Just bought myself a new Kubotaaaaah!

[twbpc]

Congrats!!! You are now a part of the Kubota family. :thumbsup: Just like most families, we have the crazy uncle and the drunk cousin (you have to figure out who they are). Speaking of family, as a proud Dad I am happy to announce my wife and I just found out this morning we have another little boy on the way! I guess I have AT LEAST 2 more Kubotas to buy in the future (graduation presents for the boys)!

 

[TripleR]

Congrats!!! You are now a part of the Kubota family. :thumbsup: Just like most families, we have the crazy uncle and the drunk cousin (you have to figure out who they are). Speaking of family, as a proud Dad I am happy to announce my wife and I just found out this morning we have another little boy on the way! I guess I have AT LEAST 2 more Kubotas to buy in the future (graduation presents for the boys)!

CONGRATULATIONS on your new addition to come.:thumbsup:

 

[DeltaT]

Wow twbpc, great news, congratulations !!:thumbsup::thumbsup:

 

[ChuckinNH]

You can do a lot with what you have, and I've included some pictures of some of what I've done with mine in the past couple of days using just the loader. I will put my box blade on, and go work on it some more, but first I have to fix a flat front tire. Make sure you get the rear tires loaded if you are going to be doing the kinds of things in the woods that I do. Bucket hooks are handy too, and I've included a picture of how my dealer does them which I like very much.

 

[DeltaT]

Cool pictures! Can't wait until mine is delivered. I am still not sure about loading the tires. I will also be driving over my lawn and I don't want to leave to many marks when I do. I have a ballast box, shouldn't that be enough? I am planning on getting a hoe, which pretty much fixes all weight issues. And I won;t have to worry about being to heavy with loaded tires and a backhoe.
I really like how you dealer made those hooks. The brackets underneath are custom made too, right?

On a side note, I payed part of my Kubota today. It's a cash deal so I went to the bank and then to the dealer to hand the money in person.
'My' sales person wasn't there, so I had to deal with some other guy. His attitude was far from professional. He didn't seem interested at all and gave the impression that I was a nuisance showing up. Apparently it annoyed him that I was bringing the cash and eager to play with my new toy.
I asked him when delivery was planned and he said 'sometime next week or so'
I told him that during my meeting yesterday (before signing) everything was possible, sheesh, I could get it that evening or next day if I really wanted and that I agreed on delivery on Monday. So what's up with that? Then he mentioned that he liked to push things forward so that they have more time. I replied that I didn't really cared about what he liked and that as far as I am concerned delivery should be a.s.a.p.
He then told me that the reason was that they had an identical unit at their other shop, which already had the FEL on it and they were planning on getting that one for me. But he wasn't sure, blah, blah blah.
I asked him when they would get that unit. He thought it might be today. So what is this guy babbling about? Needless to say that I was not very happy when I left.
I won't judge the dealership based on this incident but it really aggravates me when somebody spoils the fun by being a p$%^ck.
We will see how (and if) delivery goes on Monday.

 

[TripleR]

You can do a lot with what you have, and I've included some pictures of some of what I've done with mine in the past couple of days using just the loader. I will put my box blade on, and go work on it some more, but first I have to fix a flat front tire. Make sure you get the rear tires loaded if you are going to be doing the kinds of things in the woods that I do. Bucket hooks are handy too, and I've included a picture of how my dealer does them which I like very much.

Very nice pictures. My service light just came on, so I am grounded so to speak for a bit.

 

[CompactTractorFan]

Congrats!!! :thumbsup:

 

[Johnbro]

Kudos! Welcome to the Kubota experience. I can't imagine that there's a better small tractor for the rural lifestyle--I've had an L2250 for 20 years now and as people have said, can't imagine living out here without one.

Definitely get hooks welded onto the bucket, along with some sort of reinforcing bar. I use them constantly for stuff like:

1. Want to put my generator away but don't want to roll it across my pasture to the storage building. Pick it up with straps attached to the FEL and carry it slowly from the bucket.

2. Bought a 600 lb joiner from Grizzly; lifted the table off the back of the truck and set it down on the base, again with the FEL and straps.

