Kubota B21 or John Deere 4200

[arrabil]

I looked into the 4200 after reading this thread. My initial thought was could I trade my B21 for a heavier 4200 TLB with greater PTO HP (I would rather own Green than Orange). From the specs and pictures I can find online I quickly changed my mind for the following reasons.

1. The 4200 FEL hydraulic lines are wrapped and stick out of the side of the tractor.

2. The plastic hood on the 4200. My LX279 has one of those and they are easy to break.

2. The lack of FOPS. If you drop something on the roof or roll something down the FEL it will end up in your lap.

3. The weight spec I could find for the 4200 was around 2500 pounds for the base 4200 without FEL or backhoe. A B21 with FEL weighs 3,000 pounds or 4,000 with FEL and Backhoe.

The advantages I see to the 4200 are great PTO power for a larger bushog and the middle mount mower if you want a lawn mower.

For me I spend too much time working in the woods. I would destroy the hood and rip off the hydraulic cables in no time. I have dented the steel encased FEL control box and bent the steel hydraulic line leading from it on my B21. I have rolled logs down the FEL of my B21 twice, both stopped at the FOPS, I would have been in trouble on the 4200.

I have had a 5' 1000 pound bush hog (JD 406) behind my B21 and my Dad mowed about 5 acres. The bush hog was his. He normally uses it behind a MF35. He thought it worked fine behind the B21.

Our farm tractors are much more effective at bush hogging, hay baling, discing and other farm chores. The B21 is much better at clearing roads, trenching, moving dirt and rocks.

To me the JD 4200 looks like a lawn mower on steroids that is not tough enough to do the work we do with the B21 or strong or fast enough to do the work of the farm tractors.

This is Shakespearean. As in.... A Comedy of Errors.

 

[RobertN]

I always like the B21. It really is a commercial duty, built for a hoe tractor. It is built like a tank. from the sounds of the thread, a B26 is more in line with the JD4200. Looking around on the web, I did not see that the JD4200 was built as a TLB machine???

The B21 again, is like my old B8200. GREAT tractor, but whoever put a 20hp motor in it should have thought a little more.

Mowing is situational. If you tried to run a 5' rotary mower on a B21, or my old B8200 at my parents, it would take days to mow thier 8 acres. And it, is all flat land. Just my dad waits too long to mow, and, the grass they have reminds me more of bamboo stalks. It was bad enough with my old 4' mower; I can't imagine a 5', considering I had the same PTO HP you have.

To the OP, have you looked at a L35 TLB? I have used those; much nicer for 12 acres...

I looked into the 4200 after reading this thread. My initial thought was could I trade my B21 for a heavier 4200 TLB with greater PTO HP (I would rather own Green than Orange). From the specs and pictures I can find online I quickly changed my mind for the following reasons.

2. The lack of FOPS. If you drop something on the roof or roll something down the FEL it will end up in your lap.

3. The weight spec I could find for the 4200 was around 2500 pounds for the base 4200 without FEL or backhoe. A B21 with FEL weighs 3,000 pounds or 4,000 with FEL and Backhoe.

The advantages I see to the 4200 are great PTO power for a larger bushog and the middle mount mower if you want a lawn mower.

I have had a 5' 1000 pound bush hog (JD 406) behind my B21 and my Dad mowed about 5 acres. The bush hog was his. He normally uses it behind a MF35. He thought it worked fine behind the B21.

Our farm tractors are much more effective at bush hogging, hay baling, discing and other farm chores. The B21 is much better at clearing roads, trenching, moving dirt and rocks.

 

[avc8130]

I always like the B21. It really is a commercial duty, built for a hoe tractor. It is built like a tank. from the sounds of the thread, a B26 is more in line with the JD4200. Looking around on the web, I did not see that the JD4200 was built as a TLB machine???

The B21 again, is like my old B8200. GREAT tractor, but whoever put a 20hp motor in it should have thought a little more.

Mowing is situational. If you tried to run a 5' rotary mower on a B21, or my old B8200 at my parents, it would take days to mow thier 8 acres. And it, is all flat land. Just my dad waits too long to mow, and, the grass they have reminds me more of bamboo stalks. It was bad enough with my old 4' mower; I can't imagine a 5', considering I had the same PTO HP you have.

To the OP, have you looked at a L35 TLB? I have used those; much nicer for 12 acres...

Honestly, I haven't LOOKED at much. I spent some time talking to a Kubota salesman at the fair over the summer BEFORE I had the property. I "decided" I liked the B3200 at that point. Now I have the property and I am poking around in the used market just to see what is available. I am hoping to go the Kubota dealer tomorrow to figure out exactly what I "need".

