How do you like your kubota?

[Robert_in_NY]

That is odd that they put a vinyl seat in a cab tractor. Honestly I would addressed the seat issue as soon as it came in with the dealer. I would not have accepted a vinyl seat in a cab tractor.

How did you manage to get a CaseIH 45A for 1/3 the price of the Kubota? A CaseIH 40B, can't price out a 45A now, starts at about $22K and a Kubota M8540 Narrow 4WD w/cab starts at $47K. Maybe half, you keep throwing that out there but IMO you're not really comparing Apples to Apples.

I didn't take delivery of the tractor till a couple months after the deal was made. When it did show up I wasnt able to use it because of weather to know if I would like or dislike the seat. Once I finally spent enough time in it I did call my dealer but this was the only seat kubota put into them till just recently. So I'm hopeful my dealer will be able to help me upgrade this seat without a huge expense.

The farmall 45A cost me $14,800. The kubota m8540 narrow was $42,500 (roughly 1/3 the price). The farmall is basically a no frills entry level utility tractor. The Kubota is a decked out specialty ag utility tractor. Completely different tractors but for what they are I would expect a cheaper seat and no cup holder on the farmall and the kubota decked out with all the creature comforts. It didn't happen that way so I will give credit to the Case-IH guys for spending a few extra dollars to make a good, comfortable tractor that I enjoy using while knocking the Kubota guys for cutting corners where I dont think they should have. I'm just hopeful that my dealer can help me out with this new seat from kubota as it will make me think better of both the dealer and kubota if they do.

 

[JOHNTHOMAS]

Several years ago when I had only bought 2 or 3 tractors I was using a different Kubota forum, didn't know about this one then.
A B7800 owner had posted a thread concerning the FEL support bar crossing the tractor right over the fuel fill cap. It did to, I owned one. Hated trying to fill it with fuel but finally worked it out by sitting the 5 gallon container on the hood and using a Kerosene/stick the stiff leg in the container and hand squeeze siphon thru the flexible hose running fuel into the tank. Still have some of them but use other methods now with other tractors.
Anyway this guy would complain and B7800 owners and probably other Kubota owners that knew nothing about the problem from personal experience would respond with some "smart aleck" response. It got pretty hot and hostile some times. I'd read the thread and smile at how some people could really lay it out since they didn't have to look at the real person and none of them knew each other. Potshots from the sky type deal.
I do think the complaining owner strayed over into how bad Kubotas were in general after people kept shooting at him which brought more shots from the none B7800 owners. If the guy had showed up at a meeting he would have been hung by Kubota owners. He was even told to sell the D*** thing if he hated it so bad.
Since I owned a B7800 and I agreed to that point of poor design with no doubt but the thread kept straying away from the initial point of the location of the filler cap on a B7800 with a Kubota FEL cross brace right over the fuel filler cap.
As I've read this thread over the days I keep remembering that old thread from years ago. Most of the responses here have been civil and this board is mostly very civil with people with different experiences and personalities trying to be helpful. Some of us express ourselfs in different ways with different words and that's life. Not right or wrong just the way it is.
I think this one has been interesting because I think the topic heading has sucked a lot of us in that are happy and satisfied Kubota owners and then we sort of finally figure out that one individual has a mostly complaint about the seat on his one specific model of Kubota tractor and maybe an issue with cupholders. Looks like someone maybe has helped him with his seat "issue" and maybe he will come back as a truly happy Kubota owner, being one myself I hope he does. Are all Kubotas perfect? I'd venture to say "No" and I'd also venture to say all other brands have "little" issues but I'm not going to say I'm sure all the other brands "probably" have more issues than Kubota.......even though I'm thinking it.
Anyway I think most of the TBN members are tops.:thumbsup:

 

[Robert_in_NY]

John, ive been happy with this thread. I know for a fact if my initial impression of my Kubota had been favorable most of the other items wouldn't have been as noticeable. But when I'm initially disappointed then every small flaw (in my eyes) becomes magnified. Thats why I think so highly of a bare bones farmall, my initial impression was favorable. It was the same with most tractors I've operated and owned. My salesman for the Kubota definitely knew my number when he wanted the sale but now he can't figure out how to call me. Its one reason I bought the farmall from a different dealer and paid more to do so.

Had anyone in my area had a narrow cabbed kubota for me to look at first I most likely would have went with deere instead but I knew how favorably most kubota owners talked on here so I took a chance and signed the papers on reputation alone.

I'm just hopeful my dealer can help me with the Kubota seat otherwise I'm following 4shorts and a couple other grand L owners by installing an aftermarket air seat on my own. I spend too much time on tractors to be uncomfortable so this one needs to be upgraded so I enjoy using it. Hopefully it will improve my thoughts on the tractor when I dont hurt every time I operate it.

 

[Bluegill2]

I absolutely love my newish L3800 DT ! :thumbsup:

 

[JOHNTHOMAS]

John, ive been happy with this thread. I know for a fact if my initial impression of my Kubota had been favorable most of the other items wouldn't have been as noticeable. But when I'm initially disappointed then every small flaw (in my eyes) becomes magnified. Thats why I think so highly of a bare bones farmall, my initial impression was favorable. It was the same with most tractors I've operated and owned. My salesman for the Kubota definitely knew my number when he wanted the sale but now he can't figure out how to call me. Its one reason I bought the farmall from a different dealer and paid more to do so.

