Kubota vs Massey advice

[EddieWalker]

When I was buying back in 2021 I had Kubota at the top of my list. I liked everything about it except the price. Somebody on here suggested Massey Ferguson. It was a brand that I wasn't familiar with, so I started looking into them. The price was a lot better for the same HP tractor. The financing from Massey was fantastic. I got 84 months zero interest for an extra $3,000 over the cash price.

The cab in the Massey is huge compared to Kubota. It came standard with an air ride seat and rear fender controls for the rear lift arms on both rear fenders. The entire 3 point system is bigger, with more features. The tires and axles are bigger. Everything about the Massey is bigger, thicker and more designed for serious work.

Go look at the Kubota first and then go look at the Massey. It's more tractor for less money.

There are also some great videos on YouTube that walk you through what the Massey has to offer. PR Equipment is who I bought from here in Texas, and Nick, the owner does a good job of showing what the Massey has to offer.

 

[Hay Dude]

Kubota is perfectly suited for 90% of the tractor owners here.
They are great for estate type maintenance and light farm work.
If you are farming large acreage for survival, i would suggest the legacy farm tractor brands that are generally heavier in weight and have bigger components (Deere, Case-NH, AGCO).
The difference between my 135HP kubota M-135x and my 130HP Challenger 535B is very substantial.
The Challenger would eat the Kubota for lunch and ask for more.
It weighs 5,000 more pounds and has farm tractor features not found on the Kubota. The axles and castings dwarf the Kubota. The hydraulic system is much stronger. The fuel system is better filtered.The ride is infinitely nicer. The tires are taller and the steering is easier. The loader is nearly twice as strong and stable.
The controls on the Challenger are "man size" where on the Kubo ta, they seem kind of child size.

I read a lot of TBN guys here try to compare a 100+ HP Kubota to a comparable 100+ HP real Ag tractor and they don't really even understand what they are buying. They just look at HP.
Its good to see the OP looked at the weight and asked questions about it. He is curious for the right reasons.
All that said, Kubota makes good stuff and has a place on smaller farming operations. IMO, the smaller the tractor, the better Kubota looks. They are everywhere around the world. I like my 2 Kubota ZD-1211s

 

[Farmer495]

Hello, I am tossing up between a Kubota M9540 cab and a Massey MF4709 cab, both about 95hp.

The specs I have show that the Kubota weighs 2800Kg and the Massey weighs 3900Kg.

My question is, where has Kubota saved so much weight, and is there possibly a compromise to the strength of the tractor?

Or, looking at it from the other direction, where is the extra weight on the Massey?

Thank you.

Compare actual weight. I have a feeling Kubota specs declare the bare shipping weight from Japan minus tires and rims which are fitted at the dealer.

I have an M7040SU. Book says it's 4600lb. Actual weight (cast wheels & fluid) is 7300, with loader it is 8500lb. Got actual numbers wrote down somewhere from truck scale.

I farm with Kubota, mind you hay work, livestock and some tillage. I've had no issues and never really wished it was heavier.

I recently bought a new M, no question.

Nothing wrong with the 47 series from MF, that would be my second choice after Kubota M series.

 

[Hay Dude]

Compare actual weight. I have a feeling Kubota specs declare the bare shipping weight from Japan minus tires and rims which are fitted at the dealer.

I have an M7040SU. Book says it's 4600lb. Actual weight (cast wheels & fluid) is 7300, with loader it is 8500lb. Got actual numbers wrote down somewhere from truck scale.

I farm with Kubota, mind you hay work, livestock and some tillage. I've had no issues and never really wished it was heavier.

I recently bought a new M, no question.

Nothing wrong with the 47 series from MF, that would be my second choice after Kubota M series.

In the Challenger/Kubota comparison I gave above where the Kubota was actually 5 more HP, my Challenger weighs like 5,000lbs more.
That weight makes a world of difference when lifting a heavy object with the loader or pulling something heavy.
Kubota has done a nice job with the newer M7/M8 series. They are on par with Deere/Massey/CNH because they started from scratch and used heavier built engines and components with appropriate fuel systems and ZF transmissions

 

[jdtractor]

I have to agree with Farmer495. I have run several tractors and I was a strong J D man . I’ve run several Masseys also. I now own Kubota. The J D were total junk and the Masseys weren’t any better. I’m not talking the small utility tractors either. I’m talking about 100 hp and up to 150.. they were both weak as far as hydraulic pressure, brakes, and not what I expected. I farm several acres .. and it is not flatland country. I also have mowed pipeline row.. and the two tractor brands I mentioned weren’t any thing to brag about. The Kubota brand that you guys are slamming are twice the machines. I don’t want to get into a peeing match but a lot of you guys are flat landers that think because I do this and that that you are the experts on eq. There are a lot of us that know a lot about equipment that don’t say much. I’m 1 of them I’ve run heavy equipment on places that I know some of you wouldn’t dare. I’ve mowed hillsides that I know some would… The Kubota brand tractors will work right along side the other brands ! I’ve seen it I’ve done it. Massey might be good to some of you and NH is the same tractor painted blue… JD loves their name and likes their paint. To each their own but I take Kubota over the Massey and JD any time. Just my opinion.

