buying my first -- looking at Kubota b3030hsd

[hnicols]

Shopping for my first saw and was impressed by above. Will be clearing land previously logged so hauling, keeping up gravel drive, mowing and general property care (100 acres mostly forested but about 8 acres of field and lawn to keep in shape, plus seed fertilize fields manure wagon (couple of horses)). Only wnat to buy once if i can so but is 30hp undresized? Above is new model - any reports review experience out there yet? Something I should be thinking of instead? Priced at 13,849 -- with loader mower 4 position rops comes to 19,124 tax included -- that in the range of fair? Is extra cost for Rops upgrade worth it? Appreciate the help.

 

[KiotiJohn]

First of all, welcome to the forum. Secondly, go to MY HOME at the top of page and click. Then choose personal settings so you can enter your information that will help people in your area give better answers. Pricing is rather regional, so it will help if someone near you can see where you are.
As to your questions: 30 HP sounds like it would be the minimum. That will do your 8 acres quite well, and probably the other jobs too. Of course, a larger tractor would carry larger mowers to make your job go faster, but 8 acres is not too much for a 30.
As to the ROPS, I don't see any need for a 4 position ROPS, but I think it's good to get one that folds down for low entryways if you have any, and when you may get into a tight situation, but 4 position? I've never seen one.
If I were you, I'd start learning about the different brands so that you end up with just the right tractor for you.
Of course, I'm partial to Kioti tractors, so I'll recommend that you look at the CK30 HST or shuttle shift transmission. I can tell you about those more if you don't know the differences.
Generally, in most areas, the Kioti will offer a lot more standard features for less money. Another brand that offers a lot of standard equipment for less is the LG Montana. Mahindra, Branson, New Holland/Case IH (basically the same tractors), and of course John Deere and some others, and most are good to very good tractors.
You should make sure you're comfortable on the tractor, and that the controls are right where YOU would like to have them.
I don't really know the Kubota you're interested in, but I've seen plenty of Kubotas. The only two things I don't really care for on Kubotas is that they are usually very light weight, (I like weight for traction), and their ladder frame as opposed to the platform on the Kioties. I suppose the mowing you'll be doing will be with a brush cutter and not a finish mower? Soil type dictates a lot whether heavier is better for you or not.
Get around to some dealers and look for tractors that are fairly close in their specs. Starting in the 30 HP range. Another Kioti in 30 HP is the LK3054XS and XS tractor loader backhoe (TLB) model. Higher HP begins with the DK35, 40, 45, 50, 55, and 65S, all shuttle shift transmissions not hydrostatic.
John

 

[Bob_Skurka]

The B3030HST is considered a deluxe model in the Kubota line, but it is also an ultralight tractor, probably the smallest and lightest 30hp tractor in the market of any brand. They are great tractors, I have the B2910 which was just replaced this year by the upgraded B3030 and I can't complain about it at 5 years old, it is still running perfectly, with never a repair. The Kubota engines are known as being the smoothest running engines in the industry. If you are getting a Mid Mount Mower for your mowing work, the combination of the B3030 & MMM is a great combination for lawn work. However, given your property size, and some of your tasks, I think the B3030 might be undersized for you. I'd go to your dealer and tell him everything you want the tractor to do. You really strike me needing something like the L3830, which is a pretty good step up in size, power and weight, but also has one of the sweetest sounded smoothest turning engines I've ever run across.

It is hard to go wrong in today's market buying any of the better quality tractor because all of them are so good. The problem is you want to buy the right one the first time, and that is where compramise comes in. There is no perfect machine for ALL jobs, but there are plenty of good machines that are prefect for SOME jobs and adequate for other jobs. Your goal is to find the machine that will provide a good balance of size & power.

Your Jobs:
- Land clearing is often better with a heavy tractor.
- Keeping up a gravel drive can be done with a Sub-CUT but is easier done with a larger machine. If it is in good shape now, less tractor is needed to maintain it. If it is barely there now, then you'll have a project to get it into shape, but once it is there it isn't bad if it is kept up.
- Mowing is better done with a small, tight turning, light tractor.
- Pulling the manure wagon can be done by any appropriatly size tractor, the bigger the wagon the bigger the tractor.
- General property care, not sure what that is, as we all define that differently.

