Hi everybody. This is my first posting. I'm new to this site and also a first time tractor buyer. I have a Mahindra dealer in my area and I'd like to hear comments about this brand, both good and bad, from other Mahindra owners out there. I'm looking at a 3016 at Mahindra and comparing with JD 3320 and Kubota L3700.
The tractor will be used mostly for flail mowing 16acres of hilly terrain up to 30 degrees in slope and for misc homeowner tasks like setting fence posts, planting trees with back hoe, and loader/scraper ground work, moving this and that around the property.
As I don't know much about the reputation of any of any of the manufacturers I'm interested in hearing about you experiences both good and bad.
Thank you.
Welcome to TBN.
I've owned a Kubota (2005 B7510 HST, 21 hp engine, 17 hp pto, 4WD, hydrostatic tranny, power steering) with the LA302 FEL (4-ft wide bucket, 800 lb lift). I traded that tractor in for a 2008 Mahindra 5525 (54 hp engine, 45 hp pto, 2WD, gear tranny, power steering, triple hydraulic remotes) with the ML250 FEL (6-ft wide bucket, 2950 lb lift to 10.5 ft height, skid steer quick attach option on the FEL arms, triple chain hooks welded on the top edge of the bucket). My Mahindra dealer is Dave's Tractor in Red Bluff--he's a West Coast distributor for Mahindra--excellent guy.
The 7510 came in handy for work around my 10-acre place (flat pasture) when I was building my house 6 years ago (installing landscape, rototilling, excavating for paver block sidewalks and patios, mowing the weeds with a 4-ft wide brush hog). When I decided to put 6 acres into hay, I traded the 7510 for the Mahindra 5525. Now use a 6-ft Hawkline brush hog, a 5.5 ft flail mower (Value Leader) and sicklebar mowers with the 5525.
The Kubota's are fine tractors, lightweight compared to the Mahindra's which could make a difference in some situations (plowing, discing, some types of mowing--heavier weight generally means more traction). I owned the 7510 for 3 years--no problems. Same for the 5525--3 years, no problems. Some people like HSTs for FEL work (lotsa forward and reverse movement) and shy away from gear trannies. It takes a small amount of practice, but I'm pretty good now at FEL work with the 5525 and its gear transmission.
If you plan to mow steep slopes, you need to get the center of gravity of the tractor as low as possible for safety reasons (roll overs suck). If I were mowing 30 degree slopes like you mentioned, I'd use my old 1964 Massey Ferguson 135 diesel--a field tractor that was modified for mowing olive orchards around here. The 28" dia rear rims were replaced by 16" dia rims, wide rear tires were installed (Goodrich 6 ply 18.4-16A), the front axle spindles were shortened to keep the tractor level.
Alternatively, consider using dual rear wheels to widen the stance of your tractor so it's not so tippy on those slopes.
Good luck.