 

[Farmer495]

In the Challenger/Kubota comparison I gave above where the Kubota was actually 5 more HP, my Challenger weighs like 5,000lbs more.
That weight makes a world of difference when lifting a heavy object with the loader or pulling something heavy.
Kubota has done a nice job with the newer M7/M8 series. They are on par with Deere/Massey/CNH because they started from scratch and used heavier built engines and components with appropriate fuel systems and ZF transmissions

5K is hard to replace. You are right on the larger tractors, Kubota did have to start heavier and larger frames. All the orange dealers here now are basically full line and the M7 & M8 are showing up on the lots. Years ago Kubota was "under 100" and most dealers sold another color for larger units.

 

[Shawn T. W.]

Massey might be good to some of you and NH is the same tractor painted blue…

I think you have Massey Ferguson confused with Case ... They are both red ...

 

[Hay Dude]

I have to agree with Farmer495. I have run several tractors and I was a strong J D man . I’ve run several Masseys also. I now own Kubota. The J D were total junk and the Masseys weren’t any better. I’m not talking the small utility tractors either. I’m talking about 100 hp and up to 150.. they were both weak as far as hydraulic pressure, brakes, and not what I expected. I farm several acres .. and it is not flatland country. I also have mowed pipeline row.. and the two tractor brands I mentioned weren’t any thing to brag about. The Kubota brand that you guys are slamming are twice the machines. I don’t want to get into a peeing match but a lot of you guys are flat landers that think because I do this and that that you are the experts on eq. There are a lot of us that know a lot about equipment that don’t say much. I’m 1 of them I’ve run heavy equipment on places that I know some of you wouldn’t dare. I’ve mowed hillsides that I know some would… The Kubota brand tractors will work right along side the other brands ! I’ve seen it I’ve done it. Massey might be good to some of you and NH is the same tractor painted blue… JD loves their name and likes their paint. To each their own but I take Kubota over the Massey and JD any time. Just my opinion.

Flatlander my ass..We mow fields other have tumbled tractors with a baler down.
If you think Massey and NH are the same tractor painted different colors, well that really says you have limited tractor knowledge.
As far as Kubota competing with the legacy farm brands, they only go up to about 200HP. If you think that is competition for AGCO or Deere or Case-IH...I mean we are talking about tractors up to 650HP.
Not even on the same league...
Kubota just started using real engines and transmissions made to run over 10,000 hours just a few years ago.
The big brands been doing that for over 50 years.
And what Im saying isnt "brand warfare", its just truth.

 

[EddieWalker]

... I don’t want to get into a peeing match but a lot of you guys are flat landers that think because I do this and that that you are the experts on eq. There are a lot of us that know a lot about equipment that don’t say much. I’m 1 of them I’ve run heavy equipment on places that I know some of you wouldn’t dare. I’ve mowed hillsides that I know some would… The Kubota brand tractors will work right along side the other brands ! I’ve seen it I’ve done it. Massey might be good to some of you and NH is the same tractor painted blue…

Hard to take you seriously since you don't know the difference between your tractor brands.

But at least you're very impressed with yourself!!!!

 

[Hay Dude]

Flatlander my ass..We mow fields other have tumbled tractors with a baler down.
If you think Massey and NH are the same tractor painted different colors, well that really says you have limited tractor knowledge.
As far as Kubota competing with the legacy farm brands, they only go up to about 200HP. If you think that is competition for AGCO or Deere or Case-IH...I mean we are talking about tractors up to 650HP.
Not even on the same league...
Kubota just started using real engines and transmissions made to run over 10,000 hours just a few years ago.
The big brands been doing that for over 50 years.
And what Im saying isnt "brand warfare", its just truth.

Just to add: I owned both these tractors at the same time. The Kubota M-135x has a 5HP advantage over the Challenger MT535B, but the Challenger is 50% more tractor, especially loader and hydraulics and weight. They were both built around 2011. For nearly all the Challenger wheeled tractors built, there was almost always a Massey equivalent.
The front tires on the Challenger are like 1.5x taller. Same with rear tires. The Challenger loader & hydraulics will pick up (3) of my 4x4x8 square bales. It’ll pick up (2) with ease. The Kubota loader & hydraulics would struglle with 2 bales and put a lot of stress on the front axle bearings.
With the Challenger, You could do all your bale carrying in 4x2, since it was so much heavier in the ass end. You’d have to run 4x4 in the Kubota because the rear tires on it were barely getting traction.
The Challenger has (2) spin on fuel filters, a manual primer pump/bleeder and a sensor on the bottom of one filter to detect water. The Kubota had one fuel filter.
The Challenger has closed center pressure compensating hydraulic system. The Kubota has open center hydraulics. The challenger has power/heated wider side mirrors, ajustable flow remotes and dozens of other features the Kubota lacked. The Challenger has Euro quick attach standard. The Kubota has SSQA standard. Euro is better & stronger. The Challenger has about 2X bigger cab and an electronic loader joystick. Kubota has the old style with cables.
They were considered “competitors” 10-15 years ago, but they weren’t even close.

IMO, the OP should list the 2 models he’s comparing.