Decisions.....Decisions

[brightideas]

Hello All,
My name is Jeremy and I am new to the forum. I am looking to buy a new Kubota and have a couple of questions. My wife and I bought a place about a year ago in Southwest Michigan with 5 acres, pole barn and house. 3/4 of the property is yard/field with the rest being wooded. I have narrowed my selection down to 3 tractors with the following attachments for whichever tractor I choose. Brush hog, Forks, Front end Loader and Rototiller. I was originally looking at the B2650. Then after reading on the forum here, the one thing that everyone seemed to agree on is a minimum of 25 H.P. at the pto. So then I priced the B3350 and the L3301. So here is my question(s). Is the upgrade to the 33 H.P. tractors necessary for the attachments I am going to purchase. The one other attachment I am looking at is the front mount snow blower. My first question with this is without a cab on the tractor is this a miserable experience? Somehow I see myself covered head to tow from blowing snow. What about getting a blade instead of the snow blower. Last winter we had a lot of snow and I plowed all winter with my polaris sportsman and blade which was not bad except for when the banks got really high. My last thought on this is to continue plowing with the 4 wheeler and just use the bucket on the fel to move piles back as needed. Also worth mentioning is that my driveway is 1/4 mile long. I am approved for Kubota credit for all of these options and want to order tractor very soon....possibly tomorrow but I don't want to waste money on something I may not need or worse yet, regret purchasing. Any first hand advice would be greatly appreciated on any of the above questions. Thank you so much!

 

[Tractorrr]

Do you plan to use the tractor to clear the woods or trees? That's a lot of tractor to be looking at for 3/4 acres. I have seen some people on here say it is more economical to hire a bulldozer to clear wooded areas but I'm not sure. Still I'm thinking a backhoe would probably be needed if planning to clear all that woods. And the L might be best if planning to do that since it is heavier and has more FEL lift capacity. Otherwise the B2650 is probably enough since the extra horsepower would only allow for slightly bigger implements.

 

[brightideas]

The property is just over 1 acre woods and 3 to 4 acres field/yard. There are 6 large trees down from a storm this spring that will need to be cleaned up but other than those, the woods will stay. The tractor will be used for various food plots for wildlife/rototilling garden in the spring and fall/snow removal and unloading standby generators from trucking company when they arrive to barn/shop.

 

[DuckSlayer1017]

I bought a 28 hp Massey 1529 this year after running into the same problems you did last winter plowing with my Polaris Sportsman. Once the snowbanks get too high you are stuck without something with a FEL. I have forks, a 5' brush hog and a back blade and have no problem running all of them with the 1529. The tractor makes 22 PTO HP and is plenty to cut 4' high grass in the woods without slowing down. I have 20 acres in mid-Michigan and probably use my tractor about the same way you plan to use yours. I think you would be happy with any of your choices since you probably won't be using the tractor very hard like I do.

 

[Tractorrr]

Oh I read that wrong sorry. So I think the 2650 should be good then.

 

[catskinner]

Going to the higher hp tractor will help in the FEL handling, which it sounds like it will be used the most.

 

[HEC]

I have the new B2650 w/cab and I do like it very much . I have always had an open cab for winter use up untill now and it does get cold . I had a L235 kubota with the same HP as the 2650 and that worked great with a tiller, front end loader , working in our wood lot etc. . If you can go cab and front blower, go that route and you will be well pleased . Just remember the cab will be a hindrance if you are working around trees etc.. Be sure and check the weight limit on the loader to be sure it can lift the items you need to work with . I don't believe the upgrade to the 3350 is needed at all or I would have done it .

 

[stoyan79]

B series would be perfect for a 5 acre property. B series is great because it has mid PTO, so you can have a mower mounted underneath the tractor.
L series is bigger and not much more expensive, definitely check prices on L and compare!
When I went to the dealer to buy a B years ago, I ended up bringing a much larger and more powerful L for $500 more. L series does not have mid PTO, so your cutter has to be behind the tractor.
I would get as much HP as you can afford, price as many models as possible as some models are only few hundred bucks more than smaller units.
Definitely get a FEL. HST on CUTs are also highly recommended.

See if you can get the older models which had no DPF. I really like L3800.

 

[brightideas]

Thanks for all of the replies so far. Because of the emissions standards there is a pretty big price jump from 2650 to 3350 in the b series, but the last thing I want is to wish I had more power. Still not sure on which way to go for snow removal.

 

[stoyan79]

Find the older models which have no DPF, L3800 is one. These would offer most HP for the money.
Go on TractorHouse.com and search.
Call all Kubota dealers within 50 mile radius (at least).
Cheapest way to clean snow is with 3 point blade, Tractor Supply has them for few hundred bucks. Can always upgrade later to better attachments.

