Buying Advice KUBOTA or JOHN DEERE? Or, other ....

   / KUBOTA or JOHN DEERE? Or, other .... #1  

Sid Post

Platinum Member
Joined
May 28, 2010
Messages
632
Location
TX and OK
Tractor
Massey 5711D, Kubota L4600, Kubota B2601
I can get a 2007 Kubota L4400 2WD with ~350 hours for right $8K plus transportation costs. A 2011 KUBOTA L3800DT 4WD with ~250 hours runs $11,750 plus transportation. A 2012 KUBOTA L3200F with ~30 hours is $8.5K. And finally, a John Deere5055D runs ~$12K with some hours with many specific examples to compare.

Right now, we need a reliable mower around the farm house and something that can do light dirt work (gardening and landscape maintenance). We have a large black berry thicket that needs to be cleared and often have fallen wood to deal with so, a loader option is definitely something for a future "upgrade".

Do I really need 4WD; it seems like I can buy a lot more tractor by skipping the expense of MFWD? Is the L3200 too small or the L4400 too big? How about the John Deere; Is is too big to be practical for mowing around the farm house? For tree work I think the bigger JD or Kubota L4400 would be best but, I wonder if it is too big? Is a ~30hp tractor too small?

Right now we are looking at 5 acres with about 3 acres being mowed and maintained in the yard. I am also looking at adding a second property of ~40 acres so, a larger tractor for FUTURE needs seems to a good thing. Basically, I don't want to under or over buy.

TIA,
Sid
 
   / KUBOTA or JOHN DEERE? Or, other .... #2  
I would consider separating the tasks. Tractors generally aren't the best mowers, and the ones that are pretty good mowers are limited in their ability as a tractor.

I would get a dedicated mower for the 3 acres....something like a nice 72" zero turn will be very fast, and will do a better job of actually mowing. If you're going to add a bunch of property, I wouldn't go any smaller than a 30hp CUT, and something in the 40hp size would likely be better. Many manufacturers sort of switch chassis size at the 40hp mark, and you get a much stronger machine that can do a lot more work, and should last long.

If you're looking to be able to do stuff like lift a 1,500lb tree, you'd want an FEL that can lift more like 2,000lbs+ so that you're not having to use 100% of the lifting ability on a regular basis. Also, FEL figures can be specified at the pins or 500mm, with the pins number being higher. The 500mm figure is more realistic, because that's where a real load would be (give or take). For cases where they don't give you the 500mm number, subtract 25% from the pins number, and you'll be close to the real lifting capability. R,

Then, look at the tractor requirements, which sound like primarily FEL work. Any time you're doing FEL work, and especially off pavement/concrete, 4WD is very helpful.
 
   / KUBOTA or JOHN DEERE? Or, other .... #3  
Do any of them have loaders?

I would not want 2wd if the tractor has a loader. But for mowing, 2wd would be OK for me.

I actually agree with GMan, about having a mower and separate tractor. :eek:
 
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   / KUBOTA or JOHN DEERE? Or, other .... #4  
2wd and loader isn't' a problem depending on terrain. But the rest of what's been said is right on the money. Adding a loader later on is a mistake financially because of the cost. I'm running a Deere 5103 with FEL on 38 acres and haven't found any issues. Most of what I do is field mowing and FEL work clearing brush and trees. Moving rocks etc. My opinion get the largest, heaviest machine you can afford.
 
   / KUBOTA or JOHN DEERE? Or, other .... #5  
I think most of us on this forum have ;under bought at least in HP&Weight.Tractors seem to shrink with use.So the standard answer is:30-40 HP,4WD,FEL ,3000lbs and HST.There is a reason this is the most popular sized tractor sold to "home owners/small farms".Purchase a dedicated mower and purchased the largest tractor you can for your biggest jobs.Not to get into brands but buy what you can get serviced.We have a 44HP cabbed HST and a 32HP open station gear both 4WD with FEL.
 
   / KUBOTA or JOHN DEERE? Or, other .... #7  
I've got a 5045d, and it's used almost exclusively for loader work(moving logs and snow) with 1600 pounds of weight on the 3pt, and loaded rear tires. It handles everything I throw at it, but my property is relatively flat. I agree with the previous posts about mowing...this large of a tractor is rather unwieldy around a building, and paired up with the geared tranny, would be worse, so it is better paired with a dedicated mower. That being said, I would buy another one in a heartbeat...I love mine...

Sent from my LGL35G using TractorByNet
 
   / KUBOTA or JOHN DEERE? Or, other .... #8  
I'll second about under buying tractors. I thought 83 hp would be more than enough and I'm really considering something around 120hp now. Money obviously kept me form doing it in the first place. But its amazing how a tractor shrinks in size when a good deal on an attachment comes along!
 
   / KUBOTA or JOHN DEERE? Or, other .... #9  
We still do not know if any of the listed tractors have loaders or not?

The L3800DT would be a screaming deal, if it has a loader. Not so much, if no loader. The L4400f would be fine using a 6 foot mower and box blade and the L3200f would pull a 5 footer and box blade just fine.
 
   / KUBOTA or JOHN DEERE? Or, other ....
  • Thread Starter
#10  
We still do not know if any of the listed tractors have loaders or not?

The L3800DT would be a screaming deal, if it has a loader. Not so much, if no loader. The L4400f would be fine using a 6 foot mower and box blade and the L3200f would pull a 5 footer and box blade just fine.

Good morning! I just drove in after ~1200 miles yesterday so, I'm a still a little fatigued.

None of the tractors come pre-equipped with a loader. The land I need the tractor for today is dead flat and a bit sandy. The place I'm looking to buy is hilly and pretty slick when it rains.

I own a John Deere 314 which is a good tractor but a tad high maintenance with heavy mowing (broken mower belts) and I'm looking at an engine rebuild since it is smoking pretty bad on start up and down on power. I don't know what an engine rebuilt will cost but, I'm considering a repower to get rid of vibration in the current motor.

I have used a 150HP tractor on this property before so, I am sympathetic to the unwieldiness factor around trees, A/C units, vehicles, and other household obstacles. It sure was nice smoothing the long gravel driveway and general landscaping. :)

Is there enough size difference in Kubota's to make them practical around the house? The L series seem to all be basically the same size so that suggests the L4400 might be the better buy. How do they compare to the to John Deere "D's" size wise? I pushed back from a JD 5045E 4WD because it was too big around the house thinking a Kubota L series might be small enough to work, though it was a lot more expensive.

To stretch the dollars, I'm looking to buy as much tractor as I can up front and add a loader later when finances allow it. I'm seeing $3K~4K additional for a loader equipped tractor which seems to be about the cost of a loader added later. ~$3K added to the tractor purchase price opens up some possibilities that aren't possible when I factor in the total cost of adding a mower and a few other implements in the near term (little things add up too ;)).

A bigger tractor not only allows me to do more work, it also allows me to mow faster freeing up time for other chores. If the "trim" tractor, JD314, dies I could get away with mowing the bulk with the big tractor and following up the trim work later when I have a new belt or whatever broke on the JD314. I'm also hoping mowing the bulk of things and the tough stuff with a "big" tractor will cut down the amount of parts and labor needed to keep the JD314 mowing.
 
 
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