Buying Advice Need some last minute advice

[teg]

That may be worthy of it's own thread, IT. It might be interesting to know how many people get that kind of lifespan from their batteries.

10 years on mine too but I do slow charge it before cranking up the tractor. I only have 660 hours and at best it's used every other weekend...

Great, I bet I'll have a dead battery when I (try to) crank it up this Friday

 

[IslandTractor]

"My Kioti is now ten years old and has never been back to the dealer".

Yet.....SO MANY here on TBN are consumed by the issue of how close "the dealer" is.
I have bought new cars from hundreds of miles away, that have "never been back to the dealer".
Are tractors different?
I don't think so,...but then,... I have never bought a new tractor.
My OLD tractors have "never been back to the dealer either".

I agree. In my case there has been no reason to return the tractor to the dealer which is a good thing as the trip to any dealer involves a $100 ferry ride each direction. I've had a couple of warranty items that were dealt with via a phone call and UPS delivery of 1) seat belt retractor and 2) new fuel bowl. I do all the fluid changes myself. Tractor has never failed to start on the first try after glow plug use.

Point is that most of these tractors are extraordinarily reliable and also that no special tools or electronic gizmos are necessary to do routine maintenance. I'd never cared for any diesel engine before buying my tractors and have never needed more than telephone advice from my dealer 300 miles away to keep them maintained. I don't think I've talked to the dealer in the past five or six years either.

 

[IslandTractor]

I don't see any mention of a luxury cab in jenkensph's reply that I agreed so heartedly with. I give chitwood more credit than that and having common sense to stay within his own personal budget and only purchase what he can afford.

I believe purchasing the right tractor with the future in mind and not wanting or having to trade up in just a few years is more important than having a barn full of implements to start off with.

If some people can afford more and want all the bells and whistles, so be it. It doesn't necessarily make them as a "rich" person. :confused3:
The Kubota Grand Ls are beautiful tractors.

I don't disagree with anything you've said here. The only disagreement is that one doesn't want to end up with "all tractor, no implements" unless your major task is cleaning out a horse barn. I never disputed that the Kubota Grand L tractors are excellent. They are the Lexus of tractors and that is a high complement. My point however was that a plain L Kubota (or any Mahindra or Kioti) of similar horsepower will be every bit as effective in the field. And, with the difference in cost between the equivalent HP Grand L and one of the others he can afford either more or better implements which will in fact make a bigger difference to work output than the "Lexus" features of the Grand L. When I bought my Kioti DK40se, the equivalent Grand L3940 cost about $5000 more and had a significantly weaker loader. If his budget can handle good implements plus the Grand L then go for it. If the budget is constrained then ask yourself whether luxury features on the Grand L will help get more mowing or brush clearing done than a good mower or grapple on a budget tractor. My point was simply that you don't want to invest so much in the "boat" that you don't have adequate funds to buy decent "sails" to make it go.

 

[DK35vince]

That may be worthy of it's own thread, IT. It might be interesting to know how many people get that kind of lifespan from their batteries.

I got 11 years from my original tractor battery.
The battery in my pickup truck is 11 years old and still going strong. Neither ever had a battery maintainer on them.
I've owned this pickup 21 years and I'm still running the second battery. First one went 10 years.

 

[IslandTractor]

10 years on mine too but I do slow charge it before cranking up the tractor. I only have 660 hours and at best it's used every other weekend...

Great, I bet I'll have a dead battery when I (try to) crank it up this Friday

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. Don't tempt fate! Luckily I have my boat batteries in the barn on trickle chargers so if my tractor battery does finally die, I'll be able to jump it.

 

[mike69440]

That may be worthy of it's own thread, IT. It might be interesting to know how many people get that kind of lifespan from their batteries.

I have 10 full size batteries at any one time and a least 1/2 dozen motorcycle/ lawn tractor batteries. About 50% of them lasted 12-16 years, the others seem to crap out in 4-5 years. Why the difference, I do not know.

 

[chitwood]

I have a Kubota L3560, now with 760 hours, purchased new in February 2013 as Special Order.

This 'Grand L' is my third tractor, each heavier than the one before. I love mine. Four years of living with the comfort and convenience kit that comes in the Grand L package has spoiled me. I will never be able to go back to a bare bones tractor, like my previous two.

