Buying Advice Advice Request: Kubota shopping this week...

[dhurley737]

Hi All~

Well the first piece of good news came down this AM - looks like Kubota extended the rebates / 0% financing offers until 3/31/2013. Huge sigh of relief! Now onto the question:

I'm a homeowner in Upstate NY w/ ~5 acres of land... a lot of this is wooded with small brush / 1" diameter shrubs / trees but it is ready to be cleared. The plan is to level an additional small piece of land that I already have had cleared (sloped but not even in pitch) and also to clear a parcel about 150' x 150' in size. Again, nothing major in terms of large trees but will def. need to dig up some stumps.

The long term plan is to level that out and build a lawn down there while also clearing out an additional 50' x 50' area and putting up a pole barn / additional driveway leading into it. The land is pretty ready to go - no major boulders / huge trees / issues... just need to do the hard work.

I've been looking into the BX25 (they have a 2012 leftover at the local dealer as well as (2) new 2013 BX25D's (70 series)). My issue is that I know I'm going to move into a larger home / bigger lot down the road 6-10 years from now and should I just get a bigger tractor now? I've always lived by the law "you'll always wish you went bigger" and have typically gone that route in years past.

Thinking I'll def. want the backhoe as I'll likely run power in-ground down from the house (approx 150') and while I'm digging I'll also put a few nice lights to line the current & future driveway. Also def. need the loader for obvious reasons... and then maybe add a brush-hog in the Spring once I'm ready to clear.

Would the BX-25 be strong enough? Should I be looking into a B series with implements? Looking for advice from the crowd who knows best.

Thanks!

DH

 

[TripleR]

JOHNTHOMAS has some threads on here about that sort of thing and recently traded his BX25 for a B2520 TLB. I personally would be looking at a B Series at a minimum andp prefer the B3030/3000, BUT I have never owned one only looked at them and decided t go even bigger, but we have a lot of land.

 

[Thomas]

They type of work lays ahead for you I to would lean towards the B..are you planing to remove snow?
BX25D I would give little time on the market..but thats me.

 

[crbr]

Hi All~

Well the first piece of good news came down this AM - looks like Kubota extended the rebates / 0% financing offers until 3/31/2013. Huge sigh of relief! DH

Kubota has been doing this for the past seven years, of which I am aware....

 

[bhh]

I started with a very similar debate as you about 6 months ago with a very similar list of tasks and just purchased an L3800 on Monday. I moved up to the B pretty quickly and finally ended up with an L after erring to the "larger and heavier" side. I also wanted a bit more PTO HP for a decent sized wood chipper.

BHs are very expensive and on a tractor that size, and even on the larger Bs and Ls, I personally just don't think they are powerful enough to justify the expense. Just rent a trencher and use all the leftover money for a bigger machine. That is IMHO of course but my dealer agreed and walked me through the numbers. Unless you have a specific task you will use the BH for on a regular basis, you'll probably do much better to just rent a larger BH when you need it.

 

[tractchores]

I have a b2920 with a bh. It would fit what your describing. I would want the extra clearance of the b over the bx. I use a wallenstein chipper, which is great for brush clearing. I actually find with small stuff that the fel is enough to rip it up and only go to the bh when its 8 or 10" in diameter. I would err on the side of bigger given your future plans.

 

[Notforhire]

Unless you have a specific task you will use the BH for on a regular basis, you'll probably do much better to just rent a larger BH when you need it.

I couldn't have said it better. For your clearing and trenching work you could rent a mini ex. or hire the job out. 10K buys a lot of rental time.

 

[newbury]

The type of jobs you mention are better done by pros in one day than homeowners with tractors in a month.
You don't indicate if you have a full time job but if you do you can waste a lot of seat time clearing land with an undersized tractor.

Make a list of the jobs you really will be doing in the future:
Upstate New York - maybe a little snow removal?
Maintaining driveways - box blade style?
Building and maintaining a garden?
Food plots for deer?
Forestry management?

Regardless of the typical TBN mindset bigger is NOT always better.

My CIL has a 100 HP JD and a 120+ HP IH that are simply to big for me to imagine taking into the woods on small trails to maintain food plots or haul out a few trees. I need something in the 40 to 50HP range.

I know a lot of Kubota people think the BX's are great. But with a ground clearance of 9" to me they are a little low for any woods work. At least go up to a B series and get a foot.

As far as a BH goes - it's not cost effective if your the type that plans well ahead, will work in any weather with rental equipment and don't mind traveling to get it. I'm not. I'm retired. I work when I want and want to be able to hop on my tractor and dig a hole.

And running 150' of power in ground? You don't mention how deep. If you have to get it below frost line that's about 5 foot deep. Or the LIMIT of the BX25.

I'd recommend the biggest B you can afford.

 

[crazyal]

My first question is do you have a fixed budget or do you have some flexibility? There are plenty of different sized Kubota tractors that would work for you, anywhere from the BX line all the way up to maybe even an MX. Personally I like the idea of buying something you think will fit your needs down the road. Tractors can last decades with a little care. Like Newbury said make a list of what you know you will be doing and what you think you may do. Another use could be logging a couple of trees a year for firewood. I like the B and L sized tractors myself.

 

[JOHNTHOMAS]

The type of jobs you mention are better done by pros in one day than homeowners with tractors in a month.You don't indicate if you have a full time job but if you do you can waste a lot of seat time clearing land with an undersized tractor.

Make a list of the jobs you really will be doing in the future:
Upstate New York - maybe a little snow removal?
Maintaining driveways - box blade style?
Building and maintaining a garden?
Food plots for deer?
Forestry management?

Regardless of the typical TBN mindset bigger is NOT always better.

My CIL has a 100 HP JD and a 120+ HP IH that are simply to big for me to imagine taking into the woods on small trails to maintain food plots or haul out a few trees. I need something in the 40 to 50HP range.

I know a lot of Kubota people think the BX's are great. But with a ground clearance of 9" to me they are a little low for any woods work. At least go up to a B series and get a foot.

As far as a BH goes - it's not cost effective if your the type that plans well ahead, will work in any weather with rental equipment and don't mind traveling to get it. I'm not. I'm retired. I work when I want and want to be able to hop on my tractor and dig a hole.
And running 150' of power in ground? You don't mention how deep. If you have to get it below frost line that's about 5 foot deep. Or the LIMIT of the BX25.

I'd recommend the biggest B you can afford.

Not sure I can add much to this. I've had the smallest BX (BX1500) up to a L3240 and most of the models in between. I've also cleared some treed, gullied and rocky hillside and hired out the dangerous (steep hillside) and tree clearing areas over the years and still had plenty of work to do myself. The L was to big for me because of the fear on the hill side of being so high off of the ground but would love it on flat ground. The BX25 is my favorite all around Kubota but now have a B2620 FEL BH as my tractor on hand. Ground clearance is the biggest factor to decide between the BX and B. They both are work horses with the bigger bucket saving a bit of time. Trenching for water lines can best be accomplished with a trencher unless one has plenty of time and just wants to do it.