$10K L5030 Plus Restoration, or $25K Newer Tractor With Perilous Electronics?

[5030]

When I bought the open station (used), I put about 2 grand into it. It needed a new front guard (which I made in the shop), a new drawbar because it came without one (new Kubota), complete filter and fluid change including the front axle, it was weeping from the front right outboard so it came apart and needed new upper and lower bushings, a couple new hydraulic hoses and a new starting battery and alternator belt. I change it from the weak factory headlights to dual beam LED lamps. Did the same to the other one as well. Stock Kubota headlights are worthless and that applies to all of them, not just mine.

 

[Flogger]

I went the extreme. Everyone gives me a bad time about farming with collectors items but I can stand on the ground and work on nearly anything on the tractors. In 8 years I have had very little go wrong and if I burn 25 gallon of fuel in a day pulling my 15’ under cutter I’m wore plum out!! The added bonus is there is nothing out there that will do any where near the work for the dollars.

 

[NUTTERDW]

Looks pretty good!

I just realized the one I was looking at has no loader, so that's a problem. I don't really see myself installing a loader, and I don't know if Kubotas without loaders came with valves. I would have to find a loader, have it installed, and then possibly put valves in it.

I bought a Kubota new in 2013 and it has the loader controls on it. I don't know if all of them do. a good friend of mine found a 2014 Kubota same as mine for 8000 dollars and only had less than 300 hours. of course he looked for about 2 years because I went with him to try them out.the one he bought was like new.

 

[NUTTERDW]

When I bought the open station (used), I put about 2 grand into it. It needed a new front guard (which I made in the shop), a new drawbar because it came without one (new Kubota), complete filter and fluid change including the front axle, it was weeping from the front right outboard so it came apart and needed new upper and lower bushings, a couple new hydraulic hoses and a new starting battery and alternator belt. I change it from the weak factory headlights to dual beam LED lamps. Did the same to the other one as well. Stock Kubota headlights are worthless and that applies to all of them, not just mine.

You are right. I have three and all of the lights are useless.

 

[Harry in Ky]

The more I learn about machinery, the more I realize I do not want emissions gadgets, a computer controller, or any similar electronic junk. People say these contraptions are reliable, but on the other hand, the web is jammed with other people complaining about how they have failed and ended up sidelining tractors for months. Those stories (and my own mower controller story) are true, so clearly, gadgetry does cause a lot of terrible problems. And my Kubota dealer has a turnaround time of over a month, so any failure is a major pain.

On top of that, I do not trust manufacturers to continue making electronic parts, and I know full well that even if they do, the cost will eventually go through the roof, because that's what always happens. Ask me about the $450 muffler on my 1991 lawn tractor and the $340 controller on my mower.

I would like to buy only one more tractor before I die. I don't want to buy a new tractor every 5 years, and I don't want to have to deal with sourcing discontinued emissions parts or computer controllers 20 years from now. I want something reliable that will not need electronic parts or weird emissions parts. It's bad enough to be concerned about mechanical parts.

I have been thinking I might buy a used Kubota HST L5030. They don't have all that junk on them. But they're all pretty old, so expensive work might be needed.

It looks like most used tractors made more recently will run at least $25,000. For $10K, I can get an L5030 that could need a lot of restoration. I think I would rather spend $10K now and $15K later on restoration, and get a tractor I can keep until I die, than $25K now on a newer machine that may be a source of total misery in 10 years.

I have never bought an old tractor and paid to have it fixed up right. I have no idea what I might end up spending. Is my math reasonable?

I am handy, but I'm not the guy who splits tractors in his driveway. I would have to pay for major work like engine rebuilds. I can repack a cylinder and so on, but there is a limit.

Lots of ideas out there, some I agree with, some I don't. Personally, I think you're spot on with your assessments. New is NOT always better, regardless of what some people think. Yes, new comes with warranty, but so what? When NEW quits running or won't move, warranty isn't much help when even the dealer "techs" can't solve (or find) the problem. I'm a firm believer in the theory that the common sense fuel system always wins out over common rail. The less electronics involved, the better off you are.

