tdb,
These guys aren't giving that Kubota much credit. I own an
L200 (1969), and I own an old Cub Cadet too (1971), and I would call the Cub Cadet a "garden tractor" and the
L200 a "small farm tractor". In my mind, "garden tractors" don't have 9.5-24 tires on the rear... but maybe that's just me.
As far as what it will do... that
L200 will lift more than double what an 8N will on the 3pt hitch (2,050 lbs.) You will need weight on the front end to do this. I also skid logs pretty regularly with mine. The limit is doug fir about 24" by 16'... that's with a little boom pole. A log arch would make all the difference. The
L200 also has six forward gears and two reverse, and a two-speed PTO, which can be nice. Mine handles the 4' brush hog that came with it, no problem... not sure how it would do with a 5' one.
Now the real difference between the two is that Ford parts are everywhere, (literally, I have bought a 2N cap & rotor in stock at the local auto parts store) and
L200 parts in the US are hard to come by, to say the least. Some parts are available from Kubota, at Kubota prices. Glow plugs are $45 each, injectors are $50 each, and other parts like gear train and such are "obsolete" according to Kubota, so you'd have to find them in salvage yards or have them made (!).
These are all things I considered when I bought my
L200... but I paid $1,200 with the brush hog, and that's all the money I had at the time, so my decision was a little easier... especially since most Fords, etc. go for $2,500 or more around here... it's a retirement community, lots of "hobby" farmers and restorers here.
-N.
