Down to Orange

[dlroy101]

After much soul searching and not the most agreeable conversation (tractors in general) with the misses I have my choices down to one brand and that would be Kubota. My model choices are:

B2410 w/LA352
B7610 w/LA352
B7800 w/LA402
B2630 w/LA403
B3030 w/LA403 (outside shot)

Here's the situation. I have a 20.7 acre lot on a mountain top in Capon Bridge, WV. About 15 acres are useable with flat to rolling terrain. The rest is too steep for much of anything. It is almost 2 hours away from home, so more than likely I'll be towing it back/forth and storing it at my typical suburban home. Weight is an issue, because I have a Nissan Frontier that has a 5,000 lb towing limit. Price is also a factor, because I need to throw in the cost of a trailer to boot. This is what I plan to use the tractor for:

Cutting in paths/trails
Moving rocks, logs, dirt, etc.
Some rough mowing
Dig post holes
Maybe some snow clearing
Using at home for some landscaping chores (no mowing)
Whatever else I can think of that the tractor can do

I really like the size of the B7800, B2630, B3030, but they are at my weight (fully equipped) and price limits. I should probably eliminate the B3030 now, because once I add the cost of a trailer it will just be excessive. I'm hanging onto the B2410 (have located one) and B7610, because I should be able to get either of those for less money and they would be less taxing to my truck while towing. I'm concerned with the loss in performance that I would suffer with the smaller machines though. With the description I've given, do you think the B2410 or B7610 would fit my needs? I can fill in any blanks if there are any and are asked.

I've learned a lot this last week.

Thanks for all the help,
Darrell
/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

 

[CT_Tree_Guy]

Darrell:

Since you haven't gotten any replies yet, I'll share my thoughts with you, such as they are.

Let me start by saying that I know very little about the B Kubotas other than what I can glean by reading the specs, and I am in no position to denegrate them in any way, nor do I have any intention of doing so.

It seems to me that you need as much tractor as you can possibly get for the uses you stated, especially handling logs, some of which might weigh as much as any of the B tractors.

More tractor in fact than your Frontier can tow. I'm wondering if it would be possible to leave the tractor permanently at your WV lot in its own little shed, doesn't have to be fancy. You'd really have to insure it, of course. This would save you a lot of towing and wear and tear on your truck, save you the expense of a trailer (pay someone once to bring it there), and help you to get a heavier tractor with a bigger loader. The cost of the bigger tractor would be partially offset by eliminating the trailer, and by cutting down on fuel costs associated with towing it as much as you would be.

Here's what I'm getting at. With all those acres and tasks, I can see you in an L3130 w/753 loader. I might be off, but from some posts I just read it sounds as if there wouldn't be much more than about a $2,000 increase in cost over a B3030 with 403 loader. Anyone, please correct me if I'm wrong.

The 3130 would be a lot heavier (3200 lbs), have more 3ph lift, and the 753 loader would get a heck of a lot more work done.

Of course, this gets you into the "well, for a few dollars more" syndrome if you start looking at the 3430 or 3830. The 3130 could be all that you will ever need though. Maybe check out some of the posts by inveresk, he does a heck of a lot with his, including some pretty serious logging.

I haven't mentioned the L3400, but you might need more weight than that (2600 lbs) and more loader than the 463.

OK, I'm slipping into my flame-retardant BVD's now. Again, these are just some thoughts of mine that come with the usual disclaimer: I might be totally full of it.

Good luck with whatever you end up with, John D.

 

[rico304]

Hey Darrell. I have the same type of chore list as well(Same acreage). I also share the limited fund syndrome. haha. I have used my friends 30 HP 4300 JD and think it is perfect size for me. Money wise I think I am going to have to come down from that size of tractor. I have been looking at B7510/7610/7800. I would love the 7800, but have the funds for the 7510. I have decided to push it and go with the extra umph and get the 7610. I can tow easily with my Tacoma, and has the power to do all that you mentioned. I don't know what size tree it will pull.
I can't afford to go in that 30ish HP range, but I think that is the perfect size. Most rental places rent implements based on a 30HP tractor.
7510 to 7610 is only about $1000. Most important..more PTO HP. Bigger toys and better performance from the same size toys.
My tractor duties are:
Clearing trails on 22 acres
Firewood
Snowblowing (3pt hitch)
Snow removal with FEL
Box Scraper
Bush Hog 3 fields
Tilling
etc. etc. etc.
all that said, I think the 7610 will serve the purpose. Previous poster is correct as well, but I have to play within my budget.
Good luck! Let me know what you decide.

