Looking For 1st tractor......

[DK35vince]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Have you been able to get to the Kioti web site.? I find it down )</font>

It seems to be working OK for me John.

 

[JASTN70D]

Thanks Vince It must be our DNS provider /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[BillG_in_TX]

Works fine from here - http://www.kiotitractor.com/ /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[SteveH_CT]

It just came up for me, and surprise, I have a dealer 5 miles away. I guess I just found another brand to check out.

I've been following this thread closely since I'm also looking for my first tractor. Thanks to everyone for all the helpful information. This site is great! /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

Steve Mann
Salem, CT

 

[JASTN70D]

I got it now also. I am glad the sight is being helpful it sure helped me. I have owned JD for about 15 years And after using this sight I have made the Jump to Kioti. No regrets here /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif They are definitely worth checking out. You might even ask around about the dealer you found. Maybe someone here has dealt with them before. Good Luck.!

 

[Bob_Skurka]

I would seriously take a look at the sub-compact class of tractors. The Massey GC, the Kubota BX, the New Holland TZ and Deere's sub compact are the 4 sub-compacts that come to mind. For 3 acres they will give you plenty of capacity to do what you describe without taking too much garage space and all are great for mowing.

And if this is your first tractor the I would suggest you only look at models that have HST transmissions. All the above sub-compact tractors I mentioned are HST units. If you go up to a compact, you will give up some manuverability which will increase the time you spend mowing, but it will give you greater ground clearance if you plan on using a Front End Loader. In any case, I'd definately stick with a tractor that has HST if you move up to the compact class. Kubota, New Holland, Deere, Massey & Kioti all come to mind as compact tractors with HST.

I'd also look for something about 21 to 24 hp, with mid & rear ptos.

 

[johnsonauto]

Mahindra has a dealer locator on there web site, just type in your zip.
www.mahindrausa.com

 

[SteveH_CT]

Thanks Bob - I probably will go for an HST type tractor. For Connecticut we have a fairly large piece of land, about 100 acres ( I can hear the guys out west laughing already... "100 acres, my front yard is bigger than that") /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif but we'll only be clearing 12 to start off with. After that I want to do some bridle path cuts, and dirt road maintenance on the rest of it. I've got some very rocky areas, and I'm looking for something with a tough FEL and hopefully a backhoe if I can swing the entire deal. A friend of mine has a Fermec that’s about 60hp, and it busts out stumps and rocks so easily. I’m hoping to get something that will do that, but on a smaller scale all the way around. It’s likely I'll end up with something along the lines of a Kubota L3130 or the Deere 4310. The Deere dealer has tried getting me to go up to the 4710, but wow, the cost gets me when I'm comparing tractors at that size range.

I still want to compare a few other brands, but up till now I've been leaning towards the Kubota. I just like it... although I have to admit the Deere is a fine looking product, just seems the Kubota is slightly tougher in the areas that are important to me. The price in my area for both was within $1000 of each other (around 28 thou with the heavier loader bucket and the stronger back hoe). I can post the quote if anyone is interested in seeing the details.

I'll keep looking and reading for a while since I really don't need the tractor till spring. Once I found this site I realized there is a lot of information here - I've been looking for something like this for a while. The only thing I've never been able to find on the net is a magazine or site that does comparative testing, kinda like a Motortrend but for tractors. It would be interesting to see impartial testing of comparable units like they do with cars.

OK – I’ll shut up for now.

Thanks,
Steve
Salem, CT

 

[Dave___in___CT]

Hi SteveH_CT...


My 2 cents...

For the work you describe on 100 acres of untamed terrain... a gear transmission may be better than hydrostatic...
...my opinon... it would be better... maybe $1,000-$1,5000 less... no possible slippage... less complicated... I've owned & operated both types... and prefer the manual in some work/terrain conditions...


Anyway... before you buy a tractor with a hydrostatic transmission... you may want to put it to an actual load test going uphill and see how it acts... like digging with the loader... or loaded and going uphill... especially the Kubota L3130...

A Deere dealer told me he was at Deere Co. actual demos' using Kubota Lxx30's and Deere 4xxx series... said this a weak point with the Kubota hydro vs. Deere's... I dunno 1st hand... and no reason to disbelieve the dealer...

I own a new Kubota L3130... instead of a Deere 4xxx... so I'm not knocking the Kubota...


Dave...

 

[SteveH_CT]

Hi Dave - I will check out the shift on the fly arrangement. The Kubota dealer I went to, Midstate in Middletown, said he sells almost exclusively HST's on both Deere and Kubota. I've got a Deere dealer very close to me, Kubota about 15 minutes away, and then the Middletown dealer is about 45 minutes away. Just found out today that there is a Kioti dealer 5 minutes from my house. I just moved there 3 months ago, so I don't know all the shops around yet. The point is, I seem to have a decent selection in the area. Did you get to "test drive" yours before you got it? Never having driven anything larger than a riding mower I'm wondering how much learning curve there is to tractor driving.

BTW - Where did you end up getting your tractor from? So far are you happy with them?


I just saw the posting with the pics of your new tractor. That cab is nice. I've never seen a 3130 enclosed.

I'm looking forward to posts with updates on how your tractor is performing.

Take Care,
Steve