55-60 HP CHOICES

[arrow]

but isn't quality control of % good vs defective the top priority of what makes a top manufacturer like Kubota or other stand above the rest? if it's the luck of the draw, then why not get the cheapest unit avail & take your chances? regards

These things are put togeth

but isn't quality control of % good vs defective the top priority of what makes a top manufacturer like Kubota or other stand above the rest? if it's the luck of the draw, then why not get the cheapest unit avail & take your chances? regards

Differentiation between tractor manufacturers as it relates to quality is not huge. It’s smaller than you think. It can be said everyone builds a good tractor kubota has good engineering and robust part assignment. This is also costly and why they’re pricing is $3,000-$8000 more than a comparable tractor. There is another rather insidious reason as their parts aren’t $3000 better than the next guy.
They also take advantage of the 0% where one shopping customer came in and in comparison to traditional financing, discovered that he was actually paying 8.2% on his 0% loan from Kubota. A company can establish any m.s.r.p they want. Doesn’t mean it’s a reliable indicator of worth by any means.

Now for more reasons: most manufacturers rely on robotics for chassis building. Some like kubota, build their electronics in house. Some out source their terminal endings from other companies.
One cannot mass produce check points on thousands of terminal endings, electronic connectors or interior windings. Faulty bearings, sleeves or shafts that are out just a little bit, can create havoc down the mechanical line. Was your bearing or shafts dropped on assembly? Was your electronic connector jammed in where a pin was damaged? Who knows why one tractor is haunted by problems and the same next tractor on the line gives an exemplary and trouble free life. Every tractor is looked over but it’s like calling free range chickens more healthy because the 2000 chickens in that 40x40’ enclosure have a door they can go in and out of if they so choose. In other words, “quality control” is also hit and miss.
Best rely on practices that do not have to rely on quality control. In other words, create the quality beforehand.

 

[big bubba]

excel points

 

[Hay Dude]

Kubota has some weaknesses.
Their front bevel axles are prone to failure if you use your loader heavy and drive over rough ground. It’s nice that it turns tighter, but when the bearings fail, it’s more expensive to repair.
Kubota also extensively uses aluminum pump and PTO housings. There’s no way aluminum housings hold up like cast iron housings, especially when it comes to pump/pto shaft bearing failures.

Good tractors, yes, but not bulletproof. Their engines are very good. Their financing options are excellent. Their dealership support is excellent.
I’ve owned an M7040, and M9540, an M-126X and an M-135x and the 2 bigger M’s were not trouble free.
Injectors are $1,200 each.
I also had a partial ECM failure where 2 electrical functions controlled by the ECM stopped working. New ECM is like 5 grand.

 

[big bubba]

When I was shopping for my first new tractor, I went beyond just asking people in the various tractor groups what they liked. I knew I would get many biased opinions. I started talking to tractor mechanics and large independent tractor shops. What I heard from them was the the Korean tractors had far more issues than the big names such as Deere and Kubota and that parts could at times be extremely difficult to get for them, especially certain parts. Another thing they told me was the metal on the Korean tractor seemed to be of less quality. I was planning to buy a Korean tractor until I had these conversations with those folks.

This isn't my opinion, it was the tractor shop's and mechanics opinion that was given to me.

it is indeed a challenge doing the homework on a purchase. there's the empirical data from owners, then the industry rating of customer satisfaction.
the OP is wise to get both responses on this forum

my personal experience is that when a person catches the purchase fever, they are at the mercy of the dealership. which is why i favor this forum for feedback. of course, one always has to separate wheat from chafe. regards

 

[Torvy]

The data from owners is anecdotal, not empirical.

To be empirical, there would need to be hypotheses, scientific sampling and careful data collection. Also need to control for variables.

 

[tradosaurus]

Kubota has some weaknesses.
Their front bevel axles are prone to failure if you use your loader heavy and drive over rough ground. It’s nice that it turns tighter, but when the bearings fail, it’s more expensive to repair.
Kubota also extensively uses aluminum pump and PTO housings. There’s no way aluminum housings hold up like cast iron housings, especially when it comes to pump/pto shaft bearing failures.

