I want a Kubota - Need Opinions

[inthesticks]

Hello all. Newbie here. I have 10.5 acres of land which is down in a valley. My gravel private lanes is about an 1/8th mile long with a 35% grade at each end. Along the lane is my 5 acre field which I rent to a local farmer, this field cause 3-4 foot drifts across the flat of the lane in the winter. In the summer I mow half the property. There are 3 fields approx. 1 acre each that I will need to mow, this is thick pasture type grass. Around my house I plan to use my JD graden tractor for mowing. I plan on buying a Kubota to mow the 3 fields, spread/drag gravel in summer, do some landscaping around the house, and move snow and open the lane in winter, which Kubota do you recommend? I definately want a 4WD, loader, mower, and a HT/AC cab. This will be my first tractor. If you look at my avatar you can get and idea of what I have to deal with. Since buying this property I have destroyed 3 plow truck moving snow. I am done with trucks!

 

[brandoro]

You narrowed the field a lot when you mentioned the heated and cooled cab.
The B3030HSDC will let you do all the things you mention in comfort. Get the front mount snow blower if you don't like or can't run looking over your shoulder for long periods of time. I just bought the front mount blower this summer when they were on sale, still have to get it mounted on the tractor but actually looking forward to moving snow this winter. Heated cab, front mount blower

 

[easygo]

If you get 3-4' drifts I think you would want to stick with the rear mounted blower instead of the front. Blow some snow turn around knock down the drift with the loader and turn back around to blow the snow again. Most blowers have a 20-24" cut height if I recall correctly.

The one thing I would venture to guess on is: You had such deep drifts because the large piles on either side of the road create a perfect place for the snow to drop out of the wind. If you use a snowblower you may not get the same problem because you will not have the high banks along the driveway. Look at the B3200, B3030, or one of the L tractors. I only dealt with rear mount blowers but others will chime in with more experience.

 

[LD1]

It all depend on how much money you want to spend. In your situation with the land you have and not having to mow around your house, I don't think you could get too big. So go to a dealer and get the biggest you can comfortabally afford with the options you want. They will all do the jobs you listed, but the bigger ones will do it faster. The last thing you want to do is get too small and wished you had bigger. Very few people have ever said they wished they got a smaller tractor, but a lot on here wished they had bigger. So just go the the dealer and look at the tractors first hand and get a "real world" feel for what size of tractor you want.

 

[mark_torrey]

I agree with LD1's comment on size. Size is important. Getting a tractor and snow blower that will just do the job, compared to one that will do the job with ease (within reason and budget of course) without putting undue stress on you and the equipment, will certainly put you in the unhappy customer column. Case in point ... How long do you think your JD lawn mower would last cutting your 3 one acre fields of thick pasture grass ? (an aside ... why not rent/lease these to your farmer neighbor, too?). This is not to say it couldn't do the job, but you would beat it up in the process and cause premature wear to the engine, drivetrain, mower deck .... etc.

Sounds like you have a good sense of what your looking for, so, go to your dealer, and describe you requirements to the salesman. Now, I wish I could say all salesmen are alike ... but, I won't, but they should not try to sell you a tractor that is to big for your needs. They want you to be in the Happy Customer column, so that you'll come back and buy one of their ZD lawn mowers ....

 

[fishpick]

My BX24 on 35 acres in the North East and a 2/3 mile long driveway with a 4' blower...
Well - BEFORE I had this to take care of I said "A small tractor can do anything a big tractor can - it just takes longer" - which is mostly true...
However - after poping a tire off the rim trying to move a round bale... after 2 winters of hours blowing the driveway out... after bush hogging one 4' swath across the field - only to have to stop for the tractor to cool down...
I just made an offer on a slightly used New Holland TC45D - and am expecting delivery sometime this weekend.
Go big - yes... but the title of the post "I want a Kubota"... I would also suggest looking at other colors... because if you are blowing a lot in reverse, the swivel on the NH seat may juts be the "killer feature" for you.
Ohh - more than color - find a dealer that fits you - the rest just comes along!
good luck!

 

[amigauser]

A lot of good advice has been given. I had a B3030HSDCC and I liked it a lot. I upgraded to a Grand L3240 without a cab for the better loader. The Kubota Grand L40 cabs are much quieter than the B3030 cab so I would try both out. Like others have said, it all depends on how much money you want to spend. Both the B3030 and GL40 series can take a front mount or rear mount blower. Having a heated and air-conditioned cab is nice. There are definately a lot of deals now on both new and used tractors and great finance rates.

 

[lawn_king]

I think any of the grand L's will fill your needs well, a B3030 will also work but tasks will take longer with the B.

 

[CaptPat]

Concur with the recommendation to go as big as you can afford and are comfortable with. In you situation I'd look at a Grand L in the Kubota line. Don't know much about other colors, but I wouldn't restrict my search to Kubota unless the local dealer was the only 4-star outfit in the area--that said don't discount the value of a good dealer, which may be enough to tilt your search in another direction.

good luck

 

[mcd176]

For what you need to do I would look into the L Series, at least 40HP, I mow 10 acres with a 72" finish mower, rake hay, plow my 3/4 mile road, skid trees and more with my L4200, and it does everything I throw at it, now I will add if I could afford it I would buy a new L5740 with cab but that is just a distant dream