Kubota · Utility

Kubota L4802

~$24,925

MSRP, base build

Kubota L4802
Utility
48.4 hp engine · 40.5 PTO−16% to the shaft

At 48.4 gross hp it replaces the L4701, and it is the only Standard L02 that steps up to the bigger LA766 loader and BH92 backhoe. Kubota's published starting figure covers the two-wheel-drive L4802F, which is why it reads below the smaller L3902.

Engine
48.4 hp
PTO
40.5 hp
Loader lift
2,147 lbs
3-pt lift
2,870 lbs

1.62 PTO hp per $1,000 of list price

As published by the maker

Specifications

Size class
Utility
Transmission
Gear
Engine
Kubota
Engine hp
48.4 hp
PTO hp
40.5 hp
Drive
4WD
Loader lift
2,147 lbs
Three-point lift
2,870 lbs
Hydraulic flow
12.5 GPM
Fuel tank
13.5 gal
Weight
3,428 lbs
Warranty
6 yr / 2000 hr powertrain
4WD
Yes
Cab
Open station
Turbo
No
Cruise control
No

On the price: The maker's own published starting figure for the base build. A dealer adds a loader, a deck and freight on top.

Lift figures are the maker's and are quoted at whichever point the maker chose; the about page explains why two loaders with the same number do not lift the same pallet.

Comes with

4WDGearFront LoaderPower SteeringDiesel

From owner discussion and long-term write-ups

What owners say

What they like

  • The only four-cylinder in the Standard L range at 148.5 cu in, and 40.5 PTO hp on the gear build
  • The LA766 lifts 2,147 lb at the pivot pin and reaches 105.2 in, which is round-bale and dump-trailer height
  • 2,870 lb at the lift points is genuine utility-tractor hitch capacity on a compact-tractor footprint
  • 13.5 gal of fuel, about two and a half gallons more than the rest of the series carries
  • 12.5 gpm of combined pump output, half again what the L2502 flows, so the loader and hitch do not fight each other
  • The BH92 backhoe digs 109.8 in against the BH77's 89.8 in on the smaller L02 models

What they complain about

  • The published starting price is for the 2WD L4802F; the 4WD gear and HST builds most buyers actually order cost meaningfully more, so it is not a like-for-like figure against the L3902
  • 3,428 lb in 4WD gear trim makes it the heaviest machine in the series and the hardest of them on turf
  • No factory cab is listed anywhere in the Standard L02 range, so a 48 hp utility machine still leaves the operator in the weather
  • The narrow L4802DTN variant takes no front loader at all, so the narrow body and loader work are mutually exclusive
  • At 48.4 hp it sits close enough to the MX4900 that the MX's heavier frame and cab option are worth pricing before committing

Gathered from owner reports

What owners report

The L4802 is the top of the Standard L range and it is doing a job that a newer Kubota now does too. The single loudest theme among owners is the MX4900: several people who bought an L4802 shortly before it appeared say outright that they would buy the MX instead today, and their reason is always the loader rather than the engine. One owner points out that his six-foot grapple eats so much of the loader's rated capacity that there is little left for what the grapple is holding. Another describes the model as a dead end at its current price. This is not owners calling it a bad tractor - several say so explicitly - it is owners saying the machine above it is not much dearer.

What it does well is the chore work on twenty-ish acres. Owners lift pallets of hay and feed with it daily, cut pasture with it most of the time, and move round bales without drama - one double-stacks them for a neighbour. The universal caveat on bale work is ballast: grabbing the upper bales off a trailer is described as sketchy before the rear tires were filled and fine afterwards. Large square bales are where owners draw the line. Traction is the other limit people meet: R4 tires in wet upstate clay on a hill left one owner stuck with a loaded set of forks even in four-wheel drive with the differential locked, needing a winch to get out.

Emissions are less trouble here than shoppers fear. There is no DEF - owners point out that starts well above this power class - and the regeneration cycle wants around 2,000 rpm, which is where the machine already runs when it is working or spinning a PTO implement. The problem owners keep attributing complaints to is idling. Worth knowing before you drive one: the hydrostatic pedal is not a throttle, and pushing it flat up a grade overloads the engine rather than helping. Owners in steep country describe backing off the pedal to let the revs recover, and they see new owners read the same symptom as a fault.

