Which of these tractors Kubota or New Holland?

[TheWedge]

As some of the other folks have discussed, HST or manual is going to be largely dependent upon how you intend to work your tractor. If you are doing a lot of dirt work or other activities which require moving between forward and reverse a lot then the HST will probably be best suited to your needs. If on the other hand you are doing a lot of work at a fairly consitent speed and power (e.g. discing, tilling, etc.) then a manual unit would be more than sufficient. One of the posters mentioned a jack-of -all trades tractor being more useful with and HST - I fully agree.

I personally prefer the HST due the highly varaible tasks that I engage in. One of my neighbors has a manual transmission tractor which for the most part does decently - until it comes time to clear snow drifts (we average ~100" of snow annually). Because the drifts tend to compact, even in his lowest crawler gear he will bog down the blower (too fast of feed rate) and as such he has to do a fair amount of negotiating forward/reverse. With my HST - because it is essentially infinately variable in speed (for the range it operates in), I can prevent bogging down my 3pt blower without the hassle. So even though he has a bigger unit - my tractor/blower is more productive/efficient as a result of the HST.

But this is just my opinion.

 

[Fordiesel69]

Well...............ended up getting the New Holland Boomer 30 w/ standard shift + woods heritage 72 rear mower"

My Pics Here:
Webshots Rides offers thousands of the best car wallpapers.

Overall the new holland was just better for having a standard. Was more comfortable, engine sounded and felt better, overall build construction was nice and heavy (so was the kubota) but not so much the bobcat......

The comfort is unmatched, the seat was better, the floor is rubber standard, the wheel tilts unlike the kubota, all the levers are positioned well and allow easy getting on and off. It also rides smoother for some reason and has more precise steering, not that the others were bad, just this felt more responsive.

The tranny has L, M, H lever and a syncro 1-4. The kubota had only L, H and was a bear to shift while moving, and seemed abusive to shift, dealer recommeded just picking a gear and letting the clutch out, that also seemed like over time would wear the clutch. The newholland shifts like a small pickup, nice and smooth.

As far as the HST vs Standard Shift, we keep everything for life, and had many small hydros (garden tractors) blow pumps / valves / seals. Im sure the large hydros are just fine, but each time I would operate it, I would be nevous of hurting it. They never fail in 5-10 yrs, its more like after 20+ the seals would rot.

Lots to learn but overall really like it. Originally thought the Kubota was the winner, but after driving them all twice over a two week period the NH came out on top. Price was just a tad more than the Kubota but not by much. Bobcat dealer was not willing to move much on price and not aggressive to make a sale. New Holland dealer really went above and beyond, delivered after hours, is including bumper guard for free, and making in house a bracket to go over the hydralic valve unit on the bottom like the bigger models have. This costs $160 for the larger models, again this will be free. (or just hidden in the price real well!!!)

Lastly a complaint with all....is the routing for the diesel exhaust, don;t get me wrong, I like the smell of diesel to an extent, but the fan kind of circulates the exhaust in your face, and it stinks. These newer diesel smell terrible compared to the old skool diesels....can;t they route it up and away?

Will try to get some vidoes up tomorrow somtime. Thanks for all the advice, still lots to learn.

 

[kiotiken]

Congratulations on the new (Holland) tractor :thumbsup: It looks good, I hope you enjoy it.

 

[art]

NH or Kubota, as reliability goes, one isn't any better that the other.

I sell both, no argument but big disagree from my seat! I see many say they are all the same and when you fix and sell them you do get to know the differences. It's not to say some don't have issues with Kubota's, but we switch more into them then we do out of for quality or the life issues of the machine.

 

[Fordiesel69]

NH or Kubota, as reliability goes, one isn't any better that the other.

I sell both, no argument but big disagree from my seat! I see many say they are all the same and when you fix and sell them you do get to know the differences. It's not to say some don't have issues with Kubota's, but we switch more into them then we do out of for quality or the life issues of the machine.

Art,

I am not understanding what your wrote. Especially ,"It's not to say some don't have issues with Kubota's, but we switch more into them then we do out of for quality or the life issues of the machine."

 

[Bluegill2]

Art,

I am not understanding what your wrote. Especially ,"It's not to say some don't have issues with Kubota's, but we switch more into them then we do out of for quality or the life issues of the machine."

That's a tough one. LOL... Looks like he's saying he sells more Kubotas because of the reliability, quality and long life.

Which is the reason I've owned Kubotas since 1984.

 

[kiotiken]

A lot of Kubotas are bought by weekend warriors who don't use their tractors up to their full potential. They are also light, so they aren't punished as much as some others. Both of these may lead to fewer issues. I'm not bashing Kubota, they may in fact have fewer issues and probably do have a more refined manufacturing and QA process. They are lighter and by specs and my test drives (doesn't tell you much) I find will give less, $ for $ than many other brands in capabilities, specs and features. Celebrate the OP's choice and new tractor, he's going to love it and let's hope it treats him well.

 

[Fordiesel69]

I know it will be treated well. A nice coat of Collinite 885 wax on it tonight as a matter of fact.

 

[J F]

:laughing: Congrats on the new ride, it looks great. :thumbsup:

 

[art]

Art,

I am not understanding what your wrote. Especially ,"It's not to say some don't have issues with Kubota's, but we switch more into them then we do out of for quality or the life issues of the machine."

In the years that we have been selling them we do find a few issues. No major faults as we have seen in the other makes. Most times it is people not understanding how the machine was intended to be operated.

Although some say they are light, we can add weight to make them more productive by adding it to the area that is needed rather then just another elephant on the ground. When people need a real TLB they are often amazed at the difference on hydraulics of a machine designed to do the job vs one that just looks like it should. I've seen many makes that so to speak out spec another one but did not live up to it's performance expectations. To work with them is to know them. They all do change, from model to model and often times good manufacturers fix their weaknesses and sometimes they just move the problem to another part.