Price Check Used B26 TLB or New Kioti CK3510

[fried1765]

THIS^^snooze you loose.

EXACTLY CORRECT!
That HOME OWNER - B26 TLB will be gone SOON.....then, additional vacillating will be moot!

To make a comparison: A year ago, I paid 32K for a 13 year old original owner Kubota L48 TLB (big brother to the B26 TLB) with 250.9 hours.
I had been looking for just such a lightly used machine for 9 months.
Q/A loader bucket, hyd. bucket latch, 3rd function, 3 rear remotes, hyd. thumb, Q/A hoe bucket

I had a friend look at it for me (350 miles away), the day after I saw the listing (CL), and I sent the seller a priority mail 20% deposit the following day.
He who hesitates is lost!

My L48 has mildly faded paint, but is almost like new.
I am absolutely delighted with it!

 

[4570Man]

EXACTLY CORRECT!
That HOME OWNER - B26 TLB will be gone SOON.....then, additional vacillating will be moot!

To make a comparison: A year ago, I paid 32K for a 13 year old original owner Kubota L48 TLB (big brother to the B26 TLB) with 250.9 hours.
I had been looking for just such a lightly used machine for 9 months.

I had a friend look at it for me (350 miles away), the day after I saw the listing (CL), and I sent the seller a priority mail 20% deposit the following day.
He who hesitates is lost!

My L48 has mildly faded paint, but is almost like new.
I am absolutely delighted with it!

I paid $44,000 for my 450 hour garage kept M59 with 3rd function hydraulics on the front, 3 rear remotes, hydraulic thumb, quick connect on the back bucket and 3 buckets. There’s not many of them set up the way I wanted.

 

[Carl_NH]

I get the impression that most new tractor/BH to be buyers on TBN don't really appreciate the difference in the Kubota TLB series and the rest of the options out there which are not the same until you either own one, or have done due diligence to REALLY compare machines.

I used to work on Case 580's in the 70's so that was an early reference point on what I wanted when I bought my little B21. Its still doing great today, but would love a B26, or L39, but don't "need one".

 

[4570Man]

I get the impression that most new tractor/BH to be buyers on TBN don't really appreciate the difference in the Kubota TLB series and the rest of the options out there which are not the same until you either own one, or have done due diligence to REALLY compare machines.

I used to work on Case 580's in the 70's so that was an early reference point on what I wanted when I bought my little B21. Its still doing great today, but would love a B26, or L39, but don't "need one".

Not many people understand the difference. Kubota really doesn’t market them to their fullest potential either.

 

[Carl_NH]

The Kubota does have the quick attach

The Kiotis do as well. I agree on the financing. I hear that Kubota is easy peasy to get financing.

You might have read this thread - but take another look at NHBubba comments after getting an add on BH, on his machine they make a great tractor, no question, but not the same as the Kubota TLB series.

https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums.../427907-buying-advice-small-land-owner-9.html

 

[rScotty]

I get the impression that most new tractor/BH to be buyers on TBN don't really appreciate the difference in the Kubota TLB series and the rest of the options out there which are not the same until you either own one, or have done due diligence to REALLY compare machines.

I used to work on Case 580's in the 70's so that was an early reference point on what I wanted when I bought my little B21. Its still doing great today, but would love a B26, or L39, but don't "need one".

I think you & 4570 man are right. Kubota doesn't advertise the difference between their tractors and their TLBs. Adding to the confusion are some tractor dearlers who refer to their tractors as TLBs when the dealer adds a FEL and a backhoe.

But that's no knock on tradtional 3pt tractors with FEL and backhoe added. They are flat out wonderful pieces of equipment and will do a ton of TLB type work. Plus they are more generally more versatile, just not as specialized. I've had several of both.

If landscaping & construction type work are most of what a person does, versus Ag and mowing, then Kubota makes a specialized machine to do the landscaping and construction. That's their TLB.

It's interesting that Kubota is the only popular tractor manufacturer who makes a true TLB today. TLBs cost a premium dollar - but used ones go for proportionately higher as well. For a while JD made the 110 TLB and Yanmar made the CL40 TLB - both now discontinued. That's too bad, very nice machines...both of them.

TLBs weigh almost twice what a tractor does, the FEL is not removeable, and it lifts about 50% more than a tractor with an add-on backhoe. To my eye the TLB appears stubbier and wider and turns sharper.... but I've not checked to see if any of that is true or just an illusion. One visual clue is that TLB has a substantially heavier frame throughout. That's easy to spot even from a distance.

A TLB comes standard with a hard-mounted FEL & backhoe, but the 3pt hitch is optional equipment. That's different than a tractor that comes standard with a 3pt hitch and has FEL & backhoe as options. Both have accessory hydraulics and a PTO.

