TC33DA vs. Kubota 3130

[EdJorgen]

Hi all. I'm looking at the 3130 vs the NH TC33DA, for use in landscaping a rocky site for an apple orchard in the Hudson Valley, New York (7 acres now, maybe another 3 could be cleared). The FEL on the 3130 appears heavier(?). The backhoes appear identical. The NH is priced to me about $1,500 more, though neither machine is much discounted (about 10%) from list. Both the dealers are nearby, the NH dealer is particularly good, seems to me, but I am sure both would service the machine fine.

Any thoughts? I was looking at the Kubota 7800 but decided to add a little weight; fear I'm losing a little manueverability around trees down the road.

Thanks in advance for any comments, Ed

 

[JoeTC33]

I did the same comparison a couple months ago and chose the NH over the Kubota. The new NH loader specs are closer to the Kubota and should easily handle anything you put it through. I got supersteer and hydro which I would not give up due to the flexibility they add for FEL work and mowing. I mow 5 acres weekly with my 72"mm and have a small orchard that requires short turning radius to mow around the trees. I like the convenience of the controls on the NH compared to the Kubota plus the visibility for FEL work is much better. The pricing difference is about right but I found my Kubota quote $1000 less. They are both great choices so good luck!

 

[DAP]

Ed ... as a potential neighbor, what dealers are you working with? They are both good machines, but I lean towards orange for trivial reasons.

PM me if you feel the need to discuss dealers confidentially. No offense to all the good one out there. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[StoneyFF]

<font color="blue">Ed,

As Doug said, 'Hi Neighbor'... well, sortof, we're all in the lower Hudson Valley <smile>...

Depending on where you are in this area, there's an excellent NH dealer over in PA (about an hour from my house and a bit more than that from Doug) who seems to be able to beat everyone's deals. I got a used one (TC35D w/FEL&Grapple, Backhoe, and PHD, 6' Rear Mower and 6' HD Rear Blade, all new LandPride) from him and got an excellent deal, but my neighbor got a new TC35 with NH FEL (w/quick change bucket) and Backhoe, a roof (canopy?) and a few other things for under $25K new... list was something like $33, and the deal was a couple of grand lower than the 'local' NH dealer over here on this (West) side of the river.

If you want more info, please either e-mail me or send me a private message, and I'll be happy to give you more info.

As for the difference between the NH and the Kubota, the barn where I used to board my horse had a Kubota (albeit smaller), and it's no where near as 'comfortable' as the NH with the sloped hood and curved FEL arms... my best advice here is to spend some time using each and see which is more comfortable to use. The little things will mean a lot (like comfort, convenience) when you spend a fair amount of time in the seat <smile>... Of course, all this presumes that either will do for you in the specification/heavy lifting/maneuvering departments.
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<font color="maroon">Stoney</font>
<font color="red">{and the dealer is good... just not super convenient, but really, what's the difference between an hours drive and 30 minutes... you don't go to the dealer all that often, now do you?}</font>