Kubota MX5400, thoughts?

[tradosaurus]

So as long as I'm on dirt and grass its OK to leave my tractor in 4wd?

 

[3gunr]

I use 4 wheel drive a lot but only when i am digging or am in a wet or muddy area. rarely ever when mowing or brush hogging.

 

[farmall70]

So it sounds like the MX would be good for my application and have plenty of hp to run through the tall grass at a decent speed.

I get the 4wd comments in terms of demand and resale but that is a $6k price jump for something I would not use. If it is reliable I would keep it probably for 20+ years. At that point I would not be concerned with resale value. I only put about 40 to 50 hours on a tractor annually.

 

[oosik]

I would certainly rethink getting a 2WD. A 2WD tractor on my 80 acres would be a late summer/early fall rig only. No spring cultivating or grapple use - no winter snow plowing. I don't use 4WD often but there are a couple times & areas on my property where it is required.

JFYI - a 2WD tractor from most any dealer in this area would be a special order item.

 

[Bullwinkle123]

So as long as I'm on dirt and grass its OK to leave my tractor in 4wd?

Unfortunately I don't have a link for you, but somewhere in this forum is a long thread on issues, or lack thereof, of using 4WD all the time.

 

[Bullwinkle123]

So it sounds like the MX would be good for my application and have plenty of hp to run through the tall grass at a decent speed.

I get the 4wd comments in terms of demand and resale but that is a $6k price jump for something I would not use. If it is reliable I would keep it probably for 20+ years. At that point I would not be concerned with resale value. I only put about 40 to 50 hours on a tractor annually.

$6k for 4wd doesn't sound right to me. I thought the major cost difference was HST ($2-3K more) vs non-HST. I never heard of a $6k price difference for having 4WD. Got any Kubota calculator links on this? I'm not arguing against it, but it just doesn't sound right. Anybody got some hard numbers on model pricing? Or is farmall70 getting fleeced in the quotes?

 

[big bubba]

yes to 4 wd also, will you have a FEL? same comment to that as well. both will help resale value. highly recommend

 

[Bullwinkle123]

If the OP is, as he said, just doing a large scale lawn mowing, and the ground is flat and generally dry, then 2WD would be fine. If he's skipping the FEL then that suggests, again, that 2WD might be fine. So perhaps we have the rare application here where the tractor really is just a one trick pony instead of having to be a jack of all trades like on my property. Still wondering about that $6k 4WD cost though, that just doesn't sound right. (Waits for Jeff to wade in with numbers and put it to rest! ;-) )

[Update: I just tried the Build My Kubota site, but after multiple resets I can't seem to get it to work, it's just totally broken in my browser. Weird since I've used it plenty before.]

 

[farmall70]

I was purely going off MSRP because I assume similar rebates/discounts.

2wd MX5400 = $23,571
4wd MX5400 = $29,008
4wd MX5400 w/loader = $34,209

All the above prices are with R1 tires and gear shift trans.

A dealer relatively close has a new 2wd MX5200. Since it is an old model and 2wd thinking I could probably get a pretty good deal.

 

[Bullwinkle123]

From the Build Your Kubota site, speccing only the base MX5400, Foldable rops, and transmission/4wd options,

2WD DT TRACTOR W/FOLDABLE ROPS - $23,571.00, not including a $1000 cash incentive.
4WD TRACTOR W/FOLDABLE ROPS - $29,008, not including a $1000 cash incentive.

So I learned somethiung, you're right, that's a big premium for 4WD. Sorry to doubt you, and I see you just posted the same numbers. If I was only going to mow flat grass fields, I'd definitely consider 2WD too.