JD5025 - Kubota 7040 - ?

[radman1]

I looked at the 80-90 hp kubota's a few months ago. I think the kubota's weights are somewhat misleading at times. Often the wieght includes the heavy cast iron rear rims. The cast rims are needed for weight to get the power to the ground and for FEL work. If you compare similar hp kubota to Jd or Case-IH side x side, you can see the difference in the transmission housing and rear ends. The JD's and Case-IH are just heavier built IMO. Kubota also tends to used lower displacement engines for the same Hp. Not sure if this is significant but just a observation. Higher compression?
Cabs of the Kubota also are not as refined and more simplistic than the other too. Kubotas cabs seem to be about 5 years behind the others. Not bad, just not the same.
In my area, they are very few Kubota's used for farming. Most are JD, then Case-IH. Some NH but Massey, Agco, Cat and the rest are few and far between. JD's seem to bring the best resale consistently at auctions. I am not brand loyal and have owned Kubota, Jd and Case-IH.

 

[Deereman4020]

id go with John Deere they hold their value better than any other brand pay the money now get the quality and when tyou decide to upgrade your tractor will still be worth more than the competitor heres an example my dad bought the John Deere in my sig with 800hrs on it for about $40000-$50000 now it has over 8000hrs and people will pay from about $40000-$45000 because they dont want to spend the money on a brand new tractor of similar size that goes for $60000-$80000 and the overhaul kit to bring the tractor to mechanicly sound condition only costs about $2000-$5000 so their saving from $10000$ up to $38000 and thats enough to get a used or brand new skid steer or a 30 year old tractor with abour 150 hp and thats money well saved sorry for my rambling

 

[Roper14]

This is a nice place to talk but any thread that tries to compare JD to Kubota or any other brand is just a waste of bandwidth.

your milage may vary...

and there is your answer....as a spec sheet will only tell you so much (have yet to see a rating for how rough the ride is)....use both for a day...and I mean a day - whichever models you end up comparing - (it is your $$ after all) you may be surprised how easy of a choice it is...
I could say till I'm blue in the face that Brand X has had such and such problems with it in the past (in an attempt to give advice)- yet who am I..nobody you know - and then the next poster could refute it...just for the heck of it - or have an agenda...leaving you with a lot of "trash" to sort through -

good luck again - as I wish I had your problem of figuring out how to spend $30k+
I am nine years old.
only three more weeks and back to school - durn it.

 

[pitt_md]

In my area, they are very few Kubota's used for farming. Most are JD, then Case-IH. Some NH but Massey, Agco, Cat and the rest are few and far between. JD's seem to bring the best resale consistently at auctions. I am not brand loyal and have owned Kubota, Jd and Case-IH.

I have to second this. Lots of farming going on where I live and the big boys are not playing with Kubotas. On the other hand a majority of the hobby farms ARE using Kubotas. I think that alone speaks volumns about the topic.

 

[art]

We have many Kubotas on working dairy farms in our area with up to 400 head of cows. They pull 400 bushel feed mixers, load them, bale hay, pull six row planters and a lot of the farms everyday jobs just depending on their size.
They often brag of only a gallon of fuel an hour even on the Mx120 models. I don't back away from them unless we are looking for tractors in the 120 to 130 lbs per horsepower range for dedicated tillage work.

Yes the Kubota's might be lighter, but the plus side is we make them heavier putting the weight where it needs to be for the job. Far better then starting with a tractor with old 50's and 60's design with heavy cast and in the wrong place so you can't effectively balance the tractor without over weighting the tractor to carry the loader and load making them feel sluggish and hurting any type of fuel economy.

Interesting enough in a dedicated dairy county Kubota is carrying fifty percent of market share and there have been a few years over sixty percent with the Kubota's up to the Mx125 because of there efficency in fuel economy as well as work performance and reliablity being a big part of it! It often is twenty below there and their engines still will start without plugging in! This area is not known for part time farmers!! In one case when we were talking with a customer the thoughts for the mixer was we needed a 140 horsepower tractor. While waiting for one to become available we sent out a M120 Kubota which is still at the farm doing the job with over 3000 hours and no shop time!

I've seen a lot of design changes through the years in tractors, from taking the older housing support design using the rearend and transmissions for structual strength. To the newer component style introduced in the last fifteen years or so with a structual frame to support the rear and the transmission to the engine. I've seen a lot of new metals that carry loads and stress far better then the old cast iron and I'll probably see more within a year.

I will say that a comment about the older deere's resale value is right as they are high, often even over the newer models. Seems those old 50 and 55 series are the prizes for some to own even after buying the newer models. Why go backwards? Now I wonder what changed? Maybe we should ask a farmer!

 

[MessickFarmEqu]

I have to second this. Lots of farming going on where I live and the big boys are not playing with Kubotas. On the other hand a majority of the hobby farms ARE using Kubotas. I think that alone speaks volumns about the topic.

Thats partly because farmers buy from a dealer who gives them good support. That tends to be the people they buy implements and other stuff from, thats typicaly not the kubota dealers. We sell Case, New Holland and Kubota. A Kubota is not a tillage or spraying tractor, but they make great loader and haying machines.

 

[threeman]

Could you specify more on why kubota is not as good as others for spraying/tillage?

Drove a 9540 today with good price. Best yet in my search. I was very impressed with loader speed over the TN. I would buy today except I am not sold on the bigger foot print machine. I really just havent been able to compare the foot print of the 54/5525's vs. 85/9540's. The 7040 would fit that but seem too lite for me and what I am looking for. Had a tad too much bounce. The kubota will out steer the TN by far. My Tn will not hold brake and spin around. The 9540 would hold the inside tire and spin around. Very helpful in tight situations, just not in the hay field. My TN has filled tires, is that something that would be suggested on the Kubota? Warranty was better too.

Any other suggestions? I would like to know what the width of a JD machine is from outside tires in the rear. Height too. Specs can't tell you that. It all depends on tire size.

 

[Dargo]

Drove a 9540 today with good price. Best yet in my search.

That was the Kubota that was the closest match for me. In my situation the difference came down to the JD cab being better and considerably larger. There are several times that I can take one of my kids with me if I had a 2nd seat with a seatbelt etc. in the cab. The Kubota cabs are too small to be able to offer that option. Other than the cab (in comparing JD to Kubota), most everything else was a wash; with one or the other having a slight edge over the other in all sorts of different minor areas. In my case, it also made a huge difference when I was able to buy one from JD credit and allow them to not repo the unit from the original owner. That made everyone happy; the guy didn't have a repo on his credit record, JD didn't have the expenses of the repo and then need to run it through an auction (with no guarantee what it would bring), and I received it for a price considerably less than what I would have had to pay for the Kubota.

I don't see any significant advantage of either the JD or Kubota over the other. Both are quality machines with very similar abilities. Since the cab, and a second seat, was important to me I was leaning JD anyway. With the deal I got it made it a no-brainer. Still, I'm sure I'd be just as happy with a Kubota 9540 if I didn't need the 2nd seat and didn't want the larger cab. I feel the Kubota would work just as well for tilling and spraying from everything I've seen and read. You won't go wrong with either. Good luck.

 

[gamble77]

Yeah...you owe it to yourself to drive a 54/5525 before you pull the trigger...

 

[MessickFarmEqu]

If your looking at the M9540, also look at the M95s/M108s. The price difference is very minimal for a dramaticly larger tractor.