New Kubota Tractor Purchase

[Hay Dude]

Overall I have not had happy experiences with Kubotas larger tractors. Not everything was bad, but repair costs after 2500 hours got out of control.
I fared pretty well when they had lower hours, and many of you may never see that many hours on yours, but my experience has been disappointing.
I’m ready to run my last bigger Kubota, my M-126X down the road here any week now and replace it with something else.
Hopefully the smaller ones we use for lawn mowing will hold up better.

I’m not saying this to demean the brand in any way. I still think Kubota builds a lot of good equipment. Kinda of sad about the way both my M’s started having all kinds of trouble towards the end. They were handy, pretty reliable tractors, but suffered numerous repairs.

I’m not under the delusion that other brands don’t have their share of problems-they do.

 

[bdhsfz6]

Surprised the MX feels strong and better with the hoe. Specs would lead one to believe the slight advantage would lean toward the L

It surprises me as well. It could have something to do with the fact that the hoe is mounted farther back on the L6060 HSTC to allow clearance for the cab. This may give the hoe hydraulics more leverage against the tractor frame??

 

[mikester]

Unless you have 10k to burn on niceities like tilt wheel and premium seating. My inderstanding is the MX is also blessed with a bigger heavier rearend than the L models.

And bigger front wheels. Small front wheels are a negative on rough ground, slows you down a lot.

 

[sea2summit]

Surprised the MX feels strong and better with the hoe. Specs would lead one to believe the slight advantage would lean toward the L

I'm thinking it has a lot to do with the hight, the MX on R4s is lower and wider than an L on R1s I believe.

 

[sawtooth]

Overall I have not had happy experiences with Kubotas larger tractors. Not everything was bad, but repair costs after 2500 hours got out of control.
I fared pretty well when they had lower hours, and many of you may never see that many hours on yours, but my experience has been disappointing.
I’m ready to run my last bigger Kubota, my M-126X down the road here any week now and replace it with something else.
Hopefully the smaller ones we use for lawn mowing will hold up better.

I’m not saying this to demean the brand in any way. I still think Kubota builds a lot of good equipment. Kinda of sad about the way both my M’s started having all kinds of trouble towards the end. They were handy, pretty reliable tractors, but suffered numerous repairs.

I’m not under the delusion that other brands don’t have their share of problems-they do.

What year and How many hours are on the M’s? I just bought one so hopefully don’t see the same issues.

 

[Hay Dude]

What year and How many hours are on the M’s? I just bought one so hopefully don’t see the same issues.

2010 M-135X 2800 hours. I sold it in May 2022. Had complete glow plug system failure due to PCM failure ($6,000 to replace PCM). Also had electrical system failures for dash readouts. Front suspension system never worked correctly. It was a nice tractor, but issues.
2011 M-126X 3200 hours. Currently for sale. Has had wandering steering since new. Hand pump replaced twice at $1,800. Had complete injector failure- $6,500. Rear axle seal leak. Both front axle bearings & seals replaced about $1,000. Range selector sensor issues.

They are decent at best tractors. They start & run, but many of the periphery systems have failed. Fuel system is a joke-Injectors are poorly protected. PTO solenoids and pump failures. Very spendy to fix. Hydraulic steering very poor (steering wander). Lots of codes.

I’m just being honest. I see so much brand “protection” going on here.

Pick your poison. Quite honestly, they’re all prone to failure when used for agriculture.

 

[scootr]

Hay Dude says "Pick your poison. Quite honestly, they’re all prone to failure when used for agriculture." Sounds right to me. In Ag you work em hard, pay for maintenance & repairs, and still make a profit...It is the same in any work requiring tools. Tools have wear and failure issues.
Most of the members here will put as many hours on their tractor in a year as you will in a week. So they are not going to see the same issues.

 

[jyoutz]

Hay Dude says "Pick your poison. Quite honestly, they’re all prone to failure when used for agriculture." Sounds right to me. In Ag you work em hard, pay for maintenance & repairs, and still make a profit...It is the same in any work requiring tools.
Most of the members here will put as many hours on their tractor in a year as you will in a week. So they are not going to see the same issues.

Also those tractors are older models. Possibly some of those issues have been addressed in current models?

 

[ptsg]

Overall I have not had happy experiences with Kubotas larger tractors. Not everything was bad, but repair costs after 2500 hours got out of control.
I fared pretty well when they had lower hours, and many of you may never see that many hours on yours, but my experience has been disappointing.
I’m ready to run my last bigger Kubota, my M-126X down the road here any week now and replace it with something else.
Hopefully the smaller ones we use for lawn mowing will hold up better.