If you can do most (or at least much) of the work yourself repairing an older machine is by far the better product down the road. I can assure you a twenty year old tractor is easier and faster to split than anything built within the last five years. If you're hiring the work out, the older the machine, the easier and less expensive it will be labor wise. I AM the guy who splits tractors in people's driveways and I don't work on anything built after 2015 mainly for that reason. Open the hood and usually you can't see the motor for all the hoses, lines, and canisters. The muffler often takes up most of the space.

TYM? If this is going to be a long term investment as you indicated, don't go there. Many satisfied customers out there with them? Yes, but plenty on the other side as well. What TYM built and sold five years ago has been largely forgotten and pretty much abandoned as far as product support, and will only get worse as time goes on. Kubota is far better in that regard. You won't go wrong.

Just another opinion. Absolutely free, and worth every penny.

 

[Suburban Plowboy]

John Deere is looking like the best bet right now. I would just have to get over my not-completely-rational hatred of the company.

 

[Gopher Baroque]

I started with the idea of a nice old tractor and started down that path. After rounding up missing parts and fixing broken stuff, I really just demonstrated it needs overhaul work. The two things that make old tractors a drag are finding parts and the dearth of tractor shops to take over the heavy lifting. I did find a couple shops to consider, but they are on the other end of the country.

Now I have three non-running old tractors waiting for for time in my shop and one new tractor that does all the work. I think in the OP's case, he is looking at much newer, nicer tractors that what I am working with, and an important thing to check is the on-line parts catalog (Messick's has a really nice set of on-line catalogs for multiple brands) for the model he is considering - are most parts currently available? Won't last forever, of course, but gives some indication that you can address things now and a chance for liquidated stock on Ebay in the future.

 

[5030]

You are right. I have three and all of the lights are useless.

Pretty easy to change the stock filament bulbs that are about as good as nothing to LED's and you'll never replace the LED's because they won't fail like the filament bulbs will. Got rid of the hilament work lights on my M9 Cab as well and went to LED work lamps and they are so bright, I can see all the way across a field at night and they pull less amperage than the stock ones did.

I also cnaged out all the filament bulbs on the running lights and turn signals and even the instrument cluster lights. I get them all from Super Bright Leds. www.superbriteleds.com

 

[VirtualTractor]

I always find these sorts of posts amusing. I for one, like breathing clean air.

I have both a big old non-emissions tractor and a newer emissions tractor. Starting the old one in the barn, I feel like I need to go have my lungs pressure washed after driving it out.

I remember my brother in the 90s bitching non-stop about fuel injected cars. How they sucked, how they were going to always fail, how he couldn't fix them himself, how he never was going to buy one, blah blah blah blah blah.

None of it turned out to be true, and as we all know now, FI is much more reliable and efficient than a crappy carb. As for fixing himself...Well, turned out over time that auto parts stores stopped stocking carb parts, so then they were special order...He of course wasn't as good of a mechanic as he thought he was, so when he had to take it in, guess how hard it started to get to find a good mechanic who could still work on a carb.

I work in IT for my day job, so constant change and updating my skills and outlooks is a core part of my life. It never ceases to amaze me about how pig headed people are about change. Such as those people who piss on electric cars. The technology is exciting and awesome. Have I bought one yet? No. But looking forward to the day that they are practical for me. I'd love an electric tractor, electric ATV, truck, etc. Is it for every purpose or use? Not yet. But when we solve the energy storage problem, the opportunities are fantastic. But I'm certainly not going to put it down. I hope to live to see the day they show off the Internal Combustion Engine at the old tractor museum at the State Fair, just like they do the steam engine tractors.

If emissions engines were as bad as people made them out to be, the used diesel truck and tractor lots would be over flowing. Guess what, they're not!

Clinging to the past is a poverty mindset that only ends up costing you more in the long run...Especially to those who can least afford it!

 

[wander2039]

I went with the 2025 LS MT232 vs buying a older tractor. We bought 22 acres that's quite a mess so I have plenty of work to do already and didn't want to add potentially having to work on a older machine. LS offered 10 year 0% to keep the funds available for other projects. I can see keeping this machine at least 20 years if not for life, I'm 45. Granted I will eventually own older tractor but I figure knock on wood this will always be the new and good tractor. I grew up on a farm with WD45 that rarely moved because it couldn't, dad has always said he regrets that. I'm not worried about electronics.. that's where everything is going. There's people out there now that can rebuild anything electronic.