B7100 FEL Question

edfortmiller · Oct 15, 2001

A few months ago I purchased a used 4 yr old B7100 HST for $7K which had about 155 hours on it and in very good condition (always garaged). It also came with a 60" MMM and bar turf tires.

I would like to get a FEL for it. I have had several dealers tell me the Kubota 1630C FEL is no longer available and finding a used loader appears next to impossible.

I recently got a quote of $2475 for a new Woods 1006 FEL which is about $500 less than three other dealers quoted me for the Woods.

Now the questions:

Is the Woods 1006 a good loader (it can be on with the MMM)?

Is the $2475 a good price or can it be had for much less?

Is it worth adding a FEL as I would now have ~$9500 in it? Might I better sell what I have and buy something with a FEL already on it? I really like the tractor as it has low hours and is in such nice condition. How much value does a FEL add to the value of a used tractor like mine?

Ed

Bird · Oct 15, 2001

Ed, unfortunately all front end loaders are expensive. $2475 isn't a bad price at all. When I bought a new B7100 in '95, it came with a B1630C loader and if I remember right, the price of the loader then was $2400 (and it usually costs more to add one later). As to whether it's worth it to add one at this point instead of trading tractors; just depends on whether you think that B7100 is big enough and the loader capacity high enough (about 500 pounds) that you intend to keep and use it quite awhile.

Bird

Kelvin · Oct 19, 2001

Ed,

You profile doesn't mention which part of the country that you are located, so I don't know if this will help you or not.

The Kubota dealer in Knoxville, TN has a used B1630C FEL on the lot that I believe they are selling for a customer. It won't work on older B7100 gear drives (like mine), but I asked about it anyways and they indicated that the asking price is $1500, if I remember correctly. It looked to be in pretty good shape. You can find dealer contact information at www.tennvall.com if you want more information.

Other important information: According to Kubota sales brochures that I have, there are two Kubota brand FEL's available for the B7100HSD. The 1630C is a rigid mount (not quick disconnect) that IS compatible with the Kubota B7100 mid-mower. There is also a B1630 (no "C" suffix) that is a rigid mount and IS NOT compatible with the mid-mower.

Kelvin

Bird · Oct 19, 2001

Kelvin, that's interesting, and quite possibly correct, but my '95 B7100HSD came with a B1630C loader (not quick connect) and the salesman told me it was the first year that the loader was compatible with a mid-mount mower. Since I never had, nor wanted, a mid-mount mower, I never found out whether they were compatible or not. And when I bought the tractor, they figured $2,400 for the loader, so I'd say that $1,500 for a good used one wouldn't be bad.

Bird

Kelvin · Oct 19, 2001

Bird,

I'm confused. Regarding your statement "that's interesting, and quite possibly correct", I don't see any conflict with your post and mine. Am I missing something?

Kelvin

Bird · Oct 19, 2001

<font color=blue>The 1630C is a rigid mount (not quick disconnect) that IS compatible</font color=blue>

Are you missing something? No, but apparently I did./w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif When you didn't put the "B" in front of the "1630C" in that one line, I think I misread it./w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif

Bird

edfortmiller · Oct 21, 2001

> The 1630C is a rigid mount (not quick disconnect)

What do you mean by "rigid mount" and "not quick disconnect"? What is involved in taking the FEL on and off? I had one Kubota dealer tell me that all you had to do was pull a couple of pins. 95% of the time I probably would not have the MMM on but it would be nice to have the option of keeping it on.

Ed in Hudson MA.

Bird · Oct 21, 2001

Ed, with quick connect loaders, yes, you usually have some "legs" to swing down to support it, pull a couple of pins and "unplug" 4 quick connect hydraulic hoses. But with the rigid mount, you would have to make some stabilizer legs to support it, get your wrenches and take several nuts and bolts loose, then unscrew all the fittings on 4 hoses and plug or cap them in some way. Needless to say, with the rigid mount loaders, they are never taken off the tractor by any owners that I've ever known, and of course mine was never taken off the B7100.

Bird

edfortmiller · Oct 22, 2001

I've had Kubota dealers tell me the Kubota loader is a quick disconnect unit and that the Woods 1006 is not and I've had a Woods dealer tell me that while the Woods is not as simple to disconnect as the Kubota it is not real hard. They all mentioned quick disconnect hoses. So, I'm confused and where do I found out the truth?

Bird · Oct 22, 2001

<font color=blue>where do I found out the truth</font color=blue>

Ed, I guess you'll just have to see one./w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif I don't know about all the different models; just that before I bought my new '95 B7100 with the B1630C loader, I was also considering a Cub Cadet (and they did have quick connect loaders), so I asked 4 different Kubota dealers and they all told me it wasn't available on the B7100, and of course, I also saw the tractors and loaders at the dealerships and none of them were quick connect. One dealer tried to steer me to a Koyker loader but told me it also was not a quick connect. Don't know anything about the Woods loaders.

Bird