 

[powerstroke444e]

You said forks are important? Make sure what you look at is the loader lift capacity. For more lift and snow pushing I would look at the L series. But either way make sure you get the tires fill for ballast.

 

[rbarker]

Thanks for all of the replies so far. Because of the emissions standards there is a pretty big price jump from 2650 to 3350 in the b series, but the last thing I want is to wish I had more power. Still not sure on which way to go for snow removal.

I'm not really qualified to answer most of your questions but I can tell you that blowing snow without a cab is a cold, wet, soggy experience. Plow is the quickest if your tractor is heavy enough to push the snow back far enough. Using the loader works well but takes lots of time. A blower moves the snow without leaving high banks to worry about and would be my choice if you live in a area that gets significant snowfall. Either tractor you listed should handle snow removal.

Sent from my iPad using TractorByNet

 

[two4spooky]

I notice the L3301 is available in two wheel drive. Me personally, my requirement would be four wheel drive and I would highly recommend a HST. No experience with snow removal but a cab is always nice. More weight and horse power are good but with five acres the time saved with more machine would not be significant I think. A B Series would seem to be about the perfect size. I would be perfectly comfortable with my little B2320 keeping up that sized property. These little diesels(B Series) punch well above their weight. I would disagree that there is a minimum 25 PTO for every job. My choice would likely be the B2650 to avoid the DPF and get the cab. But between those three, you can't make a bad choice.

 

[HEC]

I notice the L3301 is available in two wheel drive. Me personally, my requirement would be four wheel drive and I would highly recommend a HST. No experience with snow removal but a cab is always nice. More weight and horse power are good but with five acres the time saved with more machine would not be significant I think. A B Series would seem to be about the perfect size. I would be perfectly comfortable with my little B2320 keeping up that sized property. These little diesels(B Series) punch well above their weight. I would disagree that there is a minimum 25 PTO for every job. My choice would likely be the B2650 to avoid the DPF and get the cab. But between those three, you can't make a bad choice.

I couldn't agree more about the minimum 25 pto hp thing , that just isn't true . That little L235 my dad and I had would do wonders with the bucket , tiller , bush hog ,and everything else we asked it to do . I use a 5 ft. bush hog on my B2650 and it handles it just fine as that is what the dealer says to use . He said if I didn't like it he would replace it with a smaller one but that is what he sells with my size tractor and it works fine , is it as fast as my M5700 doing the same job, no it isn't, but I have 100 acres to take of you only have 5 .I put a cultivator behind the B2650 this summer and I couldn't believe how well it pulled it in my garden area without compacting the garden as bad as the M5700 does . If you can use a larger tractor in your space and money is no object then go for bigger as you will not regret that choice either . A cab and front mounted snow blower will never be a regret either . If snow blowing is going to be your choice of snow removal I would advise you get the hst for sure . I had to have creeper gears installed in the 5700 years ago in order to use a rear mounted blower . We get some big storms where I live and low range !st gear just wasn't slow enough for the 7 ft. blower .

 

[brightideas]

I ended up ordering a B3350 R.O.P.S today. I am confident that as things stand today, the 2650 would have done everything I need. More than likely I will end up purchasing more land in the future and don't want to short myself. I plan on keeping this tractor long term. Hopefully I don't regret going with the dpf model. The one thing I like about the dpf is that if it is like my truck, there are no diesel fumes to smell. Went with the fel snow blade with hydraulic angle. That decision came down to these deciding factors: I have room to put snow since my drive is open on both sides- I need the forks on the fel to unload material for work on occasion and don't want to be switching between fel and snowblower throughout the winter and I felt like without a cab I would be wearing a lot of snow with the snow blower. For attachment I went with 42" Q.A. forks, brush hog, tiller, fel, and snow blade with 3rd function. The reason I stuck with the B series was because of the mid pto just in case I decide some day that I do want a blower or if for some unseen reason I wanted to sell it in the future it seems like the mid pto would be a good selling point. Thank you for all of your input!

 

[riptides]

Pictures when it shows up at your place. Good luck with it and your projects. I too thought about mid-PTO's hard. 10 years later, still thinking and still owning the B.

 

[HEC]

Every persons needs are different and I am confident you will be happy with your decision and wish you all the best . As far as diesel fumes go I don't notice them on either one of my tractors .

 

[two4spooky]

As far as diesel fumes go I don't notice them on either one of my tractors .

Same here, no fumes from any of my three Kubotas.

 

[brightideas]

Update: Tractor and attachments will be delivered this coming Friday! Can't hardly wait. Since my last post i have added a box scraper and extendable lower links to the list of items. I will be sure to post pictures.

 

[two4spooky]

Good call on the box blade. Many, many uses. It is my single most used implement. Every tractor should have one.