How do you like your kubota?

[jacejackson14]

We have a Kubota M135X that we like a lot... How do you guys like your Kubota?

 

[Robert_in_NY]

We have a Kubota M135X that we like a lot... How do you guys like your Kubota?

View attachment 262327

I have an M8540 Narrow and so far I have not grown fond of it. I don't hate it (well I strongly dislike the seat) but to be honest I would not recommend it to anyone else. I even considered trading it in on a Deere but wanted to give it more time in hopes I start liking it more but so far the more I use it the less impressed I am. Unless something drastic changes, my next narrow tractor will be a John Deere and I will be hesitant to buy another Kubota for farm work

The most recent disappointment was when I hooked it up to a 14' cultimulcher. I pulled this same cultimulcher with a New Holland TN75F narrow tractor and it didn't have any problems at all. My Kubota which has more horsepower and the same wheel base would spin like crazy and struggled to pull it. I unhooked it after one pass and have resigned myself to the fact that this Kubota is useless for anything other then vineyard work. All I can figure is the New Holland weighed considerably more then the Kubota which made the difference in traction.

 

[foreman Etexas]

Happy with them so far,they do everything I ask of em'. Had to load the tires....

 

[jacejackson14]

I have an M8540 Narrow and so far I have not grown fond of it. I don't hate it (well I strongly dislike the seat) but to be honest I would not recommend it to anyone else. I even considered trading it in on a Deere but wanted to give it more time in hopes I start liking it more but so far the more I use it the less impressed I am. Unless something drastic changes, my next narrow tractor will be a John Deere and I will be hesitant to buy another Kubota for farm work

The most recent disappointment was when I hooked it up to a 14' cultimulcher. I pulled this same cultimulcher with a New Holland TN75F narrow tractor and it didn't have any problems at all. My Kubota which has more horsepower and the same wheel base would spin like crazy and struggled to pull it. I unhooked it after one pass and have resigned myself to the fact that this Kubota is useless for anything other then vineyard work. All I can figure is the New Holland weighed considerably more then the Kubota which made the difference in traction.

Well I would recommend a John Deere because they are comfortable and more reliable... I am not saying I don't like Kubota but I am just saying I would rather get a John Deere for your type of application, but diesel machines take time to break in to bring out their full power.

 

[timswi]

8 years on my BX23 and it still has the original battery..No hard part replacements at all...Had a prior RTV500 and a current RTV1100...All good...I'm happy.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

Well I would recommend a John Deere because they are comfortable and more reliable... I am not saying I don't like Kubota but I am just saying I would rather get a John Deere for your type of application, but diesel machines take time to break in to bring out their full power.

Power isn't the problem, my initial issues were the seat is terrible. It actually hurts me to sit in this cab any length of time. Kubota doesn't offer any other seats either (would have preferred an air ride but have to go aftermarket now). There are also a lot of rattles inside the cab making it very noisy (my 7710-II cab was a lot quieter and that tractor was 20+ years old). The foot throttle is very touchy, I have not been able to use it like I do on any of my other tractors as it makes the tractor jerk (I don't really understand why its so touchy). There was no mirror inside the cab (exterior mirrors on narrow tractors are a no no) so I had to buy an aftermarket mirror and fab up a mount. For some reason Kubota also put two hydraulic filters on this tractor at over $30 each (cost twice as much as any of my other tractors hydrualic filters since I have to buy two). The plastic on the cab roof is extremely thin and flimsy, I fear it will be a problem if I try to use it in my orchard.

Most of the problems I can overlook but the seat just really bothers me. It is the one thing you would think they would make comfortable but instead its a cheap, uncomfortable vinyl seat with absolutely no back support. You actually feel like your laying down if you lean back in the seat so that you can rest your back some. Its like sitting on the bleachers, no support at all. I have sat 14 hours straight in the John Deere 5410N without any back problems but can't make it 2 hours in this Kubota without being sore. So as soon as I get some free time and I don't need the tractor I am going to replace the seat with an air suspension setup from Grammer.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

I guess what really annoyed me the most was that I bought a Case-IH Farmall 45A just after I bought the Kubota and the Case cost me 1/3rd the price of the Kubota but CNH put a great seat on it. I actually prefer to use the open station Case then the cab Kubota

 

[beppington]

"How do you like your kubota?"

10 / 10 ... that's how :thumbsup:

 

[Piston]

I like mine for what it is meant to do, but I won't buy another HST kubota. This is purely personal but I didn't really think I'd like the HST pedal design (I know there are tons of threads on this) but I kept reading on here that I would 'get used to it'. Well, I'm "used to it" now but I still don't like it. I prefer the two pedal design and also hate having the brakes on the same side as the HST pedal.

I filled the tires which made it a lot more stable, and added a 1,000lb box blade to the back, that helped a lot, now that I've added those things it is much more stable, however, now I feel like I'm straining the HST system. I can only use HIGH when on flat ground.

As mentioned though, I think it's great for what its meant to do, but I tend to need it for more than it's designed for. This is my fault for not doing more research before I bought. Knowing what I know now, I'd get a larger, heavier tractor in the first place.

I'm slightly dissapointed in the overall FEEL of the tractor, when I'm doing FEL work. It almost feels "delicate" as if I'm going to bend or break something. I think a lot of this has to do with running full sized backhoes though, that is what I was used to before my little tractor, so I have to keep that in mind as well. I like the big, beefy, and more capable tractors. I think the larger framed (non HST) Kubota tractors would fit me just fine though and I won't rule them out as my next tractor, it's just not at the top of my list.

Overall, I'm not all that fond of Kubota tractors in general anymore, even though mine has been great, and very reliable. As mentioned, it's more of a personal preference as the tractor actually performs quite well for what it is designed for.

Regardless, my little 'Bota has saved me tons of work, and the addition of a grapple has made it ten times more useful. :thumbsup:

I'm interested to see what the guys with the larger framed M series have to say. I believe my L4610 is the same size as the newer MX tractors with the same capabilities.

 

[Grateful11]

I have an M8540 Narrow and so far I have not grown fond of it. I don't hate it (well I strongly dislike the seat) but to be honest I would not recommend it to anyone else. I even considered trading it in on a Deere but wanted to give it more time in hopes I start liking it more but so far the more I use it the less impressed I am. Unless something drastic changes, my next narrow tractor will be a John Deere and I will be hesitant to buy another Kubota for farm work

The most recent disappointment was when I hooked it up to a 14' cultimulcher. I pulled this same cultimulcher with a New Holland TN75F narrow tractor and it didn't have any problems at all. My Kubota which has more horsepower and the same wheel base would spin like crazy and struggled to pull it. I unhooked it after one pass and have resigned myself to the fact that this Kubota is useless for anything other then vineyard work. All I can figure is the New Holland weighed considerably more then the Kubota which made the difference in traction.

I'm kind of curious to know if you checked the weight of the Kubota before you bought it. I wouldn't expect a tractor that weighs 4800 pounds to pull a 14' Cultimulcher, if your Cultimulcher is the type I'm thinking of. Your New Holland comes in around 6,100 lbs.

We're quite pleased with the L3930 so far but ask me in 8-10 years. The newest tractor here besides the Kubota is a '91 CaseIH 5140. Everything has to prove themselves around here on the wife's farm.

Your NH
TractorData.com New Holland TN75FA tractor information

Your Kubota
TractorData.com Kubota M8540HDN tractor information

There are no weights listed for John Deere's smallest narrow 5083EN tractor:
JohnDeere 5083EN Utility Tractor 5EN Narrow Series Specialty Tractors JohnDeere.com

 

[Jason280]

I love my L4330, and really don't have anything negative to say about it. I would love it a lot more if I had a front grapple, though!!

 

[Robert_in_NY]

I'm kind of curious to know if you checked the weight of the Kubota before you bought it. I wouldn't expect a tractor that weighs 4800 pounds to pull a 14' Cultimulcher, if your Cultimulcher is the type I'm thinking of. Your New Holland comes in around 6,100 lbs.

We're quite pleased with the L3930 so far but ask me in 8-10 years. The newest tractor here besides the Kubota is a '91 CaseIH 5140. Everything has to prove themselves around here on the wife's farm.

Your NH
TractorData.com New Holland TN75FA tractor information

Your Kubota
TractorData.com Kubota M8540HDN tractor information

There are no weights listed for John Deere's smallest narrow 5083EN tractor:
JohnDeere 5083EN Utility Tractor 5EN Narrow Series Specialty Tractors JohnDeere.com

I knew it was lighter, its why i have two rear wheel weights for each side and 1000 pounds on the front. However, i took off most of the weight for the spring vineyard work. The kubota just didnt care for working in tilled ground. It didn't like pulling the cultimulcher even with the tines up (just using the packer wheels )

When i bought the kubota it was between a deere and kubota because of the room in their cabs. No one had a narrow kubota so they showed me the grand L cab and said its the same cab on the narrows. It is but kubota changed the interior completely so looking and sitting in a grand L was a useless experience. Kubota didnt even put a cup holder in the narrow but they put two in the grand L :-/

 

[Robert_in_NY]

I will add the new holland was unweighted and pulled the cultimulcher fine. I expected the kubota to be able to pull it in dry ground but it couldnt.

 

[Grateful11]

Kind of odd that it won't pull it with the tines up. My wife pulls an approx. 13' - 2 section drag harrow with adjustable tines with the L3940, running in Med. range and has never had any trouble. This drag has been beefed up with double the thickness of the original side bars, so it's pretty darn heavy for a drag.

 

[creekbend]

I have a Kubota L4400 - gear drive transmission - that I purchased new in June 2011. I added a 72" tooth bar and bolt on hooks on the FEL bucket. It has served me well. My only complaint is the seat. Even with a cushion, it doesn't offer much comfort. All in all, I truly enjoy it. I compared makes and models for almost two years, before I bought it. An added benefit is that my Dealer is great. :thumbsup:

 

[Combustix]

have an 02 2710 and it's been a great little machine. done more than a little tractor probably out to. Timswi 10 years on my battery and it just died.

 

[Kenneth in Texas]

although i just have the smaller L2800 im always amazed at what it can do, i use it to clear brush, clean up land, dig, mow and all kinds of other things, im 100% happy with mine :thumbsup:

 

[repair1]

After 100 hours I like it just fine. We bought the BX 2360 to make things easier maintaining our 2 acres. So far we have used the BB to scrape out the 300 foot gravel driveway for concrete, moved about 40 yards of dirt and cut our mowing time in half compared to the old 312 'Horse. I use the FEL more than I ever thought I would. I also have a snowblower that, thank God, didn't get used much last Winter. Will it do everything? Nope. Did I expect it to? Nope! The only thing I would change is to make the ROPS foldable so I could mow around the orchard closer.

 

[art]

I will add the new holland was unweighted and pulled the cultimulcher fine. I expected the kubota to be able to pull it in dry ground but it couldnt.

When hooking to the drawbar the amount of weight needed on the front vs three point changes. I'd have the rear a bit heavier by at least one set of weights and actually less weight on the front.
In our area on a 13-14' cultimulcher we normally see tractors with duals and at least 100 horsepower if two wheel drive and full size (larger tire) ninety horse four wheel drives because of the hills on hard soil areas. On soft or muck type soils you have to add twenty horsepower!

 

[TripleR]

We are very happy with our Kubotas. We are on our second BX and bought a John Deere in between; much prefer the BX. Our GL5030 has done everything asked of it and with 1400 hours burns no oil and works great with no trips to the shop.

We are on our third year with our M8540 HDC 12/12 and love it. We traded a cabbed Case CX80 for it and prefer the Kubota. The cab is comfortable with good ergonomics. It has a cloth suspension seat in which I can spend all day comfortably.

We have not found the cabs to be "fragile", you just can't, in my opinion, expect any non metal cab to stand up to heavy limbs etc.; our Case had quite a bit of damage and if we use the Kubotas in the same manner they will break too.

I am not saying Kubotas are better than the other brands only that we like ours.