Neither tractor or TLB is a better machine for the dollar than the other, and both can do all the jobs that the other can do. It's just that to get the best out of each one, they are optimized for different jobs. Either one can do what the other can.
rScotty

 

[rScotty]

I am new to tractor use. I was able to try out a friend's Kubota to which I decided to go with my Kioti 3510. The layout of the controls, more foot room and the lack of the "treadle peddle" sold me on my Kioti. In comparison to friend's L3800, the Kioti had a little more power but is shared due to HST. I have not had any disappointments thus far. I really like some of the options that come with the Kioti. The telescoping arms on the 3 point hitch are on the top of my list. I've yet to consider a quick hitch due to it. My one complaint is I wish they came standard with the brake peddle on the opposite side of the gas pedal. Transitioning on a hill requires a little bit of dexterity but I have read on TBN that a retro fit isn't difficult to do to achieve such a setup. When I financed through Kioti, I was able to roll in some implements as well. All this being said is by an inexperienced user in the grand scheme of things, but Kioti offered a layout that I felt much more natural adhering to. Good luck and hope what ever you go with works out for you.

Nice points, GE7EA, & welcome. I agree, it is the simple things that make a tractor nice - like seating position, foot space, and control placement.I still remember trying a New Holland compact 20 years ago - no, I didn't buy it - but still remember it was so nice getting on and off the tractor and so naturally comfortable sitting on it working the controls that I came within a skosh of buying that tractor on the spot. I don't blame you for going with Kioti for just those kinds of reasons.

Aren't telescoping 3pt hitches wonderful! Our old (ancient?) JD 530 has that feature and it sure takes the work out of hook ups. Just back up somewhere close, telescope the arms to hook up, drop in the linch pins, & then back up some more - which collapses the telescopes allowing the spring loaded telescope-locking pin to automatically drop into place. Bingo! A perfect hook up with the implement at minimal distance from the back of the tractor. It makes me wonder why every tractor doesn't have that feature....but they don't.

Oh.... just be a little careful if the HST doesn't have a treadle. IMHO, treadles may not be the best geometry for usability, but they do prevent the operator from selecting forward and reverse at the same time - some HSTs are sensitive to that move and probably have an additional mechanism to prevent a "big foot" error.

I hear you on having the brakes on the same side as the HST (gas) pedal. Our Kubota M59 model made the same brake layout mistake Kioti did on your 3510. Maybe both Kubota & Kioti use the same seating design firm?
Hey, just for fun it ought to be easy to spot those guys. If I ever tour their plant I'll be on the lookout for seating designers that have two right legs on one side plus the normal number on the left..... And be thankful they don't work for the automotive industry.

The brake layout leads to doing a sort of sideways dance when using the wheel brakes. So far I haven't looked into moving the Kubota's brakes to the left side. That's a good idea.
rScotty

 

[mred2]

John Deere still makes backhoes. 310, 410, etc. The 110 was discontinued. Almost all that I know of had transmission problems, including broken case. There were great for the small jobs with the gas and water companies here until they cracked the transmission case. I know of at least 12 that came thru one of our locations that had broken cases. Still a good machine, if you can find one with a good case and that was not put thru he** trying to get it to do more than it was designed to do.

 

[rScotty]

I probably should have been more exact, and said that Kubota is the only manufacturer I know of currently making a line of semi-industrial "Compact TLBs". You are right. Saying it that way makes more sense.

Nice as the Kubota is - and they don't seem to break - it isn't built anything even remotely like as heavily built as Deere's 310 or 410. Those machines comes at the TLB thing from a whole different direction. We see the difference everyday, somehow ending up with both a M59 and a 310. We hope the M59 is as good as the legendary 310.

BTW, as I'm sure you know .... Cat and Case both make models much like the JD310 and neither makes a compact. At one point we almost bought a Cat 416, my wife loved the cab interior.

Still, I think it was too bad about the JD110. Missed opportunity and all. JD could have fixed the early model's problems - even retroactively.
Given Deere's position in the tractor world, and what their profits looked like during the 110 era, doing the right thing is what I would have expected from them.
If they had done so, I think their compact TLB would have succeeded. The 110 was a nice concept and popular, too - with a loyal customer base. If it hadn't been for the known flaws and lack backing from the factory we definitely would have bought a 110 instead of the M59.

Instead, JD simply did all the work to set the stage for Kubota's TLB success. And that's OK, too. Because Kubota got it right.... but I still wish it had been Deere.....

 

[4570Man]

Even if the 110 hadn’t of been junk it used a flip seat vs a swivel seat on the M59. That’s a big win for the M59 in my book. And yea a M59 isn’t even close to a 310.