KubotaTrev
New member
Help me pick my first Kubota. Sorry for the long post, they say the more info you can give the better advice you can receive. Been researching for a while and I'm at the point it's time to ask the forum.
I'm looking to replace my tired old tractor and maybe downsize. The current tractor (Massey 265) came with the place (I have no brand affiliation, long as it works) and was never well maintained by the PO, being 2wd it's nearly useless in the winter even with rear weights, and in the summer it's too heavy for the front lawn for mowing, sinks in with any moisture and is far too large to be manoeuvrable near buildings for mowing. It always seems like I'm in too high of a gear or to low of a gear and lots of stop and go back and forth due to the not easily removable FEL sticking out make me desire a HST. Plus the open operator station sucks in the winter and is very hot with the rad fan blowing hot engine air back over you in the summer. It does however mow really nice and at a decent pace, since I'm about 20hp over the finish mowers hp requirement (which I know, is hard on the gearbox) which farm king lists as "25-45hp"
Land size: 5.5 acres, 3 finish mowed and 2 rough cut, driveway 800ft, yard decently smooth (except mole hills which is why I gave up on ride-a-mowers) few ditches but no big hills. But I do sometimes have to plow to the road (2km) if the grader hasn't made it down and I need to get to work.
Weather can swing from +30C to -30C inside of a month, drifting snow in the winter and moderately fast growing grass in the summer (currently mowing once every two weeks in the dry summer, once week or more if we get lots of rain). Storage would be covered but not heated (barn) with power for block heater. Have tried zero turn mowers (grasshopper 61") but it beat me up to much in the rough area's, so I sold it and have used the 3pt finish mower for a year, am very happy with it. I'm really not looking to buy a mower and tractor, I'd like to have one unit.
Current implements that I'd like to keep if possible is a Farm King 855 84" finish mower (rear discharge, does a fantastic job, 25-45hp listed as required on the website) and a Farm King 510 60" rotary (rough cut, 25-65hp listed requirement) mower and 3pt weight rack, 7' farm king manual angle 3pt straight blade but I don't use it much.
Absolutely required duties: Finish mowing of up to 3 acres (currently using the Farm king 84") and snow removal, a 3rd function and grapple are absolute musts as well, I'm tired of trying to use the bucket to pick up fallen longs and such only to have them slide out on the way to the burn pile.
Other duties include rough cut mowing the larger area (approximately 2 acres, sometimes 3 if I do the surrounding ditches). Would also like to get a landplane to maintain the gravel driveway and a bit of the road. Fallen tree cleanup, pick and place items (objects on a pallet, not heavy, garbage into truck box, just general stuff a root rake or grapple would come in handy for)
A quick detach FEL is a must (I think most now are?) since when mowing I'd be near buildings it's nice to get it out of the way. As well as rear remotes for things like hydraulic top link and future implements.
I'd like to get a cabbed tractor, especially for the winter, and I've read blowing snow in an open tractor is...fun. So all that said I think I've got a list of what I'd like in a tractor:
Cab with heat and A/C
Hydrostatic Transmission
Turf tires (Titan multi tracs), I've read on the forum they are great for lawn work and pretty decent in the winter
Quick detach front end loader + Quick detach bucket
Front 3rd function for root rake/grapple
SS Quick attach option on loader
Ground pressure relief for plowing (if applicable in tractor series, I don't see the option on the B series but see it mentioned on the L60 series)
Mid PTO + Front mount snowblower (larger the better)
Rear Remotes
Quick hitch on 3pt, can be added later, I'm getting older
Future implements (not to be considered in pricing at this time) would be a sickle bar mower for ditches and for sure a root rake, maybe a snowplow, landplane as mentioned for gravel road maintence, 3pt boom sprayer for weeds
I finally found at one of the local(ish) dealerships that had a B3350 sitting beside a L6060, which was perfect for size comparison. Unfortunately they were closed so I couldn't get inside. The B3350 is a nice size but the Grand L60 wasn't as large as I initially thought, I'd consider one if the 3350 wouldn't meet my needs.
