Would you be worried about 1700 maintained hours on a Kubota BX?

[nikerret]

My '13 Silverado does have an hourmeter. With 37.7Kmiles on it, it has 1178 hours run time on the engine.

That just means you average 32 MPH, thus far.

My '13 Silverado is at 29,988 miles and 1,089.6 hours. That puts my average at 27.6 MPH, over the life of the vehicle, thus far.

Unfortunately, this really doesn't mean anything, in the real world. I use remote start a lot, so I'm adding hours, without adding miles. If a person drove strictly highway miles, they would have a high MPH average, but low hours. With that little bit said, it may mean a vehicle with a higher MPH average has lived an easier life. Of course, that doesn't mean much if it's been doing a lot of towing or hauling.


Same arguments can be said of this BX. 1700 hours at 3,200 RPM is going to have different wear/issues than if it was used at 2,200 RPM. This is why it's so hard to figure out what it will cost to run a tractor, per hour. Mowing, I'm up at, or just above, 3,000 RPM. Loader work and backhoe work, I'm generally around 2,600-3,000 RPM, as needed. Engines generally last longer if they are left running, longer, instead of doing a bunch of short duration runs. Thus, I don't turn off the motor, if I am getting off for a few minutes, or less.

Examples:
Tractor A has been run for the least amount of time possible. The operator starts it, does the task, returns the tractor to where he keeps it, and shuts it off. If the job only take a moment, the tractor only runs for a few minutes. He does proper maintenance, as called for. This unit will have very low hours.

Tractor B has been warmed up, a couple of minutes, or more (in cold and extreme cold), before the tractor is moved. The operator doesn't do any heavy lifting or use until all fluids and parts have adequate time to get to operating temperature. After finishing the tasks, he lets the unit cool, to normal operating temperature. He never shuts down on a hot engine. He, too, does all the proper maintenance, as called for. This unit will have very high hours, compared to tractor A, even if the same tasks are done, in the same time frame.

Which unit would you rather buy?

Of course, there's tractor C. Tractor C has been treated like tractor A, but for a long time. I really don't want tractor C.

 

[vsteel]

I had a 2012 Triumph Tiger Explorer which not only had a couple of trip meters but hour meters to go with the trip meters. I would get about 3800 miles per 100 hours. I traded it in because something else caught my eye but it was running great at just short of 1000 hours. If a well maintained high revving motorcycle engine can easily put 1K hours and I expected to get at least 2K to 3K trouble free hours out of it, there shouldn't be any issue with getting 6K to 8K out of a slower revving well maintained diesel.

 

[kebo]

That just means you average 32 MPH, thus far.

My '13 Silverado is at 29,988 miles and 1,089.6 hours. That puts my average at 27.6 MPH, over the life of the vehicle, thus far.

Unfortunately, this really doesn't mean anything, in the real world. I use remote start a lot, so I'm adding hours, without adding miles. If a person drove strictly highway miles, they would have a high MPH average, but low hours. With that little bit said, it may mean a vehicle with a higher MPH average has lived an easier life. Of course, that doesn't mean much if it's been doing a lot of towing or hauling.

I actually use my remote start a LOT too! Sometime on cold winter mornings, I'll let it warm up so when I get in, it'll be ready to go. But, I use it mostly in the hot summertime, when I have my pup in the truck and I want to run into a store for a few minutes. I will get out of the truck, lock it up with the remote and then crank it up. The AC comes on to keep the pup cool, and I have about 12 minutes or so to get back. Sometimes I'm close enough I can actually crank it up a second time if needed (if it times out and shuts the engine off), like if I get stuck in a slow checkout lane. I love that remote start feature!!

 

[DavesTractor]

I would not be concerned about 1700 hours on a Kubota engine, it very well may run 10,000 in a tractor, and more than that in a static constant speed application like a light tower or generator. But that doesn't necessarily mean the rest of a subcut (of any brand) is designed with that sort of lifecycle in mind. I've talked to OEM loader and backhoe engineers and designers before, and off the record they will tell you that they design for a certain amount of usage, and it is less than you think.

The usage design, life expectancy and duty cycle criteria on a BX is a lot lighter than a commercial/rental grade Kubota B26. They are built and priced accordingly. With that in mind, you'll want to buy this at a decent discount.

 

[KyleH]

Can't speak for the rest of the tractor, but have worked on a lot of light plants that use Kubota engines in dusty mining conditions and many have 30-40,000 hours on them before the hour meters quit working. That's with them constantly being run dry of fuel, started in -30 C degree weather, and oil change intervals consisting of whenever they come to the shop for an issue that prevents the lights from working. They still seem to run well at those hours, not blowing smoke, start easy, etc. In comparison, if you get 1500-2000 hours on a Kohler diesel it's time for a replacement engine (Not an exaggeration, every single one of the hundreds we had went). Mitsubishi seem to go around 10-15,000 hours, which is still really good considering. Isuzu also seems to last a long time, can't recall changing or scraping one of those either. Keep in mind that light plants run are a constant RPM with a load that doesn't really cause them to stress much unless something else is plugged into them.

Seeing how well Kubota engines hold up in harsh conditions was one of the biggest deciding factors when I was shopping for a tractor.