Buying Advice Best user friendly CUT for the mrs.

[super55]

Been a lurker in the shadows here for a while but finally decided to join up. Work constantly keeps me away from home unfortunately so the Mrs ends up having to do a ton of the work herself. Main uses would for her would be tilling, FEL use for firewood, and snowblower and possibly a flail mower. My uses are all those but I do food plotting so on top of that it needs to be able to pull a 6 1/2 foot disc with ease. ROP has to be just under 8' to fit in the garage.

I currently have a 96 kubota L2500 that fills this niche but there are several downsides that keep me looking for something else. Mainly gear transmission so everytime you have to dismount you gotta set the parking brake to load wood and it's not a live PTO so snowblowing is kind of an art in itself to say the least.

Really been looking at the 3038e. It fits the price range, not a lot of gadgets. Figured I would put a quick-hitch on the back for the 3pt implements. Removing the FEL is a non-issue for me.

Other brands in consideration are TYM, Kubota, and New Holland because dealers/servicing is within 25 miles.

Looking for some ideas for a tractor in the 30-40hp range, under 8', yet has large enough tires and clearance not to get stuck doing light farm work.

 

[TripleR]

I had to look at that tractor as I wasn't familiar with it. Spec wise, it looks like it will fit your needs. My wife operates a BX2660, Grand L5030 and John Deere 2305. She doesn't like the left foot braking or side by side HST etc. on John Deeres, so we won't be buying another one of those.

The best advice I can give is take your wife tractor shopping with you and try JD, Kubota, Kioti etc. to see what is a good fit for both of you. That is what we did and my wife actually convinced me to buy our L5030.

Good luck.

 

[20 20]

Super55, I sent you a PM.
I also agree take the wife with you and get her involved. My wife said "I don't care, get what you want". YA RIGHT! after over 20yrs of marriage I know/knew better.

 

[super55]

Funny my wife said the same thing. My wife has test driven a few kubota's, (she liked the B3030) No NH, and the JD dealer never seems to have a 3038e on the lot. The Kubota dealer is one of the largest in the state while the JD dealer I heard is reputable but much much smaller and hence a very limited inventory. I'm not about to buy a tractor on blind faith but not sure if they will bring one in just for the mere purpose of me/wife to test drive it on the chance that we may purchase.

 

[TripleR]

super55, I agree, I won't buy ANYTHING without trying it out. On two occasions my wife and I did all our research on line and looking at brochures then armed with the certain knowledge went forth and bought a different tractor than the one we believed we wanted/needed.:laughing:

 

[Dr_Zinj]

Your main squeeze doesn't sound like a shrinking violet

I have HST on my Bobcat CT230 but it also requires setting the parking brake to leave the operator's seat while the engine is running, otherwise it does a forced shut down. Frankly, having a tractor that didn't require that would be an inherently unsafe condition. Don't bother looking for one unless you have an expensive insurance policy on your significant other that you're looking to collect on.

Anything in the 30 to 40 hp range sounds good to me for your needs. Get one with a cab though. Cab keeps your missus from looking like Frosty the Snowman's wife, and keeps crap that might be thrown up by the flail mower off you and her. And yeah, I know, a cab would probably keep you from parking it in your garage. There are tradeoffs for everything.

 

[bigbull338]

im sure kubota has something to fitt your wifes an your needs.you are blessed to have a wife thatll drive a tractor.

 

[Martian]

I'm going to pretty much ditto all that has been said. Pretty much any of the new tractors will be "user friendly" enough for the mrs. HER personal preference is what will really matter though. I know that I can't stand the Kubota rocker, others swear by it. Of course this probably comes with experience as I probably have over 1000x more experience with the "twin touch" Deere system between the lawnmower and, my CUT. If she really wants a user friendly tractor though, throw the 3038e out the window. That is a economy tractor and therefore be less user friendly. To get the most user friendly tractor in your HP range, look at a JD 3x20 series, Kubota GL, Kioti DK, etc. I wouldn't go with a base model if what you want is user friendly though:thumbsup:

 

[sseelhoff]

Since it's so much about personal preference, take her to drive several options. My wife had no problems with the JD hydrostatic layout, but didn't like some of the other styles. So we bought the JD. Not an issue, since I'm very happy with it.

If she hates it, she either won't use it, or complain about it when she does.

As someone said, if she will be doing any snow clearing, get the cab.

 

[BethesdaEC]

Your main squeeze doesn't sound like a shrinking violet

I have HST on my Bobcat CT230 but it also requires setting the parking brake to leave the operator's seat while the engine is running, otherwise it does a forced shut down. Frankly, having a tractor that didn't require that would be an inherently unsafe condition. Don't bother looking for one unless you have an expensive insurance policy on your significant other that you're looking to collect on.

Anything in the 30 to 40 hp range sounds good to me for your needs. Get one with a cab though. Cab keeps your missus from looking like Frosty the Snowman's wife, and keeps crap that might be thrown up by the flail mower off you and her. And yeah, I know, a cab would probably keep you from parking it in your garage. There are tradeoffs for everything.

My JD2520 does not require me to set the brake, but I do have to be in neutral. Of course I always set my brake unless I am using the backhoe and then it is nice that I can scoot forward by raising the outriggers and giving a little push with the hoe.