Kubota M9000 still on hold (Sorry! very long post)

[stevenf]

Thought I'd update any who care about my adventures. I ordered a Kubota M9000 with a 1251a Loader, a rhino 72 tw shredder, a woods 84" extreme duty box blade, a Beltec Hydraulic down pressure rock auger, a H&H "V" type toothbar and a BTR grapple rake. All of this was done in mid September everything is "was" in. The Grapple made by FFC was ordered Sept 28th they assured us that it would be in, in 2 weeks then 3 weeks then 4 weeks it finally showed up last friday of course murphy's law says something ain't going to work and of course it has to be the grapple it doesn't fit the quick attach so the dealer called CE attachments who ordered it from FFC and they said it should fit they would just need to ground the quick attach bracket a bit they ground off about 2 inches only to find that it was close but not right so CE attchmnts or FFC is going to pay to put a new quick attach back on and ship the grapple back to FFC to refit it for the machine. The dealer was dealing with CE on the problem and they claimed that it is a FFC mistake but they will fix everything of course it will take two more weeks, 5 days there 2 days to fix it and 5 days back. I wasn't happy with this so after I got to work I called FFC direct and of course they are aware they've got a problem but the real truth is the grapple was made for a 1250 loader instead of a 1251a and they have never made one for this loader ever so now they are waiting on Kubota to send them blueprints so they know how to jig it. I made the decision along with my honey to not take delivery early because at least half of the time this grapple will be mounted and working at least for the first couple of years as I have a lot to clean up on 347 acres. The last 2 cars weve bought we ordered and since we work days we picked them up at night and then had to fight with dealers to fix stuff that you just can't see at night and I really would hate to have $50,000 invested in this and have the grapple guys call and say sorry it won't work and leave me scrambling to find another one that would, this way I believe my dealer has a lot more interest in getting this problem resolved. That still leaves me without a tractor for 2 more weeks but at this point its probably best to do it this way. Thanks for everyones help on this project I'll try to figure out how to post pictures when I actually own this beast.

 

[MarkV]

Me I would have the tractor delivered with the loader and bucket so I could get to work. YOU’VE WAITED LONG ENOUGH! Let the dealer pick up the tractor when the grapple comes in. If the hydraulics have been installed they might not even have to take it back to the shop. If you need to exchange money to make that happen hold back 25% and the dealer will still be interested in solving the problem.

When you said the grapple company had to wait for prints from Kubota I could see that 2 weeks becoming much longer based on their past reliability.

Good luck,
MarkV

 

[stevef]

Talked to the dealer this morning I think FFC was reading your mind MarkV they said rather than waiting on drawings they would send their engineer to the nearest Kubota dealer that has a 1251 loader with a quick attach and get all the specs from it. I am truly tempted to let them deliver everything else but this way the dealer is truly on the edge of his seat because I have made it pretty clear to him that there are a lot of tractor dealers around me (green, blue, red and orange) and right now I have no loyalty to any of them never having owned a tractor. Although I still feel like I am being treated fairly by my Kubota dealer, I don't blame them for this. I do on the other hand have issues with either FFC or CE attachments, problem is I don't know who for sure caused this but I have seen my dealers confirmation from CE and it was confirmed that they had the order for a 78" BTR grapple rake with hardened pins, cushioned cylinders and cylinder guards to fit a Kubota 1251a loader with the quick attach frame.

 

[Gatorboy]

How many usernames do you have?

 

[masseyman]

Sorry you are having problems with your new toy.I would hold 25% and take her home and put her to work.I have a 4255 massey with grapple I feed two 6ft round bails with it.You need to be sure that you have the right ballast on the toy when you are using the grapple on heavy loads. The kubota is a light tractor and you will end up on your nose if not careful.I have 18.4 30's on my 4wd 4255 and they are loaded it handals the bails fine with nothing on the rear but my neighbor's 9000 will not do the same it is not built as heavy.Good Luck /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif