I own a Kubota L-4600 today. In relatively flat Oklahoma where I grew up, it was a great tractor for chores but, where I am at in Texas is sloped with feral hog wallows hidden in the pasture grass and similar obstacles that are hard to see from the seat.
I need something that is stable using a loader out in my pasture which my L-4600 is not. For those that will ask, yes my tires are loaded with "beet juice / rim guard" with wheel weights and normally a heavy 6' tiller for
ballast and it is still too light in the rear. It also has a high center of gravity with a narrow "footprint" for loader work.
I need a tractor heavy enough for normal farm chores for me including but, not limited to using:
- post hole digger
- bush hog (AKA rotary cutter) so at least 35Hp PTO as a hard minimum
- heavy loader work
- big round bale movements (not stacking)
- buckets of wet soil
- Skid Steer pallet forks with moderately heavy loads like pallets of range cubes or half pallets of concrete
I am looking for something with a good cab which will serve me well as I get older than I am today. To me, this means easy entry and exit, air conditioning that works well in Texas heat and humidity, and ergonomic controls that won't fatigue me with age or extended use like mowing around trees and other obstacles.
My initial search has me looking at the TYM T574 and Massey 2850M/2860M since they have relatively good dealer support around me. Yanmar is of interest but, that dealer is ~200 miles away! The Massey options are in the $45K range new and the TYM is in the $38K range so, while $7K is a lot of money, not enough to encourage me to buy the wrong tractor due to cost.
John Deere and Kubota generally dominate this market space but, Kubota is not of interest right now because their tractors are too light for their loaders and are generally undersized in the class IMHO. John Deere's business model has this diehard legacy John Deere owner looking somewhere else these days. "Right to repair" may get around their proprietary software issues for fixing a broken tractor but, that was a real turn-off for me. United Ag and Turf, the local John Deere dealer, has not been a good experience generally so far when I went there for implements and similar stuff.
What are people's experiences with Mahindra and LS tractors in this class? LS dealer support is weak but, Mahindra seems to be really making an impact on the Lowes and Home Depot garden tractor shopping crowd that just bought a small acreage. I am open to other brands that have reasonable support and a track record of being good for the owners and long-term dealers.
TIA,
Sid
