Kubota or mahindra

[Hay Dude]

I can tell you with 100% confidence that my 2 Kubotas are not ballasted enough to pick up their rated loader capacity with total safety. I have loaded probably 20,000 round and square bales over the last 10+ years and they are a little tippy at 2/3rd to full height, even with cast rear rims and wheel weights.
If they were heavier framed or ballasted, they would be safer.
They are great tractors, but they are on the lighter side for 130HP

 

[bdhsfz6]

But if I have to add wieght to every tractor to get the best ballast, then kubota is still the underdog and to even attempt to get it close to the other it will cost more in ballast.
Secondly your statement about quality is highly subjective and in question from many like me who have owned many brands including kubota. They are not the first words out of my mouth when referring to quality!

I did not mention any specific manufacturer when I referred to quality. My statement holds true regardless of who makes the tractor.

 

[RichnMo]

Which is exactly why I wouldn't touch a Kubota with a ten foot pole. They are the lowest featured, worst designed tractors on the market. The controls are also terrible. And they're expensive. I guess the orange paint mesmerizes people. You can get a lot more tractor for the money elsewhere.

Well you obviously haven't priced the green. Because the hydraulic's are junk and location of things needed to operate.

 

[Cahaba Valley Farm]

Well you obviously haven't priced the green. Because the hydraulic's are junk and location of things needed to operate.

Please provide some explanation of what you are referring to.

 

[RichnMo]

Please provide some explanation of what you are referring to.

I purchased a new 5310 4wd when I lived in Colo. before moving to MO. With 2 rear remotes, filled rear tires and Fel and multiple implements. Upon delivery I was tickled having made close to a 50k investment to maintain my 40 ac. Within the first month I noticed that if I parked the green machine with the loader up you could hear it creaking as it bled off and dropped down. Then going into winter and living southeast of Denver at 9400ft we encountered some heavy snow fall. The first time I slid off the road into the ditch along the road, using the bucket to normally claw or push yourself out got me nothing! A task I had done multiple times before with my 30 hp Kubota.
Taking the green machine 50 miles back to the dealer I got it from was going to be one of 6 trips to JD to get nothing accomplished. The replaced almost the entire hyd assemblies on the tractor which did zip ! The regional rep said unless I wanted to upgrade into a 6000 series tractor with different spool valves etc that there was nothing they could do and the inferior hydrolics and bleed off was considered normal ! I couldn't believe what I was told and have never owned or will ever again.

 

[Cahaba Valley Farm]

I purchased a new 5310 4wd when I lived in Colo. before moving to MO. With 2 rear remotes, filled rear tires and Fel and multiple implements. Upon delivery I was tickled having made close to a 50k investment to maintain my 40 ac. Within the first month I noticed that if I parked the green machine with the loader up you could hear it creaking as it bled off and dropped down. Then going into winter and living southeast of Denver at 9400ft we encountered some heavy snow fall. The first time I slid off the road into the ditch along the road, using the bucket to normally claw or push yourself out got me nothing! A task I had done multiple times before with my 30 hp Kubota.
Taking the green machine 50 miles back to the dealer I got it from was going to be one of 6 trips to JD to get nothing accomplished. The replaced almost the entire hyd assemblies on the tractor which did zip ! The regional rep said unless I wanted to upgrade into a 6000 series tractor with different spool valves etc that there was nothing they could do and the inferior hydrolics and bleed off was considered normal ! I couldn't believe what I was told and have never owned or will ever again.

Thanks for your reply about this and I am sorry to hear about your experience. When companies like Deere sell a product that is inferior and underperforms, saying the performance is normal is their go to answer to weasel out. This is not the first time I have heard a story like this on TBN and this is why I strongly believe a product needs to be demoed before purchase.

 

[LD1]

I purchased a new 5310 4wd when I lived in Colo. before moving to MO. With 2 rear remotes, filled rear tires and Fel and multiple implements. Upon delivery I was tickled having made close to a 50k investment to maintain my 40 ac. Within the first month I noticed that if I parked the green machine with the loader up you could hear it creaking as it bled off and dropped down. Then going into winter and living southeast of Denver at 9400ft we encountered some heavy snow fall. The first time I slid off the road into the ditch along the road, using the bucket to normally claw or push yourself out got me nothing! A task I had done multiple times before with my 30 hp Kubota.
Taking the green machine 50 miles back to the dealer I got it from was going to be one of 6 trips to JD to get nothing accomplished. The replaced almost the entire hyd assemblies on the tractor which did zip ! The regional rep said unless I wanted to upgrade into a 6000 series tractor with different spool valves etc that there was nothing they could do and the inferior hydrolics and bleed off was considered normal ! I couldn't believe what I was told and have never owned or will ever again.

