Choosing my first tractor

[jeff9366]

Kubota website says the L3560 cab model is 90.6 inches tall, my garage is 96 inches tall.

The door on tracks may reduce entry height 3" to 4". Measure.

My 84" garage door only admits 81.5".

 

[MossRoad]

Thanks. I definately want R4's anyway

No you don't. Somebody told you that you do. :laughing: R4s suck for traction compared to AG tires, especially in woods, on hillsides, in snow they are horrible!!!! Literally suck! People tend to think they are better because they say "Industrial" on them, but the reality is, Turfs work better on solid surfaces when removing snow. AGs work better in dirt for traction. R4s are great on a construction site where there's sharp steel to puncture the tires, and that's about all they are good for. But that's just my opinion.(did I say they suck? because they do)

OK, they aren't that bad, but in all seriousness, what makes you want R4's? For the tasks you are describing, you want traction. Snow removal on a dirt driveway, pulling a driveway grader, maintaining a hilly road, logging, brush removal in the forest, etc..., AG tires excel at traction and will outperform R4s in those tasks. I predict you will be disappointed with R4 tires if you ever drive a similar machine with AG tires in your tasks.

As for 50" of snow.... that's not much at all when you spread it out over several months. Where I am, we average around 88" per year and I use a 1500# machine with turf tires to plow our 150' of paved driveway, and the neighbor's, too. Works fine. They said we had the 7th snowiest winter this year, but I only recall plowing 3-4 times. Didn't seem bad to me at all. Again, weight is not the driving factor in snow removal. You need HP to spin a blower, not weight, if you go the blower route. A big, heavy tractor with no HP won't spin a blower in wet, heavy snow, while a lighter, higher HP machine will. It's a balancing act.

However, your other activities would benefit from weight. I'd say your logging activities will be the driving factor in the weight and size of the machine you end up choosing. If you get something that'll pull decent sized logs, it should have plenty of power and weight for your snow removal.

How large of log diameters are you looking at? And how many? Because you said firewood, not lumber. Firewood can be cut up into rounds at the site it landed on the ground. A smaller machine can get in an out easier and do less damage to your forest floor hauling out rounds VS dragging out big logs, rutting up the soil with your tires, etc...

In the end, it's all a balancing act between your tasks, how fast you want to be able to do them, and your budget. You can do large tasks with small machines, but you have to take smaller bites. Good luck in your search. Take your time and don't jump in too fast. Test drive as many machines as possible in as many conditions similar to yours as possible.

And one final monkey wrench.... a good read. Long, but well worth an evening's read. Again, good luck in your search...
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/related-topics/5108-compact-tractors-designed-all-wrong.html

 

[4570Man]

No you don't. Somebody told you that you do. :laughing: R4s suck for traction compared to AG tires, especially in woods, on hillsides, in snow they are horrible!!!! Literally suck! People tend to think they are better because they say "Industrial" on them, but the reality is, Turfs work better on solid surfaces when removing snow. AGs work better in dirt for traction. R4s are great on a construction site where there's sharp steel to puncture the tires, and that's about all they are good for. But that's just my opinion.(did I say they suck? because they do)

OK, they aren't that bad, but in all seriousness, what makes you want R4's? For the tasks you are describing, you want traction. Snow removal on a dirt driveway, pulling a driveway grader, maintaining a hilly road, logging, brush removal in the forest, etc..., AG tires excel at traction and will outperform R4s in those tasks. I predict you will be disappointed with R4 tires if you ever drive a similar machine with AG tires in your tasks.

As for 50" of snow.... that's not much at all when you spread it out over several months. Where I am, we average around 88" per year and I use a 1500# machine with turf tires to plow our 150' of paved driveway, and the neighbor's, too. Works fine. They said we had the 7th snowiest winter this year, but I only recall plowing 3-4 times. Didn't seem bad to me at all. Again, weight is not the driving factor in snow removal. You need HP to spin a blower, not weight, if you go the blower route. A big, heavy tractor with no HP won't spin a blower in wet, heavy snow, while a lighter, higher HP machine will. It's a balancing act.

However, your other activities would benefit from weight. I'd say your logging activities will be the driving factor in the weight and size of the machine you end up choosing. If you get something that'll pull decent sized logs, it should have plenty of power and weight for your snow removal.

How large of log diameters are you looking at? And how many? Because you said firewood, not lumber. Firewood can be cut up into rounds at the site it landed on the ground. A smaller machine can get in an out easier and do less damage to your forest floor hauling out rounds VS dragging out big logs, rutting up the soil with your tires, etc...

In the end, it's all a balancing act between your tasks, how fast you want to be able to do them, and your budget. You can do large tasks with small machines, but you have to take smaller bites. Good luck in your search. Take your time and don't jump in too fast. Test drive as many machines as possible in as many conditions similar to yours as possible.

And one final monkey wrench.... a good read. Long, but well worth an evening's read. Again, good luck in your search...
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/related-topics/5108-compact-tractors-designed-all-wrong.html

Not all R4s are created equal. Some have huge bars that don’t bite anything. You might as well attach a sail for traction assist. Some have smaller bars on a wide tire which have pretty good traction. The ideal setup IMO would be AG tires in the back and R4s in the front. Unfortunately I’ve never seen a tractor come standard with that combo. You’d get better traction on the axel that does most of the work and you’d get a stiffer tire for loader work and not tear up the ground as bad.

