Tractor Comparison ... your thoughts?

[rocksnstumps]

I had a Ford 4000 2wd I completely rebuilt. It was great but with heavy harrow would slip. I now own a brand new at the time JD 5075E with 4wd. I love it. Here is my advice. Buy the cheaper Kubota but get 4wd. I chose JD over Kubota but knew they were of equal quality. JD service was much closer which swung me to JD. My best advice is get more HP than you need with 4wd. You will not regret it

More HP is great but I kinda kept from going overboard because I wanted to trailer fairly easily with the truck and trailer I had at the time. I now have a better trailer but still only is 7ft wide between fenders. The bigger rigs require a deckover trailer or just gotta leave em at your land. I trailer my tractor to different properties and back home every year. I think the ones the OP is looking at, trailerring is not a big deal however.

 

[yellowdog00]

In my case, I went with orange due to the interaction I had with dealer. I also bought some implements at same time I bought tractor. I would definitely recommend HST, FWD, FEL, loaded tires and in my case R1 tires due to bottomland use. I also had two rear remotes installed.

Tractorbynet is a good forum for info. One aftermarket add on I would highly recommend is the addition of a Piranha bar for the FEL. It geatly increases the digging and brush cutting ability of your bucket for not much money and is easily installed. BXexpanded makes these.

 

[Plottin'booners]

Are you set on getting hydro?

 

[Tree Spud]

Thanks guys, lots of good stuff. Yes to the add on cutting bar for the bucket, R4 tires & 4WD, and chain hooks on the bucket.

HP wise looking at 58 hp with 51 at the PTO.

Also looking at the backhoe option as i have lots of projects that would be very useful for.

 

[Tree Spud]

Are you set on getting hydro?

From the input I have received, it is more user friendly than an 8 gear/clutch system. What are your thoughts?

 

[JFK52]

I have a L345DT 4x4 Kubota with a cab on it. The cab has front and back glass and Eisenglass curtains on the sides. They can be on or off the tractor and have zippers in them to open them up when they are on the unit. I have the manual transmission and a FEL. I do most of the maintenance on it myself. This includes changing the filters and fluids on regular intervals. I have no service dealers anywhere near my farm. That was not a factor in my buying the Kubota. It was a gently used tractor that had been kept in a shed before I bought it. The price was right and I could not be happier with my purchase 24 years ago.

 

[yoderjac]

My personal thoughts. You can compare hardware pretty easily. All of the major brands have relative strengths and weaknesses in certain areas.

When you buy a new tractor, you are making a very long-term commitment. You will get all kinds of hype from the sales staff and they will be very responsive to sell a tractor. Forget all that stuff.

Go back and talk to the folks that run the service department and the mechanics. These are the folks you will be dealing with for many years. If you don't have the ability to transport the tractor for service, talk about transport costs. I think it is worth it to have a truck and trailer capable of taking your tractor back and forth to the shop. So, distance matters.

Just some broad brush things to consider.

 

[tooln]

A few years ago I was tractor shopping. At the time my daughter worked for an NH dealer. I was considering New Holland, John Deere & Kubota. When I saw the Kubota had a treadle instead of forward and reverse pedals for hst drive I ruled them out. When I got the quote from the place my girl works they also included a quote for a Kioti. I knew they were popular down south but not much up here yet. I started researching them more and liked what I was finding. The Kioti had higher GPM for the hydraulic pump this equals more power. It had weighed more which put the power to the ground. It also cost a lot less. I ended up getting a DK45HSTSE & love it

 

[yoderjac]

A few years ago I was tractor shopping. At the time my daughter worked for an NH dealer. I was considering New Holland, John Deere & Kubota. When I saw the Kubota had a treadle instead of forward and reverse pedals for hst drive I ruled them out. When I got the quote from the place my girl works they also included a quote for a Kioti. I knew they were popular down south but not much up here yet. I started researching them more and liked what I was finding. The Kioti had higher GPM for the hydraulic pump this equals more power. It had weighed more which put the power to the ground. It also cost a lot less. I ended up getting a DK45HSTSE & love it

I also ended up with a DK45 4x4 with a FEL and a cab. For me the cab has been a Godsend. It was expensive, but I found it well worth it in the long run, especially as I get older. If I had to do it all over, I would have gone for a 65hp. I really push my DK45 harder than I should. I did not get the HST. It would be nice to have for a FEL but I like the gear drive for most of my tractor work.

I was comparing it to a lighter Kubota as well. I got more HW for the money but more importantly, the Kioti dealer was local and I established a great relationship with that service department. I've had several times when I've had an issue in the field, called from my cell phone, and they talked me through some issues.

Thanks,

jack

 

[Plottin'booners]

I have not looked at the new John Deere or Kubota tractors for awhile but a good 16 or 24 speed shuttle shift is what I prefer over the hydro.