Everyones opinion on how much bleeding down is acceptable is different.

The ONLY one that matters is what the valve manufacture specifies.

There are NO seals in the spools on a hydraulic valve. IT is just very tight tolerance metal on metal. So they ALL will leak down eventually. But is it a foot a week or a foot a minute?

What a valve manufacture rates it at is gonna be a given amount of fluid (in CC's or ounces) over a given time at a given pressure.
With some math....based on cylinder sizes and oil volume in said cylinder....you can convert that to loader movement in which is deem acceptable over a period of time.

JD service manuals probably have that information spelled out. But if it were mine, I would have specifically asked what is "acceptable". Then actually take a measurement on YOUR machine and see if it is within their allowable spec or not.

You made NO mention at all how fast your loader would "creep" down. Without knowing that its hard for me to form an opinion on your situation

 

[rScotty]

Everyones opinion on how much bleeding down is acceptable is different.

The ONLY one that matters is what the valve manufacture specifies.

There are NO seals in the spools on a hydraulic valve. IT is just very tight tolerance metal on metal. So they ALL will leak down eventually. But is it a foot a week or a foot a minute?

What a valve manufacture rates it at is gonna be a given amount of fluid (in CC's or ounces) over a given time at a given pressure.
With some math....based on cylinder sizes and oil volume in said cylinder....you can convert that to loader movement in which is deem acceptable over a period of time.

JD service manuals probably have that information spelled out. But if it were mine, I would have specifically asked what is "acceptable". Then actually take a measurement on YOUR machine and see if it is within their allowable spec or not.

You made NO mention at all how fast your loader would "creep" down. Without knowing that its hard for me to form an opinion on your situation

Well said. I can't seem to find the leakdown limits for our Kubota right now...but I do remember when I reading them and being surprised at how fast that the leakdown could be and still be acceptable.

Obviously people see this differently, but at our place I would never leave a loader up with motor off or unattended... not without first engaging the built in mechanical stop that all loaders have or should have that prevents the arms from falling down.

 

[Cahaba Valley Farm]

Well said. I can't seem to find the leakdown limits for our Kubota right now...but I do remember when I reading them and being surprised at how fast that the leakdown could be and still be acceptable.

Loader leak-down is a very common problem in this industry and the manufacturers in response to it have lowered their standards instead of choosing to do the right thing. Toyota tried this same tactic 16 years ago when they had a problem with their engines burning oil. They went as far as writing a owners manual that stated it was acceptable for the engine to burn a quart of oil every 600 miles. It wasn't long before a class action lawsuit ensued and Toyota issued a recall. This again is why it is so important that you demo, do your research and talk to current/past owners about the piece of equipment that you are interested in purchasing.

 

[LD1]

Loader leak-down is a very common problem in this industry and the manufacturers in response to it have lowered their standards instead of choosing to do the right thing. Toyota tried this same tactic 16 years ago when they had a problem with their engines burning oil. They went as far as writing a owners manual that stated it was acceptable for the engine to burn a quart of oil every 600 miles. It wasn't long before a class action lawsuit ensued and Toyota issued a recall. This again is why it is so important that you demo, do your research and talk to current/past owners about the piece of equipment that you are interested in purchasing.

I wouldn't really say its very common....and definitely wouldn't say its a "problem"

Sure, if you are mowing with the loader on and trying to keep it say ~1' off the ground...and you find yourself having to raise it back up every few minutes it would be a problem. but shutting the tractor off, and leaving the loader up and walk away from it...and return an hour later and find its dropped 6 or 8 inches is NOT a problem.

I dont think RichnMo ever said what his leak down rate was. Therefore I have no idea and cannot form an opinion whether or not I would consider it acceptable or whether its a gross overreaction by a customer who thinks a loader should stay up indefinitely and never drop even an inch.

But I would certainly think that if his loader were bleeding down several inches per minute that deere would remedy the situation. But again, without knowing I can only assume that it wasnt the case, rather it was a customer parking machine with loader 1' in the air at night and coming out in the morning to find it on the ground and was upset by that