Buying Advice L, M, or MX series? Can you offer guidance?

[PapaPerk]

Check out a Kubota Grand L3940 or Kubota MX5100 with loader. I think either one would be great. The MX5100 is slightly larger frame.

Sell off the BX and the Massey. Keep the BX if you need a yard mower and landscaping machine. The 3940 will do landscaping but too heavy to mow a yard.

 

[bilrus61]

Everyone will recommend the tractor they have and I'm not going to be a exception to the rule!

I think Kubota's are well built and will last as long or longer than any other brand out there.

Your Massy is at 34 HP but isn't 4wd and so a loader would be pretty worthless on it and you need it to take the sting out of a new tractor.

Cabs are nice if you have to get out and get it done rain or shine, heat or cold. If your just bushhogging and doing chores as they come up you can just wait till it is nice out to do them so a open station suits you fine.

Beet Juice is great stuff and I would get my tires filled for sure on a FWD tractor with a loader. No issues with it here in 15 years of usage.

With a loader on your tractor that helps to balance out the Cutter out back for hills and hollows.

Get the FWD with a loader!! They are very reliable.

The M series Kubota will not shift on the go. Neither will the gear Deeres. The only sift on the go is a GLKubota with the GST..glide shift transmission on it. That is what I have and I LOVE it. My mom's B3030 has a tendancey to go a bit faster down hill than up. I was bushhogging down the steepest part of the farm two days ago and the gears held back my L5040/loader+bucket/MX6 cutter to the exact speed it had going up. Felt very secure. Some guys that have Hydros in the hills can comment more but here on my farm I like my GST transmission better for going up and down than my mom's B3030. On the GST transmission there isn't and "weeeeeeeeeeeee" factor going down steep hillsides.

If you get a L series I don't think they have much of the enviro stuff on them for this year. My L5040 just has a turbo and its been a non issue other than it has better lugging power seems to me in heavy grass mowing.

Kubota's with loaders have the hydros already on them. Tillers don't need a hydro. Check and see what impliments you might need that use a hydro and buy accordingly. I've not got any on my tractor and so far don't miss them as none of my impliments have hoses running out of them! haha

The M series is very good but you can't shift on the fly like with the glide shift. You can get a hydrolic shuttle that goes from foward to reverse without clutching but you have to clutch to shift or pull the shuttle to netural, shift, then push the shuttle back to foward. The GST transmissions are the only sub 70 HP tractors that I know that have a "powershift" in a geared tranny.

Just use the Kubota "build it" and keep a notepad handy to mark down prices. Soon you'll get to memorize them without even trying.

 

[94BULLITT]

You can shift any gear tractor on the move whether or not is is synchronized, glide shift, powershift etc. I can go 1st to 3rd to 4th on the fly on the 8n without raking gears.
I think to get a tractor that will do the work your 231 will do you are looking at a tractor close to L4240 or a MX4700. The MX will have more power and be cheaper than a grand l. The grand l is more of a deluxe tractor with some nice features, both are nice tractors. If I went with a gear tractor I would at least get one that was a shuttle shift.

 

[Bluegill2]

I can shift my L3800 gear on the go, but you have to know what you're doin. Not as nice as the glide shift.

The L4600 has a full syncro gear trans that is Very Nice!

 

[case245]

i have a kubota 7040su 4x4 fel gear tranny 2 rear remotes loaded rear tires cast centers i have put 33 hrs on it the tractor is to light at times i will tell you this dont go smaller then an m series tractor i had an L3800 it was a toy that belongs in the sand box i move 10 ton of stone it took 6 hrs to do it i moved them again with the 7040 in an hr my buckets only 6'' wider on the 7040 then the l3800 my i wish i would got a skid steer have fun tractor shopping

 

[cmikewil]

You really need to go look at them. The M is the basic no-frills workhorse. (basic by todays standards, but still more features than the old MF). The MX is a smaller version but still pretty basic and would be the cheapest option. The L is bigger than the MX, cost more than the M or the MX, But has all the "bells and whistles".

That said, I dont know where you are located in SE ohio, but I think their is (or was) a kioti dealer in nelsonville. They are alot of "bang for buck" tractor, Something Like a Dk50-Dk65 would be similar in comparisons to the M's in kubotas line-up. I would have given kioti a harder look but I have no dealers around me There are pleanty of satisfied owners on here. And look on the bright side, you can park it a distance away and it will look like a kubota

Actually, I live quite close to Nelsonville, and know that Kioti dealership. I've given them a look, and cannot find any faults. I've got to know a few of you on this list over the last several months, and simply favor the Kubota for that reason - along with it's reputation.

