Buying Advice New 4wheel drive tractors / Kubota,MF,or NH

   / New 4wheel drive tractors / Kubota,MF,or NH #1  

Jonny S

New member
Joined
Feb 19, 2012
Messages
2
Location
Dayton, Texas
Tractor
Massey Ferguson 563/ Ford 2600
Hello everyone. This is my first post, I really enjoy this website and I hope to receive some good advice regarding my tractor dilemma.


I currently own a 2008 Massey Ferguson 563 with about 400 hours.
It is a very good tractor with a 65hp turbo charged Perkins, shuttle trans, loader with bucket, hydraulic auger, and grapple, and 2 remotes. The problem is that it is two wheel drive.
I have a remodeling/ construction business, so I use the tractor mostly on job sites for dirt-work and debris removal. In this part of Texas it rains most of the winter, so that = a lot of MUD.

I have been researching the following Four wheel drive tractors:
Kubota MX5100 : New Holland work master 55 : Massey Ferguson 2615

Any suggestions, comments, or opinions about these models would be greatly appreciated.
 
   / New 4wheel drive tractors / Kubota,MF,or NH #2  
. . . I currently own a 2008 Massey Ferguson 563 with about 400 hours. . .

I have a remodeling/ construction business, so I use the tractor mostly on job sites for dirt-work and debris removal. In this part of Texas it rains most of the winter, so that = a lot of MUD.

I have been researching the following Four wheel drive tractors:
Kubota MX5100 : New Holland work master 55 : Massey Ferguson 2615 . . .

:welcome:

This is just my opinion, but here goes:

I know that you are currently running a MF, but I think you will be disappointed with the 2615. It's not the same tractor. It's not a Perkins diesel, it's not the same HP as you now have, and it's about 1000 pounds lighter than your 563.

I have a NH, and love it, so this is not "brand bashing," but the Workmaster line is junk. It's probably OK for the occaisional user that only puts 20 or 30 hours per year on his tractor, but you won't like it. The Workmaster line was introduced to give NH a lower priced tractor to better compete with the "off-brand" foreign tractors. I still believe the NH does make a good tractor in the 50 hp range, but it's this one: New Holland T4000 series

Of the three that you listed, if that's the only three I can pick from, the Kubota would win. It's a good tractor, but again, it's going to be lighter than your 563. Considering what you use it for, I would go with a heavier unit. And, if you buy a higher hp, and heavier Kubota, you will be in the price range of the T4000 series. (and getting close to the JD 5M series)

So, to sum it up, I would suggest the NH T4000 series, or even the larger/heavier JD 5M series. These are not "compact" tractors. They have big enough tires to "tote the load." They handle and operate like a real tractor should. They are the "cadillacs" of their class.
You're going to be doing "real" work. You said dirt work and debris removal, and I would assume that you will also want pallet forks for moving bricks, stone, shingles, etc. You need a "real" tractor. :thumbsup:
 
   / New 4wheel drive tractors / Kubota,MF,or NH #3  
You can also get a hydro in the kubota and I don't think you can in the other two. That would be ideal for the type work you described.
 
   / New 4wheel drive tractors / Kubota,MF,or NH #4  
I like the Workmaster's, very heavy design. I know someone who has 2000 series MF (2wd) and he is very satisfied. The orange hydro's are nice but if something goes wrong internally with it a few years down the road, the repair bill can equal the entire resale value of the tractor. Plus when I was researching which tractor to buy I found six kubota's of different models and all with around 2000 hours that needed major engine work. I don't know, I might have found the only six kubota's in the US that were never serviced. I don't want to knock on orange without knowing what those tractors were put through but it might be something worth researching further if you look at buying one. Just my little 2 cents worth...
 
   / New 4wheel drive tractors / Kubota,MF,or NH #5  
Well, I have shopped for several tractors over the years and never came across even close to six tractors of any brand in need of major repairs. We own John Deere, Case, Massey Ferguson, Kubota and Ford.

The last two purcased was a used Kubota and new Kubota. I wouldn't hesitate to buy from any of the top manufacturers. There will be models better than others, but I know of no main line company that makes bad tractors across the board. In the NH and Case it can get confusing as to who actually made some of the CUTs as some are the same and some not.
 