Good tractors, yes, but not bulletproof. Their engines are very good. Their financing options are excellent. Their dealership support is excellent.
I’ve owned an M7040, and M9540, an M-126X and an M-135x and the 2 bigger M’s were not trouble free.
Injectors are $1,200 each.
I also had a partial ECM failure where 2 electrical functions controlled by the ECM stopped working. New ECM is like 5 grand.

You also use your tractors extensively where probably most tractor owners might put 100 hrs / year (guess).

 

[tradosaurus]

These things are put togeth

Differentiation between tractor manufacturers as it relates to quality is not huge. It’s smaller than you think. It can be said everyone builds a good tractor kubota has good engineering and robust part assignment. This is also costly and why they’re pricing is $3,000-$8000 more than a comparable tractor. There is another rather insidious reason as their parts aren’t $3000 better than the next guy.
They also take advantage of the 0% where one shopping customer came in and in comparison to traditional financing, discovered that he was actually paying 8.2% on his 0% loan from Kubota. A company can establish any m.s.r.p they want. Doesn’t mean it’s a reliable indicator of worth by any means.

Now for more reasons: most manufacturers rely on robotics for chassis building. Some like kubota, build their electronics in house. Some out source their terminal endings from other companies.
One cannot mass produce check points on thousands of terminal endings, electronic connectors or interior windings. Faulty bearings, sleeves or shafts that are out just a little bit, can create havoc down the mechanical line. Was your bearing or shafts dropped on assembly? Was your electronic connector jammed in where a pin was damaged? Who knows why one tractor is haunted by problems and the same next tractor on the line gives an exemplary and trouble free life. Every tractor is looked over but it’s like calling free range chickens more healthy because the 2000 chickens in that 40x40’ enclosure have a door they can go in and out of if they so choose. In other words, “quality control” is also hit and miss.
Best rely on practices that do not have to rely on quality control. In other words, create the quality beforehand.

The Japanese invented quality control which is why I try to stay with Japanese products where possible.
Quality control checks for repeatability. There will always be defects but minimizing those defects is the goal.

 

[Williy]

When purchasing a tractor check out the prices for the most
common parts that fail when you find out the price its SUPRISE!
SUPRISE!

willy

 

[big bubba]

The data from owners is anecdotal, not empirical.

To be empirical, there would need to be hypotheses, scientific sampling and careful data collection. Also need to control for variables.

could be, i always thought empirical was one's personal experience, data collection & scientific sampling is otherwise. regards

 

[arrow]

The Japanese invented quality control which is why I try to stay with Japanese products where possible.
Quality control checks for repeatability. There will always be defects but minimizing those defects is the goal.

The Japanese learned rather quickly how to sell cars in the United States. Many of us here can recall when Toyota was considered junk.
Build the best cars you can and time has nothing to do with it for them. Their pride is about nationalism and not unionism.
They would work 80 hrs and didn’t mind being paid for 40 but Japan relies on a different economy than us. Worker attitudes are differentiated as well.
It’s about placement of priorities.

 

[arrow]

could be, i always thought empirical was one's personal experience, data collection & scientific sampling is otherwise. regards

Right church, wrong pew
It’s the other way around.
Personal observation is subjective at best and really cannot be relied upon as an informative source.
We do that all the time because it seems to give our species comfort.
“So how do you like that car?, tractor or washing machine”?

 

[big bubba]

looking at dfn, you are correct, more of a scientific rather than personal subjective method. guess i was subjective myself in my assumption, good day

 

[tradosaurus]

looking at dfn, you are correct, more of a scientific rather than personal subjective method. guess i was subjective myself in my assumption, good day

You were honest to be objective about your subjective view of your assumption.

 

[Williy]

For a speed queen washer or dryer I don't believe you can
go wrong made in Ripon since 1908 and when you go into a laundermat you will 9 times out of 10 washer and dryers are
speed queen


willy

 

[arrow]

For a speed queen washer or dryer I don't believe you can
go wrong made in Ripon since 1908.

You may believe that. But I don’t believe nothing can go wrong. There’s ppl all over the internet crying about their $4 and $5000 Speed Queen sets.
Once you start adding convenience electronics, anything can go wrong. Buy the simplest washer and dryer you can find.
Actually, I feel the same way about tractors.

You do bring up the point of anecdotal vs empirical evidence.
4 out of 5 dentists recommend Crest. Hmm, why isn’t the 5th doing so?

