DieselBound
Elite Member
OK, first post for me.
I'm in the process of shopping for some more HP (currently have an Kubota B7800 - I've put 900 hrs on it after buying it 5.5 years ago with 748 hrs). I figure 50hp to 50hp is about what I need and can afford. Must have HST.
Background on why I'm here (now), why this post:
I only had two dealers which were responsive. Of these two I have been able to check out three different brands. Those brands are: Kioti, Kubota and Mahindra.
My very first view glimpse of Mahindra's offerings was a 2014(? engine date showed 2014) model year 2555. Right away I noticed a wire harness hanging down from just in front of the rear axle. Not sure if this unit isn't prepped well, but this raises red flags for me. The loader control is really poorly positioned: dealer said that one could relocate it- makes one wonder how they could allows this kind of engineering decision to make it out the door! This unit has been sitting on their lot for quite a while and the salesman is clearly chomping at the bit to move it.
The Mahindra dealer also sells Kioti (or, if you prefer the other way around, the Kioti dealer also sells Mahindras). I got a peak at an NX4510 that was being assembled. It had a cab. Pretty impressive. Of course, 45hp isn't enough so I got a quote for the NX5510 (no cab). Lots of niceties. Rough quote comes out to about $4000 more than the Mahindra, and about the same as for the Kubota.
Lastly, and I was trying to avoid looking at them, was the Kubota. I have a Kubota and have been more than impressed with its ability to stand up to utter abuse (though I maintain it well). Knowing that landing another Kubota would mean ponying up a bunch more dollars (when I'm already looking at the pain of shelling out tens of thousands of dollars) made me hesitant to look. The dealer, not the one I got my current Kubota from (I'm going to see about a quote from them), was very responsive and allowed me to operate an MX5200. This machine is very similar to my B7800 in that it's a totally no-frills machine. Everything is tucked up pretty well and looks to be fairly well safeguarded: mind you, I've managed to get crap jammed up in the core frame of my B7800, popping off the hydraulic return hose! (not sure if I'd be four-wheeling with a bigger tractor, but I never thought I'd be doing what I've been doing with my smaller one either) The quote I got for this was about $4000 more than for the Mahindra: included was one rear remote, which is standard on the Mahindra but not on the Kubota. I've got a lot of stuff to look after and I really can't afford to have things breaking on me (if something is going to break then it'll break on me!).
Usage is a combination of loader stuff, mowing and a bit of dirt work (grading). I've got 40 acres (mixed woods and grass- soft ground, which is why I went with my B7800 originally).
End of background.
While comparing the specs of these tractors -Kioti NX55, Kubota MX5200 and Mahindra 2555- I see quite a variance among the specs for hydraulics. The Kioti NX5510 has the highest total pump output/flow at 17.9 gpm, but the Mahindra 2555 with 14.7 total gpm rates their 3pt and loader capacities higher, and significantly more so. Maybe I'm not understanding something here, but greater pump flow and equal HP would seem to be what would come out on top would it not? I see that the 2555's cycle times are slower, does that have any bearing? The Kubota MX5200 comes out at the bottom (they rate 3pt at 500mm though, so this spec can't be compared to the 2555's rating at the pins), and with less HP I can understand, but it's considerably less, so much so that I have to wonder whether someone is grossly misstating specs.
I am not sure what kind of loader performance I really need, other than it's good to have as much power as possible because I'll find a reason to use it. I don't do loader work on a regular basis, but will be wanting power to move around pallets (filled with wood, seasoned and dry- right now my B7800 can barely lift one, let alone stack!).
3pt lift abilities is less important for me than loader abilities. I think that even the lowest spec-d of the bunch, the Kubota, has sufficient capacity.
PTO HP is pretty much even across the board.
It appears that Kioti doesn't split out their power steering and I'm wondering if that presents any issues. I can see that it could be a plus having more pump flow for other stuff if not turning, though I'm not sure (straight line stuff).
On somewhat of a tangent, I'm very hesitant to go with anything DPF/DEF. It's one reason why I decided to look at Mahindra. My other thought is to consider something a couple years older: MX5100 perhaps; not sure about Kioti.
