BOX SCRAPER INFO

[ALBALD1]

JUST FOUND THIS SITE & CBN. VERY IMPRESSED W/ INFO AVAIL. JUST A COUPLE DUMB ?S. WHAT EXACTLY IS A BOX SCRAPER & WHAT IS IT USED FOR. IT SEEMS LIKE EVERYONE USES IT. NEXT ?, I'VE BEEN COMPARING PRICES & SPECS ON ALL BRANDS IN MY AREA(WV). IT SEEMS THE CENTURY 2535 IS JUST MORE TRACTOR AS FAR AS HP & SIZE THAN THE BIG NAME BRANDS IN THE SAME PRICE RANGE. 35 HP IN THE CENTURY & I WAS QUOTED $11250. THAT KIND OF MONEY IN THE KUBOTA/NH/MF/JD IS MORE LIKE 20-25 HP. I KNOW NOTHING ABOUT TRACTORS, BUT THE CHOICE SEEMS OBVIOUS. AM I MISSNG SOMETHING? ALSO, IF I BUY THAT TRACTOR, WHAT SIZE BRUSH HOG & TILLER COULD IT RUN. IT WOULD MOSTLY BE USED FOR CLEARING FIELDS & LANDSCAPING AROUND HOME. SORRY FOR SUCH A LONG POST ON MY FIRST TIME OUT, BUT READING ALL THIS INFO HAS RAISED A MILLION ??S. HOPE NO ONE HERE IS OFFENDED BY IGNORANCE.

 

[Bob_Skurka]

Please take some time to fill your profile in so we know what size property you have, terrain, uses for the machine, etc.

As for the Century, they & Branson are the same tractors. My local NH dealer just picked up Branson this spring and the tractors sure seem to be stout machines. I'm not sure about the transmissions and other features but I suspect they are simply good values.

Some of the lower end tractors have simpler transmissions, I'm not saying Century falls into that category, I simply and stating a fact that that is one area where some lower priced machines cut costs. Mechanical versus sychro shuttles, some may not have live PTO. Those are good questions to ask the dealer or to check out on their website. There may be some features that the Century doesn't offer that come with some other brands. From what I read here, Century is a well built machine, not fancy but plenty strong and probably about as reliable as any other.

A box scraper or box blade is a heavy blade with side walls that hold the dirt in front of the blade. There are also scarifier blades that can drop down to break up the soil the scarifier blades are about 1/2" wide and stick down into the soil to break up the soil in advance of the blade that is located at the back of the box. The scarifier blades are located at the front of the box.

A 35hp tractor can probably run up to a 6' rotary cutter/brush hog, about the same size tiller. Your conditions might dictate going smaller.

Also typing in ALL CAPS is considered YELLING and is more difficult to read.

 

[ALBALD1]

Sorry about yelling. not intentional. added some bio stuff, but space was kind of limited. What i'm trying to do is light landscaping. had a house built couple yrs ago. soil is all clay, so i've had a hard time getting a lawn out of it. i been learning about soil & composting from cbn. the tractor would be used for working the lawn&clearing brush fields that haven't been touched for a long time. Would like to get into some farm animals, but i want the place right, meaning pasture, fence, etc before doing that. i figure a tractor would be a major help on all of it. i started looking at the smaller tractors, thinking probly a 5 ft brush hog. i was looking at the mf 2300 & the salesman said it wasnt enough hp for the hog. Most salesmen wanted to push the bigger models. then i found century & it seems to be kind of in the middle range.

 

[PapaPerk]

You can buy a Kubota 3130 4WD DT Trans for around 12,500.00. This is a great tractor!!! It would be worth your time to look at one. In my opinion sticking with the name brand tractors is the only way to go. And when it comes to under 50 hp tractors Kubota is hard to beat! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif Good Luck!

 

[dougzdog]

i was in the same boat as you, i didnt want to spend over 20k and i wanted tractor, loader, and backhoe. it was get the small kubota or the century 2535, i got the century and have no regrets, its been a great tractor. the only thing its missing is a hydro tranny, but the shuttle shift isn't to bad. another contributing factor was my century dealer is a nice small family owned shop, and the kubota dealer reminded me of a car dealer with everything being top dollar.

doug

 

[ALBALD1]

Again, I hate to sound ignorant, but is the hydro trans the same as my hydrostatic trans on my riding mower? and what is shuttlesync? I just went to the kubota website & don't see a model 3130. did the model # change?

