Ohhh, I gotta get in on this....
I've never operated a JD CUT. I have spent a lot of time on old Johnny Poppers and a fair amount of time on larger JD Ag tractors (4440,3020,4020,2640). They're good and they're tough. But after they've been around awhile they seem to take over. It becomes a question of who owns who.
Doesn't make any difference how many problems they have, how rough they look or how outdated they've become. They get rebuilt, re-clutched and overhauled again and again and again.
These old gals are never totally right when you use them. Screwy brakes, weak hydraulics (gotta turn PTO RPM to make anything move), starting issues come and go, hydraulic leaks come/go/return catastrophically, steering issues, sheet metal falling off/rusted through/gone, badly worn shift linkage, etc, etc.
Yet the owners keep throwing money at them. It seems like the green paint has seeped into their brain.....to swap one in for something new (even if green) would be like selling their grandmother or ending an era or saying goodbye to youth....or something.
On the other hand Kubota owners show a healthy detachment from their mechanical servants. Buying, selling, upgrading transpires in a normal and sensible manner. Mental anguish is sometimes in evidence but quickly disappears when more shiny orange paint arrives.
As a result I've come to associate Kubota orange with a healthy mental outlook...at least in comparison to the mordant obsession that characterizes old JD green.
Bob
