New Holland 450 Rollbelt Problems

[Ridersupfarm]

Thank you. Kubota was fairly aggressive with the pricing. I'm going to the dealer next week to make the purchase. Appreciate your comments. The hay we grow is primarily for our farm. We're feeding 22 horses and 2 donkeys. We always have some surplus that pays for the fertilizer, lime etc. Happy rolling.

 

[Hay Dude]

Right, but if you buy a new car and every time you drive down the street it breaks down, I don't expect you to wait until you have 30K miles on it to tell me if you like it or not. My 450 couldn't roll 30 rolls without a breakdown. At this rate it will take me 20 years to get to 10000 bales.

Right, but we’re confusing 2 different, but weighty issues here.

One is whether or not you can call a baler “good” after a few bales. Answer: No you cannot.

The other is whether or not you can rely on a baler that won’t bale from day 1 without problems. Again the answer: No, you cannot.

Same answers, but 2 different scenarios.

IMO, you are doing the right thing by getting rid of a problematic baler. I have had to do that twice.
If I were going back to round baling 2,000 round bales per year, I’d be in a Massey/Hesston or a Deere or Krone or Claas if I had a dealer nearby.

Most Kubota dealer techs are used to working on zero turns & little tractors, not hay equipment. If you cannot fix things yourself or know your way around a round baler, make sure the brand you buy has thorough tech support. You’ll need it

 

[Farmer495]

Most Kubota dealer techs are used to working on zero turns & little tractors, not hay equipment. If you cannot fix things yourself or know your way around a round baler, make sure the brand you buy has thorough tech support. You’ll need it

I agree, support needed if you can't do it yourself. Might be regional, most Kubota dealers around here are full line and very much into the Ag side of it versus the homeowner/grounds care.

Kubota hay equipment has been out a few years and they have been pushing it heavy, keeping in mind it's badge engineered Vicon/Kverneland heritage stuff that has been around for years.

I have one piece of Kubota hay equipment now, very happy with it. I would not hesitate to buy another Kubota hay piece.

 

[Hay Dude]

I agree, support needed if you can't do it yourself. Might be regional, most Kubota dealers around here are full line and very much into the Ag side of it versus the homeowner/grounds care.

Kubota hay equipment has been out a few years and they have been pushing it heavy, keeping in mind it's badge engineered Vicon/Kverneland heritage stuff that has been around for years.

I have one piece of Kubota hay equipment now, very happy with it. I would not hesitate to buy another Kubota hay piece.

A “few years” of hay tool tech service is far removed from decades of farm equipment service.
There ain’t no way in heck a kubota dealer can bring the AG tech support of an AGCO, Deere, or Case-IH dealer.
And I’m a former owner of (2) 125-135HP Kubota farm tractors.

 

[Farmer495]

A “few years” of hay tool tech service is far removed from decades of farm equipment service.
There ain’t no way in heck a kubota dealer can bring the AG tech support of an AGCO, Deere, or Case-IH dealer.
And I’m a former owner of (2) 125-135HP Kubota farm tractors.

Might be regional, at least here almost every Kubota dealer WAS a "mainline" dealer for decades. One was JI Case/New Holland (pre Ford New Holland) then CaseIH/Kuhn and now just Kubota, another chain was International/CaseIH now Kubota, another chain Massey Ferguson/AGCO and Kubota. Again, full line historical ag dealers now selling full line Kubota products, not homeowner/grounds care specialization.

 

[Hay Dude]

Might be regional, at least here almost every Kubota dealer WAS a "mainline" dealer for decades. One was JI Case/New Holland (pre Ford New Holland) then CaseIH/Kuhn and now just Kubota, another chain was International/CaseIH now Kubota, another chain Massey Ferguson/AGCO and Kubota. Again, full line historical ag dealers now selling full line Kubota products, not homeowner/grounds care specialization.

Our Kubota dealers tend to be one of 2 types

1. Stand alone lawn/garden/small hobby farm tractors

2. Paired with a Case-IH dealership (like Hoobers) or New Holland dealership (like Messicks)

 

[Farmer495]

Our Kubota dealers tend to be one of 2 types

1. Stand alone lawn/garden/small hobby farm tractors

2. Paired with a Case-IH dealership (like Hoobers) or New Holland dealership (like Messicks)

The pairing is how almost every Kubota dealer here started. The Kubota business grew so much that they either dropped the "original" brand or branched off to separate orange buildings/business.

One Kubota dealer I use still has all the CaseIH parts manuals and carries some parts even though it's been 15 years since they last had red on the lot.

 

[Ridersupfarm]

Following up on my hay baler issues, as previously posted we returned our 450 Roll Belt baler to the dealer. We settled on a 4160E Kubota round baler, in part based on comments you guys have provided to us, so thank you. The new unit will be delivered next week. When we looked at the 4160 I was impressed with the sturdy construction of the machine. Even the jack is massive. Looking at the respective operator's manuals (450 vs Kubota) I was surprised to see the Kubota weighs almost 2,300 lbs more than the NH. Clearly, Kubota felt that balers should be constructed with substantial materials. From my old hot rod days we always noted that the heavier drive line parts rarely failed, amazing huh? Less flexing, less stress on bearings etc. Makes sense to me. Kubota even has a heavy duty belt separator across the front of the baler and uses extra wide belts. I haven't heard anyone complain about belt tracking issues as we had with the 450. Hay season is about 3-4 weeks away here. We'll report back after the first cut is in.

 

[Hay Dude]

Kubota wisely purchased a reputable round baler company.