B21 useful life expentancy

[BradinWashington]

I'm looking at a 1998 B21 that has 1500 hours on it. Is that a lot in Kubota tractor years? How many additional hours could I expect to get out of it before something major has to be done with it? I was looking for something with less hours of course but they are very expensive. The seller says the first hour meter broke in the 900 hour range and the new meter has 500 hours on it. Is this also something I need to be concerned about. I am even still considering a Chinese tractor.

 

[Steven]

Does this person have service records to justify times. If there are big gaps in the dates for services then the hours may not be real. does he have slips for the new hour meter or did he just hook the old one back up? like the old disconnect the odometer of the car use it for a few years and sell it for a low milage. I hate when this happens. unless you are getting this for a steal i personaly would look away from this. unless he can prove that those are the real hours. and if he new he would run into a problem selling it he would have saved all the records to prove them. I know I would have. and for how long while it last? look at the records to see how well it was taken care of. properly maintained it should last a long time. 1500 hours is only 4 hours a day for one year. not a lot of time for 4 years that have passed. how does it look, does it look beat or clean. have a tractor mechanic look at it and give you an opinion.

 

[karmakanic]

The B21 is the commercial grade of Kubota tractor. I don't have experience with that model, but if it's anything like it's big brother the L35 it should be good for quite a few more hours then 1500. Those tractors are built strong, and intentionally under powered for their size and weight, so they can withstand the rigors of commercial use.

Of course, it could have 1500 hrs of finish mowing, or 1500 hrs of rock hauling. It could also have 1500 hrs of no service except when something broke. Small construction and landscape companies are not known for their preventive maintenance programs. I assume it's history is one of commercial use, since it's purported to have 1500 hours in only 4 years of use.

So,,,yes it can last a lot longer then 1500 hrs. But the past use and service history are the prime determiners of how long it will last. I would recommend you have a mechanic look at it if you're not familar with what to look for to judge it's past service and present condition.

If a mechanic is not available, here are a few things you can look at to get an idea of it's condition. First, check the FEL pins & bushings by raising the bucket and curling it back so the bucket is somewhat balanced on the lower arm pins, grab the bucket and shake it back & forth. Look for play & movement, especially in the top links. Shake the entire FEL from side to side, see how far you can move it. Lower the FEL until the front tires are raised off the ground. Give the front tires/wheels the shake test, see if there's play in wheel bearings/tie rods, ect. Of course check all fluids, especially the hydraulic fluid for cleaniness. Try to operate the tractor for a while under load, check hydrostat for wear. Having to give it a lot of petal to get it going is a sign of hydrostat wear. Check for fluid leaks. Try to start the tractor cold, how easily does it start, smoke after start-up, rough running, ect. Take the oil filler cap off while the engine is running and see how much "blowby" is coming out. Check FEL and 3 point lift for sinking down with engine off. As you can imagine, some of these checks require some experience of what is normal operation to make a judgement. That's one reason to bring in a professional.

Of course, any service records would be a plus, also would be a plus if you're buying it from someone you know takes care of their equipment.

BTW, this tractor is designed for a backhoe. You didn't mention if it had a backhoe included or not. They were sold either way. If it does not have a backhoe, you're paying a significant extra cost in weight and purchase price for something you won't be using.

And another BTW. I would take a B21 in almost any condition over a Chinese tractor.

HTH,
Dave Perry

 

[BradinWashington]

It does have a backhoe. The owner says it is an 8 foot hoe. However it is about 2,000 miles away so I'm not going to be able to see and inspect it until the day of purchase and pickup. The owner used it to develop 5 buildable plots. Drainfields utilitiy ditches and the like. I haven't asked him who owned before he did. I'm just going to use it for digging my utility ditches in the house I'm building and landscaping and then there's the detached garage to build and the garden pond.....

 

[MarkV]

Brad,
The B21 is an excellent tractor that has a great deal of extra strength built into it for small commercial work. As others have said, if it has been maintained properly there should be many more hours left in this tractor. My ‘98 B21, bought used with 400 hrs, now has close to 800 hrs and has never been to the shop. With 1500 hrs the most likely items to show wear are going to be the pins and bushing on the loader and backhoe. I don’t consider that abusive use, just normal wear. These are replaceable items that someone with reasonable mechanical ability can handle. The amount of play is going to vary with the type of conditions that the tractor has been used in. Rock and stump work is going to show more wear than softer clean soil trench work.

A couple of things to consider for your future needs. After your house is done if you plan on a lot of mowing, the B21 loader is not removable and it is not equipped to use a belly mower. Also, this tractor has 13 PTO horsepower, which limits it to a 4’ rotary mower and 5’ rear finish mower in most conditions. Make sure all of the 3pt hitch equipment is with the tractor. B21’s are often used as a backhoe only and these parts tend to disappear and are expensive to replace.

If you would like to share the asking price there are a number of B21 owners on the forum that might be able to give you an idea if it sounds good for the number of hours. One example on the Carver Equipment site is a 2000 model with 500 hrs for $18,000.

Good luck, it’s a great little tractor.

MarkV

 

[BradinWashington]

Thanks for all of the info. When I started looking at the B21 I liked it because of the heavy frame and backhoe attachment because of all of the large rocks I have. However, I didn't know that the fel did not come off on the B21. I could live with the lower horse power but not being able to remove the fel reduces it's versatility. There is probably an engineering reason why they build it this way. Any sugestions for a TFB with a strong subframe for the backhoe and a removable fel in the 25 to 30 hp range?
The owner is asking $12,500 for the B21.

 

[MarkV]

Brad,
Unlike most of the Kubota compacts the FEL is not removable for the reasons you suspected. A lot of it has to do with the 4 pt ROPS (Roll Over Protection System) that attaches to the loader supports and integrated frame. Most all of the “B” series tractors will except a backhoe with a sub-frame and many of the members here use that set up. The only down side is that sub-frame hoes often interfere with the use of a belly mower. To get into the same backhoe and loader power range as the B21, I would look at the B 2710 and B2910.

The price doesn’t sound too bad to me. It is a little more than half of what you would pay for a new one. If the condition seems good to you it might be worth buying and using while you are building, then trade. Used B21’s are hard to come by and there is always a market for them.

MarkV