 

[Henro]

hnicols,

I have a B2910, which as Bob S mentioned is the same size as the B3030.

Less than three years ago it was my first tractor purchase.

In addition to the advice offered by John and Bob above, I would add that when I was looking at tractors, I decided on something smaller but on a whim, at the last minute, changed to the B2910. I just have under 4 acres. For me it has been a great tractor, and I have moved a lot of dirt and done a lot of work with it, over 530 hours on the hour meter (which equates to over 700 hours of seat time) in the first 2.5 years of so. Very little of that time was finish mowing, maybe 10 hours or so.

When I read you post earlier this morning I also had the feeling that a larger size machine, something along the lines of a Kubota L3830, might be the best choice for you long term needs. At least for everything other than finish mowing of a show lawn...

My experience is that tracors get smaller with use. Something that looks too big at first to the prospective new tractor owner can end up being the near perfect size after one gets some experience with it.

Another thing with tractors, at least if purchased new, is that you seem to get more tractor per dollar spent, when you go larger. In other words the price per pound lowers. Sometimes it is almost surprising how much more tractor you can get for a relatively small incremental price increase.

Once you have your tractor, whatever it is that you end up with, you will probably find more and more uses for it. Even though you mention 8 acres to deal with, and 90+ acres in woods, it would not be surprising to find yourself thinking of more and more things you want to do to improve those remaining acres, after you have your tractor and see what a great tool it is. As you find more things to do, you may also find the B3030 to start seeming smaller than you need...

I guess all I'm trying to say is be sure to take a look at tractors larger than the B3030 before making your final decision. The smaller tractor like the B3030 is a fine tractor, and can do a lot of work...but something the size of a L3830 would not be oversized on your property either...

 

[Rolando]

I'll first forewarn that I'm a novice myself, but for whatever it's worth I also thought that from your description you might want a larger tractor. I have a B3030 on order but I only have a 5 acre parcel.

Also, you might want to post questions about Kubota in the Kubota-specific Buying/Selling forum to get more comments (and likewise the other brand forums for other brands). I almost didn't find your post since I usually only look at the Kubota forum. I noticed the B3030 mention in the daily archive and then had to search for your posts to see where the thread was.

 

[hnicols]

Thanks to all of you for your advice it was very helpul and I really appreciate the time it took for your thoughtful responses! I think I may now wait a year to collect a few more dollars, but a bigger tractor and one better suited to my needs will be the result!

 

[rpeter]

What do you plan on doing with that 90 acres of woods? It sounds to me like you are really talking about getting a tractor for the other 8 acres. If that is the case maybe something like the 3030 or 7800 (same power train, less frills) would be a nice fit.

Henro, I remember seeing that picture of your 2910 in the woods with the 54 inch bucket more than once. How well would that L3830 fit between those 90 acres of trees?

All I am trying to point out is the tractor has to fit all of the places you want to take it. Make sure the size you buy “fits” all of your needs.

 

[Henro]

<font color="blue"> Henro, I remember seeing that picture of your 2910 in the woods with the 54 inch bucket more than once. How well would that L3830 fit between those 90 acres of trees? </font>

Rpeter...I hear ya! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

But my b2910 does not fit between the trees as well as a sub compact either! /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

The larger the property, the greater opportunity to choose a different route through/around the trees. So a larger tractor might make no difference as the need to squeeze between things may diminish as property size increases.

Only persons actually walking the land can make that evaluation. No doubt if squeezing through narrow spaces is important, a smaller tractor will do that where a larger tractor won't...

In the end, without question, the property owner/tractor buyer needs to pick what will work best for him. It's easy for us to do our best to offer helpful advice, but since we are working from an image in our minds that is generated by a brief description posted here at TBN, it is really hard to know how close we are to getting it right. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

<font color="blue"> All I am trying to point out is the tractor has to fit all of the places you want to take it. Make sure the size you buy “fits” all of your needs. </font>

Which is advice that is hard to beat ... /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif