Kubota B3300SU Pricing

[mxg342]

I run a lighter duty 7' blade on my JD 4300 (32hp) and it handles it. I'd probably be better off with a 6' blade. Also buy a HD blade as I have bent both sides of my 7' more or less just plowing snow.

 

[Verdemont]

Update: Contacted my dealer today and changed my order to the Rhino 350 series 6'. No issues as the dealer has several of each on the lot. It will be delivered when the tractor comes next week.

Secondly:

Will not name names, but let me "comment" on the other dealer I dealt with. I will not mention the name.

What I did:

- Called them a few weeks ago when I was just starting out. Spoke to the sales manager on the phone who could not find my name in their computer despite me buying a tractor there in 2004. No biggie. I asked if they had a B3200 or B3300SU that I could see, touch and drive. Was told yes. I told him I'd be down at lunch. They are 10 miles from my office.

- Drove over to the location where they used to be. Where I had purchased my tractor and parts before. They were no longer there. The salesman didn't tell me they had moved. I had to call back and ask where they WERE located. About 3 miles away. No biggie.

- Arrived and learned that they are just moving into a new building and all of the tractors are kept in a leased lot 2-3 miles away. We drive over there. They don't have any assembled B3200's or B3300's. We look at some in crates with no wheels.

- Salesman talks about anything other than tractors 75% of the time. I keep steering the conversation back to tractors, features, prices, etc.... I eventually drive him back to the new office where he was and he jots down a price of a B3300SU on a piece of paper and hands it to me. I ask him if he can call me when they get a B3200 or B3300SU assembled and I'll come down. He tells me it's better if I call him. He doesn't take my phone number and I know he doesn't know my full name. So as far as I can tell he has no way to contact me to follow up on me as a lead. He did know his product and was the salesman I had in 2004.


My new dealer:

- I called on the phone and asked for sales. Got my salesman. Told him what I was interested in. He told me they had at least one of each, and a B2320, and all of the BX's on the lot. And most of the L's. Come on down he said anytime 7-7- and he would be there. They are 50 miles from my home/office.

- I drove down the next day and spent 3 hours there. Before I left, and before I had even gotten a price from them I knew this was the place. It sold multi-line NH, Case, Kubota, etc.. and had lots of stuff. It was located in a farming area. He answered every single question correctly and if he didn't know something he looked it up. He acted like a salesman. He even bought me a diet coke when we sat down to talk numbers. Just like a salesman does when he's working a lead.

- He got my name, phone number and we agreed to work forward on the deal by email at first. Which worked just fine as I have a busy work life as he did.

Summary:

Guess who got my business? Guess who I'll recommend my other yuppie tractor-wanting friends to? You got it.

Tom

 

[Verdemont]

Being delivered tomorrow morning. Excited. Coming with the thumb installed, and a Rhino 350 6' blade and a Rhino PHD with 9" Auger. Yes!

Here's my better half taking it for a ride at the dealer last weekend. And the blade. No pics of the PHD as I have not seen it. It will be living at our cabin in the mountains and will get lots of use soon. I have 300' of split rail fence to put in over the next week and plan to learn how to use a PHD right up front.

Tom

 

[Verdemont]

Delivered. Now let the fun begin. The tractor now lives just outside Westcliffe, Colorado. Those are the Sangre de Christo mountains just behind our little country cabin. Over there on the side is 300' of split rail fence materials just waiting. We used the FEL and the hooks welded to it to lift the 6' blade and the PHD off the trailer and over to the place where they will sit for a bit. Right behind there will be a new 3 car garage/barn by the time the snow flies later this year.

Could not be happier with my local dealer, Rusler Implements in Pueblo, CO. They are a class act.

Tom

 

[TroyR57]

Very Nice, now on to part three, playing. Very nice location your at. That new Kubota should make small work of your projects.

 

[Verdemont]

Now that my tractor is here and I'm using it I will move over to the other Kubota forum. But wanted to make a few comments. Spent the day yesterday working with the tractor for the first time. I had purchased six new trees to put into the ground at the cabin. Normally I'd have to wait for my neighbor to be home who has the full size JD TLB. Of course he's not here for the holiday weekend so I would have been stuck. Instead I determined where the trees would be placed, dug the holes with the backhoe and then used the hooks on the bucket an a chain around the wire basket on the trees to lift them into place. Magic. The trees weighed 300-500 pound each. The 504 had no issues.

I hadn't personally used a backhoe for a few years so at first I was really rusty. I would use the wrong control, move the wrong lever, and then decided to just slow down and use one lever at a time. But after an hour or so I go into a rhythm and could move the upper arm, lower arm, and curl the bucket in one coordinated effort without thinking about it. With only about 2.5 hours on the motor, and 5 hours of real time, I got all 6 trees planted. Three of them were placed inside a little rock-walled area that I would not have been able to do either by hand or with my neighbor's bigger TLB as the little 'bota just fit into a slot between some other boulders to dig the holes. On a scale of 1 to 10 I'd give my unit a 10 and the operator a 5.

My only other previous experience was with a B7610 which was a 24HP tractor that was much smaller. It took a bit of time to acclimate to the bigger tractor with it's bigger rear tires and wider track but I've got it now. Our cabin is at 8500' and the tractor has plenty of power to do all that I wanted so far.

The PHD when delivered was broken and I'm a bit bummed about that. Apparently either during loading at the dealership or in transit the PTO shield that is up near the gearbox end cut the edge of the seal to the gearbox and the fluid had leaked out. I was asked not to use it until they come back this week with a new seal and fluid. It didn't really cause any hardship as I needed use the BH this weekend anyway but hard to believe they actually delivered a piece of dead equipment. The upside, and I always try to think positive, is that we're on vacation at the cabin for the week and if the mechanic comes up and fixes the seal I will use it as an opportunity to remove the backhoe and mount the PHD while he is here.

Right now the tractor can sometimes take a bit of effort to move from M to L to M and I am guessing it's just the tractor being new. I don't force it, but rock the HST pedal a bit and use the clutch and it does move. Sometimes easily, other times I need to spend 5 seconds making the transition.

I also need to search here, or have someone tell me what oil to use. I have not read the manuals yet but I recall the delivery person telling me to use 15W40 non-synthetic diesel engine oil. I should just have purchased 2-3 quarts when I got the tractor but didn't think of it. Would love to hear some recommendations. Our little town has a Napa Auto Parts and they do have a couple of 15W40's for diesels but they come in 1 gallon containers as they are likely for "real" tractors.

My FEL and BH bucket are no longer shiny.

Tom

 

[Verticaltrx]

My FEL and BH bucket are no longer shiny.

When your buckets are shiny because their worn down to bare metal that's when you know you're really getting some work done. :thumbsup:


Good looking setup, had the B3300 been available when I got mine I might have gone that route.

Any standard 15w40 would be great. I run it in every diesel engine (and most of the gas engines) I have on the farm.

As for the shifting, the best thing I have found is to push in the clutch and the brakes and hold them for 5-seconds or so, then shift the lever. It should go easily after the pressure in the transmission has dropped (hence disengaging for 5-seconds). If it is stuck between ranges that's when you need to move the HST pedal a little to mesh the gears. It will get easier as it gets some age on it. I have 350hrs on mine now and it is shifting more smoothly.

 

[Verdemont]

Took the BH77 off today and mounted the PHD. I am pretty sure I can get the BH on again. Luckily the dealer sent someone out to replace the gearbox on the Rhino PHD as the seal had been damaged during delivery. I asked the mechanic if he would show me how to remove the backhoe and we got it off in about 2 minutes. I understand how the bolts and hoses, etc.. work. We then drove over to the post hole digger. He mounted the 3 point hardware onto the tractor and we then put the PHD on. I am a visual person so watching and participating was very helpful. He then replaced the entire gearbox with a new one and they will fix the seal on the old one back at the shop. We then did a few test runs with the PHD up and down, and then running. He showed me a few things about the 3 point lever that I didn't know (the slow / fast notch). Very worthwhile.

Over the next few weekends I will try to dig some holes without killing myself.

Tom

 

[Verdemont]

Spent the day with the PHD. I think I got 21 or 22 posts in today and this is about 2/3 of the north fence line around the cabin. A lot of time was removing the old metal posts with the FEL and a chain and also cutting up the old barbed wire. Was fun but would not want to do this for a living.

 

[TroyR57]

Hey Verdemont, if you plan on leaving the BH off for a while, be sure and place some blocking under the main center, to keep it from drifing down. This will allow you to mount it back on the tractor better.

 

[Verdemont]

Hey Verdemont, if you plan on leaving the BH off for a while, be sure and place some blocking under the main center, to keep it from drifing down. This will allow you to mount it back on the tractor better.

Done the day after the picture was taken. It's got a stack of 6x6's front and back.

Tom

 

[Proline Fisher]

Delivered. Now let the fun begin. The tractor now lives just outside Westcliffe, Colorado. Those are the Sangre de Christo mountains just behind our little country cabin.

Tom

Congrats on the new tractor, looks good. That is a beautiful area, my Uncle built a place in Westcliffe.

 

[Verdemont]

Okay, got the PHD off today and the BH77 back on. Not as bad as I thought and next time it will be easier. I learned that if I line the tractor up perfectly it should take < 5 minutes. But it is back on and the PHD is put away for a few months. The hydraulic hoses went on both ends without any issues even though it was decently hot and sunny and almost 3 PM in the afternoon when I went to put the BH on. Whew, I kind had that uncertain feeling I would not be able to do it.