3. When I'm doing firewood, if I can get a chain around one end of a log I can lift the end, stick something under the log, then relax it. Now I've got a piece of log off the ground and ready to be cut into rounds for firewood without having to worry about rolling the log to complete the cut or touching the ground with my chainsaw.

4. My wife will ask me to remove a shrub,so I'll wrap a chain around the base of the shrub and wiggle it loose with the FEL then yank it out, carry it to the "dump" and get rid of it.

5. ditto fence posts: I'll wiggle them back and forth with the FEL, then lift with a chain wrapped around the post.

IN ALL CASES YOU HAVE TO BE SUPER CAREFUL NOT TO UNBALANCE THE TRACTOR. Just like when using a tablesaw you have to be super careful not to stick your hand in the blade The trick with the FEL is to go really slowly when you're applying pressure to see how the tractor feels. If it starts to lift or tip at all, even a few inches before you've got full weight on you need to back off immediately. Even with a counterweight on the 3PH you can get real tippy.

TRACTORS CAN KILL YOU. Keeping that in mind, all the time, is a helpful attitude.

Ok, soapbox stored away.

So useful attachments, tricks etc:

anything you can do to make it easier to hitch up 3PH implements will help your life. I don't have a quick hitch and changing implements is a PITA.

a rear work light (you could buy something for $12 from PepBoys and wire it yourself) can be a big help.

I wish I had a place on my 2250 to hold a few tools, ditto a logging chain.

Stuff I use most: FEL and box scraper. In the spring my vertical 3PH log splitter is on for a month or two until I get all my wood done.

Box scraper is super handy, especially with a top n tilt. My neighbor has one that I've used and I pretty much don't use mine anymore but borrow his setup when I've got dirt work to do.

I've got a rear blade that I use for pushing snow. It's light and of limited use. the snow if it's heavy will jam between the blade and the rear tires.

Chain harrow: got this and found it won't work if you've got weeds/grass where you're dragging. Dragged our community road (got lots of thumbs ups from the neighbors) but it wore the teeth down on the harrow so quickly I stopped using it for gravel.

Bush hog: before I had sheep I used this to keep our pasture mowed. Very helpful with blackberries and small saplings--big ones just got bent over.

Next thing on my list is a 3PH setup to hold a trailer ball, so I can move equipment trailers around without the hassle of hooking them up to a truck.

 

[k0ua]

First congrats on your new tool. You will discover a million uses for it.
Everyone has opinions on what is best, so I will tell you mine. Get the ballast box for $100, first off it is a bargain at that price, and second you need it. Yes a good box blade can act as ballast and provide a usefull tool at the same time, BUT, with the ballast box on in the woods every time you turn around, you wont be hung up on some tree, as it does not stick out like the Box Blade. In open country, the BB is not a problem. In my opinion, load the tires, I waited to do it on my new tractor, and I am sorry I waited. They make a tremendous difference in side hill stability and help keep the rear end down also. I cant tell any difference on the lawn. I used RV anti-freeze. (pink stuff). Most use WindShield washer fluid winter mix to prevent freezing. It is cheaper than the RV anti-freeze. If you can find RimGuard in your area, you can go that route, it is some kind of beet juice byproduct, and is heavier than either the RV antifreeze or the WW fluid. The RimGuard has to be put in by a dealer, the others you can easily do yourself.. lotsa threads here on how to do that. I would stay away from the old Calcium Cloride mix that has been used in the past for tire loading, it is the cheapest, and heavy also, but can cause corroision, needs a tube put in the tire, and if it does leak, will kill vegetation as it is a type of salt. Definately put chain hooks on the loader, just use common sense when you lift something go slow and easy. If it is unbalanced it will try to lift the opposite corner of the tractor, be ready for that. For that matter, always go slow and easy, and watch what you are doing and you will live a long time Good luck, be safe, and have fun!
James K0UA

 

[DeltaT]

My Kubota was delivered today. :thumbsup:

The guy gave me some instructions and I was on my way. What an awesome machine. Still have to get the hang of it, but I got some work done already. First thing I lifted were my gloves, no problem at all (second pic)

I had a lot of fun today. I am clearing out part of the woods (third pic) I am going to put a shed there so it has it's own little spot to sleep. For now it in the stone shed, but it is getting too crowded with all my toys.