Need buying advice - Kubota/JD/NH

   / Need buying advice - Kubota/JD/NH #11  
I have a couple of thoughts. 1 where are you storing it and the hight of the entrance might help in deciding. Though I truly do love the B series I think it may be light for your needs. How ever the cab and the 3030 or the Ls is great.I would think a skid steer tach all might be in order and maybe a root grapple. Do you have implements or do you need to buy them as well. That also my impact your decision. A tach all, Rear remotes, a tooth bar. are tings that push the price up and you still have a tractor with no implements
 
   / Need buying advice - Kubota/JD/NH #12  
I agree with Timber...you should include some of the "core" peripherals in your purchase budget. You may or may not intend to switch out your bucket but if you do so regularly you'll want an adapter (Tach-Al is one brand, there are others) and rear remotes as mentioned. A grapple is very nice but you can get away with a simple grapple bucket modification if the budget or intended use doesn't justify the whole shooting match.
 
   / Need buying advice - Kubota/JD/NH
  • Thread Starter
#13  
Well....you guys have got me thinking about the 3030 now with the cab. I wasnt going to...but when I visited the closer kubota dealer today, they had the 3030 with cab, loader and mmm on it. It had about 18 hours on it (I suspect they let someone 'try before you buy' it as they offered me the same). With the few hours on it they were willing to drop the price a little.

Prices as of today:
Closer dealer - 22.5k for the B3030 with cab, FEL and MMM.
Closer dealer - 20.5k for the B3030 with cab and FEL.
85 mile dealer - 21,250k for the B3030 with cab and FEL
85 mile dealer - 17,600k for the B3030 with FEL but w/o Cab

Closer dealer - 18k for L3400 w/FEL
85 mile dealer - 17,250k for L3400 w/FEL

For fun I called the local JD dealer and got a price on the 990.
JD dealer - 21.5k for the 990 with loader and ind tires.

I'm not sure I can justify 3.6k for a cab right now. I could buy the 3030 or the 3400 for a little over 17k, buy a couple of implements and still be cheaper than the tractor and cab alone. I'll have to think on this a bit.

I dont have any implements at the moment...the loader is the main thing I need right now. But in order of "importance" I would say I want/need:
1. Back Blade
2. Brush Mower
3. Tiller
4. Snow Thrower
5. Disc
6. Finish Mower
7. A spear for lighter hay bales may move to the top of the list if I should do some fencing and board some horses.

I know the MMM would make some sense, but that is going to be a tough sell to the wife since I bought a new rider 2 years ago for about $2200. If I can sell the rider for $1500ish, I may switch over to a pull behind finish mower.

I don't think I need a grapple or auger anytime soon. I dont have any rocks or trees to move. I wouldnt mind the grapple for demoing an old barn, but I think I'll do most of that by hand haul it in a trailer or chain skid it to a burning pile.

The tractor will be stored in a pole building with electricity to keep the block heater plugged in during the winter. I have plenty of clearance for the cab should I go that route.

I appreciate the input guys...keep it coming :)

EDIT: What exactly would the rear remotes be used for? Do I not have anything stock on the tractor to move 3ph stuff up and down? Plz explain...I have little experience with tractors other than what I see other people do with them :)
 
   / Need buying advice - Kubota/JD/NH #14  
Couple comments:

The B3030 cab prices look about right.

Much as I like Deere, I don't think the 990 is what you want/need. Also, it's bigger than the Kubotas you're looking at, and doesn't have an HST option.

You know your own hardiness, but I never seriously considered a cab while shopping, and after just a month which saw both snow plowing and brushhogging (love Michigan weather!) I was kinda wishing I had at least considered one. It would have pushed me into a smaller size tractor, but still within the range of what I need.

Not sure what size hay bales you plan to move on a spear, but a B3030 would be scary or even out of the question with anything over 300lbs or so. Not many round bales in that category. The weight of a round bale is so far forward that you can't lift a round bale that weighs nearly as much as the loader's capacity to lift at its pivot points or bucket center. I wanted the ability to move round bales up to 1200lbs and most advice I got was to skip over all CUTs and go straight to utility class. Thing is I'm not currently using round bales and don't know if I ever will be! Also, as someone pointed out to me, most horse hay is sold in small square bales (50-55lbs or so). Unless round bales are very likely, I wouldn't factor that into your decision much. None of the tractors you're looking at would be comfortable lifting standard 4x5' round bales.

Definitely do budget for implements, and your list and priorities seem quite reasonable. Only comment is that I personally would choose a rear mount finishing mower over a midmount, due to greater ground clearance and the ability to lift it way off the ground with 3ph when needed (like when crossing mud or shallow water).

At the same time, if you get anything bigger than the B3030 I would skip the finish mower and keep your riding mower. You don't want even a 2500lb tractor on the lawn 2 feet from your house.

