John Deere or Kubota?

[oosik]

I have 80 acres and a mile long gravel driveway. In 1982 I purchased a brand new Ford 1700 4WD. I was careful in its use - but Jeff is right. Smaller, narrow tractors can be quite unstable.

Anyhow - I used it for 27 years and managed to not kill myself.

In 2009 I upgraded to a new Kubota M6040. MY GOD - what a world of difference. The added power - the increased stability - the increased weight. Now I'm able to do the larger projects.

I would recommend the JD. Bigger tractor - more hp -added weight. But read the last paragraph of bdhsfz6 - post #10, again. The dealer can be such a large part of tractor ownership. Particularly for a first time owner. Ask to see the maintenance supervisor - have him show you around his maintenance facility. Don't be shy - it's YOUR MONEY and you want to be sure they are very capable.

 

[Surfer69]

More details are needed for good advice.
Once again no location or tree specifics given.
What size are your "trees"?
Are they 100' tall Douglass fir or 20' tall white pine?
What is your labor situation and how quickly do you want to do it?
If your young and fit it makes a big difference compared to old and slightly worn out.

You COULD probably do it with the tractors you mentioned. BUT it will be slow and perhaps piecemeal.

I started out with a "training tractor", my Kubota B7610, w/ backhoe, trailer etc. Knowing full well I was going to need a larger tractor. Way to small for moving 20"+ DBH deciduous trees routinely. But fine for 20' Pine.
I soon acquired my M4700, a 50HP tractor.

Fitting your tractor to your machine shed can be a false economy if it's a small machine shed. It will severely limit your capability. If you have the space on your 25 acres a $2,000 (or less) carport would be a good addition to start out with a larger more capable tractor.

If your investing $25K in a tractor a $2K carport, which could later be finished into a shed would be a good accessory.

More data needed.

Thank you for your reply.
More data.
I'm 66 and very fit, semi retired with no urgency for any tasks. The trees are all eucalypts, about 20" max diameter and 60 to 80 foot tall. I'll be cutting them into pieces perhaps 10-15 feet long and pulling them out into a cleared area for further cutting. Using chains.

I live on the East coast about 4 hours south of Sydney.
Shed/tractor size. I appreciate your point. My property is very fire prone and 4 years ago I was almost wiped out in a big fire. There is very little secure space (even with 25 acres) to build another shed. A carport is not advisable due to rodent/critter activity. Whereas I have a well sealed machinery shed already.

In an ideal world I'd buy a bigger tractor. I naturally like the warranty of the JD, and JD and Kubota dealers are relatively close. My X758 is an amazing machine which I'd highly recommend for mowing steep slopes, rough terrain and for pulling trailers, aerators etc.

 

[Surfer69]

I think you’re off on your specs. I see the Kubota at 298kg at full lift height and the JD at 383 kg. I’m looking at a website called “Tractor Data“ to get those specs.


Kubota vs JD. I have owned both and currently own a JD 2025r. Both have an extensive dealer network and make quality machines.

As far as the machines you are looking at they are in a different class, the JD being a bigger machine and weighing about 1000 pounds more. The JD is also an E series which is considered an economy model. It’s still a capable tractor but the end loader doesn’t remove as easily and they usually don’t have a mid pto.

Thank you. I took the specs off the pamphlets from both dealers. I'll recheck.

 

[Surfer69]

All good above ^

My advice is to buy the biggest 4WD tractor you can afford. IMO, the models you are looking at are too small for the work you plan to do.

If these are the only tractors you can afford now, take it SLOW and learn as you go. Take care of the machine to preserve it's trade in value because you will most certainly want a bigger tractor in the future.

You can't go wrong with either Kubota or JD, but also consider the dealer. Which is closer, which is larger, and which has the best parts / repair facilities. The friendliness and knowledge of the people you deal with are also factors.

Welcome to the forum and good luck with your choice!

Both dealers are not what I would call highly enthusiastic. They are close though. I bought my JDX758 from one of them. The transmission fluid was a quart+ low at delivery, so pre purchase checks? We don't have a lot of choice down here.

 

[Surfer69]

I have 80 acres and a mile long gravel driveway. In 1982 I purchased a brand new Ford 1700 4WD. I was careful in its use - but Jeff is right. Smaller, narrow tractors can be quite unstable.

Anyhow - I used it for 27 years and managed to not kill myself.

In 2009 I upgraded to a new Kubota M6040. MY GOD - what a world of difference. The added power - the increased stability - the increased weight. Now I'm able to do the larger projects.

I would recommend the JD. Bigger tractor - more hp -added weight. But read the last paragraph of bdhsfz6 - post #10, again. The dealer can be such a large part of tractor ownership. Particularly for a first time owner. Ask to see the maintenance supervisor - have him show you around his maintenance facility. Don't be shy - it's YOUR MONEY and you want to be sure they are very capable.

Very good advice, thank you. The JD dealer is definitely the bigger one with a substantial workshop. What a great testimony to your old Ford tractor.

 

[newbury]

The trees are all eucalypts, about 20" max diameter and 60 to 80 foot tall

Well a quick internet inquiry indicates eucalypts are about as dense as oak, so a 10' chunk will be about 1500 lbs. The loader that probably comes with the B2601 is only rated for about

Lift to full height (at pin):

948 lbs

per tractor data.
and
Rear lift (at ends): 1808 lbs.
So you will be pushing it.

 

[DerMann]

As always, try them both first.

I found Deere hydraulic smoothness paid for the extra price vs. a Kubota. That was some years ago, I don't know if Kubota improved. Back then, their hydraulics were clunky and jerky.

I 2nd the warning about sloped properties - 1st thing I did is add rear wheel spacers and heavy deck mower. Much, much safer than stock machine. Also added slope angle indicator for anyone to know when they're on too steep a slope.

 

[Tpondel]

As always, try them both first.

I found Deere hydraulic smoothness paid for the extra price vs. a Kubota. That was some years ago, I don't know if Kubota improved. Back then, their hydraulics were clunky and jerky.

I 2nd the warning about sloped properties - 1st thing I did is add rear wheel spacers and heavy deck mower. Much, much safer than stock machine. Also added slope angle indicator for anyone to know when they're on too steep a slope.

What angle indicator did you buy?

 

[Wagtail]

G'day Cobber and welcome to TBN from Tassie.

I agree with the majority recommending a 40+ hp tractor... and you're going to require a counterbalancing implement or ballast box to use the 4in1 bucket.

Sorry to hear that your local dealerships are a bit 'shakey', here in Tassie reputation is king and word gets around the paddock quick-smart as to how an owner is treated.

When I went to look/buy, the word in the pub & over the fence pointed me towards the JD dealership (there's only one dealership per 'colour' [manufacturer] in our wee State). I even took a local Mate & tractor owner with me and, short story is that they listened to what I needed a tractor for (all of my tasks) and then sold me the tractor that I truly needed. I've had it for 10 years now.

Unfortunately, the 4105 (bare bones) isn't made anymore but that's not to say that something 'previously owned' isn't available.

 

[fatjay]

What dealer's closer? Cause they're both comparable for ability vs price at this point.