Had anyone in my area had a narrow cabbed kubota for me to look at first I most likely would have went with deere instead but I knew how favorably most kubota owners talked on here so I took a chance and signed the papers on reputation alone.

I'm just hopeful my dealer can help me with the Kubota seat otherwise I'm following 4shorts and a couple other grand L owners by installing an aftermarket air seat on my own. I spend too much time on tractors to be uncomfortable so this one needs to be upgraded so I enjoy using it. Hopefully it will improve my thoughts on the tractor when I dont hurt every time I operate it.

I truly do know what you mean. A problem for you with the tractor plus adding a bad salesman that works for a independant Kubota dealer combined can taint the feeling of satisfaction easily for a product. I've been there several times over the years with Car/Truck purchases. I do believe you'll see different when you get the seat situation resolved with probably a different seat.
I trade cars often. Last year I was looking to trade and saw all the info coming out about the quality improvement and decent pricing of Hyundais. I tried one of their most expensive cars and in less than a quarter of a mile I turned around and grinned at the salesman that was several inches taller than me when I got out. I asked if he had driven this model of his cars and he said he had. I asked what he thought about the seat and he started loking around. The seat bottom stopped about 2" to 3" to short which gives no support for the area of the legs behind the knee. It's a big issue for me and my short wife. He agreed that it was also an issue for him. I saw in a Car Magazine that I was reading last week where Hyundai is improving the lower part of their seats. I know some of us have skinny A**es and some have fat A**es and some have longer or shorter legs so it's a problem and I'm sure Manufacturers of products that have to fit all A**es pull their hair out over it. They may all need to have customers sit in a seat mold and then custom build all seats but guess that would have to add a thousand dollars per product and then at resale it may not fir the new buyer unless the seat can come out and always stay with the customer. Even make all fittings on all vehicles the same so the seat can move from vehicle to vehicle. I may be on to something here.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

Instead of custom seats just have a few seat options so the buyer has a choice.

 

[JOHNTHOMAS]

Instead of custom seats just have a few seat options so the buyer has a choice.

Well. you've killed my great idea.:laughing: Your makes alot more sense and would probably be much more manageable and less expensive than mine.
Cars/trucks do it by having packages for an additional $2995 that include better seat, 44 speakers and a sunroof, all or none.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

Well. you've killed my great idea.:laughing: Your makes alot more sense and would probably be much more manageable and less expensive than mine.
Cars/trucks do it by having packages for an additional $2995 that include better seat, 44 speakers and a sunroof, all or none.

I know, I'm looking at a new truck right now and am actually surprised Ford didn't bundle their packages together as bad as they use to. Certain items require other items but for the most part you can customize your truck however you want.

 

[rScotty]

Here's some opinion on the Kubota M59 TLB. We had always owned tractors, but this time we were specifically looking for a medium size construction type of loader/backhoe for doing dirt and chore work at our place; not for a pulling tractor. Although the M59 comes with an optional Cat II 3 pt hitch. We've never used it. We already have good field tractor in roughly the same size. So my comments are about the M59 just as a TLB.

I saw my first M59 by accident. We had been looking, but Kubota wasn't on the list. We had been looking at JD, Cat, Case, Ford, and some others, but didn't know that Kubota built a TLB. We didn't find what we wanted in US tractors, and chose the Kubota largely because of the size and work specs. The JD1010 TLB is comfortable but too small, and the Case 580 was too large. We almost went with Caterpillar's rubber tire TLB in spite of the size because my wife and I both loved the superb quality that is evident in every part...If Caterpillar had made a smaller TLB or JD one size larger we would have gone that way.

Anyway, we decided to take a chance on the Kubota M59 and overall it has been a pleasant surprise. After 4 years of work it has been dependable and it is surprisingly powerful. The bucket seems disproportionately large, but the machine handles it just fine. The backhoe with thumb has no problem placing 1000 lb rocks delicately while building a rock wall. Frankly I didn't expect the easy power and delicate touch that it has.

It's not all gravy. The price was high, and for that kind of money some simple changes would sure be nice. To be fair, all the other TLBs we looked at had some of these same flaws, but Kubota missed the boat on more than most. IMHO, these are mostly things that would cost near nothing to change, but seem to be unfortunately fixed into the tractor culture.

First of all, none of them had a toolbox or a place to carry chains, a saw, and a shovel - all of which are part of everyday life with a tractor. That's just weird.
On the Kubota, the fuel filler cap, fuel tank, and exhaust pipe are all in the wrong places. The cap is hard to get at, the fuel tank is in a crazy location...right above the engine, and the exhaust pipe blows onto the front tire and then back into operator's face.
None of those problems so far are unique to Kubota.

The seat was odd. Before I could even use the tractor. I had to modify the seat mounting. It was way too low and too far forward for this 6' 190 lb westerner. I also added rudimentary seat suspension. But the seat body itself is OK.
The HST pedal is an odd shape and too far to the right. I understand that there is debate about the pedal, but on TLBs nobody else in the industry has that style.

Reliability has been fine. The traction is excellent and it works hard. I had one hydraulic cylinder problem right at the end of warranty; Kubota took care of it anyway. All in all, it's been a good machine. We will keep it, but wish that the American firms had built one to compete.

 

[CompactTractorFan]

How do you guys like your Kubota?

LOVE IT!!!