I have never seen an L35. When I was in the tent at the fair the L looked too big. I am starting to wonder if that is really the case.
ac

 

[RobertN]

Are you in a postion to rent? Rent a tractor or two before buying. And, ask your dealer if they will let you demo the tractor you like.

Honestly, I haven't LOOKED at much. I spent some time talking to a Kubota salesman at the fair over the summer BEFORE I had the property. I "decided" I liked the B3200 at that point. Now I have the property and I am poking around in the used market just to see what is available. I am hoping to go the Kubota dealer tomorrow to figure out exactly what I "need".

I have never seen an L35. When I was in the tent at the fair the L looked too big. I am starting to wonder if that is really the case.
ac

 

[arrabil]

You are correct, the 4200 was not sold as a TLB. I think Kubota is unique in selling dedicated compact TLBs. But still, you can put a 47 backhoe on the 4200 and it will be a TLB.

 

[avc8130]

Are you in a postion to rent? Rent a tractor or two before buying. And, ask your dealer if they will let you demo the tractor you like.

At $250/day to rent in my area I am not amazingly interested in renting. Plus, the selection of equipment to rent in my area is very limited.

They told me I could demo anything they have on the lot...on their property.
ac

 

[mjncad]

I think the hood armor kit is still available for the 4200, and it should alleviate any concerns you may have about destroying the plastic hood.

 

[avc8130]

Went to the local Kubota dealer today.

He set me up thinking about 2 different models:
B3300SU
L3700SU

Price difference is $2200 when configured as TLB.

He had a B3200 on the lot assembled and I sat on that and worked the controls. Everything felt nice and it was comfy. I wasn't a huge fan of the forward/reverse pedal layout.

He is assembling an L3700 this week and will let me know when it is complete so I can play with it a bit since they are different styles and layouts.

ac

 

[RobertN]

As much as I liked my previous Kubota, I really like my New Holland.

If you can, try all the brands.

 

[avc8130]

As much as I liked my previous Kubota, I really like my New Holland.

If you can, try all the brands.

I wouldn't know where to buy one in my area.

Where I am I have a Kubota dealer within 10 minutes, JD about 20 minutes and another JD about 30 minutes.

ac

 

[pat32rf]

I moved from a small (17hp?) HST Bota to a 4300 HST JD. Took about 4 seconds to get used to the pedals instead of treadle. All of my 80 acres is bush, rock, and hills. I only use low range for extremely steep sections (about 200' difference in elevation over 1000ft), when pulling loads, or for precise loader jobs. My 47 BH is what I could find used, yes I would like the longer reach of a 48 BH but would have had to buy it new at twice the price.
As far as the FOP I just ran uprights from my loader brackets up to support the front of my roof and I am CAREFUL when moving logs on my forks. Never had one charge me over the top....
My son dropped a chunk of ice out of the bucket however and did smash the hood...$$$$. I work in my bush a lot and have popped the quick disconnect on an FEL line twice. Just popped it back on.
How much mowing do you do? Are you cutting weeds in a field bi-weekly or bush hogging trails twice a year? A sharp set of blades on the bush hog makes a big difference either way...

 

[avc8130]

I moved from a small (17hp?) HST Bota to a 4300 HST JD. Took about 4 seconds to get used to the pedals instead of treadle. All of my 80 acres is bush, rock, and hills. I only use low range for extremely steep sections (about 200' difference in elevation over 1000ft), when pulling loads, or for precise loader jobs. My 47 BH is what I could find used, yes I would like the longer reach of a 48 BH but would have had to buy it new at twice the price.
As far as the FOP I just ran uprights from my loader brackets up to support the front of my roof and I am CAREFUL when moving logs on my forks. Never had one charge me over the top....
My son dropped a chunk of ice out of the bucket however and did smash the hood...$$$$. I work in my bush a lot and have popped the quick disconnect on an FEL line twice. Just popped it back on.
How much mowing do you do? Are you cutting weeds in a field bi-weekly or bush hogging trails twice a year? A sharp set of blades on the bush hog makes a big difference either way...

I have a large area of property that is "lawn". I will be mowing that weekly/as necessary with my Ferris 61" ZTR. Then I have a large portion of property that I want to keep not "woods/underbrush" but not "lawn" either. I figure I will have to hack that stuff back about 4x yearly. I was thinking a rear mounted mower would be nice for that as the terrain is a little rough and it is a little abusive on the ZTR.
ac