I’m not saying this to demean the brand in any way. I still think Kubota builds a lot of good equipment. Kinda of sad about the way both my M’s started having all kinds of trouble towards the end. They were handy, pretty reliable tractors, but suffered numerous repairs.

I’m not under the delusion that other brands don’t have their share of problems-they do.

I've noticed the same situation happening with Kubotas here too. The ones that see any sort of modest to high work loads in their life, ended up getting sold in the 3000-ish hours time frame. Doesn't really matter the size, from the smaller 25 hp ones to the big boys.

And no, it's not a dig at Kubota either. It's just from what I see from the used market and experiences that folks in my country share.

 

[jyoutz]

I've noticed the same situation happening with Kubotas here too. The ones that see any sort of modest to high work loads in their life, ended up getting sold in the 3000-ish hours time frame. Doesn't really matter the size, from the smaller 25 hp ones to the big boys.

And no, it's not a dig at Kubota either. It's just from what I see from the used market and experiences that folks in my country share.

Could it be that 3000 hours for non commercial use is a pretty old machine. Maybe people are itching for new by that time?

 

[ptsg]

Could it be that 3000 hours for non commercial use is a pretty old machine. Maybe people are itching for new by that time?

Highly unlikely. This is not a country with lots of throw away money, so people can't really afford trading a tractor for the sake of it.

Anything under 5000 or 6000 hours is not really considered old over here.

 

[sawtooth]

I don’t farm now but my family did years ago and I remember being told they would put 6-10k on those old Blue Fords. They were tanks though. I have a couple smaller 3910’s and a 2810 now.

On the Kubota I’ll be lucky to put 100 hours on it a year though. Hopefully it holds up well. I know it’s extremely nice driving and using it.

 

[Hay Dude]

Could it be that 3000 hours for non commercial use is a pretty old machine. Maybe people are itching for new by that time?

The thing is, I have Legacy brand farm tractors (Massey, Case-IH, AGCO) with 5000-6000 hours that are holding up better. Not perfect, but better. And they were used in Ag almost every hour.

Kubota just isn’t there yet. Now their newer M series looks better. 6.7L Cummins is a nice upgrade

 

[LD1]

I'm thinking it has a lot to do with the hight, the MX on R4s is lower and wider than an L on R1s I believe.

HE says he has R14's on both.

The actual size I dont know. THe MX and L spec the same rear size in R4 and R1....but different fronts for both (smaller on the L).

Having a cab on the L and the hoe being mounted further back could be the culprit? But I wonder if an MX has a cab if it also pushes the backhoe back further to be more apples to apples comparison.

Also says the MX pulls harder.

Not saying he is wrong or disagreeing. First hand experience always trumps paper specs. Just odd they conflict

 

[jyoutz]

The thing is, I have Legacy brand farm tractors (Massey, Case-IH, AGCO) with 5000-6000 hours that are holding up better. Not perfect, but better. And they were used in Ag almost every hour.

Kubota just isn’t there yet. Now their newer M series looks better. 6.7L Cummins is a nice upgrade

A Cummins would be sweet indeed.

 

[jyoutz]

HE says he has R14's on both.

The actual size I dont know. THe MX and L spec the same rear size in R4 and R1....but different fronts for both (smaller on the L).

Having a cab on the L and the hoe being mounted further back could be the culprit? But I wonder if an MX has a cab if it also pushes the backhoe back further to be more apples to apples comparison.

Also says the MX pulls harder.

Not saying he is wrong or disagreeing. First hand experience always trumps paper specs. Just odd they conflict

I have no idea about the backhoe situation, but pulling harder is likely due to the larger front wheels.

 

[LD1]

I have no idea about the backhoe situation, but pulling harder is likely due to the larger front wheels.

Good possibility. Just depends on how its used and ballasted and what the surface conditions are like.

With both cast weights and loaded R1 tires in the rear....4wd dont really add much pulling force for me at all on firm ground. Really only notice 4wd effectiveness if I have loader but nothing on 3PH, or in muddy or snowy conditions.

Loader off and pulling the disc or 3-bottom plow....the front assist maybe gives 10%. CAnt think I'd notice any difference if the tires were just a tad bit smaller

 

[AB4D]

A lot of good information and that gave me plenty to think about. I appreciate everyone's input. After reading all the comments, I sat down and went though how I would likely use the tractor and how much HP I would actually need. As someone noted, guys with 30 hp tractors always wish they had a 50 hp, and 50 hp guys wish they had a 100 hp tractor. Another point someone mentioned, would a turbocharger be the best for my application? I would say no, I would prefer normally aspirated. I'm just not a fan of the added complexity of a turbocharger.