 

[hotjava66]

Thanks for all the responses. Still on the fence, not in any rush so will continue to look.

 

[jyoutz]

For a speed queen washer or dryer I don't believe you can
go wrong made in Ripon since 1908 and when you go into a laundermat you will 9 times out of 10 washer and dryers are
speed queen


willy

They are simply the best. Even their residential machines say commercial grade on them. And they offer a choice of a simple mechanical dial machine or digital. If you look at the motor drive for the drum, the gears and part are all metal, no nylon parts like many other brands.

 

[arrow]

Thanks for all the responses. Still on the fence, not in any rush so will continue to look.

There are moments in man’s life when he glimpses…eternal.
Just try not to fall into the paralysis by analysis thing.
Seldom do we find the perfect fit so attempt to rely on the one criteria for continuation of all things living: adaptation
Cheez…I sound like Father Tractor…

 

[lfson]

I am also looking at tractors, but in the 45 to 60 HP range. My issue is the same a stated, but I also need to maximize loader lifting capacity. I only have 26 acres in the Pacific NW, mostly with very little slope (maybe <1%), but on the edges can be up to 30%, so looking at offset frail mower. Need to clear trees I (old lumber tree farm) and many blackberry vines (one bush killed a 20 foot tall tree by encasing the tree with vines).

Currently have a Kubota B2910 (~30 hp), but quality of engineering and workmanship keep me from looking at that manufacturer. Maybe just my machine and model, but with less than 1000 hours on the clock, I spend more time repairing than using. Kubota was contacted and just did not care. So the front wheel fell off in little over a year because it was not welded properly (less than 60% around axle shaft), what do you want us to do? But this again is a different story.

I wonder about the long term reliability of the Korean tractors. Anyone out there with older units that can give some input?

As for financing, you must keep in mind that there is a "future value" for money. And any investment that has a track history of 10% return can offer a negative 10% return the next year. It is all a gamble, but sometimes it is more cost effective to pay cash or finance for the maximum term limit. How lucky do you feel.

I worked for a company who's stock price rose and split several time, with no marketable product (Pharmaceutical) and continued with release of it's first product. When its second product, the sales beat all previous industry records, but the stock market did not think it was enough, it dropped to about 1/4 of its previous value. I learned quickly that the stock market goes up with rumor, falls with facts.

 

[arrow]

I am also looking at tractors, but in the 45 to 60 HP range. My issue is the same a stated, but I also need to maximize loader lifting capacity. I only have 26 acres in the Pacific NW, mostly with very little slope (maybe <1%), but on the edges can be up to 30%, so looking at offset frail mower. Need to clear trees I (old lumber tree farm) and many blackberry vines (one bush killed a 20 foot tall tree by encasing the tree with vines).

Currently have a Kubota B2910 (~30 hp), but quality of engineering and workmanship keep me from looking at that manufacturer. Maybe just my machine and model, but with less than 1000 hours on the clock, I spend more time repairing than using. Kubota was contacted and just did not care. So the front wheel fell off in little over a year because it was not welded properly (less than 60% around axle shaft), what do you want us to do? But this again is a different story.

I wonder about the long term reliability of the Korean tractors. Anyone out there with older units that can give some input?

As for financing, you must keep in mind that there is a "future value" for money. And any investment that has a track history of 10% return can offer a negative 10% return the next year. It is all a gamble, but sometimes it is more cost effective to pay cash or finance for the maximum term limit. How lucky do you feel.

I worked for a company who's stock price rose and split several time, with no marketable product (Pharmaceutical) and continued with release of it's first product. When its second product, the sales beat all previous industry records, but the stock market did not think it was enough, it dropped to about 1/4 of its previous value. I learned quickly that the stock market goes up with rumor, falls with facts.

Seldom can you rely on tractor heresay. It falls both ways for all brands. Those things are “rumors”.
Being in the tractor business, I would say it is the least reliable marker for purchase criteria as it can only remain subjective.
Objective choice criteria is more akin to dealer closeness, dealer quality, dealer longevity and how do you fit ergonomically on the machine and lastly if the machine answers to your usage needs.
Those elements are more important than brand by a long shot.
You cannot tell the future so why rely on.