What comes up favourably

  • Round bales are genuinely within reach - owners move them routinely and one double-stacks them for a neighbour - provided the rear tires are ballasted first
  • It is the right size for daily livestock chores: owners on 18 to 21 acres lift pallets of hay and feed with it constantly and describe that as the job it does best
  • There is no DEF to deal with at this power class, and the regeneration cycle wants roughly the same 2,000 rpm the machine already runs at under load or on the PTO
  • The four-cylinder has headroom for wide implements - one owner runs a 68-inch flail and says he could comfortably pull a larger one
  • A tooth bar on the bucket transforms it for brush and root work, according to an owner who added one and now tears out small trees with the loader

What comes up as a complaint

  • Several owners who bought just before the MX4900 arrived say they would buy the MX instead now, and the reason is always loader capacity rather than horsepower
  • A six-foot grapple consumes a large share of the loader's rated capacity before it picks anything up, which is the specific complaint behind most of the wishing-for-an-MX comments
  • R4 tires in wet clay on a grade are marginal - one owner with a loaded set of forks could not move in four-wheel drive with the differential locked and had to be winched out
  • Owners cross-shopping Korean brands point out that those makers publish substantially higher loader and hitch ratings at this price, and treat lift capacity as where Kubota is weakest
  • The hydrostatic pedal is not an accelerator: pushing it flat up a hill overloads the engine, and new owners routinely mistake the resulting power drop for a fault
  • One owner traced a hydrostatic pedal that crept forward to a bent rod in the linkage, adjustable once found but not obvious
  • It is a lot of machine for a small property - owners on a couple of acres who bought one, and owners advising them, both say the smaller Standard L makes more sense there
  • Dealers themselves often steer buyers away from the backhoe on this size of tractor, on the grounds that a rented excavator clears land far faster and more safely

Questions worth asking

Can it really handle round bales?
Yes, and owners do it regularly - one double-stacks round bales for a neighbour. Ballast is the condition everyone attaches: an owner unloading bales off a trailer describes grabbing the higher ones as sketchy before he filled the rear tires and straightforward afterwards. Large square bales are where the same owners stop; one who moves rounds without concern says he would not want to handle big squares with it.
Should I just buy the MX4900 instead?
It is the question L4802 owners keep raising themselves. Several who bought shortly before the MX4900 launched say they would take the MX today for the loader capacity and heavier frame, and describe the price gap as small enough not to matter. The counter-argument from owners who like theirs is size: the L keeps a compact footprint and manoeuvrability that an MX gives up. If loader work is the main job, price both before deciding.
How bad are the emissions and regeneration on it?
Mild, according to owners. There is no DEF at this power class. The regeneration cycle asks for around 2,000 rpm, which one owner points out is where he runs the machine anyway for heavy work or PTO implements, so it rarely interrupts anything. The behaviour owners blame for most emissions complaints is idling around the property at low revs - these engines want to be working above roughly 1,500 rpm.
Why does it lose power going up a hill?
Usually operator technique rather than a fault. Owners in steep country explain that the hydrostatic pedal sets a transmission ratio, not engine speed, so flooring it on a climb is like putting a manual car into overdrive uphill - the engine bogs. Easing off the pedal lowers the ratio, raises torque and lets the revs recover. The other possibility, if it appears on an older machine, is a worn hydrostatic unit letting fluid bypass.
Should an L4802 be ordered with the BH92?
Owners are lukewarm and so, interestingly, are dealers - one owner's dealer talked him out of it, and he only occasionally wishes otherwise. The argument against is that clearing and digging go dramatically faster with a rented excavator, even a large one, and that renting is about speed and safety as much as money. If the digging is small, frequent and far from a rental yard, that calculation flips.

Summarised from public owner discussion, not from testing. Nothing here was measured by this site, and a report that recurs is not the same as a defect rate.

Cross-shopped against

Line the Kubota L4802 up

vs Kubota L3302vs Kubota L3902vs Massey Ferguson 2604H

Same brand or same size, nearest in price

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