I have family in Everett. I have visited Snohomish several times. As the soil can be pretty tough in Snohomish, consider the optional L2296 SSQA {Skid Steer Quick Attach} Round Back, Heavy-Duty bucket. I also added an aftermarket Stebl horn.

As your land is hilly, I recommend having the rear tires filled with fluid, to lower the tractor's center-of-gravity. You will appreciate the four increments of rear wheel spread available on all Grand Ls. Have the dealer set the rear wheels to widest position during delivery assembly. (Tractors are delivered without wheels bolted on.)

My invoice in February 2013 was $27,500, including LA805 FEL, L2296 HD/RB bucket, Draft Control, R4/industrial tires and dealer install of Stebl horn. No sales tax in Florida on ag nor forestry equipment.

Here is a search of the T-B-N archive, using L3560: http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/search.php?searchid=2772320

I recommend a Ratchet Rake bucket attachment for your trail work and minor grading.
VIDEO: ratchet rake - YouTube

Jeff. Nice looking tractor. I haven't seen the 3560 in person, since nobody seems to have any on their lot. But I notice it doesn't have that hump in the floor that the 3301 has. I had no idea about the rear wheel spread increments....that's great to know! I've been a bit nervous about the dangers of the hills. The JD measures much narrower than the kubota, which was concerning. Thanks for the info!

That Ratchet Rake is a nice little attachment...looks like you can do some damage...

 

[chitwood]

FWIW, I weighed the E and R issue quite a bit and there is a thread to that effect down in the JD buying forum. I ended up with the 3039R and I'm glad I did. The ability to quickly shed the entire front end loader is a big deal to me. The horsepower seems considerably more than adequate as well. I also went with the H165 loader rather than the H160. There is a little more lift power there and a few other minor things.

Along the way I strongly considered an L3901 Kubota, and a whole bunch of used tractors but the new tractor route seemed a lot better than a low-hour used tractor that has no warranty.

I've only owned it for a week, so I can't say a whole bunch about what it can and can't do, but wood and manure is getting moved like never before so far.

Thebump up to the 3039 is something I've considered, but hardly able to swallow the cost of the "R" in the 3033.

 

[chitwood]

As others have noted, once you are in the basic ball park regarding horsepower and loader capacity all the brands you looked at make reliable capable machines. Not a lot of practical difference just different pricing and features. I looked at similar tractors a decade ago and went with Kioti based on price and loader capacity. Never regretted it. Figure out your total budget (you will absolutely want a grapple and hydraulic controls including rear remotes for the work you describe as well as a medium duty bush hog or flail mower so budget $4-5K for all that) and then make the best deal you can. Don't shy away from Mahindra or Kioti simply because they have fewer dealers. These CUTs are all very reliable and you won't be back to the dealer much at all. My Kioti is now ten years old and has never been back to the dealer. Still on the original starting battery too!

The Kioti dealer is actually the closest to my property...and they are extremely good to work with. Should probably keep them in the mix

 

[chitwood]

Absolutely shocking that Kubota made its name with an obviously outdated and deficient basic HST that still lives in the L series. Hard to imagine getting any work done at all with that old thing. How did anyone get tractor work done without electronic HSTs??

I reiterate that while extra features are nice and eventually become standard on all tractors, one simply shouldn't ignore the more critical implements necessary to get work done. A fancy HST doesn't make up for lacking a grapple or decent mower. If your budget cannot handle fancy tractor plus necessary implements then ditch the Escalade and get the work done with a Suburban.

I don't see any mention of a luxury cab in jenkensph's reply that I agreed so heartedly with. I give chitwood more credit than that and having common sense to stay within his own personal budget and only purchase what he can afford.

I believe purchasing the right tractor with the future in mind and not wanting or having to trade up in just a few years is more important than having a barn full of implements to start off with.

If some people can afford more and want all the bells and whistles, so be it. It doesn't necessarily make them as a "rich" person. :confused3:
The Kubota Grand Ls are beautiful tractors.

A cab....probably not in my budget. But stepping up to the Grand or the "R"...might be the right choice for me so I'm not kicking myself down the road. The mower and brush hog would be first, but may need to consider getting the grapple and extra QDs up front.

