B7400/B7500 history

[Anonymous Poster]

I am working in the Philippines with a translation/linguistic organization. I need to purchase a new tractor/mower for the center, which covers about 10 hectors. The tractor needs to have front bucket capability also. I am looking at a B7400 or B7500 series. Because of our location I can not see one or talk to a dealer. What is your experience or recommendation?

 

[Kelvin]

Roger,

Steve Carver's web site is a good place to go for information when wanting to compare models (there are usually links from this forum's opening page).

Here are my comments...

Power Steering: If you are going to use a Front End Loader (FEL) then the predominate opinion on this board is to opt for a tractor with power steering to make life easier. The B7400 has manual steering while the B7500 has power steering.

Transmission: Again, for FEL work, go with the Hydrostatic Transmission. Especially if there is a lot of fore-and-aft tractor movement during the FEL work (I'd guess that greater than 80% of all FEL work involves a lot of changing direction...at least mine does). The B7400 is available only in hydrostatic; the B7500 is available in both gear-drive (B7500D) and hydrostatic (B7500HSD).

Both of the 3-point hitches are category "1" hitches. Neither tractor has position control on the 3-point lift. You'll have to consider the next larger tractor (B2410) to get position control if you think that you'll need it.

Horsepower ratings (based upon the sales brochure) is as follows:

Model Engine HP (PTO HP)
B7400HSD 16 (12.5)
B7500D 21 (16)
B7500HSD 21 (17)

That should be enough information to pass along for now. If there are more questions don't hesitate to ask. There is plenty of wisdom and experience lurking within the members and readers of this board.

Kelvin

 

[Bird]

Good answer, Kelvin. Roger, as far as quality, they're good. Just look at the specs at Carver's site or Kubota's site http://www.kubota.com to determine how big a tractor/mower you need, lift height and weight for the front end loader, etc. And as Kelvin said, I'd sure go for the HST and power steering, both for mowing and for front end loader work.

Bird

 

[glennmac]

What's a hector?

 

[looch]

A hectare is used to measure area and is equivalent to 2.47 acres.

 

[DVerbarg]

Glennmac,

A hectometer is 100 meters, so would a "hector" be an area of 100 sq meters?

DaveV

 

[glennmac]

Thanks, Paul. I wouldnt have known what is was with either spelling.

 

[looch]

I have an extremely useful little program called Convert. I think it's great, only 570Kb - and it's free! I highly recommend it. Here's the link if you interested. http://www.joshmadison.com/software/convert/download.asp

 

[RPM]

Roger,

I have friends and family in SE Asia, so your requests sparked off some thoughts ...

1. What's the most common, reliable, tractor in your area?

Tropical climates are tough on vehicles. Spare parts (and skilled mechanics) can be a challenge. Is Kubota well represented in the Phillipines? If not, you may want to consider another brand (boy that hurts to say!).

Even if a locally produced tractor needs to be repaired more often, the total cost of ownership may be much lower if the parts and labor are cheap and easily available.


2. Who's doing the maintenance on the tractor?

Hand-in-hand with the purchase goes the cost of maintenance - as I just stated. This is needed relatively frequently. Additional costs for specialist tools etc. need to be factored in - espec. if you are far from a dealer.

There are also few good substitutes for specialized hydraulic fluids that you will need a stockpile of (Kubota Super UDT is hard to find sometimes even in the US) ...


3. What are you planning on doing with the tractor?

The attachments can be a bigger hassle than the tractor itself. There are hundreds of years of combined experience on the forum that would be interested to help you out here!! Again, different attachments have pitfalls in terms of maintenance and 'gotchas' that you may want to consider in the purchase ...

I believe that the last question will get you the most responses ... tell us what you plan on doing and we'll give you suggestions ... you may also want to poke around this forum for items such as fuel filter funnels, high rated torque wrenches and so on ...

Hope this is helpful,

Patrick

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Thank you for the information. I am not familiar with the Steve Carver web site. Do you have a web address? For that matter, I can not spell "hectare". Again, thanks for the help.