Kubota B3300SU Pricing

[Ductape]

Progress Report:

Based on recommendations from dealer, and people here as well, I changed a few details for my order:

1. Went with the 60" bucket. Dealer strongly recommended the bucket be as wide or wider than the rear tires. It feels pretty heavy duty to me.


I do think you'll be happier with the 60" bucket. If your bucket is narrower than your rear tires, you'll find that your sidewalls are constantly rubbing on the material you are digging in / moving.


2. BH77 bucket: Went with the 12".


Fair enough compromise on the width. Probably a good choice if you have rocky soil.



3. Loader Quick Coupler: Decided I did not need it. I never ever took the bucket off my old tractor and don't see doing it here.


Though I'm not bananas about Kubota's proprietary quick coupler, I am a huge fan of the universal skidsteer style. No big deal if you honestly never see yourself ever needing a set of forks, toothed bucket, etc. If you do think a set of forks may come in handy in the future.... NOW is the time to change the bucket and get the SSQA. I converted my B3030 to a skidsteer type after I bought my tractor, and it has been the single best thing I have done to my tractor.

4. Bucket Hooks - Dealer agreed to weld on 3 hooks and paint them for a reasonable price.

Very good idea !


Other Status:

- Kubota financing approval - Done.
- Paperwork: Waiting to sign.
- Delivery: Requested it to be no later than Friday, May 27. But earlier is fine.

Open Issues:

1. Dealers does have a brand new in the crate BH77 but the subframe kit he has is for a L series tractor which will not fit the 3300SU. He called the Kubota area rep (not sure of technical name) to get one expedited or asked that the other dealer (who I was dealing with) allow him to swap subframe kits. They had at least 6-12 new BH77's and at least some of them must fit the B3300SU.

2. I am still deciding if I should purchase a PHD now or wait. Not sure what brands are good.


If you prefer to finance the PHD, I do believe Kubota will finance a Land Pride brand for the 0% , along with the tractor. I bought a Speeco from Tractor Supply for half the money and it works fine for my needs.



3. Also not sure whether to purchase a 5' or 6' blade. I'm used to a 5' on my old B7610 but dealer strongly recommends the 6' for my tractor. But he has a 5, a 6, a heavier duty 6 and a really heavy duty 6' as well. Forgot manufacturer but a dark brown/orange color.


If you mean a grader blade, I would also get the 6 foot. If you are talking box blades, I'd stick with a five foot.... or more preferably 66".



Tom

Only other ( relatively ) inexpensive thing I'd recommend, is Kubota's rear wheel spacers and rear tires loaded with Rim Guard.

Congratulations on your new tractor ....... we look forward to you posting some pictures when it arrives !! :thumbsup:

 

[TroyR57]

The tires on the rear of the B3300SU are very Big, I don't think Spacers are needed, You could ask about a heavy duty wide FEL bucket, I know my friend has a nice one, but its ssqa, but has a bolt on cutting edge, and is rounding in the bucket area. I know all this is just a day late and dollar short, as hopfully you have your tractor on the way by now. All in all sounds like a nice rig, I hope you enjoy it, and it does every thing you ask of it. Be Safey out there. PS Six Position Mech Thumb would be nice.

 

[Verdemont]

The tires on the rear of the B3300SU are very Big, I don't think Spacers are needed, You could ask about a heavy duty wide FEL bucket, I know my friend has a nice one, but its ssqa, but has a bolt on cutting edge, and is rounding in the bucket area. I know all this is just a day late and dollar short, as hopfully you have your tractor on the way by now. All in all sounds like a nice rig, I hope you enjoy it, and it does every thing you ask of it. Be Safey out there. PS Six Position Mech Thumb would be nice.

Troy:

Not too late. Still have not signed the sales order yet as I told the dealer he had to have all the right parts like the subframe parts for the BH77 before I considered it a deal.

My situation is that we only have a few acres right now with a cabin/small house on it. We bought it 3 years ago and have been focusing on the outside/yard/fence. I've been renting skid loaders or mini-excavators from the local Ace Hardware rental place when needed. I also have a neighbor with a full-size JD TLB who I pay cash for once in a while when he's around. Primarily I need to dig holes to plant trees. It can be very rocky so a BH is needed. That's the primary reason I need one. I also need to dig in a lot more irrigation lines for my watering system for the trees, etc.. The lot has a lot of rocks and other items that need to be moved around. And I need to be able to do some landscaping where I am going to put in a patio and such as well. The FEL and BH will make my life much easier. In the long term I have two neighbors that will likely sell their places and land in the next 5-7 years and we are interested in buying that land and the house on it. Either one of the properties would be great. The one we really want had 3 lots with a total of 23 acres. The house sits in the middle lot and the others are undeveloped. The owners are older and have done nothing to keep the property in good shape. Am considering working with them to mow, put in some new culverts, and do other work in an attempt to show them I would be a good new owner.