 

[rocksnstumps]

I too went JD power reverser over a hydro and saved a couple grand. Works great on field work and I don't do a lot of forward and back at speed when using the loader. If you plan on going back and forth a lot for like working dirt or gravel piles all day long, spring for the extra money. I have hydro on my lawn mower and would never go back to gear but again a case of lots of forward/back trimming around stuff in my yard.

Skipping the hydro also adds several HP at the PTO. If you're getting a CUT with 58HP, probably not a big deal.

 

[Tree Spud]

I too went JD power reverser over a hydro and saved a couple grand. Works great on field work and I don't do a lot of forward and back at speed when using the loader. If you plan on going back and forth a lot for like working dirt or gravel piles all day long, spring for the extra money. I have hydro on my lawn mower and would never go back to gear but again a case of lots of forward/back trimming around stuff in my yard.

Skipping the hydro also adds several HP at the PTO. If you're getting a CUT with 58HP, probably not a big deal.

Exactly ... will be doing more back and forth than straight line work, probably 80:20 back & forth vs straight. My food plot work will top out at 10-15 acres, any more than that will be leased ag land. Did 8-10 acres with my Kawasaki Mule for 10 years so this will be a major power tool improvement.

 

[Tree Spud]

I have not looked at the new John Deere or Kubota tractors for awhile but a good 16 or 24 speed shuttle shift is what I prefer over the hydro.

You are talking greek to me, as I stated earlier, new to tractors and even the experienced tractor guys I know locally tell me HST is a better starting point.

Happy to listen to an explanation that is understandable ...

 

[Tree Spud]

Yeah, I saw that in your first post, so I took it out............:oops: But yes those "situations" with the FEL will almost always warrant having 4WD. Lots of extra weight up front with the FEL, so getting the front end in a bad position is easier and 4WD will help when that happens.

I visited the dealer today and talked to the service group in back ... good folks who are all tractor folks. The beet juice will add 550 lbs per tire .. think I am good there.

 

[yoderjac]

Every dealer I know that sells a tractor with a fel loads the rear tires to offset it. Having said that, I wouldn't have one without 4wd.

 

[Tree Spud]

Every dealer I know that sells a tractor wit a fell loads the rear tires to offset it. Having said that, I wouldn't have one without 4wd.

Stated 2-3 times above ... getting the 4WD ... with our lowland it is a requirement ...

 

[rocksnstumps]

Every dealer I know that sells a tractor with a fel loads the rear tires to offset it. Having said that, I wouldn't have one without 4wd.

Every dealer selling tractors with FEL around here (up north remember) I asked about loading tires OFFERED to get it done for an additional charge. Loading tires down south might be as simple as adding water or maybe something relatively inexpensive. Windshield wiper fluid good to -20F ain't gonna cut it up here. Typical up north is calcium chloride in the past or now alternative of beet juice. CaCl in typical concentrations added is good to about -50F and beet juice starts to get slushy about -35F. Either way runs some dollars, think I paid between $200-$300 for loading rears. CaCl is a cheaper mix per gal but is mildly corrosive and getting tubes installed is a good idea. That means unmounting tires, adding tubes, yada yada, more labor. Beet juice is stinky stuff but your dog or cattle could drink it no problem. Just pump it in and done with much less labor.

 

[yoderjac]

Every dealer selling tractors with FEL around here (up north remember) I asked about loading tires OFFERED to get it done for an additional charge. Loading tires down south might be as simple as adding water or maybe something relatively inexpensive. Windshield wiper fluid good to -20F ain't gonna cut it up here. Typical up north is calcium chloride in the past or now alternative of beet juice. CaCl in typical concentrations added is good to about -50F and beet juice starts to get slushy about -35F. Either way runs some dollars, think I paid between $200-$300 for loading rears. CaCl is a cheaper mix per gal but is mildly corrosive and getting tubes installed is a good idea. That means unmounting tires, adding tubes, yada yada, more labor. Beet juice is stinky stuff but your dog or cattle could drink it no problem. Just pump it in and done with much less labor.

No, they load them the same way down here. The reason they sell them with the rear tires loaded is liability; at least that is what I was told by several dealers. They are evidently worried about safety issues. I'm not saying there is no cost involved. They just package that cost with the price of the FEL addition to the tractor.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[rocksnstumps]

In today's sue happy world, maybe they all do it now. I did all my tractor shopping years ago...good point to ask though.

 

[kl9]

You are talking greek to me, as I stated earlier, new to tractors and even the experienced tractor guys I know locally tell me HST is a better starting point.

Happy to listen to an explanation that is understandable ...

Google what he stated and you will easily find the answer. He's talking about a manual transmission with different gears and ranges.