 

[Bob_Skurka]

Hydrostatic, HST or HSD are all pretty much the same thing from what I can tell. Basically think in terms of an automatic transmission on a car, only maybe a bit easier. Push one pedal and the tractor goes forward, push another and the tractor goes in reverse. The farther you push the faster the speed. Heck even the lovely Mrs_Bob can do that /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Gear transmissions can loosly be lumped into the following group: Syncro versus mechanical versus sychro shuttles or shuttle syncs are all versions of an old manual transmission. Synchro shuttle being the most advanced and easiest of them to use and probably the most productive of the bunch.

Not that I want to start a "gear" versus "hydro" but for real farm chores like plowing, gear is simply better. For tasks like FEL work, then hydro is better. Those are my opinions, but they can be reasonably backed up by industry where productivity is measured in dollars and time, nearly every type of lift truck or loader today is hydro transmission. Gear will do pretty much anything a hydro will do, and visa versa, but you have to get used to either one and you will get good at either one. Hydro is typically easier for most folks who use a tractor around the home, typically the "estate" tractor users and many of the smaller tractors now only come in hydro versions (sub CUTs). Hydro costs more up front, has a higher resale value down the road.

On the Kubuta website the 3130 is an L3130, might be listed as a Grand L series. It is, in my mind, the king of the 30hp tractors, with specs and refinements that simply outclass everything in the market, and typcially at a good price. Not saying it is the best choice for everyone, as it is a large tractor for some serious work with a FEL, backhoe or blades.

I think the 30 hp class of machines probably causes lots of confusion among buyers (or maybe it is just me /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif) because there are so many to choose from, and each seems to be very unique. There are value machines with only the basics, there are small light machines with lots of deluxe features that are great for use around the house, there are big beefy units that are far more capable at work tasks and there are things that fit inbetween. Comparing the specs only on 30hp tractors doesn't allow good comparisons. Decide the tasks and then fit the tractor to the task. FOR EXAMPLE: If you need to mow the yard, you don't want a big heavy machine, you want a small nible light unit, but both will have similar PTO hp and power the same size mower deck . . . but only one is suited for the task.

As was mentioned by someone else in the thread, the dealer can make all the difference. Big or little doesn't matter, what matters to me is quality and care. Will they take care of me? Will they have the parts in stock or the experience in the service department? Will they take the time to show me why their machine on their lot is wrong and why they need to order in the right size & configuration for my tasks or will they push what they have? Will they bring it to my house and let me demo it?

When I bought my New Holland the guy didn't have one in stock, I didn't want to buy without a touchy feely experience, so he ordered exactly what I asked for, but with no obligation for me to buy. When I bought my Ventrac, the dealer brought it to me (about 200 miles one way) for me to demo it, no obligation for me to buy. I've been dealing with my Kubota/Case/Cub dealer since before I moved to my property, he and I are on a first name basis and I've gotten several pieces from him including a Kubota B2910, a Cub garden tractor, and a couple ZTRs. There are 2 John Deere dealers within a stones throw of me, one is pretty much a jerk where I have TRIED to give them my money to buy a tractor but I couldn't get a saleman to talk to me! The other concentrates on smaller equipment and mostly deals with suburban lawn owners and landscapers, he doesn't seem to need the customers who have a few acres and need some real attention. So I absolutely second the statement that the dealer makes the deal, not the color the tractor is painted.

 

[ALBALD1]

again, thanx for the input. i see the l series online, but not the 3130. i'm off work today, so think i'll just go looking. i have a kubota dealer w/in 40 minutes. All things being equal, i would prefer the name brand, so i better take another look. thanx again everyone

 

[greg_g]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( All things being equal, i would prefer the name brand)</font>

All things being equal applies, but going for a name brand serves to do little but inflate the retail price. Especially on an item that requires little or no service after sale. Take batteries for example; there are maybe three big companies that actually DO the manufacturing. But they put labels on for maybe 300 companies that do the SELLING. The $60 batttery you buy at AutoZone is very likely the same battery that the Ford dealer across the street is selling for $125.

Same with lawn mowers. Same with box blades. Don't for a minute think that Kubota made that boxblade you're going to look at. Odds are very high it was made by an independent manufacturer that applies paint and decals to spec. It might be red and $400 at an independent farm store, orange and $875 across the highway at the Kubota dealer. And no different than the premium you pay for a Yanmar, that is wearing green and yellow paint under John Deere decals.

I'm not picking on Kubota or John Deere by any stretch of the imagination. I'm just addressing brand name retailing in general.

//greg//

 

[Mark4510]

Al,
Here is a link that will take you to an implement manufacturer here on the west coast. You can find pictures of many different implements including a box scraper in case you wanted a visual of what Bob was describing.

I have found that Gearmore provides really good quality implements and, for me, they are a name brand. I am not saying that others are not as good.....

For a tractor look long and hard at the dealer. I went with John Deere because of the dealer and have been very happy.

Best of luck
Mark