 

[chitwood]

Absolutely shocking that Kubota made its name with an obviously outdated and deficient basic HST that still lives in the L series. Hard to imagine getting any work done at all with that old thing. How did anyone get tractor work done without electronic HSTs??

I reiterate that while extra features are nice and eventually become standard on all tractors, one simply shouldn't ignore the more critical implements necessary to get work done. A fancy HST doesn't make up for lacking a grapple or decent mower. If your budget cannot handle fancy tractor plus necessary implements then ditch the Escalade and get the work done with a Suburban.

I don't disagree with anything you've said here. The only disagreement is that one doesn't want to end up with "all tractor, no implements" unless your major task is cleaning out a horse barn. I never disputed that the Kubota Grand L tractors are excellent. They are the Lexus of tractors and that is a high complement. My point however was that a plain L Kubota (or any Mahindra or Kioti) of similar horsepower will be every bit as effective in the field. And, with the difference in cost between the equivalent HP Grand L and one of the others he can afford either more or better implements which will in fact make a bigger difference to work output than the "Lexus" features of the Grand L. When I bought my Kioti DK40se, the equivalent Grand L3940 cost about $5000 more and had a significantly weaker loader. If his budget can handle good implements plus the Grand L then go for it. If the budget is constrained then ask yourself whether luxury features on the Grand L will help get more mowing or brush clearing done than a good mower or grapple on a budget tractor. My point was simply that you don't want to invest so much in the "boat" that you don't have adequate funds to buy decent "sails" to make it go.

Very good advice. If I do go with an economy tractor, I don't think the JD3032E is the right choice. It would probably be the L3301 or the Kioti CK3510. Decisions... decisions.....

 

[chitwood]

Thanks to you all for the excellent advice. Lots to think about! Will probably go take that L3301 for another spin tomorrow.

 

[jeff9366]

The Kioti dealer is actually the closest to my property...and they are extremely good to work with. Should probably keep them in the mix

Even as a repeat Kubota customer, I recommend you shop Kioti, and if possible LS, the leading Korean tractor brands.

It is important your dealer be fairly close when you are new to tractors. Inevitably you are going to bend something in the learning process. It is quite costly to have a tractor dealer trailer your tractor to/from the dealership for repairs. For the dealer this is FOUR travel segments. And you will need considerable instruction, such as how to mount and adjust implements on the Three Point Hitch SAFELY.

Owners with a farm/tractor background and years of experience are not in the newbie category.

Though I am on my third tractor, I find it very convenient that my Kubota dealer is just six miles from my property.

I grease my tractor. The dealer performs all other maintenance and repairs, except for the occasional implement/attachment repair at my local welding shop. I am a good customer yet I pay $50 transportation per tractor pickup and return.

 

[IslandTractor]

Even as a repeat Kubota customer, I recommend you shop Kioti, and if possible LS, the leading Korean tractor brands.

It is important your dealer be fairly close when you are new to tractors. Inevitably you are going to bend something in the learning process. It is quite costly to have a tractor dealer trailer your tractor to/from the dealership for repairs. For the dealer this is FOUR travel segments. And you will need considerable instruction, such as how to mount and adjust implements on the Three Point Hitch SAFELY.

Owners with a farm/tractor background and years of experience are not in the newbie category.

Though I am on my third tractor, I find it very convenient that my Kubota dealer is just six miles from my property.

I grease my tractor. The dealer performs all other maintenance and repairs, except for the occasional implement/attachment repair at my local welding shop. I am a good customer yet I pay $50 transportation per tractor pickup and return.

I agree that LS belongs in the conversation along with Kioti and Mahindra. All excellent machines.

I don't think that a newbie tractor owner needs to depend on a nearby dealer for service though. When I bought my first tractor I moved it immediately to an island and learned what I needed to to do routine maintenance by reading this forum. For me the alternative would have taken two days out of my life as well as hundreds of bucks in ferry and other transport costs. Honestly, if you can change the oil in your riding mower you can do routine maintenance on virtually any compact utility tractor. The biggest problem most of us "newbies" have is getting the original HST filter off (because the factories seem to either paint over them, fail to oil the gasket or have gorillas tighten them). Once you add a sturdy filter wrench to your toolbox even that is trivial. Hydraulics is a big mystery to most newbies and even experienced users but the actual maintenance (fluid and filter changes) is no different than changing the oil and filter on a car. I had literally never done maintenance on a diesel before and I am no mechanical genius (my wife will testify to that). It is simple to maintain these machines and it is very useful to know how to do so as it helps you understand how they work and how to properly care for them.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Yes I do find that remarkable. I even did a thread on it last year sometime. Several people noted that tractor batteries aren't as abused as car batteries and if you keep it on a trickle charger when not in use over the winter that long life isn't that unusual. I've never had a car battery last even five years though.