   / New 4wheel drive tractors / Kubota,MF,or NH #6  
I like the Workmaster's, very heavy design. I know someone who has 2000 series MF (2wd) and he is very satisfied. The orange hydro's are nice but if something goes wrong internally with it a few years down the road, the repair bill can equal the entire resale value of the tractor. Plus when I was researching which tractor to buy I found six kubota's of different models and all with around 2000 hours that needed major engine work. I don't know, I might have found the only six kubota's in the US that were never serviced. I don't want to knock on orange without knowing what those tractors were put through but it might be something worth researching further if you look at buying one. Just my little 2 cents worth...


Hydrostatic transmissions have proved to be very reliable. If you operate a dry clutch tractor in close quarters with alot of clutching it is more likely to fail before the hydrostatic transmission.
Don't kid yourself about New Holland having a superior engine to Kubota.
Most tractor brands offer a few no frills "simple tractors" which are good and dependable, the NH Workmaster is one of these. The higher end NH,Kubota, Deere and others will be easier and more productive around a building site with hydro trannies though. When you are on a worksite with crews to pay time is money.
 
   / New 4wheel drive tractors / Kubota,MF,or NH #7  
For construction work, it's pretty hard to beat the commercial grade TLB's offered by Kubota if you have to pick a single machine. Something like the L39 or L45 would fit right in with what you have been considering, size-wise, but would give you a machine optimized for dirt work and material handling on a job site. Having multiple machines (skidsteer + mini-excavator, for example) may be the ultimate, but if you can't afford that or only want to haul one machine, give these units a good look.
 
   / New 4wheel drive tractors / Kubota,MF,or NH #8  
jenkinsph said:
Hydrostatic transmissions have proved to be very reliable. If you operate a dry clutch tractor in close quarters with alot of clutching it is more likely to fail before the hydrostatic transmission.
Don't kid yourself about New Holland having a superior engine to Kubota.
Most tractor brands offer a few no frills "simple tractors" which are good and dependable, the NH Workmaster is one of these. The higher end NH,Kubota, Deere and others will be easier and more productive around a building site with hydro trannies though. When you are on a worksite with crews to pay time is money.

Well, I think I fully expressed the fact that I wasn't condemning kubota and that I don't know why I found so many of them with such low hours that had blown engines. As far as the hydro's go, I know a man who bought one years ago. After he had the tractor five or six years (and it was well used by this point) the transmission went out on him. That was about eight years ago and the tractor is still setting in his barn because the price of a rebuilt tranny is more than the tractor is worth. If someone has the money go for it, they sure are nice! But in thirty years most of the tractors with fancy complicated transmissions are going to be the ones in the junk yards and that Workmaster is still going to out in the field just like the tractors it was named after. Just my experience, I'm sure others have many to share as well.
 
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   / New 4wheel drive tractors / Kubota,MF,or NH #9  
HST's have been around a LONG time and are not viewed by most as fancy or fragile. there are seemingly never ending debates on this and a quick search will give you hours of reading.
 
   / New 4wheel drive tractors / Kubota,MF,or NH #10  
Well, I think I fully expressed the fact that I wasn't condemning kubota and that I don't know why I found so many of them with such low hours that had blown engines. As far as the hydro's go, I know an who bought one years ago. After he had the tractor five or six years (and it was well used) the transmission went out on him. That was about eight years ago and and the tractor is still setting in his barn because the price of a rebuilt tranny is more than the tractor is worth. If someone has the money, they sure are nice! But in thirty years most of the tractors with fancy complicated transmissions are going to be the ones in the junk yards and that Workmaster is still going to out in the field just like the tractors it was named after.


You may very well be right about the longevity of the Workmaster being as good thirty years from now as it is today. I have a Deere 820 today that is pushing forty years old, it is as good as it ever was, working in a field it does well. In tight quarters such as a construction site it can't compete with the new tractors though, and that is my point.

Speaking about longevity and dependability have you noticed how few tractors issues about both gear and hydro transmissions there are on TBN? I am not a statistician but I can see that both are very dependable with very good reviews so far.
 

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