Looking for others opinions

[Sully2]

On the hydrostatic I was just wondering if anyone else had experienced the same thing, apparently that is common. That makes me feel better, now I know there isn't something wrong with mine. As far as the ballast for loader work, I know you can get ballast boxes. But if they are that big of a must anytime you use a loader, I am surprised the dealer didn't recommend I get one. Anyway, thanks for all the comments.

You need some sort of weight on the back to offset the lifting of the FEL. I NEVER go "empty"..always SOMETHING on the back. I use a BB instead of loaded tires which I absolutely did not want. The further BACK you can carry it..within reason of course..the better it counters the effects of the FEL.

My BB is filled with TIGHTLY packed small gravel/sand that weighs in close to 105 lbs per cu/ft...so its not light at all..but if I get a HEAPING LOAD of damp topsoil in the bucket..and I "shake/bounce" the loader to make sure it settles down ( so I dont spill it all over the road...from the pile to my home) I can feel the rear "lighten up". But Im talking an 800-850 pound load in the bucket .

 

[SCCA14]

There's a thread in here somehwre that says the seat from the new front cut F3680 mower bolts right up to the B3030. It's supposed to NOT have the ramp effect, and also has lumbar and seat rake adjustments.

here is the exact seat from the F3680 for $320 retail

Michigan Seat Highback Suspension Seat, Model# V-5300 |Seats | Northern Tool + Equipment

it is the Michigan Seat Model V-5300

Glenn

 

[Double 00 Soul]

This past summer I bought a Kubota B3030SDC. I really like the tractor, it seems to have great power and everything seems to run smoothly, & it starts well in the cold. However, there are some things I noticed and was wondering what other B3030 owners thoughts were.

1-It seems the seat is tipped forward so you feel like you are always sliding off.
2-When shifting between High, Low, or Medium it seems like I have play with the lever quite a while wiggling it and hitting the brakes and Hydro pedal to get it to go into gear smoothly, this does seem to go away for the most part after the tractor has been running for a long time?
3-The tractor doesn't seem to be very good on any slight incline, it seems to have a high center of gravity. This is even with the bucket empty, I guess I thought it would be more stable on slight side hills. Is this just the Kubota or all small tractors?

For anyone reading this that is looking for a small tractor I don't want to steer you from the Kubota B3030, it is a truly great tractor. There are many more positives than these 3 minor things I mentioned. What I mentioned above are really minor issues in the big picture. When I bought this tractor I looked at Case/New Holland, Cub Cadet, Mahindra, John Deere, and as far as I am concerned in the 26 to 32 HP range Kubota is the way to go!

Thanks

1. I found the seat on my B3030 to be so uncomfortable that I contacted Kubota directly after not being able to get any help from the dealer. Shortly after contacting Kubota, I was contacted by the dealer who came out and replaced the stock seat with a seat from the Z series mowers, much better. Others have said they were satisfied with putting some shims under the front of the seat, which cures the problem of feeling like you're sliding off the end of the earth. There's also a thread by a dealer in PA, Messicks, that describes their fix for the B3030 seat albeit at owner expense. The thread is on page 1 (as of today) of this forum and is titled ATTN: B3030 owners.

2. You didn't mention how many hours on your machine. I found that after about 40 hours, the shifting eased somewhat. I still have to tap the HST pedal now and then but it's much smoother after I got some time on the meter.

3. The old saying, "there's no free lunch" applies here. The B3030 has good ground clearance but we pay for that with some instability in places. I've read in the forums that there's a kit to increase the width of the rear wheels but never checked into it because I haven't experienced the problem with instability, possibly because I leave the tiller attached. There's a reason the Kubota owner's manual discusses working on inclines.

Hope this helps.

 

[teeravis1]

After all the beatings I took on this thread I may just be too scared to post another one!

 

[LBrown59]

No, I did not have a ballast box, or anything hooked up on the 3 point, but your probably right. I would think that would lower the center of gravity.

It would but the Ballast is really for balance.
Ever see how a teeter totter works with more weight on one end than the other.

 

[LBrown59]

On the hydrostatic I was just wondering if anyone else had experienced the same thing, apparently that is common. That makes me feel better, now I know there isn't something wrong with mine. As far as the ballast for loader work, I know you can get ballast boxes. But if they are that big of a must anytime you use a loader, I am surprised the dealer didn't recommend I get one. Anyway, thanks for all the comments.

Counter balancing a loader is always critical. The dealer was asleap on that one.

 

[Double 00 Soul]

It would but the Ballast is really for balance.
Ever see how a teeter totter works with more weight on one end than the other.

What's a teeter totter? Is that a drunk JD owner who falls off his tractor because of his huge caboose?

 

[LBrown59]

What's a teeter totter? Is that a drunk JD owner who falls off his tractor because of his huge caboose?

 

[teeravis1]

Not to keep kicking a dead horse, but I can't even find a ballast box on Kubota's website? Aside from that I was thinking of taking a 30 gallon drum, putting some holes in it so I can hook it up on my 3 point for a ballast. Then fill it with sand or concrete. Does anyone know if that would work OK or not? Does anybody know how much weight I need in the ballast for a B3030HSDC w/ LA403 loader?

 

[Fjord]

The ballast box I use on my B7800 is a B5320. I found some small cement blocks that are meant for building retaining walls that seem like they were made just for this ballast box. They measure 3 3/4" x 7 1/2" x 11 1/4" and weigh 25 pounds each. As you can see from the pictures 16 of them fit in the bottom of the box and another 3 lay flat on top for 475 pounds. If you wanted to stand the top row on their edges you could fit on another 100 pounds. I can pick up a full bucket of gravel and move around on level but rough ground with 475# in the ballast box with no problem, but then I do everything pretty slow. My tires are not loaded but I think I'm going to get them loaded because some of my work is in tight quarters and I don't always want the ballast box hanging out the back. I my limited experience it seems like the ballast box makes the front end a little lighter which is good for steering but not so good for digging with the FEL. If you get those little blocks to put in don't forget to put a piece of strapping under the last one so you have something to lift it out by if you ever want to take them out.(can't fit fingers in)