had any trouble getting them caught on trees yet. Usually though I'm kind of sticking to my trails and now wandering through the woods, so keep that in mind.

[@ThunderHillFarmMaine]

Someone else commented about this too on one of my other Kubota videos. Hopefully he emails me a pic. If so I'll post something on this.

[@truth6612]

@@ThunderHillFarmMaine Thanks for the input. Much appreciated.

[@danielpopp8857]

I have a L3560 what I don’t like is the wire underneath for the high and low it is not protected I’ve ripped it off twice you have to drop the fuel tank to put it back on I screwed up the plug and you can’t just get that wire end plug had to make my own wire end. Otherwise I love the tractor 😊

[@ThunderHillFarmMaine]

Not looking forward to that one happening!

[@richardriddell6077]

Are you satisfied with the horsepower? I’m thinking about getting the 4760, more horsepower than I need to cut and bale probably. Is there any reason to oversize in your opinion?

[@ThunderHillFarmMaine]

Hi Richard, thanks for commenting. My brother-in-law has two 4760's he loves. The reason to upsize is that you might want to get some other implement. I just had that happen to me! The subject of the video I'm uploading at this very moment. I had a L3430 for 16 years, so I figured I'd be fine with the L3560.

[@raypowers3201]

Any problems with the computers and re-Jenning? I’m looking into getting my first one I hear that’s a potential problem.

[@ThunderHillFarmMaine]

No trouble with the computers or doing re-gens. I barely even notice the re-gens mostly because I'm mowing a lot and they just kind of happen automagically while you're up in the higher RPMs.

[@disenfranchisedcitizen1432]

Is it possible that the boot guard is on backwards? Turn the wheel completely to see if that cutout is for clearance?

[@ThunderHillFarmMaine]

I'll have a look at that... I guess it's possible. Can anyone else check theirs? I could probably flip them left to right if that's the case.

[@jakeduffin4626]

Do you happen to know the size of the rear tires of the tractor? I have quite a few five foot implements and wandered if this tractor would be to wide to take out the tire tracks.

[@ThunderHillFarmMaine]

Hi Jake, it depends how you have your wheels setup (you can make it wider)... However I can say that I can still see some tire marks with my 60" tiller. Like 3 or 4 inches at most. I run my tiller a little offset to the left so that I can cover one tire completely. If you want total coverage you'll want 72" implements. I ran a 60" brush hog though for many years and was just fine...

[@jakeduffin4626]

@@ThunderHillFarmMaine I understand. Thank you for the information and advice! I appreciate it!

[@thegreatnorthwoodswithbb2863]

You need to get rid of that quick hitch that you paid way too much money for.. and get a Pat's quick hitch it will work on every implement you will ever own

[@williamreese2477]

Price with all that nice options?

[@ThunderHillFarmMaine]

I think with the chains I got and everything it was around $58k out the door...

[@dannoe1047]

How much weight do you think you can lift with grapple? How many hp is the engine? Looking at the le 3560 But also looking into the no cab l4170 Thinking I want the cab

[@ThunderHillFarmMaine]

Once you go cab, you never go back... That grapple will lift anything the loader arms you get will lift. I've moved some very heavy granite boulders with it.

[@dannoe1047]

@@ThunderHillFarmMaine I went with 3560 limited. They couldn’t get me the 805 loader for 6 -8 mths so I had to go with 555 loader and landpride grapple very very happy with it

[@MilesPittman]

Brush hog slip clutch vs bolt on

[@NB88]

The blue tractor must be a New Holland...you're better off with the Kubota.

[@ThunderHillFarmMaine]

Ford owned New Holland from like 1993 - 1999 or so... It was an open plain jane tractor. First time I brush hog'd with it I hit a ground hornet nest... Shortly thereafter my wife saw a Kubota with a cab at the Windsor Fair and said "Why don't you get one of those?". I was on the phone that Monday... :-)