I'm in the process of shopping for some more HP (currently have an Kubota B7800 - I've put 900 hrs on it after buying it 5.5 years ago with 748 hrs). I figure 50hp to 50hp is about what I need and can afford. Must have HST.
Background on why I'm here (now), why this post:
I only had two dealers which were responsive. Of these two I have been able to check out three different brands. Those brands are: Kioti, Kubota and Mahindra.
My very first view glimpse of Mahindra's offerings was a 2014(? engine date showed 2014) model year 2555. Right away I noticed a wire harness hanging down from just in front of the rear axle. Not sure if this unit isn't prepped well, but this raises red flags for me. The loader control is really poorly positioned: dealer said that one could relocate it- makes one wonder how they could allows this kind of engineering decision to make it out the door! This unit has been sitting on their lot for quite a while and the salesman is clearly chomping at the bit to move it.
The Mahindra dealer also sells Kioti (or, if you prefer the other way around, the Kioti dealer also sells Mahindras). I got a peak at an NX4510 that was being assembled. It had a cab. Pretty impressive. Of course, 45hp isn't enough so I got a quote for the NX5510 (no cab). Lots of niceties. Rough quote comes out to about $4000 more than the Mahindra, and about the same as for the Kubota.
Lastly, and I was trying to avoid looking at them, was the Kubota. I have a Kubota and have been more than impressed with its ability to stand up to utter abuse (though I maintain it well). Knowing that landing another Kubota would mean ponying up a bunch more dollars (when I'm already looking at the pain of shelling out tens of thousands of dollars) made me hesitant to look. The dealer, not the one I got my current Kubota from (I'm going to see about a quote from them), was very responsive and allowed me to operate an MX5200. This machine is very similar to my B7800 in that it's a totally no-frills machine. Everything is tucked up pretty well and looks to be fairly well safeguarded: mind you, I've managed to get crap jammed up in the core frame of my B7800, popping off the hydraulic return hose! (not sure if I'd be four-wheeling with a bigger tractor, but I never thought I'd be doing what I've been doing with my smaller one either) The quote I got for this was about $4000 more than for the Mahindra: included was one rear remote, which is standard on the Mahindra but not on the Kubota. I've got a lot of stuff to look after and I really can't afford to have things breaking on me (if something is going to break then it'll break on me!).
Usage is a combination of loader stuff, mowing and a bit of dirt work (grading). I've got 40 acres (mixed woods and grass- soft ground, which is why I went with my B7800 originally).
End of background.
While comparing the specs of these tractors -Kioti NX55, Kubota MX5200 and Mahindra 2555- I see quite a variance among the specs for hydraulics. The Kioti NX5510 has the highest total pump output/flow at 17.9 gpm, but the Mahindra 2555 with 14.7 total gpm rates their 3pt and loader capacities higher, and significantly more so. Maybe I'm not understanding something here, but greater pump flow and equal HP would seem to be what would come out on top would it not? I see that the 2555's cycle times are slower, does that have any bearing? The Kubota MX5200 comes out at the bottom (they rate 3pt at 500mm though, so this spec can't be compared to the 2555's rating at the pins), and with less HP I can understand, but it's considerably less, so much so that I have to wonder whether someone is grossly misstating specs.
I am not sure what kind of loader performance I really need, other than it's good to have as much power as possible because I'll find a reason to use it. I don't do loader work on a regular basis, but will be wanting power to move around pallets (filled with wood, seasoned and dry- right now my B7800 can barely lift one, let alone stack!).
3pt lift abilities is less important for me than loader abilities. I think that even the lowest spec-d of the bunch, the Kubota, has sufficient capacity.
PTO HP is pretty much even across the board.
It appears that Kioti doesn't split out their power steering and I'm wondering if that presents any issues. I can see that it could be a plus having more pump flow for other stuff if not turning, though I'm not sure (straight line stuff).
On somewhat of a tangent, I'm very hesitant to go with anything DPF/DEF. It's one reason why I decided to look at Mahindra. My other thought is to consider something a couple years older: MX5100 perhaps; not sure about Kioti.