Buying Advice New Tractor Decision

[Par4x4]

Hi all. I recently retired to 41 acres in rural Missouri. I've been researching tractors, reading these forums and talking with local farmers and friends about which tractor to buy. I've been looking at JD 3038E, Kubota L3901, Kioti CK4010 and LS XR4040 models. I've pretty much ruled out the John Deere, mostly due to comments on these forums and reviews. There are Kubota, Kioti and LS dealers all within about 35 miles of my home. My preferences for the tractor are FEL, brush hog, box blade. I'm not sold yet on HST or Shuttle Shift. I'll be using the tractor for keeping about 4 acres cleared/mowed, fence work, firewood cutting and grading. To date I have only talked to the Kioti dealer and they have been in the tractor business for 50 years, selling Kioti for about 20 years. The Kubota dealer has a great reputation locally and I haven't met the LS dealer but a long time farmer friend highly recommends them. I haven't driven any of the tractors yet but will be over the next couple weeks. I've never owned my own but I do have experience operating several different, larger tractors. So the $10 million question to you is which one and why?

 

[4570Man]

You won't regret stepping up to a Kubota Grand L series. My personal preference is HST. The Grand series has lots of nice features, but the transmission and the 3 point hitch are a huge improvement. Not all HST transmissions are created equal. I have used a L3800 HST, a small deer tractor HST, a CK25 HST, L3130 HST, and the L3240 grand HST. The grand transmission is a huge improvement over any of the rest.

 

[Citydude]

Hi all. I recently retired to 41 acres in rural Missouri. I've been researching tractors, reading these forums and talking with local farmers and friends about which tractor to buy. I've been looking at JD 3038E, Kubota L3901, Kioti CK4010 and LS XR4040 models. I've pretty much ruled out the John Deere, mostly due to comments on these forums and reviews. There are Kubota, Kioti and LS dealers all within about 35 miles of my home. My preferences for the tractor are FEL, brush hog, box blade. I'm not sold yet on HST or Shuttle Shift. I'll be using the tractor for keeping about 4 acres cleared/mowed, fence work, firewood cutting and grading. To date I have only talked to the Kioti dealer and they have been in the tractor business for 50 years, selling Kioti for about 20 years. The Kubota dealer has a great reputation locally and I haven't met the LS dealer but a long time farmer friend highly recommends them. I haven't driven any of the tractors yet but will be over the next couple weeks. I've never owned my own but I do have experience operating several different, larger tractors. So the $10 million question to you is which one and why?

Welcome aboard! Going to the dealerships and getting a feel for the pricing, how the models your interested in compare to each other in operating them will give you a great start to your adventure. Take notes after you test drive each of them for your likes and dislikes. I'm sure you will have more questions.

 

[Green Power]

If you do a lot of loader work i would get a HST transmission, I would also buy a size or two bigger than you think you need.

 

[nvmyhd]

Bang for the buck LS won it for me.
But its all up to what you feel most comfortable on, to me this was important.
Compare those that feel the best and then look at the capability of each and the price.
If your going to buy your attachments with the tractor will the dealer offer a better price.
Is the dealer easy to deal with, will he transport or send a tech out if you have warranty issues.
HST ys shuttle compare and see what you like. I like my HST.

 

[paulfun9]

Go look and price all your interested in and make sure you are comparing apples to apples when looking at them. A grand L is not the same class as a CK4010 as one will come standard with a lot more options than the other. Test run everything and don't limit yourself to what the local dealers have on the lots. For me I at first didn't have a DK40 se to look at or test run close but I took the time to take a drive a little farther out to test run one and it ended up being the machine I decided on when everything else was weighted into the decision. Being a long time owner and having owned Kubota/Massy /JD as well as others going with one of the new comers says a lot about their products especially since my purchase was cash and I could have afforded anything I wanted.

As far as gear or HST I really prefer a power shuttle over the HST and probably always will but I do have two HST machines as well as straight gear, power shuttle and something International used to call a torque converter trans and have no complaints with any of them. I would say its more a choice of personal preference and your ability to operate a clutch but I have no problem with loader work or anything else with any tranny so for me it really don't matter. Take your time and weigh your decision according to your experience and needs for the tractor and maybe who, if someone else might be operating it as well. The main reason I got the DK with the HST is because others here need to operate it at times and they are not very good with gears.

 

[redman135]

You don't say your tractor experience, so I will assume it is zero.
1)Dealer proximity matters for parts, and advise.
2) which dealer are you most comfortable with?
3) Gearbox, hydro is more forgiving of mistake/ inexperience/ multiple operators.
4) ERGONOMICS: which tractor physically fits you the best. The controls should fall to hand , not be that extra bit further to reach, or to close. Is the hydro forward/reverse pedal right for you? Can you get on and off easily?
5)Recommend 4x4 as it will allow you to do things much easier.
6) Get a demo tractor if you can, to try out in real world conditions, not on the lot.
Good Luck

 

[TripleR]

I really can't dispute anything anyone else has said. Like you, most of my prior experience was with bigger tractors, so I had to do a lot of research and learning to pick the "right" CUT. For me it was a Grand L, but they are pretty expensive and a good LS, Kioti or other will to as much fork for less money. Spend as much time on each as you can, looking at them on the lot and a short drive around the lot helps, but personally of all the tractors I've bought new and used, I only fell in love with one until I had a few hours seat time. My favorite tractor of the several we own is the L5740HSTC and I was initially pretty underwhelmed. I loved our M8540HDC after a few minutes, but maybe this is just me.

As Paulfun9 mentioned be sure to compare high end to high end or standard/economy to standard/economy.

As to transmission, I usually operate an HST or hydraulic shuttle-shift, both are easy to use. We own all transmission types, but I guess I am getting a bit lazy and dislike foot clutches, gets old on a long day.

I like Kubotas and my brother has a nice Kioti, but we've both been interested in looking at a LS and it may well be my brother's next tractor, so I really don't see one brand "better" than the other.

You probably already know picking the right machine is just your first hurdle, you have to then decide on options and equipment, we've been running tractors for years and still find a need for yet another attachment or implement from time to time.

Good luck and you may want to visit here, may be someone in your area: http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/midwest-great-lakes/228416-missouri-roll-call-show-me.html

 

[noller9]

I was in your shoes 2 years ago 12/16 and I went with the Kubota L3200 mainly for the convenient financing. I picked a gear model for the control (opinion). No Shutttle shift available. Also no mid-PTO so you would need a 3-pt mower system.

The Kubota has performed flawlessly. My only caveat is the FEL does not seem as sturdy as my neighbors LS. If you check the weight I believe the LS outweighs the Kubota by 500 +- lbs. The LS dealer was 12 miles from my house and told me he would not deliver the machine. He told me to drive it down the road with my orange triangle for safety. What a hoot?

I really wanted the Kioti. Something about that howling hound was right for me but the dealer said it was best to get a bank loan. So if you are loaded with cash I would check the Kioti and the LS but I have no complaints about the Kubota even with the dealer over an hour away.

Happy Hunting,

noller9

 

[noller9]

Hey Adam,
Did you steal that "bang for your buck" phrase from the dealer you bought your L3200 from? The reason I said that was I spent an hour talking to a great salesman from Colorado and that is how he described the L3200 (which I did buy in PA) I had called Colorado because of the time difference and all the local dealers were closed here in PA (EST). I had a great time talking to him and wished I could have met him in person. Just his voice reminded me of Chris Farley!!!!!

Noller9