Verdemont
Bronze Member
Okay, just another report from a new 7610 owner. The tractor was delivered last Wednesday morning. Pictures are here: http://vervaeke.smugmug.com/gallery/116498
The delivery guy spent about 30 minutes going over lots of stuff about the tractor: fluids, operations, tire pressure, grease points, and SAFETY. Very good brief by a knowledgeable old Texan.
On the first day I spent about 1 hour on the tractor moving dirt where the country grader had graded the drainage by the dirt road in front of our property. Used the FEL to scoop up the residue (also had to use my hand shovel) and moved it up to the yard to fill in low spots, etc.. This was a good exercise as it was slow work, easy, and allowed me to become "One" with my tractor.
I spent another hour with the 5' Rhino blade working on my drivway. It is about 350' long and is gravel over hard pack. It had begun to have a significant "hump" in the middle. With practice I got the hang of the blade and was able to really improve the driveway. Nice. I could NOT have done this without the FEL and blade.
I've now learned that the only way to become proficient with a Kubota is to simply spend time on the seat operating it in doing different things.
My wife came home, it was pouring rain and hailing, and I was using the tractor and didn't even notice (had rain jacket and hat on). I knew I was hooked.
On Friday I ordered another 20 yards of top soil mix (we call it Planters Mix, a mix of good topsoil, manure, etc...). I used the FEL and blade to remove about 1' of the nasty sandy soil that was in place and move it about 50' to another spot in the yard that I am building up. Had to use both the FEL and blade and eventually a hand shovel as I was in close quarters with my house on 2 sides and a curvy concrete sidewak on the other. But the 7610 worked well.
On Sunday I began the process of moving the new topsoil into place. A cool feeling to drive the FEL into a big, fresh stack of dirt. Move it 75' and drop it. After about 10 buckets of this I would use the FEL and pull backwards to flatten the dirt. Worked well. After about 2 hours I had about 50% of the dirt moved and it looked good. My wife was away at a friends so as it got dark I turned the headlights on and kept working. I've gotten about 75% of it done now and will finish it on Mon or Tuesday. This would have taken me 2-3 days using my garden tractor and cart to move. Nice.
So, my 7610 has about 5.4 hours on it now. It came with .6 on Wed so it's gotten some use. My wife used it with me on Sunday morning to move an old dog house and some other stuff we were eliminating. I pushed the old dog house into the FEL as she operated. Use a tie down strap to secure it and she motored it up to the front of the house where I dismantled it. That thing must have weighed 300 lbs and I could not move it any other way. We also moved some other stuff.
I even managed to push over a few old stumps in the yard. Right now I'm simply pushing them with the FEL. Only works on old stumps where the tap root has rotted. Nice.
I am very glad we got this unit. The 2230 would have been too small. The 7800 would have worked but it felt big. I have to fold the ROPS to get the thing in the garage but my wife and I are considering having a 36x36 pole barn build soon that will solve this problem.
Again, thanks all for the wonderful advise I've received.
Tom
The delivery guy spent about 30 minutes going over lots of stuff about the tractor: fluids, operations, tire pressure, grease points, and SAFETY. Very good brief by a knowledgeable old Texan.
On the first day I spent about 1 hour on the tractor moving dirt where the country grader had graded the drainage by the dirt road in front of our property. Used the FEL to scoop up the residue (also had to use my hand shovel) and moved it up to the yard to fill in low spots, etc.. This was a good exercise as it was slow work, easy, and allowed me to become "One" with my tractor.
I spent another hour with the 5' Rhino blade working on my drivway. It is about 350' long and is gravel over hard pack. It had begun to have a significant "hump" in the middle. With practice I got the hang of the blade and was able to really improve the driveway. Nice. I could NOT have done this without the FEL and blade.
I've now learned that the only way to become proficient with a Kubota is to simply spend time on the seat operating it in doing different things.
My wife came home, it was pouring rain and hailing, and I was using the tractor and didn't even notice (had rain jacket and hat on). I knew I was hooked.
On Friday I ordered another 20 yards of top soil mix (we call it Planters Mix, a mix of good topsoil, manure, etc...). I used the FEL and blade to remove about 1' of the nasty sandy soil that was in place and move it about 50' to another spot in the yard that I am building up. Had to use both the FEL and blade and eventually a hand shovel as I was in close quarters with my house on 2 sides and a curvy concrete sidewak on the other. But the 7610 worked well.
On Sunday I began the process of moving the new topsoil into place. A cool feeling to drive the FEL into a big, fresh stack of dirt. Move it 75' and drop it. After about 10 buckets of this I would use the FEL and pull backwards to flatten the dirt. Worked well. After about 2 hours I had about 50% of the dirt moved and it looked good. My wife was away at a friends so as it got dark I turned the headlights on and kept working. I've gotten about 75% of it done now and will finish it on Mon or Tuesday. This would have taken me 2-3 days using my garden tractor and cart to move. Nice.
So, my 7610 has about 5.4 hours on it now. It came with .6 on Wed so it's gotten some use. My wife used it with me on Sunday morning to move an old dog house and some other stuff we were eliminating. I pushed the old dog house into the FEL as she operated. Use a tie down strap to secure it and she motored it up to the front of the house where I dismantled it. That thing must have weighed 300 lbs and I could not move it any other way. We also moved some other stuff.
I even managed to push over a few old stumps in the yard. Right now I'm simply pushing them with the FEL. Only works on old stumps where the tap root has rotted. Nice.
I am very glad we got this unit. The 2230 would have been too small. The 7800 would have worked but it felt big. I have to fold the ROPS to get the thing in the garage but my wife and I are considering having a 36x36 pole barn build soon that will solve this problem.
Again, thanks all for the wonderful advise I've received.
Tom
