Rubber, meet road... (which attachments to buy??)

[Garrik]

Putting in my order tomorrow morning for a Kubota MX6000. My first tractor.

I think I am clear on the attachments that I need, but not at all clear on whose version of each to buy. So I would love any thoughts or feedback or pointers to reviews, which I have not found many of... (why is the reviews section here so out of date? It would be extremely useful!)

I need:

Grapple
Pallet forks
Box blade
Bucket for FEL
Chipper
Mower / shredder / mulcher

Grapple seems like a no brainer - the EA 60" Wicked.

Pallet forks also seem like a no brainer unless someone has an argument - I will just go with the Kubota 48" forks.

Box blade - dealer suggests the Gearmore 2G2. I live in California, so Gearmore is local. He feels that their box is heavier duty and more robust than the Land Pride. Given everyone's positive impressions of EA, my leaning is to go with the EA XTRreme - but here I may defer to my dealer and his local experience.

Bucket options seem to come down to the Kubota heavy duty round back bucket or a 4:1 bucket presumably from EA (maybe the W.R. Long Ultra Jaw 1 or similar). Wondering if a 4:1 is worth the incremental $2k given that I will have a grapple too... Would love thoughts here. Everyone that I have ever read says that they would never go back once they had a 4:1. You?

Chipper - I need the biggest, strongest chipper that I can drive with my PTO. I am leaning towards the WoodMaxx (made in the USA) or the Woodland Mills. Anyone have any strong feelings about a particular brand or model of chipper?

Mower I am lost. But the flail mower thread is over 600 pages, so I won't bother to ask again here :laughing::laughing:

Final question is about rear remote hydraulics. Dealer is suggesting the Gearmore aux hydraulics instead of the factory setup - he feels that the placement of the factory controls (down by your right knee) is clunky and hard to reach. The Gearmore aftermarket top and tilt kit puts the controls up higher, mounted on the ROPS bar. Price is about the same - anyone have any strong feelings?

I do get the sense that maybe my dealer makes good margins on the Gearmore stuff - or perhaps I am paranoid. They are local to us, which makes everything much easier, while EA is a long ways away...

Appreciate your thoughts very much!

 

[cglaser104]

So woodmaxx also makes flail mowers and offers a 5% discount when you buy 2 units at once. Ive never seen a bad review of their products and they are owned and operated by a military vet.

If you're looking at multiple items from EA they always say call and talk if you need multiple items I'm the videos that they might be able to offer some discount. Same thing, they are a high quality organization.

Hydraulic additions I can't speak to. I had always assumed factory stuff on a new machine was preferable but I could be wrong.

Good luck!

 

[3Ts]

It's kinda hard to make a recommendation on what attachments we think you'd need without knowing how you plan to use them. For example on the grapple - I have a grapple that is 60" wide with a total of 4 bars (teeth) on the lower jaw. There are also grapples with 15 or more bars on the lower jaw. Which is best depends on what their use is. If you can share your plans, we'll certainly help you spend your money. :thumbsup:

 

[BufordBoone]

On the 4-1 bucket, JUST DON"T DO IT.

I have a 4-1 and it was great...right up till I got my grapple. I ordered it with my first tractor (L5740).

When I added the M7060, I got it with a standard bucket. It is the same width as the 4-1 I have. I use the standard bucket a lot. I rarely use the 4-1 any more.

Put the $2K difference toward the grapple.

 

[ericm979]

I'm happy with my Gearmore box blade. EA makes nice stuff (I have their grapple, it's great) but the Gearmore is good quality and cost a bit less. My model can be had with rippers held by individual pins, operated in unison with a long lever, or hydraulic. I got the long lever type. I can't operate it from the driver's seat- I can reach the lever but it's at an awkward angle. It tweaked my shoulder when I tried. I kind of wish I'd paid the extra couple hundred for the hydraulic rippers. But I don't use the ripper that often. If you do lots of box blading it might be worth getting.

I have a Woodmaxx 8H. I would strongly recommend a hydraulic feed chipper. It's safer and works better. Woodland Mills' 8" chipper has some nice design features like being able to get at the knives easily. On the 8H the bed knife is a long reach up the chute. OTOH it has a single roller instead of dual rollers on the 8H, which is the main reason I went with it. Watching Woodland's video it looks like it's harder to get logs to feed. I found the 8H's feed speed control did not work well especially at low speeds. I replaced it with one that better matches the unit's flow and it works much better. Woodmaxx also makes the US made MX series which can be had in 9" and has hydrostatic feed. Woodmaxx was unhelpful with my feed speed problems and told me that if I wanted good control over the speed I should have bought one of those instead.

