Buying Advice Mahindra 4035 HST vs. Kubota L4240 HST

[coobie]

By the way, good job hijacking OPs thread. As far as I know neither of ya have either of the tractors in question. So what's your horse in this race if it's not to simply be a disturbance?

(SIGH)

 

[Sysop]

Notwithstanding the unnecessary wrangling on the part of some, I am grateful for the additional info. on the subject. Any other advantages and disadvantages of the models will be appreciated.

Those are the words of a true gentleman.

I think I've pointed out what I could about my decision on the Mahindra's heft, and there's been allot of other good info in here, and plenty for folk to come along and laugh about later. I don't think I have anything I could add, but you're welcome to ask me anything.

 

[94BULLITT]

94BULLIT: For the greatest traction on grass and dirt. I'll not be driving the tractor on blacktop.

I was just saying you will see they ride way rougher. I think R4's do better on hard packed dirt than R1's. If you drive up a damp hill with R1's they will tear up the grass were R4's won't. R4's are wider, so the tractor will be more stable. R4's are more puncture/ snag resistant.

Notwithstanding the unnecessary wrangling on the part of some, I am grateful for the additional info. on the subject. Any other advantages and disadvantages of the models will be appreciated.

I could bring up that the Kubota will have a better resale value but that might make this thread go on for another 10 pages so I won't do it

The Kubota has HST+ with a dual speed hydro. Auto throttle advance. The loader is really nice. The engine is pretty quiet. The seat rotate 12* on cab tractors.

Where you going to get a cab?

 

[Sysop]

The engine is pretty quiet.

I will +1 that for Kubotas in this class. They have a much quieter engine than the 4035. It was noticeable when I was testing/shopping, but being a bit of a gearhead I didn't concern myself with it much because the Mahindra wasn't overly loud in my opinion, especially in the operator's station. Having some real seat time on the machine, I can say quieter would be nice at times. For some the noise difference would definitely be a factor.

 

[bullockcm]

Honestly for working uneven ground, I'd go AG all the way. Neither AG nor Industrial will tear up the ground unless you lose traction or the ground is too soft to be working on in the first place. Either of those cases you'll prefer AG. AG won't pack up with soft ground and lose traction as quick, and be easier to regain traction if traction is lost.

This has been beat to death and probably has been later in this thread but I will chime in with my limited experience. I have a Kubota 4240 and went with R4's and really wish I had gone with R1's. My father has a MX5100 with R1's which other than tires is fairly similar to my tractor. The difference in traction is huge between the 2 anytime conditions are less than perfect. In general they weight enough and are big enough that they will rarely be used in a nice yard however, if you do go there and it is soft enough for the R1's to mark it up the R4's will as well just not quite as bad. I actually find the R4's tendency to spin so much easier that it tears things up worse since the R1's won't loose traction and spin. The softer the ground gets the bigger the difference is. I have actually had my tractor stuck twice in mud and I believe if I had R1's I would have left ruts but would have been able to keep on going.

About the only 2 advantages I can come up with for the R4's is better puncture resistance and stiffer sidewall if doing a lot of heavy loader work on solid ground.

 

[GManBart]

I have a Kubota 4240 and went with R4's and really wish I had gone with R1's. My father has a MX5100 with R1's which other than tires is fairly similar to my tractor. The difference in traction is huge between the 2 anytime conditions are less than perfect.

Very true. My LS has R4s, and my MF has R1s. The LS weighs about 5,200lbs (with FEL and bucket) and the MF around 5,200 (no FEL, but 6' brush cutter on it). I was using both to clear some brush in a wet area a few weeks ago...the LS was spinning the tires in the soft dirt/mud (it wasn't soaking wet) repeatedly. I don't recall the MF spinning the tires at all....huge difference. I still want R4s on the LS for FEL work, but I'm glad the MF has R1s as an alternative.

 

[TRocco]

I too noticed the difference in engine noise. And, as my wife will tell you straight away, I despise noise (hence our decision to live on some land outside the city!).

 

[TRocco]

bullock and GManBart: Great input on the tires. What do y'all think about R1s in the rear for traction and R4s up front for better handling of the FEL weight?

 

[94BULLITT]

R1's and R4's are usually different size so the ratio will be wrong for 4WD.

 

[TripleR]

Mixed front and back can be done, my father in law had turfs on the rear and ag on the front when he bought a new tractor, but he had the dealer do it to match the gearing ratio, we ran it that way for several years then went with industrial on the front and turf on the back, last year I moved it to our flatland farm and we put industrial tires all the way around, it is a 1986 with never any problems, you just have to pick the right tires.