kubota l47 tlb, not much internet chatter about it (2024)

very few videos online, very few reviews, not much discussion. about the only thing you find is official literature and units for sale. i suppose that's probably a good thing.

i bought an l2501 with a b77 backhoe on it about a year back and have occasionally been using it to lay gas line about 18-24" deep. i figured i didn't need much backhoe with that depth and a 10" bucket but some of this ground we've got down here turns to concrete when it's dry. i haven't run across anything i couldn't dig but that little b77 gets one **** of a workout on some.

the specs on the l47 look like it's solidly 2x more capable and close to 3x while being roughly the same size. with a hydraulic pump to each lever on the hoe i assume it's going to feel like 3x the backhoe. if it is i'll retire my walk-behind ditching machine and put everything in with a backhoe.

pretty solid machine for this? a little mini trackhoe would probably be better except that 2850lbs loader can get propane tanks into places where a crane truck can't go and a mini can't do it at all.

Kind of like my R510 Wheel Loader. A high quality simple and capable machine. Just about NADA about it on the Internet. One dealer told they would go broke if they relied on this machine for service revenue.

EDIT: Think of it this way. It's not a consumer offering. Probably not a cup holder on it. It was built in typical conservative japanese fashion, to make some contractor money and hence make Kubota some money, but not to cash in on some consumer compact/subcompact tractor trend.

4570Man said:

I’d probably go for a ride on ditcher if laying pipe is the main goal but yes the L47 or any of the dedicated backhoe series is way more capable than the tractor models. I used to have a L3240 with a Bh90 backhoe and then I had a full size Deere 310, and now I have M59. Compared to the 310 the M59 is a little disappointing but the versatility the M59 offers just wasn’t there with the 310. Compared to the L3240 the M59 is a vast improvement. It’s got more than double the loader and the backhoe is a lot better. The huge advantage a full size hoe offers that nothing else has is they’re almost free or at least sorta. You can buy a pretty decent one for 20-25k run it for a couple years and sell it for the full amount.

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the size of the machine is important, it needs to be able to go in backyards and between things, the l47 is about perfect. and while smaller, that ride-on ditcher couldn't set a 1000 gallon tank in a corner somewhere if i needed it to. if it's really 3x the machine plus an additional 2' of reach i think i've got a winner for putting in gas line

dara1989 said:

It will be considerably bigger and heavier then an l2501. Honestly a B26 will out dig a l2501, and a l47 near twice the machine as a B26.

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heavier i'm aware of, but specs put it at almost the same footprint as a 2501. little taller and about a foot longer wheelbase. or ?

texrdnec said:

the size of the machine is important, it needs to be able to go in backyards and between things, the l47 is about perfect. and while smaller, that ride-on ditcher couldn't set a 1000 gallon tank in a corner somewhere if i needed it to. if it's really 3x the machine plus an additional 2' of reach i think i've got a winner for putting in gas line

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That’s a lot of the reason I don’t have the full size hoe anymore. I agree the the previous poster a B26 would probably outwork a L2501. But I think you’re under estimating how much bigger the L47 is. I don’t have one of those to compare to but my M59 is way bigger than my L3800. And no the ride on ditcher won’t set a tank ( maybe it would of you had one with a backhoe on the front ) but they’ll flat dig and cover a ditch. This probably took me 10-15 minutes to dig 90 feet. And coverings them up is a breeze with the 4 way blade. An angle blade is infinitely better for covering a ditch vs a straight one.

I think that the reason you don't hear much about the L47 or other TLBs is because they cost so much more than a tractor with loader and backhoe. And the tractor will do much the same work plus is better at 3pt and mowing. It's just that a tractor isn't as strong or rugged - and now we are back to the price thing again....

But if you are looking at the L47, and the new price makes you choke - don't pass on an older Kubota TLB if a clean one comes up. Just keep reminding yourself that in used TLBs, condition is everything. You DO NOT want one that is beat up. You want a baby. BTW, the L45 was good too.

One of my personal favorites is the L39. The L39 has just recently been discontinued in favor of Kubota's newer TLBs, but it was in production from 2005 to just a couple of years ago. Minimal-emissions and it is a dandy. Very basic and powerful in a slightly smaller package. 12 speed fwd/8 rev. powershift & power shuttle. For some reason they never had the popularity of the smaller or larger Kubota TLBs, but they sure are a good solid machine & overbuilt. Some good info on them in this forum, too.

rScotty

Industrial Toys said:

Kind of like my R510 Wheel Loader. A high quality simple and capable machine. Just about NADA about it on the Internet. One dealer told they would go broke if they relied on this machine for service revenue.

EDIT: Think of it this way. It's not a consumer offering. Probably not a cup holder on it. It was built in typical conservative japanese fashion, to make some contractor money and hence make Kubota some money, but not to cash in on some consumer compact/subcompact tractor trend.

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Good point.
I am a long retired "consumer"
I am now thinking that I should sell my 250 hr. L48TLB.
It doesn't have a cup holder!

fried1765 said:

Good point.
I am a long retired "consumer"
I am now thinking that I should sell my 250 hr. L48TLB.
It doesn't have a cup holder!

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all you need is a caddy buoy and some big tie wraps, then you can keep it...