I've been looking at the B3350, I really like that size of machine since it's light enough for lawn work and small enough for around the house, between the buildings and near tree's, and am hoping with a snowblower in the winter it would be enough to keep the yard cleared, but am worried the 27hp PTO might not be enough for the finish mower at a reasonable speed. I can keep it mowed pretty (mower set to 1-3/4") well but if we get a lot of moisture the grass can get 3-4" before I have a chance to mow. We have the yard opened up and setup so the 84 finish mower is ideal but I'm overpowering it right now and my current machine is far too heavy for the lawn. I think I can get a B3350 with every conceivable option except backhoe (don't need one) right in my price range (assuming he US Kubota Build and Price is close to the Canadian price once exchange rate is factored in). I could always step down to a 72 finish mower if needed (or purchase the 72 belly mower, I'm not against that as long as it comes on and off easily), I've always run 3pt mowers and like that I can swap between the finish mower and rough cut since I usually do both in a weekend, and lift them right up for cleaning/sharpening. If a larger tractor is needed, so be it but that B3350 is a really nice size.
Next step up (I think) for a tractor with a cab is the Grand L60 series, frustratingly the Canadian Kubota website doesn't have a build and price, just base prices for the base tractors. The L3560HSTCC is the next model with a cab and it's a $7000 jump for 1 more hp if I'm reading the specs correctly. L4060HSTCC is a $10,500 jump for 5.5hp, and they go up from there. That's a big jump for a little hp. Sure I'd love the L6060 and it's close to a direct replacement in hp to my current tractor but by the time I add snowblower, rear remotes, etc it's way out of my budget, and I'm not sure weight-wise how close it is to the Massey, which is too heavy. Another option is to keep my Massey for just rough cut mowing but I'm not sure how much longer it will last, it's just not worth putting money into at this point.
I'd be looking to buy before winter (next month or so), and Kubota has 0% on right now for some tractors with 10% down, my budget is about 55k CAD total (but as always, less I spend now is more implements I can buy later).Or rather I'd like to stick with a $600-$700 monthly payment or less if possible, and finance in the snowblower with purchase. I could stretch that to $800/month if needed (again it's tough since no build and price in CAD, I'd have to contact the dealer and would rather know what size tractor I'm looking for before going in, last two times I went in (to a dealer with neither tractor in stock) one salesman seemed eager to sell and told me it would run the 84" no problem, another time another salesman told me it would be pushing it). I have two good dealers close and 4 more within an hour drive, and all the neighbors run Orange (but they all run the larger, AG Stuff) so that's why I'm looking at Kubota. I'd like to buy new for financing and warranty purposes.
Any advice is much appreciated. Again, sorry for the long post.
I'm looking to replace my tired old tractor and maybe downsize. The current tractor (Massey 265) came with the place (I have no brand affiliation, long as it works) and was never well maintained by the PO, being 2wd it's nearly useless in the winter even with rear weights, and in the summer it's too heavy for the front lawn for mowing, sinks in with any moisture and is far too large to be manoeuvrable near buildings for mowing. It always seems like I'm in too high of a gear or to low of a gear and lots of stop and go back and forth due to the not easily removable FEL sticking out make me desire a HST. Plus the open operator station sucks in the winter and is very hot with the rad fan blowing hot engine air back over you in the summer. It does however mow really nice and at a decent pace, since I'm about 20hp over the finish mowers hp requirement (which I know, is hard on the gearbox) which farm king lists as "25-45hp"
Land size: 5.5 acres, 3 finish mowed and 2 rough cut, driveway 800ft, yard decently smooth (except mole hills which is why I gave up on ride-a-mowers) few ditches but no big hills. But I do sometimes have to plow to the road (2km) if the grader hasn't made it down and I need to get to work.
Weather can swing from +30C to -30C inside of a month, drifting snow in the winter and moderately fast growing grass in the summer (currently mowing once every two weeks in the dry summer, once week or more if we get lots of rain). Storage would be covered but not heated (barn) with power for block heater. Have tried zero turn mowers (grasshopper 61") but it beat me up to much in the rough area's, so I sold it and have used the 3pt finish mower for a year, am very happy with it. I'm really not looking to buy a mower and tractor, I'd like to have one unit.
Current implements that I'd like to keep if possible is a Farm King 855 84" finish mower (rear discharge, does a fantastic job, 25-45hp listed as required on the website) and a Farm King 510 60" rotary (rough cut, 25-65hp listed requirement) mower and 3pt weight rack, 7' farm king manual angle 3pt straight blade but I don't use it much.
Absolutely required duties: Finish mowing of up to 3 acres (currently using the Farm king 84") and snow removal, a 3rd function and grapple are absolute musts as well, I'm tired of trying to use the bucket to pick up fallen longs and such only to have them slide out on the way to the burn pile.