Weighing it all out, a 30+/- hp will likely be enough for what I need to do, mainly homeowner/hobby farm applications and some light material moving. Thinking back to my previous experience. I was quite satisfied with my L3430. It did everything I asked from it 95% of the time. Except for a few rare times the front end loader couldn't lift the load for stuff such as bulk bags of mulch on a pallet, my 3 point forks typically lifted what the front end loader couldn't, after I filled up the front bucket to balance the load.

Clearly, some of you use your tractor much more than I would, and for far more demanding applications. As an example, I had my L3430 for about 10 years, total use was 365 hours when it was sold. My use should be about the same. I'm not plowing fields or doing other heavy PTO work, likely using only a rotary cutter with the PTO will be about it. The one item I used the most on the tractor, was the FEL with a grapple for moving trees and brush.

I returned to the dealer today. I looked at everything he has in stock in a cab. He had both MX5200 and MX6000, M4, M7 and larger, and he had one remaining 2022 Grand L 3560 Limited Edition. Ultimately, I settled on the Grand L3560 Limited Edition, I added the front and rear remotes I wanted, mirrors, front and rear work lights, loaded/R4 tires, the LA-805 loader + bucket, and a Land Pride grapple. The cost came in just under budget.

Thanks for everyone's input.

 

[rScotty]

I don’t farm now but my family did years ago and I remember being told they would put 6-10k on those old Blue Fords. They were tanks though. I have a couple smaller 3910’s and a 2810 now.

On the Kubota I’ll be lucky to put 100 hours on it a year though. Hopefully it holds up well. I know it’s extremely nice driving and using it.

Our M59 has 1200 hours, OK maintenance, nothing special. It is now 15 years old. It lives outside - tarped. That's as close to 100 hrs a year as makes no difference.

So we don't put a lot of hours on it, but when it works it works hard. Not unusual for it to idle for an hour or more while we do chores and then use it full throttle like a rough country dump truck delivering 3000 lbs of rocks in the FEL bucket two miles away. We use it in the creek and forest for some rugged work. It runs and works like new. Yes, it was expensive. Even back in 2007 it cost more than comparable HP Kubotas do today. I guess the cost is the TLB vs Tractor thing.

I'll be curious to see if the next 1200 hrs goes as well as the last. Don't see why not. At that point the M59 will be 30 and I will be ... good god!

Was just looking at the Kubota brochure -online showing those new M7060s. Wow! What a nice tractor that is! I don't blame you a bit for jumping on it. Love that tranny, too. Seems like a whole lot of machine for a very reasonable price.
rScotty

"If there are no dogs in heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went" - Will Rogers

 

[scootr]

A lot of good information and that gave me plenty to think about. I appreciate everyone's input. After reading all the comments, I sat down and went though how I would likely use the tractor and how much HP I would actually need. As someone noted, guys with 30 hp tractors always wish they had a 50 hp, and 50 hp guys wish they had a 100 hp tractor. Another point someone mentioned, would a turbocharger be the best for my application? I would say no, I would prefer normally aspirated. I'm just not a fan of the added complexity of a turbocharger.

Weighing it all out, a 30+/- hp will likely be enough for what I need to do, mainly homeowner/hobby farm applications and some light material moving. Thinking back to my previous experience. I was quite satisfied with my L3430. It did everything I asked from it 95% of the time. Except for a few rare times the front end loader couldn't lift the load for stuff such as bulk bags of mulch on a pallet, my 3 point forks typically lifted what the front end loader couldn't, after I filled up the front bucket to balance the load.

Clearly, some of you use your tractor much more than I would, and for far more demanding applications. As an example, I had my L3430 for about 10 years, total use was 365 hours when it was sold. My use should be about the same. I'm not plowing fields or doing other heavy PTO work, likely using only a rotary cutter with the PTO will be about it. The one item I used the most on the tractor, was the FEL with a grapple for moving trees and brush.

I returned to the dealer today. I looked at everything he has in stock in a cab. He had both MX5200 and MX6000, M4, M7 and larger, and he had one remaining 2022 Grand L 3560 Limited Edition. Ultimately, I settled on the Grand L3560 Limited Edition, I added the front and rear remotes I wanted, mirrors, front and rear work lights, loaded/R4 tires, the LA-805 loader + bucket, and a Land Pride grapple. The cost came in just under budget.

Thanks for everyone's input.

Congratulations - it sounds like you made an educated decision that will suit your needs. May you have many many years of service and enjoyment