Comparison Kubota BX2660 vs John Deere 1026R

   / Kubota BX2660 vs John Deere 1026R #1  

tstellanova

New member
Joined
Jan 26, 2012
Messages
6
Location
Hilo, Hawaii
Hello, first time posting on TBN. I'm hoping to tap your vast knowledge and experience.

I'm currently looking at buying either a Deere 1026R or a BX2660 with comparable implements:


- Loader (200CX vs LA243)
- Midmount mower (60D 7-Iron vs RCK60B23BX)
- Rotary cutter (Frontier RC2048 vs Landpride RCR1548)


I've got quotes from local Kubota and JD dealers and they're nearly identical, so I'm having trouble choosing between them. Here's what I'm planning to do with these machines:


- Mowing around house and farm structures (MMM)
- Mowing around orchard trees (~5 acres, fairly flat with a slight slope): rotary cutter
- Occasionally moving soil, gravel, bucked limbs etc: FEL
- I can foresee maybe renting or buying a 4' tiller sometime in the future to till small garden plots but generally for the big stuff I can hire someone locally


Thanks in advance for any advice!
 
   / Kubota BX2660 vs John Deere 1026R #2  
I do not know the JD product line very well, but I think all of their subcompact tractors have position control for the 3 pt hitch. This allows you to set an implement at a certain height and it should stay at that height until you move the lever.

The Kubota subcompacts and most of the compacts (B series) have a 1/4" valve system for the 3 pt hitch. For most application I do, it works fine, operates very smoothly and allows you to make small adjustments (hence the 1/4" term). But it will not hold an implement at a set height for a prolonged period. With the things I do with the tractor, it only bothers me when I am mowing with the rotary mower. As you mow, the 3 point hitch will gradually lower, so you have to bump it up every 10 minutes or so or the front of the mower will be on the ground. It does not do that with the MMM and it would not be a problem with a rear finish mower as it has wheels on all four corners instead of just in the rear like a rotary mower.

So if you're going to be out there with the rotary mower for an hour every couple of weeks, probably not a big deal. If you are going to be spending a lot of time with the rotary mower, it would irritate me (and it does).
 
   / Kubota BX2660 vs John Deere 1026R #3  
We have a BX2660 and it has served us well since we bought it new in 2008, they are still a good, high quality machine that will last a very long time. However, if I was buying new today, it would be the John Deere 1026R.

As mentioned, it has the position control. It also does not have the exposed HST fan. It has the easy on/off MMM as well as an easier to dismount/remount FEL.

My opinion is that while the BX2660 is a good machine and we will be keeping ours, John Deere is the better choice right now. My only concern is this is its first year of production and there were delays, but I haven't heard of any significant problems to date and they have a warranty if there are problems.
 
   / Kubota BX2660 vs John Deere 1026R #4  
I briefly looked at those two models before buying a bigger tractor, so I'm no expert. The thing that made me cross off that JD model was that it has a limited Cat 1 hitch and it seemed like you might have to get specific JD models of attachments VS just any generic Cat 1 attachment. I didn't dig into this, but would if I were to buy it. If it does require specialized attachments renting becomes a pain and at some point the attachments will be hard to get limiting the useful life of the tractor (Have this problem with my very old JD sub compact now). The other thing I noticed is that the JD has a lot of plastic body parts VS the Kubota (but that may not be a big factor). Other than just checking on the implement compatibility they both seemed like good machines. I'd test out both for ergonomics purposes and also see who's offering what specials.
 
   / Kubota BX2660 vs John Deere 1026R #5  
I went with kubota that was 30 mins from me compared to john deere that is 5 mins from me. WHY? because of the salesman attitude. The kubota felt like a right fit for me anyways compared to JD when I sat in it.

remember, buying a tractor is not the same as getting service and parts for your tractor so you can maintain it your self. sometime the parts dept balk or ignore you till they are free and that is a big no no in my book.
 
   / Kubota BX2660 vs John Deere 1026R #6  
As you may know, the BX is a trustworthy, proven, but older design. The Kubota is essentially a 5 or 6 year old product. The brand new 1000 series Deere represents the latest and greatest.

I wouldn't necessarily reject the Kubota, but the reality is that technology and design isn't stagnant. Progress marches on.
 
   / Kubota BX2660 vs John Deere 1026R #8  
Two months ago I shopped all of the SCUTs within an 80 mile radius of Fenton Mi. Every price for the tractor, FEL, and 54"MMM was within $250 of each other, so price shopping wasn't a consideration. First, attachments are are very high consideration for me. I hear many times, on this forum, that guys that only buy the tractor and FEL save "thousands" by going with the Kubota, cub cadet, Massey, LS, Branson, and other non green brands. When comparing ease of attachment availability, new or used the JDs have them beat. Second, if you have to spend any more than a couple hours per month in the saddle, the "R" ergonomics simply can't be beat by anyone else. I did drive the Branson, bx, b, LS, massey, and both 1000 and 2000 JD to arrive at this conclusion. Third, plastic verses metal is really a moot point, for a $17k lawnmower, I know I for one won't be beating on it. Fourth, the residual value, and interchangeability of deere attachments are unmatched. The 1000 series can use both tractor and lawn tractor size attachments, really broadening your options for additions after the initial purchase. I could go on and on, but to me there is only one (one thousand series).

Good luck in your tractor hunt!
 
   / Kubota BX2660 vs John Deere 1026R #9  
Right now, JD definitely has an upper hand in the subcompact market over everyone else. They have the newest model and have a generation gap over everyone else currently. Although you'll find both models to be comparable in quality, the JD has a lot more features. They really hit the 1026r out of the park - it is an excellent tractor, ton of features and a ton of "goodies" compared to the BX. Kubota will leap frog JD eventually, but right now, if you really want a sub, JD is the way to go:thumbsup:
 
   / Kubota BX2660 vs John Deere 1026R #10  
Maybe I should add a little more, just saw this ad in "today's posts" here on TBN for the new Mahindra Max. Followed the link and they make it sound very promising, but, I've had a couple people break promises in my day. Mahindra is a good brand as well, as it stands right now it looks pretty tough to make a much better tractor than the 1026r, but we are all about innovation. Can't wait to see what they pull out. Anyone know anything else about this? Link and pic of ad below.

http://www.mahindramax.com/max-features/
 
 
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