Kubota 2wd

[Kelvin]

Richz,
How heavy is your Ferguson?

Like I have stated in another post, to get traction under a load or on slippery conditions you need weight on the drive wheels or 4wd (or better yet, both).

I suspect that...

(1) your Ferguson is a lot heavier than a BX, and that
(2) you would not have done half of the "challenging" tasks you accomplished with the 2wd Ferguson if you had used a 2wd BX.

I still say that there should be a lot of good USED 2wd small Kubotas out there for sale at a reasonable price.

Here are a couple of examples of Kubotas that I have seen for sale recently [comments in brackets are notes that I took when calling about the tractor]

Nashville TN: Kubota B7200, well maintained, $5300. 9am-9pm. 615-790-6000. 3/18/2002 [2wd/HST/mid-mower/Turf tires/mid-80s/1100 hours no ROPS...seems high priced]

Kubota B5200 diesel tractor, 3 pt. hitch, $2700 obo, phone 561-351-4794, 561-737-6441. Date Placed:30-MAR-02 Boynton Beach, FL [didn't call on this one, but for the price it is probably beat up or 2wd. The B5200 is around 13hp].

I'll look for some more later on...

Kelvin

 

[Kelvin]

g42guy,

Another option to save money is to give up the hydrostat rather than give up the 4wd. Gear drives can be a pain when it comes to rear PTO usage, but otherwise they are okay.

Here are some miscellaneous advertisements from equipmenttraderonline.com that I found.

$6,200.00 1980 KUBOTA B6100 4WD TRACTOR , beautifully restored 4WD 14hp 3- cylinder diesel with new almost everything. Gear drive. HI/LOW trans. New turf tires. CAT 1 3-point. Mechanically perfect. Cosmetically near perfect. Includes Kubota 4' front dozer with power angle/power down, Kubota front 4' front snow blower, rear 3 point dump scoop, Woods 5' rear finish mower (4 casters!) Must see to appreciate !!!! (586)336-5050 ROCHESTER, MI

$5,695.00 KUBOTA , B-7200, all weather cab, HST, 2WD, 60in mow deck, snowplow, tractor cab, EC, (513)561-6959 KNWD, OH

$6900 1997 KUBOTA , B7100 HST w/ 60" mid-mount deck, 3 cyl diesel, 565 hours, EC, no commercial use, private owner, , WINDHAM, OH (330)297-1240

$4,200.00 1996 KUBOTA B1700E , 17 HP, 2 wheel drive, turf tires, 6 speed standard shift transmission, very good condition. Florida Coast Equipment 561-369-0414 (561)369-0414 Boynton Beach, FL

This may give you an idea of what's out there in the used market place.

Kelvin

 

[TresCrows]

Yes, I agree, however, the price difference between a 4WD BX and a mythical 2WD BX would not be 5,000 dollars and frankly I doubt it would be 500 dollars as the cost to manufacture would not be that much less and in fact if it did not sell well, it could be a liability as in money looser so therefore I doubt you will see a 6500 dollar 2WD BX. The 4WD on a tractor is not about not getting "stuck" but about the increased versatility it affords. My personel experience with my BX and for that matter the 2410 indicate that either tractor would be nothing more than an orange lawnmower with a nice hydrualic wheelbarrow attached if it were not for 4WD. I wish it were not this way but the laws of physics do not bend for Kubota anymore than for Ferguson. Isn't the Ferguson similar to a Ford 8N?, a considerably larger tractor than the BX?

 

[snowman]

For what it's worth, I had chains on my B7500 with a front snowblower and rear blade during the winter. On a paved driveway going uphill (moderate slope), the tires would spin in 2WD, so I'd have to keep it in 4WD.

Basic "problem" was that I was on pavement (the combination of the blower and the rear blade does a fantastic job on clearing the driveway).

If you're on gravel, dirt, or packed snow, you should have enough bite to not need 4WD. Depends on the chain style too. I used the ladder style. If you use those Norse style with the "daggers", you could probably drive up the side of a house!

 

[g42guy]

Thanks guys for a lot of discussion. I have looked at adds on the 2wd myself and found some of the same ones. Many are way too far for me to travel. You can read my post in lawn&garden on prices I have found. I am really leaning toward going with a bx1800. It's more than I wanted to spend But much more tractor for the money than most other choices. Plus I found out we have a tax rebate coming to us (every bit helpsa). BTW I'm not as much of a newbie as I may have came across. We are on 2.5 acres now, built this house 9 years ago. For the first 4 or 5 years I had bought a old 8N, did all the land scaping and a little clearing then sold it for about the same price. Wonderfull little tractors. But I suspect the BX will enable me to do even more on this new property because of it smaller size and increased traction.

 

[pennwalk]

TresCrows,
Around here in PA just about any used tractor with 4WD is worth $1500-$2000 more that a comparable 2WD model.

Chris

 

[TresCrows]

I believe you Chris completely but that does not reflect the cost to manufacture but it does reflect the percieved added value that potential tractor purchasers place upon 4WD. The largest expenses in manufacturing are labor etc, the extra drive shaft and the bevel gear and another quart of oil etc do not add extrodinarily to the cost to produce the unit, in the case of small tractors my best guess is about 500 dollars. Autos and trucks are a different matter being more complicated with suspension and brakes and durability issues and all that so I imagine it is quite a bit more, I think on our Jeep Liberty my wife got it was 1500 dollars and then I think it was another 400 or so for the Quadratrack (just from memeory--it may be more--I should go look at the invoice some time again). Yeah, I agree with you, thanks for the info. J