Here's a pic of my spouse with the 5 1/2 foot White Fir tree chained onto the bucket. I had just dug the hole for it with the back hoe and now bringing the tree from the trailer to the yard. The hooks I had welded on the bucket and a sturdy chain make planting heavy trees an easy task.

Tom

 

[bota4life]

Verdemont nice pics! It looks like you are pretty busy! I'm waiting to close on a construction loan for my house and will be buying a B3300su after we close. I was just wondering what you thought of the FEL lift capacity?

 

[Verdemont]

Verdemont nice pics! It looks like you are pretty busy! I'm waiting to close on a construction loan for my house and will be buying a B3300su after we close. I was just wondering what you thought of the FEL lift capacity?

The FEL is great. My only comparison was my older B7610 that has a smaller FEL. Some specifics for the B3300SU:

1. There have been a few large rocks (boulders?) that I could not lift. But only because they were too wide or long to get into the bucket enough TO lift. But I was able to push them around with the loader to where I wanted them.

2. The 60" "Light Duty" bucket seems sturdy so far. I have used it to lift and move a lot of materials. I even mixed some concrete in it yesterday after I used the PHD to dig holes for some 4x4"x8' pressure treated posted I am going to mount blue bird boxes on. I just mixed up four 80lb cement bags into the bucket, added water, mixed it around, and then drove to the four holes and shoveled it into the holes. Then rinsed the bucket with the hose. No issues.

3. There is only one rock so far that I wanted to lift up, that fit in the bucket, that I had an issue. Even with the backhoe on, I got one really big rock almost all the way into the bucket but when I went to lift, the rear wheels came off the ground. This is with the backhoe (1400 lbs) on.

Overall very happy so far. In my first 7.5 hours of work I used about 4.5 gallons (US) of diesel. I am keeping the revs low most of the time (< 1500) as I break in the engine. I had to add maybe 5-6 oz of oil yesterday at the 10 hour mark to top the oil off.

With the backhoe back on, today we (wife and I) are going to plant some shrubs and move some big rocks around in a garden area.

Photo of me.


Tom

 

[bota4life]

Tom,
Thanks for all the info! I'm going to get the quick coupler, 60" bucket, and pallet forks on my b3300. I have a good number of large rocks I want to move on my property and thought it would be easier with the pallet forks. I also wanted the BH but I would not use it enough to justify the extra cost. Reading your thread makes me impatient for the construction loan to close.

 

[marxman]

Delivered. Now let the fun begin. The tractor now lives just outside Westcliffe, Colorado. Those are the Sangre de Christo mountains just behind our little country cabin. Over there on the side is 300' of split rail fence materials just waiting. We used the FEL and the hooks welded to it to lift the 6' blade and the PHD off the trailer and over to the place where they will sit for a bit. Right behind there will be a new 3 car garage/barn by the time the snow flies later this year.

Could not be happier with my local dealer, Rusler Implements in Pueblo, CO. They are a class act.

Tom

These pictures are simply AMAZING!!! What a beautiful part of the world you live in!

 

[Verdemont]

These pictures are simply AMAZING!!! What a beautiful part of the world you live in!

Thanks. The Kubota has been working like a dog every weekend planting trees. I am actually semi-competent on the backhoe now and I don't have to "think" about what to do. My hands just do it now and most of the time I'm moving both levers and such.

We had a forest fire near us over the last week (google Duckett Fire) and I used the tractor a lot to help neighbors make defensible space. They would cut trees down and I'd use the BH/Thumb to lift/drag large sections to a wood pile away from the house. Some of these pieces were very heavy and w/o the tractor we'd have had to spend hours cutting them up a lot more. The Thumb made quick work of the project. Having a Kubota is like having a nice pool in your backyard. All of a sudden everyone is my friend.

Here's what I do a lot. Planting trees. Here's a 10' White Fir going in. Chained to the hooks on the bucket when I lift it off my trailer and into the hole I dig with the BH77.

 

[ChuckinNH]

You sure have been busy with that B of yours, and I'm glad you had it to help the neighbors out.......... that is a good feeling all the way around. For that kind of work, you might want to think about adding the Kubota quick change or a skid steer quick change to your loader arms, and getting a set of forks. I added them to my B2620, and found them more useful than I ever imagined for handling logs, brush, rocks, and even pallets on occassion. I thought they were a bit expensive when I bought them at $200 + for the QA, and around 1K for the forks, but I never thought about the price again once I started using them.

Oh yea, you guys don't have rocks.......... wanna buy some?

 

[Verdemont]

BH77 Maintenance Notice

My dealer called me today and informed me that Kubota has notified them that my BH77 needs to get a new pin installed in one of the points on the backhoe arm. I recall a thread here with someone with a BH77 that had a problem with a metal pin. So I assume this is now working it's way through the system and the dealer has been notified to update mine.

Anyone else here had the same news? And any issues during or after the fix? Should I ask to keep the old pin as a memento?

Tom