Is anyone looking at the M59?

[AWM59]

I haven't seen many postings from potential M59 buyers in the last year or so and was wondering why not?

Anyway, I've had an M59 for about 4 years now, and was chatting with some other owners when the conversation turned to curiosity why our tractors weren't a whole lot more popular.
I sure don't know....Why is it that we don't we see more of them? So I thought I'd ask it here.
Th M59 has a good rep, and deserves it. Rugged, comfortable, industrial quality, smooth controls, and plenty of power. Seems like we would see them everywhere, but we don't.
Just curious, rScotty

I am getting one! I am waiting for the front and rear hydraulics to be added. I am getting the M59 because I think it is the most versatile tractor for my needs. How is yours holding up?

 

[rScotty]

I am getting one! I am waiting for the front and rear hydraulics to be added. I am getting the M59 because I think it is the most versatile tractor for my needs. How is yours holding up?

Congratulations. You'll like itl might even love it. Ours is holding up very well. It is an exceptional machine. The power is awesome and at the same time it is precise enough to do delicate landscaping style work. Putting a thumb on the backhoe was an inspired decision. Glad my wife talked me into that. The only other extra implement that gets a lot of use is a rock bucket of the type used for sorting rock from soil. We tried several types to see which one works best in our soil. The one we ended up with is the least expensive but works best here. The rock bucket turns out to be so useful that it gets used as much or more than the standard bucket in the summer. Part of that is because you can see through the slots and get an idea of what the cutting edge is doing.

One BH cylinder was replaced during warranty by Kubota, and I replaced the auto-throttle cable last month because it wore out. ($30?). Other than that it hasn't needed anything in 550 pretty tough hrs. We keep a tarp over the seat&dashboard and that's about all the care it gets other than recommended lube & filters.

Buying it was a good decision....one of the best mechanical decisions we've made in spite of the high price. If Kubota offered it with a factory cab they'd have a world-beater. We hear pretty much the same thing from most other owners as well.

rScotty

 

[AWM59]

Great to here it is doing that we'll in a rocky environment. I just have sand and clay here in East Texas. I have about 23 acres and a lot of it with stumps. That will be my main use is to dig up stumps and clear land to grow produce and fruit trees. I have a root grapple and a log splitter to use with it. I saw pics of the front loader carrying large trees and the 4k lifting ability is better than larger agriculture tractors I was looking at. The M59 frame seems to be made to take the abuse of moving dirt & heavy loads better than a regular tractor. I know a lot of comments have been made about you can buy a used Full size TLB for half the price and buy another tractor for the 3 point hookups. I don't want to maintain two tractors when I get everything done with one. Plus something with 3 to 4 thousand hours sounds like a lot of down time to me. I think I can make the M59 last the rest of my life, so $60,000 over many years does not seem that bad. Would like to see a pic of your rock bucket if you have one.

 

[jenkinsph]

rScotty,

I have the 110tlb with the Laurin cab and feel good about the cab decision after nine years of use in the New Mexico mountains. Nice to be out of the wind in the winter months.

As to your query about popularity of the M59, while it is a great machine and one I recommend it is costly to buy for most hobbyists. I think this is the reason for lower sales. The 110 L45 M59 are all good machines in my book but none of them are cheap.

 

[rScotty]

snip....... The 110 L45 M59 are all good machines in my book but none of them are cheap.

I couldn't agree more. When we searching for our "lifetime tractor" we looked at a lot of machines. And Kubota wasn't our first choice - in fact, it wasn't even on the radar. Here's a bit about our search:
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/kubota-owning-operating/288719-few-years-m59-others.html

Since 2006 I've had the chance to spend a fair amount of time with the JD110, some on the L45, and a bunch on our M59. It seems to me that a person just wouldn't go wrong with any of them. Each one has it's special good points but there's not really any downside to any of them. There's not a dog in the lot. Deciding which one to buy is likely to be based on the job rather than on the model of tractor.

Of course having said that I'll contradict myself right off by saying that I passed a JD110 working by the road yesterday and doggone it...that sure is a sweet looking machine. It just looks "right". In my eye the JD110 has the best styling of the bunch..... One of the best looking tractors ever. Nice controls, too.

Anyway, these three or four midsize machines have all proven themselves by now. And they've collectively carved out a respected niche for themselves sized between the 40/50 hp farm tractors using a 3 point backhoe and the 90/100 hp commercial tractor-loader-backhoes.

I'm thinking that the ultimate winner in this TLB category hasn't shown up yet. But when it does, I'll bet it comes with a factory cab.
A cab isn't offered on any of the present models.
rScotty

 

[jdonovan]

Of course having said that I'll contradict myself right off by saying that I passed a JD110 working by the road yesterday and doggone it...that sure is a sweet looking machine. It just looks "right". In my eye the JD110 has the best styling of the bunch..... One of the best looking tractors ever. Nice controls, too.

Shame JD's out of the small TLB market at this time. I liked the 110 a lot, but what kept it off my list was the inability to add hydraulic options after factory. If you wanted 3-rd function, or a thumb, it was that way when it left the factory, or it wasn't available.

I'm thinking that the ultimate winner in this TLB category hasn't shown up yet. But when it does, I'll bet it comes with a factory cab.
A cab isn't offered on any of the present models.

I always thought the JCB 2CX was very close to 'it'... But near me JCB service is a bit hard to come by, so I passed on picking one up.
12,000 lbs, 1 yd bucket, 55hp @ pto, 12' dig depth... looks like a heck of a nice machine.