B3030 Owners - How did you decide?

[rswyan]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( My dealer has also "warned" me about the light weight of the 3030 )</font>

Another B2910 owner here. Personally I love the size myself - previous tractor was a 40 HP IH 444 with loaded rear tires that weighed about double of the B2910 - almost no way I could run it on the lawn without tearing it up. There are times that I wish I had a larger tractor for some of my tasks - but then I just remember that my long term primary use will be mowing about 5 acres.

Here's one thing to keep in mind:

With a lighter tractor you can always add weight - but with a heavier tractor you'll probably be hard pressed to reduce it .... just a thought. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[lincolnvt]

Good point about adding weight. will be going down to my dealer and take a look. He carries NH and Kubota so I should get a good comparison. thanks again for your time. Bob - I looked at the 4310 now 3320 and those are 2900 pounds and seem just a bit too large for me. I do like the deere hydro though....any more thoughts are appreciated - thanks guys

 

[BobCurry]

Just a thought..

Have you looked at the new Massey Ferguson 1531? It's a 33hp tractor with most of the 3030 attributes with size and ability. I think it is only marginably heavier and is std with HST.

Bob

 

[Bob_Skurka]

I think what you will find is that there are DOZENS of good tractors out there that will get your mind spinning about what is right. All of them will likely do the job, but the big issue will be how much each will require you to compromise, and each one will do that.

The B3030 will do the heavy jobs slower. No arguement there, but it will get into the tight spaces the other tractors won't. The heavierweight machines will do the heavy jobs faster, but their larger size may prevent them from doing some jobs. A mid-size mid-weight machine may be a good bet, but then again you are the one who needs to decide if mid-size is small enough and mid-weight is light enough!!!

Personally I use both New Holland and Kubota and I like both of them. So I am probably going to be no help at all deciding between the two brands. I think the TC33's loader is superior to the Kubota's loader both in visibility and capacity, but it is not up to the specs of some of the heavy weight loaders in the same HP class, yet it does offere the advantage of being smaller in size than those machines. I think the Kubota is a great machine, the B2910 is a really compact powerhouse, and the engine is simply excellent, it is my understanding the B3030 uses the same engine.

To give you another prespective on the loaders, here is a photo of a B2910 and a TC24 that shows the visibility of the two designs. The TC33 is larger, but remarkably the visibilty is very similar based on my brief test at my dealers lot. The B3030 is not as flat hooded as the B2910, but it is not the sloping hood of the TC class machines either. NH vs Kubota front view comparison

 

[rpeter]

I have a new B7800. It is a step brother to the B3030. They are roughly the same size with the same trans and engine size. If size is an issue for you do not forget about the size of the FEL bucket. Most of the machines will come with a 60 inch bucket because “bigger is better”. I am working in and around trees so I made the dealer switch mine to the 54 inch size bucket. It gets me into some places that I could not go with the 60 incher.

 

[lincolnvt]

That is a good point. I don't need a "large" bucket because I don't believe I will be hauling a lot of material. the other thing I would find useful is one of those grapples. Long makes some - anybody with experiene using a grapple on these lighter tractors? Thanks for your replies and helpful info so far guys.

 

[Bob_Skurka]

Get in touch with RONJHALL, he has a grapple on his B2910. You can either send him a "PM" or you might want to start a thread on using a grapple with a lightweight tractor?

 

[srs]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I have 10.1 acres in Northern Vermont, mainly wooded with a ski trail going through that I maintain with neighbors. )</font>

Lincolnvt, are you thinking about a cabbed tractor for the winter months in Vermont?

 

[lincolnvt]

Stan,
the cab looks comfy but I will not be getting a cab model. As we say up here in Vermont "there is no such thing as bad weather just bad gear" layers of good outerwear is the way to go. the saved money on the cab also will allow me to get another implement. cheers, Brad /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

 

[ronjhall]

Not to steal this thread. My grapple can be viewed in Photos. Click Here