 

[cmikewil]

OP Just a thought whats wrong with what you have? The MF231 is a rugged platform and if its in good shape will perform all the duties you have described very well. the BX is small and manuverable 4wd and has a fel. How do you think you can improve this with a single tractor? I used a mf35 deluxe with FEL for many years on my 10ac Sw ohio flat land and replaced it with a L5740 w/fel. Partly because I still have the mf35 and Im in the process of overhauling the engine with complete sleeves, pistons, bearings etc. I wonder if I had gone the route of maybe a b series kubota with fel for my utility duties and the mf for the occassional heavy work (mowing) would I have a better fit for each task? I really like my L5740 and got it bought for a relatively great price,but after having it for a almost a year now I have not even come close to using it to its full ability.

My suggestion if you want/need a new tractor is a Large B (3200 or 3300) and keep the MF231 until you determine you only need one tractor. The price of older tractors are way down justifying to me to keep my old MF35 Deluxe as I have more in it than the current market. I guess I may make it a parade tractor. dont tell my wife

I'd love to keep 2 tractors! It comes down to money. I'll likely be financing a portion of anything I buy, and want to keep it to a minimum. The MF 231 has been/still is a terrific tractor. The BX compliments it well. I'm just thinking that if one tractor exists that can do pretty much what both of my existing ones can, it might be a good deal for me. The upkeep would be half. Storage would be less of an issue.

 

[cmikewil]

Check out a Kubota Grand L3940 or Kubota MX5100 with loader. I think either one would be great. The MX5100 is slightly larger frame.

Sell off the BX and the Massey. Keep the BX if you need a yard mower and landscaping machine. The 3940 will do landscaping but too heavy to mow a yard.

Yeah, clearly I'm gonna have to check out the L series closer. I started by looking to that line, and the dealer I stopped at pushed me to the MX. This may have been because there weren't many Ls on the lot.

Luckily, I have a garden tractor (a Deere) to do the mowing, so keeping the BX around for that task isn't an issue.

 

[cmikewil]

Everyone will recommend the tractor they have and I'm not going to be a exception to the rule!

I think Kubota's are well built and will last as long or longer than any other brand out there.
Can't disagree there. I've liked my BX. I won't likely replace this tractor again.


Your Massy is at 34 HP but isn't 4wd and so a loader would be pretty worthless on it and you need it to take the sting out of a new tractor.
Right. I've missed the 4wd more times than I can count.

Beet Juice is great stuff and I would get my tires filled for sure on a FWD tractor with a loader. No issues with it here in 15 years of usage.
I appreciate everybody's comments on this topic. The Massey tires are filled with calcium, so you understand my reluctance. Most of you like the Beet Juice.

With a loader on your tractor that helps to balance out the Cutter out back for hills and hollows.
Really? I'd imagined dropping the loader for brush hogging for better vision. It's bugged me occasionally on the BX, though I rarely remove it. It's so handy. I'd planned to buy suitcase weights to help counterbalance the Cutter.

The M series Kubota will not shift on the go. Neither will the gear Deeres. The only sift on the go is a GLKubota with the GST..glide shift transmission on it. That is what I have and I LOVE it. My mom's B3030 has a tendancey to go a bit faster down hill than up. I was bushhogging down the steepest part of the farm two days ago and the gears held back my L5040/loader+bucket/MX6 cutter to the exact speed it had going up. Felt very secure. Some guys that have Hydros in the hills can comment more but here on my farm I like my GST transmission better for going up and down than my mom's B3030. On the GST transmission there isn't and "weeeeeeeeeeeee" factor going down steep hillsides.
Are the Ls the only models with the GST? I'll check the website...
Actually, had not considered the Hydro "freewheeling" downhill while brush hogging.

The M series is very good but you can't shift on the fly like with the glide shift. You can get a hydrolic shuttle that goes from foward to reverse without clutching but you have to clutch to shift or pull the shuttle to netural, shift, then push the shuttle back to foward. The GST transmissions are the only sub 70 HP tractors that I know that have a "powershift" in a geared tranny.

Just use the Kubota "build it" and keep a notepad handy to mark down prices. Soon you'll get to memorize them without even trying.

I've spent a few hours on that Build It site!

 

[TripleR]

Just for clarification, I run an HST in very steep hills and they don't "free wheel" going down hill, mine slows down if I decrease pressure on the pedal and stops if I take my foot off.

Sit a comparably powered GL next to an MX and with the exception of the tires, they are about the same size; MX and M are not the same from what I have seen and read.

I run a GL and an M and disagree that anything smaller than an M won't work.