Six Lessons learned from shopping for a new 50hp Kubota Tractor

[Owenslee]

Originally Posted by ultrarunner

No Pictures?

Tractor is not being delivered until Monday afternoon...hopefully. It may end up being Tuesday afternoon if the driver is late making an earlier delivery into St. Louis Monday morning.

Kathy and I just got back from the farm where we spent the day making room for the new arrival in the shop building.

Will post pictures as soon as the tractor is home.

Need to find a larger brush hog now...

Owner's manual indicated that a 7' rotary cutter is the largest recommended weighing no more than 1200 lbs. I was expecting to go at least 8'. However they don't differentiate between a single gear box and a three gearbox cutter which would be much shorter and easier on the three point hydraulics.

Any opinions?

Kerry

[TripleR]

Originally Posted by Owenslee

Tractor is not being delivered until Monday afternoon...hopefully. It may end up being Tuesday afternoon if the driver is late making an earlier delivery into St. Louis Monday morning.

Kathy and I just got back from the farm where we spent the day making room for the new arrival in the shop building.

Will post pictures as soon as the tractor is home.

Need to find a larger brush hog now...

Owner's manual indicated that a 7' rotary cutter is the largest recommended weighing no more than 1200 lbs. I was expecting to go at least 8'. However they don't differentiate between a single gear box and a three gearbox cutter which would be much shorter and easier on the three point hydraulics.

Any opinions?

Kerry

Have you looked at the Woods Heritage Series?

[Owenslee]

Originally Posted by TripleR

Have you looked at the Woods Heritage Series?

I did but they don't make an 84" model in the Heritage series. I don't want to run any smaller than 7 ft.

Kerry

[PSDStu]

I run the Woods DS-96 3pt, Rotary Cutter on my M5040 and I think it's around 1400lbs. I've never had a problem using it. Lots of 8' cutters out there, Woods, Bush Hog, Landpride..etc..

You could also look at a 8' pull-type cutter.

Stu

Originally Posted by Owenslee

Tractor is not being delivered until Monday afternoon...hopefully. It may end up being Tuesday afternoon if the driver is late making an earlier delivery into St. Louis Monday morning.

Kathy and I just got back from the farm where we spent the day making room for the new arrival in the shop building.

Will post pictures as soon as the tractor is home.

Need to find a larger brush hog now...

Owner's manual indicated that a 7' rotary cutter is the largest recommended weighing no more than 1200 lbs. I was expecting to go at least 8'. However they don't differentiate between a single gear box and a three gearbox cutter which would be much shorter and easier on the three point hydraulics.

Any opinions?

Kerry

[TripleR]

Originally Posted by Owenslee

I did but they don't make an 84" model in the Heritage series. I don't want to run any smaller than 7 ft.

Kerry

The HC72 is an 8' model with a 1" cutting capacity; won't cut heavy stuff.
Land Pride also has an RCR1872.

I wanted more cutting capacity, so went wirh the Woods DS1260.

[Owenslee]

Originally Posted by PSDStu

I run the Woods DS-96 3pt, Rotary Cutter on my M5040 and I think it's around 1400lbs. I've never had a problem using it. Lots of 8' cutters out there, Woods, Bush Hog, Landpride..etc..

You could also look at a 8' pull-type cutter.

Stu

Thanks Stu... I was wanting to stick with a 3pt cutter and had almost pulled the trigger on an 8ft cutter that weighed about 1450. My concern would be warranty issues with Kubota if you had a 3pt problem under warranty and they learned that you had been using a larger width and heavier 3pt cutter than recommended. Yet there are many owner's using 3pt rotary cutters that exceed Kubota's maximum weight and width limit.

However in all fairness, I rarely have run a 3pt cutter with a solid top link. Just a chain....so the cutter is really no more than a drag type where the maximum weight limit is 11,000 lbs...

Kerry

[dodge man]

I'm glad you found what you wanted at a price you are happy with. I always say advice is worth what you pay for it. Everything on here is free, so its up to you to sort through all the posts you get in response and figure out what advice is good for your specific case.

I'm looking forward to some pics and enjoy the new tractor.

[PSDStu]

I understand your concern but a 7' cutter hanging so far back on the 3pt is in my view harder on the 3pt then the 8' cutter which sits closer to the tractor. Like you mentioned.... your not really caring that weight for very long before you set the cutter down and get to work. Go find the cutter you want and have some fun!

Stu

Originally Posted by Owenslee

Thanks Stu... I was wanting to stick with a 3pt cutter and had almost pulled the trigger on an 8ft cutter that weighed about 1450. My concern would be warranty issues with Kubota if you had a 3pt problem under warranty and they learned that you had been using a larger width and heavier 3pt cutter than recommended. Yet there are many owner's using 3pt rotary cutters that exceed Kubota's maximum weight and width limit.

However in all fairness, I rarely have run a 3pt cutter with a solid top link. Just a chain....so the cutter is really no more than a drag type where the maximum weight limit is 11,000 lbs...

Kerry

[Ken45101]

While I agree (and had the same experience) of significantly different prices from different dealers, the Jan 2008 model vs. the 2009 model might have been different because Kubota raised prices and/or that the 2009 model was a -1 (turbo charged engine) whereas perhaps the 2008 was not.

The turbo only adds about 1 hp, but really is for meeting emissions requirements. I'd rather have a non turbo, less expensive things to go wrong.

Congratulations on your new toy...oops, I mean tool ;-)

Ken
M5040 with FEL
M9540 with 15' Bush Hog
(and a long list of other toys, mostly Kubota)

[Owenslee]

Originally Posted by Ken45101

While I agree (and had the same experience) of significantly different prices from different dealers, the Jan 2008 model vs. the 2009 model might have been different because Kubota raised prices and/or that the 2009 model was a -1 (turbo charged engine) whereas perhaps the 2008 was not.

The turbo only adds about 1 hp, but really is for meeting emissions requirements. I'd rather have a non turbo, less expensive things to go wrong.

Congratulations on your new toy...oops, I mean tool ;-)

Ken
M5040 with FEL
M9540 with 15' Bush Hog
(and a long list of other toys, mostly Kubota)

The difference was definitely the result of higher dealer price in July 2009 vs Jan 2008. The difference was a little over $1730 in dealer cost. Both models were the non turbo M5040HD...not the M5040HD-1....which was a little surprising as I would have thought the July 2009 tractor would have been the later turbo. But it wasn't. I agree with you that the non turbo model was preferable. Had there been a difference of 5-10HP...then maybe, but my understanding was that the only reason the turbo was added on the -1 models was to meet Tier IV emissions.
The tractor was delivered as scheduled Monday afternoon and it's now parked in our shop building. Total hours is 3.1. I took a few pictures that I will post later tonight or tomorrow.

On Monday evening I had a coyote run out in front of the tractor as I was heading to the South end of our airstrip. He was only 50 yds away and would have been an easy shot...but I didn't have the rifle with me. ( I plan to install a vertical rifle mount just ahead of the 4WD lever). The crazy coyote looked mesmerized by the tractor. He obviously wanted to run...but was so curious he just stood there. I'm sure it was, without a doubt, the largest bright orange painted object he had ever seen. It was really pretty hilarious...

Kerry