Which model?

[momark54]

Hi guys, I'm planning on getting a new tractor soon and was wondering what you all think would be the minimum size Kubota I would need to operate a 6' three-point tiller that weighs around 800lbs without a strain on the machine? Would also be using a 5' brushhog. Thanks in advance.

Mark

 

[davesl708]

The only help I can give is my old BX2200 handles a 5' tiller with ease breaking sod. I have to go a little slower on dry sod but still gets it done.
I have 16hp at the PTO.

I would opt for closer to 20hp at the PTO for a larger tiller.

 

[momark54]

Thanks for the response. Do you know what your lift capacity is on the 3 pt. hydraulics?

 

[davesl708]

Mine is 1260lbs at the lift point and around 640 24" behind.

Have you looked at the BX25D?

 

[Grandad4]

I've used a 72" tiller with my L4610 (46 engine hp, 40 pto hp) for many years. The tractor basically doesn't know the tiller is back there, even operating at less than full pto speed. The key is that tilling involves slow movement in order for the tines to break the ground into ever finer consistency. I would think a mid-30's hp tractor should have the power to drive a 6 ft. tiller. Then the question turns to having enough tractor size and weight to handle an 800 lb tiller attachment. Obviously more tractor is better than not enough, so that's easy work for a Grand L and the standard L's should be OK as well. You can find a B sized tractor with the hp to run such a tiller but it's probably going to get tossed around a fair amount as the tiller digs.

 

[Fallon]

I think my tiller is 66" (King Kutter) & it puts a hurt on my 32hp L3200. The HST means I can trivially adjust my ground speed to max load possible on my engine without lugging it. It would be a lot harder with a gear tractor & may not even be possible if it wasn't geared low enough.

All in all my tiller is a good match for my tractor. I could use more power to run it & go faster than the crawl I have to go at, but its fine for the occasional tilling I need to do.

 

[motownbrowne]

How fast do you want to go? You say minimum size, is this to keep the cost down? I'd think you could run a 6' tiller with an L2501 if you weren't in a hurry and it was a hydrostatic machine. I think that'd be about the cheapest option new, but I could be wrong. I don't know much about the B series. I wouldn't personally consider a BX. In all the Kubota series, there are premium and economy models. It's usually possible to get more weight and more HP for less money with an economy model, but the premium tractors do have nice features. Tell us about your budget and size constraints, do you need a small tractor to fit somewhere tight, but want maximum horsepower, or do you want something cheap that'll do the job a bit slower?

 

[wcampbell47]

I think the type of soil you have plays a large part in the hp required and whether you are in drought or not. My 21 hp B7510 struggled immensely one year when we were in drought with a 48" tiller. I had to weight the tiller down with several 50 lb bags to keep it from bouncing. Would be a totally different story in sandy or loamy soil. At any rate your old Ford 4000 has about 46 pto hp according to tractordata.com. A new Kubota equivalent would be an L40 somehting or other. Depending on soil type I would not hesitate to put it behind my L39 with HST. Would not put it behind my 7510 or B3200. I would be afraid of damaging the PTO drive.

 

[momark54]

My main use for the tiller would be for foodplotting. Normally I think I would only like to till to a depth of 2-3", just enough to grind up any vegetation and get good seed to soil contact. I would brush hog as low as possible before tilling. I know the 5speed 4000 is probably a little fast for a tiller but I'm hoping it might work ok at that shallow of a depth. If it flat out doesn't work I'll probably end up getting the Kubota(or something comparable). Just want to make sure I get enough tractor for the 6' tiller while not overspending.

 

[Fallon]

If you are just food plotting & going shallow, a disk harrow might be better. Half the price & will bounce over roots & rocks better.

 

[AStanton]

I would tell you to get a B or even an L. If you go into the weeds with a BX, you will need underbody armor.

 

[motownbrowne]

Well, tractordata.com doesn't list the speeds for the early 4 cylinder 4000 series. I'm thinking that it's gonna be similar to the 800 series, which shows first gear at 2.3 MPH. I've run a 4' tiller behind an 8n, which is way too fast at 3.7 and doesn't have enough HP. I'd think the 4000 would be worth a shot with the 6'. Worse comes to worse, you'll have to make multiple passes. Also, as someone suggested, maybe a disc and drag harrow would be better. Certainly cheaper.

Personally, if I was buying a tractor just for food plots, a new Kubota wouldn't be on the list. Maybe a Deere 3020, or something like that. There's even a used 5040 Kubota with a cab on our local Craigslist. 700 hours and 17,000. 2wd and no loader. That'd put in some food plots for less than any new Kubota. To me, the appeal of buying new is getting 4wd and a loader, but you don't need that to run a tiller.

 

[momark54]

Well, if I bought a new(er) tractor I would like to get a FL and 4wd since I'm not only using it for foodplotting. Foodplotting and brushhogging would be the two main uses but with 50acres of ground could use it for anything that comes up. Just want to make sure the tractor has the guts to handle the 6'tiller which would probably be the toughest task for it. Maybe the 5' bushhog is tougher on it, but either way want to make sure I have enough tractor without going way over the top.

 

[Mike from MI]

My manual for L3200 states 54" tiller in the implement limitations section.

 

[oldballs]

Using your criterion of 6 ft tiller and 5 ft brushog and 50 acres of maintenance , i'd be looking at the "L" series as minimum. The largest "B" series could do it, but would grunt a lot. :2cents:

 

[nybirdman]

No tiller is going to work well on freshly brush-hogged land.I would suggest working up with a "middle buster" type single bottom plow first.I have reclaimed a lot of mine this way but it's a lot of work.

 

[momark54]

When I say brushhogged I'm talking about a field with herbaceous growth only, no woody sprouts. Would a tiller not work well on this?

 

[motownbrowne]

When I say brushhogged I'm talking about a field with herbaceous growth only, no woody sprouts. Would a tiller not work well on this?

It works, but usually not in the first pass. I think the best results are achieved by tilling virgin sod three times, with about 10 days between each tilling. Yes, this takes three weeks, but it works well to achieve a seed bed and kill the previous growth. If you're tilling in a cover crop (not virgin soil,) you may only need two tillings depending on the crop you're planting and what you're tilling in. You may be able to achieve a good looking seedbed in one pass by going very slowly, but by spacing it out, you'll end up with less residual growth from the previous vegetation.

 

[momark54]

Most of the time I would be tilling areas that have been in food plots for years now, so not virgin soil. And most of the time I would only want to till 2-3 ins. deep so hoping it would work sometimes in one pass. I have been using a 3pt disc and it takes many passes to bust up thick vegetation, especially grasses. Hoping the tiller would do a better job. Doesn't have to be perfect just good seed to soil contact.

 

[motownbrowne]

That should work in one pass as far as creating a seedbed is concerned. Only reason for more passes would be to help kill the previous crop, but it sounds like you've been at this a while, do I'm sure you have an idea of what works with your soil and crops. Only thing I might add is that sometimes when tilling in standing grasses, the grass will wrap around the shaft that holds the times. This will require you to stop and remove the buildup if you want good tillage. I've also had the grass destroy the seal between the oil bath and the rotating shaft. It helps if you can mow the grass real short before tilling it with a rototiller.