My B26 is a 2009 model with original battery and still cranking good even in winter. That is the longest I have ever had a battery last. Had to replace my 2010 LS battery last month. Car batteries seem to last 4-5 years max but they have much heavier load on them AND they reside in the engine compartment which gets mighty hot in there when running or when parked in the sun. Most of the tractors have batteries in front of the radiator so they are much cooler than car batteries so I would expect them to last longer.

 

[Gary Fowler]

I will also stress that dealer location should not be an issue to the average person with even limited mechanical skills. If you cant or wont change oil in your car, you may be the exception to this but most folks quickly find out that having the dealer pickup and deliver for an oil change can run you over $200 and most sensible folks who don't have a few million in the bank will elect to do most maintenance work themselves.

I do my own service for three reasons money, time and quality of work. I know what I do is correct, I don't have to spent time travelling to a dealer to get the work done and it is considerably cheaper.
Oil changes are usually done by the lowest paid worker at a shop simply because you don't need to be an ASAE certified mechanic to do it. This results in sometimes a good job but many times not so good with drain plugs stripped, dip stick misplaced, under fill on the oil or worse overfill, perhaps even the wrong oil used. Almost everytime I have used a shop to change my auto oil, something has been done wrong. I found my dipstick laid across the radiator of my truck once when I was 200 miles down the road. Wife's car has an inspection plate missing that should cover up the access to the oil filter (don't know when that happened since all service to it has been at dealer until I moved to my current location and started doing myself. I had a full service done on it at 100K miles and afterward found a slight oil leak on the garage floor. Thinking it was just a worn seal, I just placed a mat under the car to catch any drips. While changing the shocks, I found the front differential drain plug loose which is where the drop or two would fall from. No more leaks now that that has been tightened.

I can do my own oil changes and get a full synthetic oil used for the same price that an oil change with conventional oil would cost at a dealer AND without any transportation charges. Not much us tractor owners can do about OEM parts since they need to come from the dealer but many have found cheaper filters and other parts from third party folks. I still get my OEM parts from the dealer since they are not that much higher and I don't have to rely on perhaps false info as to "this is equivalent to XXX part from OEM.

 

[PJSprog]

I have 10 full size batteries at any one time and a least 1/2 dozen motorcycle/ lawn tractor batteries. About 50% of them lasted 12-16 years, the others seem to crap out in 4-5 years. Why the difference, I do not know.

That has been my experience with batteries as well. Some seem to last forever. Others, not so much. Worst so far have been the last couple of Yuasa batteries I got from the Honda dealer for my 'Oldwing. They work great for about a year, then just won't hold a charge anymore. Think I'm done with those.

 

[bspeedy]

That has been my experience with batteries as well. Some seem to last forever. Others, not so much. Worst so far have been the last couple of Yuasa batteries I got from the Honda dealer for my 'Oldwing. They work great for about a year, then just won't hold a charge anymore. Think I'm done with those.

That is totally opposite of my experience with Yuasa mc batteries. They are the only batteries I buy for bikes small or large. I order mine through Amazon. Maybe your dealer had batteries that were on the shelf for a while?

Nice thread hijack, eh?

 

[mike69440]

A cab....probably not in my budget. But stepping up to the Grand or the "R"...might be the right choice for me so I'm not kicking myself down the road. The mower and brush hog would be first, but may need to consider getting the grapple and extra QDs up front.

Just saying
2545 Shuttle Cab | Mahindra
Not really a premium tractor, but very reasonable for a CAB

 

[teg]

Just saying 2545 Shuttle Cab | Mahindra Not really a premium tractor, but very reasonable for a CAB

Tractor Only MSRP* $33,180 (HP 45) *Price does not include loader. Definitely not in my future!!!