I will likely not take the BH off the tractor until the fall when I will put a 5 or 6' blade on there. This is not our primary residence (yet) so snow removal in the winter is optional.
As someone said before, having the Kubota may be a 25K wheelbarrow at times but I am turning 55 this year and want to make fun out of the work ahead. I do plan on offering to do work for other neighbors for $$ in the area who need work like backhoeing to put new draining culverts in, moving dirt, etc.. The nearest town is 10 miles away and it is often hard to get contractors to come out and work. And many of us are "weekenders only" for the most part and many of the commercial folks with bobcats and such don't work. I think it is likely that within 5 years I can do enough side jobs in the 'hood to pay for my tractor. We're 4 miles from the county highway so driving my tractor on the dirt roads is not an issue. There is also a tree farm nearby that I think I can do some work for with my tractor as well as he lays a lot of irrigation lines. I could even exchange tractor work for trees via barter.

I do plan on getting a thumb for the BH but not on day 1. The rear tires on the B3300SU as as big as some of the L's so not sure I need to fill them. Also still deciding to get a PHD or not. I have at least 500' more fence posts to put in and I think the ability to dig holes would help me make $$ with the neighbors. It is rocky and doing it by hand is just not realistic. I normally have to hire a guy with a skidloader with PHD for $75 hour with a 3 hour minimum when he can make it.

Appreciate all the input.

Tom

 

[NHSawyer]

Tom,
I have a place that I have had to lay claim to in terms of converting forest into usable land. It is a very rocky place. I ended up getting an older JD construction size loader backhoe. When I bought it I ended up getting a machine that I felt was much larger than I needed. I bought it because it was in great condition and the price was the market price. Basically I felt it was a fair deal and I would just put up with having a machine larger than I needed. As I started clearing land and pulling stumps and moving rocks I was grateful for having the larger machine. Rocks get heavy so the machine needs to have mass to move them espcially if they need to come up out of the ground.
My advice would be that when getting a machine and especially a backhoe get bigger than you think you will need. I would say get the biggest you can afford. You will never regret it. You will find uses for it and yup you will be limited by what the machine can do.
Sawyer

 

[zmjc]

I do plan on getting a thumb for the BH but not on day 1.

If you're digging rocks, the mech thumb will make a big difference. It'll save your back, because you'll be less tempted to move things by hand. I'd get it on day 1...

- Mike

 

[Verdemont]

If you're digging rocks, the mech thumb will make a big difference. It'll save your back, because you'll be less tempted to move things by hand. I'd get it on day 1...

- Mike

Mike:

Still considering. I am married to a CPA/Financial Analyst so despite the fact that we are both good earners she has the critical eye towards "want" and "need". She knows me after 25+ years.

Rocks in our yard tend to come in 3 sizes: Baseball, Basketball, and Mondo. Luckily there aren't too many mondos but even a big L series would not move a Mondo if I find one when digging. So will still need to utilize the neighbor with the big full size contractor TLB to do those. There have been a few that he could Hoe out of the ground but not lift so he just rolled them down the hill. They are literally as big as my 25HP garden tractor. 95% of the rocks could be lifted with the BH with a thumb so am interested.

I think I will start slowly and then get more as I need. We can afford to pay $ for the tractor but would be silly to do so as it's free money from Kubota. So if I decide to get a PHD, 6' blade, Thumb, etc.. I will just pay cash for that this summer. I have a 5'x8' landscape trailer at the cabin so I can drive down to the Kubota dealer (1 hour) and have him fork any other implements into my trailer and I can use my FEL to remove them.

I appreciate all the good advice I am getting. This site is a perfect example of how the internet can really help someone learn all they really need to know in one place. However, I have received a few emails from folks here with some, IMHO, strange ideas.

Tom

 

[zmjc]

Mike:

Still considering. I am married to a CPA/Financial Analyst so despite the fact that we are both good earners she has the critical eye towards "want" and "need". She knows me after 25+ years.

Rocks in our yard tend to come in 3 sizes: Baseball, Basketball, and Mondo.

Trust us... if you don't have a thumb, you'll be "kicking" the basketballs around with the BH. You'll have a hard time getting them into the bucket, because they want to roll out.

The thumb lets you grab them, (fairly) easily.

Anyway... I don't want to flog a dead horse... but the thumb is inexpensive and seriously increases your capabilities (grab and move logs) and rock-moving productivity.

- Mike

 

[NHSawyer]

You are getting great advice on getting the thumb. My loader/backhoe does not have one and I cannot get one as it is an older machine. Without a thumb you have to yard the stone you want to pickup against other stones or a stump. If you do it against other stones eventually you have a couple you cannot pickup.

 

[Verdemont]

Done deal.

Finalized the deal today. The spouse and I made the drive to visit and signed the paperwork. It should all be ready by next Wednesday and delivered as early as next Thursday or Friday. They have thumbs available so I can just add it to the deal anytime before next Thu.

Tom

 

[zmjc]

Enjoy!