Comparison Hello folks New to site and would like your help.

[stevenabelanus]

Hello my name is Steve from Vt.
I have to tell you folks I have been reading and enjoying your site so much
I wanted to join it and ask for your help.

I grew up on a farm here in Vermont. My first car as a teen was a tractor.
That was a long time ago however. I am getting ready to buy a new tractor.

After all the home work and test drives I am torn between Kubota L4240 and
the JD 4120 ehydro w 400 CX self level bucket.

I don't really care about the resale value of the two because for what I am going to use it for it will last a life time. It does have to be able to lift 2000 lbs.

Test drove the K L4240 and really felt comfortable on it, roomy and the HST
worked very good.NICE tractor.

The John Deere, well what do you say about a JD it is a John Deere they have a great machine. However I found the 4220 to not have as much operator room. The one I drove did not have the ehydro. The dealer said he could have one in 3 weeks built to order..Nice MY tractor built for me. A plus.

The self leveling 400CX bucket is a real add for me. The Kubota does not have that add on the L4240.I will be doing a great deal of gravel work with it.
I have a dump trailer and a new GMC 2500 HD that I am dying to put to work.

Can you guys offer any advice between the two? I'd own either one of them.

respectfully, Steve from Vermont

 

[RoyJackson]

Beautiful state, Vermont!!

If you can wait 3 weeks to try out the Deere 4120 with that hydro, it might make up your mind.
Right now, it seems the roominess of the operator station gives the nod to the Kubota.

You write you need to lift 2000 lbs. Can both machines do that? How much extra (above your required 2000lbs) lifting capacity between the two? And, do both have adequate lift height for your needs (I'm assuming you want to load that dump trailer).

At this point, for me, the decision would be the lower priced tractor and the dealer's service (although I doubt you'd need much service for either machine). But you need to try out that eHydro first.

Good Luck!

 

[stevenabelanus]

Thanks Roy'
I have a body shop here and have gone to wood pellets for heating as well as home. I
want to be able to load and unload a ton of them.

 

[TripleR]

The good news is that both are excellent tractors, so no matter what, you will be happy.

The controls and operator station on the Kubota fit me better than John Deere, so that is what I prefer. The John Deere will be preferred by others. I can't stand left foot braking, have it on one tractor, John Deere, but some like it and the control it gives them. Some prefer the HST on one or the other. I have a John Deere and two Kubotas and will use both in one day; both my wife and I prefer the Kubota. There is nothing wrong with the John Deere, Kubota just "seems" more intuitive, again different strokes for different folks.

Some really like the "self leveling" feature, but I am not one of them. I had mine removed from my Case. Now some of the newer versions are designed so you can turn them off, so for some it may be a really useful feature; just don't need one myself.

Good luck, can't go wrong either way.

 

[MarkV]

Both are nice machines. It would help if you could drive an e-hydro before deciding. The self leveling is nice for pallet work but not a deal breaker to me. I rarely engage mine anymore. It would be a deal breaker for me if the leveling system did not have the option to disengage it. I find moving dirt with the self leveling engaged to be less efficient.

Welcome to the forum.

MarkV

 

[stevenabelanus]

Thanks Mark,
Thats the kind of info I am looking for.

 

[pitt_md]

I have moved a lot of dirt with my MX5000 and one thing I can tell you is that you WILL need to get lots of balast on the back no matter which one you get. The loader on the Kubota will pick up a huge load. Not sure about a CX400 can't find any specs on it.

Enjoy the new tractor and go slow with a full bucket.

 

[daveshoot]

I came down to a similar decision, on a smaller grade of tractor (24hp). The consensus was that either would be a fine tractor, and the tie-breaker has to be the dealership that will support the product.

It really was 6 of one and half dozen of the other, and using that logic I ended up going Kubota based on previous experiences.

I had a subsequent experience that seemed to confirm the wisdom of that. My rear mower (Gearmore, not Kubota) had a setup issue when they delivered it, which I discovered shortly into the first mow. They visited and compensated me with a set of clamp-on pallet forks. They are cheap little lightweight forks but actually I have found many uses for them since, and they didn't have to do that.

You marry the tractor, but the dealership is kind of like the mother-in-law that comes with the deal. Worthy of consideration!

 

[stevenabelanus]

You have a good point, one to consider. In my case both the JD and the Kubota dealers are a mile apart in my town and BOTH have very good reps.
Thanks
~Steve

 

[lostcause]

ah, vermont... i sent a couple of years that i hardly can remember at vermont tech about 20 years ago...

but about the tractors - your situation kind of reminds me of the debate i had when i bought mine. back in the late 90's i bought a jd770. i was also looking at a kubota - it's been so long, but i think it was an l2500? the two tractors, each with a loader and a woods 7500 backhoe were pretty much identical in price. there was a slight size and power difference between the two, with kubota having the edge there.

i ended up buying the jd because of comforts. the kubota still had the old style of turning the key off and then pulling a lever to kill the engine. try teaching the ball & chain how to operate that setup. i also liked the jd loader control location better. putting it by the seat is easier for me to use, compared to the kubota one on the loader, where i had to reach to get at it. also, the kubota was awkward to climb on between the fender and the loader frame. i figured i'd be owning it for a long time, so i may as well find one that is easy for me to operate.

other people may like things set up different, but thats the beauty of having options. we can get whatever suits us better. if i were buying now, it might well be the kubota that i liked better. i think like everything else, once one brand brings out new features and models, they have the edge. a few years later, it flip-flops when the copetitor brings out their improvements. the longer you wait the better things will get, but you'll spend all your time looking and none of it doing.