Wallenstein makes what appears to be really nice chippers, some with hydraulic feed. They'll cost a lot more than Woodland Mills or Woodmaxx but can have more features. They also have rectangular feed openings instead of square, which may help you get irregular material in with less trimming but may require you to orient it correctly. I haven't run one so I don't know for sure.

What will you be chipping?

If you're getting rear remotes for top and tilt, get at least one additional remote.

 

[JR4AL]

The MX6000 appears to be an awesome new addition to the MX lineup. I am seriously thinking about upgrading to the MX6000 from my MX5800. I talked with my dealer yesterday and he went to the Dealer Show last week and he said that he does not have the prices for the MX6000 yet. I understand Kubota is trying to hit a cprice point below 40K with the tractor and loader with this addition to the line up. Have you been able to get a quote from your dealer?

 

[Hozzie]

The MX6000 appears to be an awesome new addition to the MX lineup. I am seriously thinking about upgrading to the MX6000 from my MX5800. I talked with my dealer yesterday and he went to the Dealer Show last week and he said that he does not have the prices for the MX6000 yet. I understand Kubota is trying to hit a cprice point below 40K with the tractor and loader with this addition to the line up. Have you been able to get a quote from your dealer?

Why upgrade if I may ask? 3 gross HP and 1.5 PTO HP doesn't seem like much of an upgrade. Maybe I am missing something. I would think going up to something like a 7060 as an upgrade. I have an MX5800 as well so interested if I am overlooking something. I have been very happy with my MX up to this point.

 

[Garrik]

The MX6000 appears to be an awesome new addition to the MX lineup. Have you been able to get a quote from your dealer?

I was ready to order an MX5800 the day that they announced that they were stopping production and rumors began to circulate about a new model. I decided to hold off until the MX6000 was formally announced, and although the improvements are minor and incremental, I did decide to order an MX6000 and wait rather than buying an MX5800 off a dealer's lot.

I did get pricing from my dealer (yesterday), and we hope to place the order today.

 

[Hozzie]

To the OP. here is what I have and have been quite happy with on my MX5800.

Grapple - EA Wicked Root Grapple with double lid - 66". You may not want the longer bottom tines, but I find the 66" to be the perfect size. I think 60 may be just a bit small for my liking. I think the double lid is well worth it.

Pallet forks - I have the EA 3000lb 42" forks and again I think are perfect. Best weight to lift ratio so we don't use up our loader capacity any more than we need to. Don't think I have ever had an issue not having 48" forks. I think 48" forks is a detriment in some cases. For example I something use them to move/lift items in my shop (lathe, mill) and with 42" tines it sometimes gets tight when trying to maneuver. I would think 48's would have made it near impossible for me in some cases to get where I do now. Part of that is I only have 10' ceilings, so when trying to manuever I sometimes have to put the forks back as far as I can to short my overall length to make a turn.

Box blade - EA 7' Extreme box blade. It covers the tracks well. I have the hinged version but have never used the hinged feature yet.

Bucket for FEL - Using standard round back bucket. Has been fine for anything I have needed.

 

[Garrik]

Thanks for all of the feedback on attachments. I ordered my MX-6000 today

My primary uses will be to maintain (and extend) a roughly 2 mile road network (dirt and gravel), to clear brush and mow brushy areas, and to maintain my timber producing forest (so thinning, planting, etc.). I will also be building a home and some outbuildings. I have a 4 ton mini-excavator for the BH use cases.

In case anyone cares, or would like to weigh in, here are my conclusions so far:

Bucket - stick with the Kubota heavy duty round back
Grapple - EA Wicked 60" is a no brainer. I need it for moving piles of brush, branches, tree trunks, etc.
Forks - stick with the Land Pride 48", 300 lb. forks. EA's are probably better, but I will throw my dealer a bone on this one
Box blade - looks to me like the EA and Gearmore are basically similar, and similar price (EA slightly cheaper, and built in the USA). Likely to order to EA with the grapple.
Chipper - again, pretty heavy use associated with clearing and timber management. Got on the wait list for the WoodMaxx MX-9900. Made in the USA, it appears to be the biggest beefiest chipper that is reasonably priced.
Mower - current plan is to rent. Flail mowers that can handle large brush (>1") are freakishly expensive. Cheapest one I could find that seemed like it would work (the Gearmore, which is actually made by Seppi) is close to $7k. Dealer has one on their rental lot, so for now I will rent it.
Remote hydraulics - went with the factory setup rather than the aftermarket

Decided to pass on the 4:1 bucket. With the grapple, it seems like duplication. I may live to regret the mistake - but I can always buy one later.