 

[daugen]

If you aren't comfortable fitting into the Mahindra, my suggestion is don't buy it. You'll be reminded of that lack of comfort every time you use it.
Kubotas historically have not had deluxe seat options on smaller tractors and the one in my L is atrocious. I had to add a gel pad.
Hydrostatic transmission will make the tractor hugely easier to operate, and yes they whine. I use all three ranges on my Kubota all the time.
If you can change your own oil and filters, you really may not need a close by dealer, remember these tractors are very reliable, usually...
I'd get the tractor you like the best within your budget even if you have to make a couple hour trip to get there.

Kubota is likely the most sophisticated of those three tractors mentioned. Too bad you don't have LS and Kioti locally, high value brands.
My experience dealing with JD dealers is they think they are the American Mercedes and are pretty aloof to customer concerns. I also own a JD X750, a diesel Yanmar
made large garden tractor that is a favorite piece of equipment. My concern with JD is dealer related, not product.

All these tractors are made outside of the US and brought in and assembled, usually just meaning putting tires and a loader on them. Sometimes more.
They come from Japan and South Korea, and I don't think there is a bad brand among them. Mahindra may or may not come from India. Massey I believe is a Shibauru from Japan and I think is as finely manufactured as the Kubota.
Since the products come from far away, having a good dealer within a reasonable distance is always a plus.

If you don't have to cross lawns, absolutely get R1's for the woods. They should handle muddy ground better for you. Yes they are bumpier riding than the other tires.
If you have long distances to travel down a paved road, you might get tired of that.
Adding weight is easy to do but isn't all that cheap. Filling rear tires great place to start.

Siping your tires (lots of threads here on this) can greatly increase your winter traction before reverting to chains.

 

[jeff9366]

Two TYM threads:

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...7434-cabelas-tym-tractors-12.html#post5078108

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/tym-buying-pricing/390091-cabelas-tractors-2.html#post5050359

 

[MossRoad]

If you aren't comfortable fitting into the Mahindra, my suggestion is don't buy it. ....

Boy, ain't that the truth. When I was shopping for tractors, I went and sat on a bunch of them. I was very surprised at how the different brands were laid out. A couple had the steering wheel almost between my legs. I was looking down at that thing. My knuckles were on my thighs and there wasn't enough room to turn the wheel if I had gloves on. Some, my feet didn't fit in the area around the pedals. Had to reach for a lot of controls. Didn't feel natural, etc.... the little New Holland I tested was the most comfortable of all of them. Had I not gone with my non-conventional choice of machines and chosen a traditional tractor instead, I'd have picked the NH.

So yes, make sure you are comfortable on a machine. It might be the greatest machine on the planet, but if it's uncomfortable, you'll tire of it quickly.

 

[Kirby72]

The Yanmar dealer 60 miles away also carries Kioti. I will definately give them a look too. I have looked at the Kioti website and don't see any prices, am I missing something?

 

[grm61]

The Yanmar dealer 60 miles away also carries Kioti. I will definately give them a look too. I have looked at the Kioti website and don't see any prices, am I missing something?

So I have a 8 foot doors on my shop.....This is how it works for me, your experience might be different.
Might also be a good excuse to buy a backhoe, if you got a tractor with the same dimensions tire size etc as mine.

My tracks for my doors are above the header at opening, I pull the door all the way back on the track with a dirtbike strap, stopping before I pull it off the track on the inside, this get the bottom door edge above the header.

The tractor goes in the shop with the backhoe on with 9 to10 psi in the rear tires, barely rubs the header doesn't hurt anything.

So I leave the hoe on during the summer unless I need to take it off, It is handy to have it on there I use it quite a bit, and is a very nice counterweight.
This way I keep the tractor out of the sun in the summer, except when I am using it...still looks like new

In the winter the hoe comes off, backblade on, it is at least 2 inches too high without being squatted by the hoe to go in the shop.

However not much sun to fade things out in the winter, and the snow keeps it washed and looking good, so it stays outside during winter.

With the cab, you fire it up, turn the heat on, and the pto to warm the hyd oil, come back in a while, and go to work.

It would be nice to have taller doors, but that is how I roll with what I have...I like the capacity that my tractor has, and don't wish for a smaller one.

With the loader and hoe on, and loaded rears, it is about 7800lbs you can do some work with it:thumbsup:

 

[majorwager]

Jeffy has issues w/ TYM tractors

He references posts pertaining to the Cabela private label scenario. I do NOT know how viable those complaints are and NEITHER does Jeffy. I can cherry-pick complaints for any manufacturer.

I can search TBN for Kubota issues and they are out there. The point is that when one has first hand direct knowledge, that lends validity. When one is just seeking to disparage a brand, that is simply malicious mischief.

Two points. If one purchases an Agrital Aftermarket cab for their compact Kubota tractor, the max height will be 93 inches. So if the OP purchases an open station, and later desires a cab, the height will be lass than as stated by Jeffy. Since the MX is the largest of the Kubota compact line, and I have first hand knowledge, this is factual, not speculation.

AND if an Upward Acting Door , proper term, has a finished opening of 84 inches, a properly installed clearance should NOT be less than 84 inches, Torsion spring assist is the preferred lift assist method. Certain ECONOMY installations employ stretch springs, reinforcing the adage that one gets just what their budget allows.

Moss, not real happy w/ my R4 rears especially. But they are bias ply, in in my experience, if they were radials, traction would improve substantially.

 

[Kirby72]

Thank you all for your help and answers to my questions. I am the proud owner of a new Kubota L3560 Cab model. I just took delivery a few weeks ago and have been using the heck out of it. It seems perfect for my needs so far.