Kubota or mahindra

[Cahaba Valley Farm]

Kubota first. Wheelbarrows, laborers and shovels, before Mahindra.

 

[Cahaba Valley Farm]

I have owned both. Kubota is a very reliable brand. However, they are not built as heavy as Mahindra for a given Hp rating. The Mahindra models usually weigh about 20% more, and have larger times, bigger axles, more lift capacity, etc. So, in my opinion, Mahindra is better for utility work. For mowing, I would use Kubota. The added weight does not help you mow better, and uses more fuel. I happen to have the Mahindra 5035 HST, which weighs about 5400# empty. With loader, 4-way bucket, ballasted tires and a 2-spindle 6' bush hog, it weighs over 11000 lb. With a logging harness on the back, I can drag 20" diameter, 60 foot logs out of the woods.

"The added weight does not help you mow better, and uses more fuel." Thanks for pointing that out.

 

[Cahaba Valley Farm]

IT all depends on what you want in a tractor...but all to often this mahindra (weight) vs kubota(lightweight) arguments are stupid because people are comparing "similar" horsepower but not comparing similar tractors.

Kubota builds high HP to weight ratio machines. Mahindra does not. So it could be said that in a given tracoto size....lets say a 4000 pound class machine....the mahindra's are underpowered.

If people would start comparing tractors based on size.....like physically (tire size, weight, length, etc) then they would see. Mahindras in the 2500-4000 pound range only covers 25-44 horsepower WHere as kubotas can be had up to 63. Mahindras 4000-6000 pound tractors are all between 40-60 horsepower whereas the kubotas are 57-100 horsepower.

Sure, kubota could put a 40hp engine in a 4000# tractor. Heck they used to 3 decades ago. I have 51HP on a 3800# tractor. Not quite sure ID want almost twice the tractor without twice the HP.....let alone less HP than what I have now.

You point out something very important here but I can tell you most buyers/owners are not aware of this. It took me a very long time to reach this level of understanding myself and I give Jeff a lot of the credit for helping me to see it. Weight to power ratio is a basic concept that eludes most. Because of this I would say it is advanced knowledge.

 

[Ledgemere Farm]

Go try them
both out and get a feeling about whether or not the dealership is a place you want to do business. They all break, regardless of color and sooner or later, you’re going to need parts and service. ive had all the brands and they all have pros and cons

 

[rScotty]

You point out something very important here but I can tell you most buyers/owners are not aware of this. It took me a very long time to reach this level of understanding myself and I give Jeff a lot of the credit for helping me to see it. Weight to power ratio is a basic concept that eludes most. Because of this I would say it is advanced knowledge.

Yes, but I also see where some dealers argue that more weight means more strength...and that's just not so. It's sounds sort of good because it almost makes sense if everything else was the same....and that's how our minds work. But in the end it's just a sales pitch. A lightweight piece of machined steel is stronger and tougher than a much heavier piece of cast iron.

We can bolt weight onto a tractor to improve the traction, but it's a lot harder to make it stronger that way.

 

[Cahaba Valley Farm]

Yes, but I also see where some dealers argue that more weight means more strength...and that's just not so. It's sounds sort of good because it almost makes sense if everything else was the same....and that's how our minds work. But in the end it's just a sales pitch. A lightweight piece of machined steel is stronger and tougher than a much heavier piece of cast iron.

We can bolt weight onto a tractor to improve the traction, but it's a lot harder to make it stronger that way.

"Yes, but I also see where some dealers argue that more weight means more strength"...That's what I first thought and I even said it to the sales manager at the Deere dealer when I first started shopping for a tractor and he never said a word to correct me or explain the truth to me about it. These sales guys at a lot of the dealers out there don't understand what they're selling. Deere is the absolute worst when talking about this from my experience.

 

[paulfun9]

Man do I have a song for you.

There is a lot If illusion in many things people are believing these days.
Funny I was listening to this today on the highway just befor parking the truck for the day. Haven’t heard it for many years.

 

[airbiscuit]

Yes, but I also see where some dealers argue that more weight means more strength...and that's just not so. It's sounds sort of good because it almost makes sense if everything else was the same....and that's how our minds work. But in the end it's just a sales pitch. A lightweight piece of machined steel is stronger and tougher than a much heavier piece of cast iron.

We can bolt weight onto a tractor to improve the traction, but it's a lot harder to make it stronger that way.

Those Mahindras made in India do have heavy castings just like a Belarus Tractor!