I have one rear remote on my JD and no immediate use for it. Of course people who buy more swear by them - of course, why else would they have paid for them if they didn't have plans for them? All 3ph systems include the hydraulics necessary to raise and lower the 3ph, that isn't what the remotes are for. Remotes can either power adjustable linkages in the 3ph, or more commonly power hydraulic features on implements, like road wheels, adjustable scarifier bars, blade tilt on a fancy rear blade, some hay baler controls, etc. etc.
 
   / Need buying advice - Kubota/JD/NH #15  
You have some great but tough choices there. Just to give you my bias, if you take a longer term perspective on this purchase, the demo B3030 cab/FEL and MMM makes a whole lot of sense and seems a great deal. Obviously there is a marital minefield to be negotiated but as Lord Nelson used to say: go right at'm.

The bang for the buck in terms of raw power is the L3400 and if you were clearing lots of land or working in the woods that would certainly make more sense than the B3030 cab. However I get the impression that you are not planning to do any really heavy duty ground engaging work but are really looking for an all around compact utility tractor. The B starts to look better with those priorities. Add in the fact that snowblowing without a cab is nobody's idea of a pleasant time and I think the cab is definitely the way to go. The close by dealer has the best price so that should be a no brainer.

The MMM issue is certainly awkward for you but consider the following: 1) the B3030/MMM is a superb mower, you will be giving up nothing in quality or reliability, 2) the cab for mowing in the summer will be very nice, 3) sitting in a quiet cab rather than bouncing along on a noisy gas burner will be nice for the operator and for the rest of the household, 4) using the tractor to mow means you can get rid of the little mower and therefore have one less engine and mechanical device to maintain (and deprecitate), 5) this is a great time of year to be selling a nice 2yr old riding lawn mower, 6) $2000 for the MMM is I think a pretty good deal, I haven't priced that specifically but the MMMs usually cost in the mid to high 2000s. 7) While RFM would also be fine, I do kinda like the idea of the B3030 cab as an overgrown lawn mower on steroids and as such it would be nice not to worry about where the RFM is when you are lawnmowing near the house, trees etc.

Good luck. And I hope you have some honey do credits in the bank to call on when you have your family finance talk.:)

Addendum: given your intended uses the rear remotes don't seem critical. They might be useful for a grapple or for the back blade when maintaining a gravel driveway but none of your goals really requires them.
 
   / Need buying advice - Kubota/JD/NH #16  
IslandTractor said:
Obviously there is a marital minefield to be negotiated but as Lord Nelson used to say: go right at'm.

Hmm, maybe not the best example, that's Nelson bleeding to death on the deck of HMS Victory.:D

2005_5180.JPG
 
   / Need buying advice - Kubota/JD/NH #17  
N80 said:
Hmm, maybe not the best example, that's Nelson bleeding to death on the deck of HMS Victory.:D

2005_5180.JPG

Yeah but think of what he got done with that philosophy before that French sharpshooter got him. We'd all be speaking French now if he hadn't gone headlong after the "enemy". Perhaps he should have said "Go right at'm but don't wear your Admiral's uniform on deck in a close action".;)

I don't know if you ever read the Aubry/Maturin novels by Patrick O'Brian but in the Post Captain volume nearly a whole crew of sailors is having a formal ball on land for the local lovelies and to decorate the ballroom they used pretty signal flags. The ladies could not read the message however which spelled out "Go right at'm".:D
 
   / Need buying advice - Kubota/JD/NH #18  
Kao:

IslandTractor and Z-Michigan raise some good points. MMM's seriously compromise ground clearance and the tractors your are looking at are pretty heavy for lawn mowing. A RFM would be preferrable to a MMM for clearance reasons, but they do hang off the back of your tractor a bit and you have to be aware of the "swing factor :eek:" during turns. I would forgo the MMM and RFM, keep your rider, and buy attachments with the money you "saved" :cool:. Tell that to "She Who Must Be Obeyed :eek:". I would also get a cab model- you may be sleeping there :D. Good luck- Jay
 
   / Need buying advice - Kubota/JD/NH #19  
See I totally disagree with using the AG tractor for cutting grass unless your bailing it. I know my Lawn tractor will out cut and maneuver my 7800. I do have a 50 inch deck on it and It comes with a 54 as well. It is clearly lighter and faster.
 
   / Need buying advice - Kubota/JD/NH
  • Thread Starter
#20  
Bah...I messed up on the JD 990 price. Its 18.5k for the 990 with loader and ind. tires. Not the 21.5k I originally printed.
As already mentioned - no hydro option, but I'm not sure if that is all that important to me after my loader work is done.

Looking for some deals online. Be back later.
 
 
Top