Buying Advice Kubota B3300SU vs B3200HSD

[Nanook]

I have narrowed my search down to either a B3200HSD or a B3300SU. There is virtually no difference in price, but the B3300SU has 25 pto hp and the B3200HSD has 23 pto hp. Given that fact, I lean toward the B3300SU because of the higher pto hp and a slightly lower price. But, The B3300SU does not have a mid pto. I suspect that is the only real difference, and the reason for 2 pto hp. The question is; how important is that 2 hp?

Currently, I need a TLB for renovating my property, which will require digging up a bunch of tree roots and renovating the lawn. Additionally, I need to put in 400 to 500 feet of fencing. Plus, I need to regenerate a garden. (I have a 1 man gas post hole digger and gas tiller, but I think I want to sell them since I don't think the post hole digger is really up to the job, given the rocky soil, and I know I don't want to be dragged behind the tiller to regenerate a garden.) Thus, I want a TLB with a post hole digger and a tiller. I have heard, and suspect, that a reverse turning tiller is better. Originally, I thought I wanted a MMM, but I have a garden tractor with a 50 inch deck that does the job, and anything larger would probably not work on my property with trees, etc. My next property, however, will have at least 40 acres, and may have as much as 5 to 10 acres to mow and a 1/4 to 1 acre garden or hobby farm. (If I buy a real farm, with many tillable acres, I will probably lease that land out to make taxes and some money; I don't think I will become a farmer, which would obviously require much heavier equipment.) But, on the new property, I would not want to be limited to a gas garden tractor with a 50 inch deck. I would want either a MMM or a rear PTO finish mower. If I buy the B3300SU, even though it has 25 hp, which would be great for a rear pto mower, it can never be fitted with a MMM. If I buy the B3200HSD, it only has 23 pto hp, but I could use either a rear pto mower or a MMM up to 72 inches. I believe I could even get an 84 inch rear PTO mower, but I don't know how well that would work with 23 or even 25 HP. I would think that either tractor should work fine with a 62 inch reverse tiller or a 9 inch post hole digger. The 62 inch tiller should be fine for my current small garden, restoring the lawn, and for an eventual 1/4 to 1/2 acre garden. (I think.)

What are suggestions, criticisms, ideas?

 

[dclynch]

I think you want a bigger tractor. Most manufacturers require 5 PTO HP for every foot of equipment. 60' rototiller requires 25 PTO HP

 

[dclynch]

Sorry 60" rototiller requires 25 HP

 

[Nanook]

I thought about smaller rototillers. Even as small as 42 inches. That would be fine for my present garden, which is only a couple of thousand square feet, and I suspect it would be fine for up to 1/4 acre. However, one dealer told me that I don't want a rototiller narrower than the width of the wheels. Thus, he suggested I needed at least 60 inches for a 3200HSD or B3300SU. Is that true? From a work point of view, I would be happy with a 42 to 50 inch rototiller. Also, I was told that with a 3200HSD I would not want to run a MMM smaller than 60 inches, again because of the width of the wheels. Is this true?

 

[Dozernut]

Get a side shift tiller. I have an old, 54" Befco tiller that will side shift over a foot. I have used it on 50hp to 20hp tractors, it will always side shift to cover the right rear tire. Just clear the area you have tilled then backup or turn around and put your right rear tire at the edge where you previously tilled. Usually you can buy tillers cheaper at a farm store than the dealer.

 

[s219]

The differences between the 3200 and 3300 are that the 3300 has bigger tires (main difference to me), no mid-PTO, no draw-bar, and normally comes bundled with the front loader. You also get a 60" bucket on the front loader because of the wide tires, whereas the 3200 has a narrower bucket. I don't think I saw you mention implications for anything other than the mid-PTO in your post, so that suggests you don't care about the other items. So I'd say get the 3200 so you have the option for a mid-PTO if you want it later on.

By the way, if you stripped off tires, loader, and PTO gears, the two tractors are otherwise identical. Even the engine is identical. The 3300 has more HP simply by being rated at a slightly higher RPM. Drive both before buying. They have a 4-cylinder engine which has a lot more vibrations than 3-cylinders.

I briefly considered a 3300 as an upgrade from my B2920, but after test driving, realized that the 3300 wasn't much bigger. So I went up to an L3200. That is a bigger/heavier chassis than the B series, and runs a smoother 3-cyl engine than the B3200/3300. Cost was within about $100 of a B3200 if I remember right.

Anyhow, my point is that the differences between the B3200 and B3300 are all about specifications that you can see on paper. If you think these are the tractors for you, pick the one that has the specs that are better for your needs. HP is not a major factor between the two.

 

[GreenWannabe]

What kind of mowing do you want to do on the 5 to 10 acres? If you want it to be a lawn, then either a mid-mount mower or a rear-mount finish mower would do the job. If you only want to rough cut it once a month or so, such as keeping a meadow or hay field under control, then a rotary cutter would be more appropriate. A finish mower is not designed for rough cutting. You also need to consider how much time you want to spend cutting those 5 to 10 acres. One mowing calculator is here: TractorData.com - Mowing with tractors. It also give a guide to horsepower required for different sizes of mowers and different types of mowing.

In my case, I'll be mowing 12 acres of former hayfield starting this year. My original plan was to use a 5' rotary cutter, but a number of friends let me know that I would probably be disappointed by the time it would take to mow that size property. I wound up buying a 6' rotary cutter, and sized the tractor to match the cutter, since mowing will be the predominant use of the tractor. I factored in a couple of extra horsepower to compensate for the air conditioning (cab tractor) but it is only really sized for fairly light mowing.

Good luck to you in your search, and have fun looking.