Other duties include rough cut mowing the larger area (approximately 2 acres, sometimes 3 if I do the surrounding ditches). Would also like to get a landplane to maintain the gravel driveway and a bit of the road. Fallen tree cleanup, pick and place items (objects on a pallet, not heavy, garbage into truck box, just general stuff a root rake or grapple would come in handy for)
A quick detach FEL is a must (I think most now are?) since when mowing I'd be near buildings it's nice to get it out of the way. As well as rear remotes for things like hydraulic top link and future implements.
I'd like to get a cabbed tractor, especially for the winter, and I've read blowing snow in an open tractor is...fun. So all that said I think I've got a list of what I'd like in a tractor:
Cab with heat and A/C
Hydrostatic Transmission
Turf tires (Titan multi tracs), I've read on the forum they are great for lawn work and pretty decent in the winter
Quick detach front end loader + Quick detach bucket
Front 3rd function for root rake/grapple
SS Quick attach option on loader
Ground pressure relief for plowing (if applicable in tractor series, I don't see the option on the B series but see it mentioned on the L60 series)
Mid PTO + Front mount snowblower (larger the better)
Rear Remotes
Quick hitch on 3pt, can be added later, I'm getting older
Future implements (not to be considered in pricing at this time) would be a sickle bar mower for ditches and for sure a root rake, maybe a snowplow, landplane as mentioned for gravel road maintence, 3pt boom sprayer for weeds
I finally found at one of the local(ish) dealerships that had a B3350 sitting beside a L6060, which was perfect for size comparison. Unfortunately they were closed so I couldn't get inside. The B3350 is a nice size but the Grand L60 wasn't as large as I initially thought, I'd consider one if the 3350 wouldn't meet my needs.
I've been looking at the B3350, I really like that size of machine since it's light enough for lawn work and small enough for around the house, between the buildings and near tree's, and am hoping with a snowblower in the winter it would be enough to keep the yard cleared, but am worried the 27hp PTO might not be enough for the finish mower at a reasonable speed. I can keep it mowed pretty (mower set to 1-3/4") well but if we get a lot of moisture the grass can get 3-4" before I have a chance to mow. We have the yard opened up and setup so the 84 finish mower is ideal but I'm overpowering it right now and my current machine is far too heavy for the lawn. I think I can get a B3350 with every conceivable option except backhoe (don't need one) right in my price range (assuming he US Kubota Build and Price is close to the Canadian price once exchange rate is factored in). I could always step down to a 72 finish mower if needed (or purchase the 72 belly mower, I'm not against that as long as it comes on and off easily), I've always run 3pt mowers and like that I can swap between the finish mower and rough cut since I usually do both in a weekend, and lift them right up for cleaning/sharpening. If a larger tractor is needed, so be it but that B3350 is a really nice size.
Next step up (I think) for a tractor with a cab is the Grand L60 series, frustratingly the Canadian Kubota website doesn't have a build and price, just base prices for the base tractors. The L3560HSTCC is the next model with a cab and it's a $7000 jump for 1 more hp if I'm reading the specs correctly. L4060HSTCC is a $10,500 jump for 5.5hp, and they go up from there. That's a big jump for a little hp. Sure I'd love the L6060 and it's close to a direct replacement in hp to my current tractor but by the time I add snowblower, rear remotes, etc it's way out of my budget, and I'm not sure weight-wise how close it is to the Massey, which is too heavy. Another option is to keep my Massey for just rough cut mowing but I'm not sure how much longer it will last, it's just not worth putting money into at this point.
I'd be looking to buy before winter (next month or so), and Kubota has 0% on right now for some tractors with 10% down, my budget is about 55k CAD total (but as always, less I spend now is more implements I can buy later).Or rather I'd like to stick with a $600-$700 monthly payment or less if possible, and finance in the snowblower with purchase. I could stretch that to $800/month if needed (again it's tough since no build and price in CAD, I'd have to contact the dealer and would rather know what size tractor I'm looking for before going in, last two times I went in (to a dealer with neither tractor in stock) one salesman seemed eager to sell and told me it would run the 84" no problem, another time another salesman told me it would be pushing it). I have two good dealers close and 4 more within an hour drive, and all the neighbors run Orange (but they all run the larger, AG Stuff) so that's why I'm looking at Kubota. I'd like to buy new for financing and warranty purposes.
Any advice is much appreciated. Again, sorry for the long post.
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