 

[cathy liebchen]

Mahindra's are so popular around here that honestly, I've never seen one in the flesh. No dealers no units, no nothing. The last one I physically saw was west of Jackson, Michigan at a customer's and it looked pretty crude, but that was at least 15 years ago. Since then, not a one.

Now, Mahindra assembles the Roxor north of here in Farmington Hills, Michigan. I understand they arrive in overseas containers and are completed there but I've never seen one of them either.

Maybe someday I'll actually see one but I'm not holding my breath.

My neighbor to the west has some big Mahindra cab tractor and can repair it himself so he says it’s worked out for him, it was much cheaper than the other brands and he has a full machine and diesel repair business. He has had to fix a lot of stuff on it and it’s been split once

 

[rScotty]

Those Mahindras made in India do have heavy castings just like a Belarus Tractor!

View attachment 715852

Lots of old machinery was built with heavy castings to start. Look at old US tractors from WWII vintage and most eastern European machines.

It's pretty common practice to use heavy iron castings when a company is getting started and doesn't have access to the technology to make their parts out of a better steel. It's what you do to get by. Think of old Ford tractors or vintage JDs. They made big castings not because it was better, but because it was the the only way to make them strong enough.

But it's a bit novel to hear a company promoting their lack of metal-working technology as a positive sales tool.
rScotty

 

[5030]

Neither my 2002 M9 with 6000 hours or my 2004 M9 with 3000 hours have ever been split and that is all farming hours. Do my own services too.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

Anyone who thinks lighter castings on machinery is better, doesn't know much about casting durability on machinery.

SR

 

[4570Man]

Anyone who thinks lighter castings on machinery is better, doesn't know much about casting durability on machinery.

SR

Lighter being better isn’t a sure fire measure but neither is heavier being stronger. Something can be heavy and still suck.

 

[Cahaba Valley Farm]

I think it all comes down to the design and where the stress points are. I will reference this older thread as an example of a heavy casting but bad design:

Brand new 1735M broke after ~3hrs of use. Is this a freak occurrence?

Did I just have some bad luck? Or do these things break like this on a regular basis? Another user mentioned seeing a similar break, but wasn't sure if it was a Massey. This broke pulling the same box blade my Ford 2N has been pulling for years. I'm new here and have been lurking and reading...

www.tractorbynet.com

 

[Hay Dude]

Lighter being better isn’t a sure fire measure but neither is heavier being stronger. Something can be heavy and still suck.

sign me up for heavier

 

[4570Man]

sign me up for heavier

You can buy whatever size kubota you want. If you want a 4000 pound Kubota you can get that. But it’s probably going to be 50-60 hp opposed to 40. Is that supposed to be a bad thing? As already mentioned comparing tractors by HP is pretty meaningless. You wouldn’t separate pickups by hp opposed to class would you?

 

[RjCorazza]

I think it all comes down to the design and where the stress points are. I will reference this older thread as an example of a heavy casting but bad design:

Brand new 1735M broke after ~3hrs of use. Is this a freak occurrence?

Did I just have some bad luck? Or do these things break like this on a regular basis? Another user mentioned seeing a similar break, but wasn't sure if it was a Massey. This broke pulling the same box blade my Ford 2N has been pulling for years. I'm new here and have been lurking and reading...

www.tractorbynet.com

I snapped off the lower arm connection point casting on my Kubota L4060 this summer pulling old fence posts.
In my case, I was applying a load to the 3pt arms that it was not designed to handle and I should have known better.
That mistake cost me 2 Grand.

 

[Cahaba Valley Farm]

I snapped off the lower arm connection point casting on my Kubota L4060 this summer pulling old fence posts.
In my case, I was applying a load to the 3pt arms that it was not designed to handle and I should have known better.
That mistake cost me 2 Grand.

Why didn't you chain them around your drawbar instead? Or better yet your loader?

 

[airbiscuit]

The castings on our 1950 John Deere B were a lot more refined than the ugly castings on a Mahindra made in India. The TYM made Mahindras don't seem to suffer the same affliction.

 

[Hay Dude]

You can buy whatever size kubota you want. If you want a 4000 pound Kubota you can get that. But it’s probably going to be 50-60 hp opposed to 40. Is that supposed to be a bad thing? As already mentioned comparing tractors by HP is pretty meaningless. You wouldn’t separate pickups by hp opposed to class would you?

Nope not bad at all.
Given other things equal, I will always prefer more weight over less, because maybe you don’t know this, but weight is traction. Weight in the proper place is also stability with something like a raised loader.
Tractors are built for traction and stability.
I see 1-2 threads literally every week about traction and/or stability.
I think weight and HP, outside of build quality, are probably 2 of the most important considerations in a tractor purchase.