 

[ronjhall]

I don't know how a Nissan Frontier is for power. But I tow my B2910, FEL & BH with a Chevy Astro van that has a 5000 tow rating. I don't have to climb any mountains around here though.
I believe that the B2630 or B3030 are the best choice because of the added features they offer.
My next choice would be the B7800. I like the added power and weight over the smaller tractors.
I also like the B2410 for position control 3PH.

 

[Bob_Young]

I'd vote the L3400, roy. About midway between the B3030 and the L3130 in weight and with more power than either. Loader will be weaker than the L3130 though, as will the 3pt. hitch lift capacity but, as I recall, stronger than the B3030.

Best thing is that, being a basic tractor, it'll probably cost less than the B3030. You'll also have the option of going gear for further savings. L3400HST with loader prices have been reported around $18K here on the forum. For the rough work you've outlined, a basic tractor makes sense.

Treeguy's idea of forgetting the trailer and keeping it in a shed sounds like a winner....of course we all like to have our tractors at home where we can use them.
Bob

 

[2630]

I was also at the end of my financial rope, and was trying to decide between the same tractors you are. I opted to go with the 2630. I felt that its size, strong back-hoe, nice size FEL, and all the delux options made it the clear winner of the bunch. I put 50hrs on it so far and have no regrets. Good luck!!

 

[aesanders]

One thing you have to decide for yourself though is just how fast and productive you need to be. The larger more powerful tractors will reallly speed up any amount of work you do. However, you may not be in such a rush and might favor a more comfortable smaller tractor with more options. This basically is your decision. Any of the machines you listed will be able to do the tasks at hand. Just depends on how much you need it to do in the amount of time you need to spend.
For instance you can dig a 3 ft deep trench that is 300 ft long with a bx 23 tractor. It might take you all weekend to do it but it can definately be done. The 580 K case backhoe I use to own would be able to do that same job in 45 minutes. Both would get the same job done. If you don't make a living digging trenches and don't mind spending the time the smaller machine might be the better option. It would cost less etc. Also, if you are using it around your suburban house, it may make more sense to have a smaller tractor.

My recommendation would be to get the one you feel most comfortable using in a price range that you can live with.

 

[btolle]

AESANDERS hit the nail on the head. I have a B7510 and can do everything I want to do on 3 acres clearing woods, leveling, etc. But I am not in a hurry and don't care if it takes 3 or 4 years of my spare time.

Either of the gentlemen with 30 acres can do what they want with a B series given enough time. However, towing it back and forth indicates he does not live on the property and this will be a weekend deal which means limited seat time.

Given what I know about my B7510 I would go for a 30+ HP tractor for 30 acres even if I was only clearing/working part of the acreage, even if I had to buy a used tractor to get within the budget.

I would rather have a good used tractor that will do what I want than a shiny new tractor that I curse for being too small. Besides, my shiny "new" tractor that I bought a year ago looked like a pretty well "used" tractor within a week or 2 after I got it.

As for the storage, perhaps an alternative might be a cargo container with good locks on it instead of hauling it back and forth. Another advantage of an older used tractor is it is not as attractive to thieves as a shiny new Kubota!

Bill Tolle

 

[dlroy101]

Those are some good replies. I did have the L2800, L3400, JD 780, NH TC33DA, and other larger tractors on my initial list, but besides the weight factor there is the whole physical size factor. My lot is mostly wooded and I'm going to try and keep it that way with the exception of the driveway and landing, which I'm hiring an excavator to do. There are going to be some tight situations, especially while cutting in trails. I want to keep the trails as narrow as possible, so they can be a little more challenging and in my mind fun while riding our dirtbikes. One good point that a couple people made is the amount of time I'm willing to put into the work I want to do. The round about answer is that the property is my escape from my 3+ hour commute everyday of the week and all the other stress that comes with working in downtown Washington DC. I don't mind taking my time getting a task completed. I like digging in the dirt. It provides some therapy. So really the 3030 and 7800 are absolutely the biggest I'm going to go. I like the compactness of the 2410 and 7610 even better, but the loader capabilities of the others including the 2630 are appealing. More comments are welcome.

Thanks,
Darrell

 

[CT_Tree_Guy]

Darrell -

Hey, I'm not through spending your money yet! Please don't spoil my fun with irrelevant information such as your actual needs! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Seriously though - it sounds as if you've given this a LOT of thought and I'm going to leave you in the good hands of those experienced with the machines you have in mind. One of them is going to be perfect for the tasks you want to do, and the therapeutic pace at which you're going to do them.

I apologize for pushing for the bigger tractors when I didn't really know whether or not you really NEEDED them. For those who really DO need more tractor, I would just like to submit an observation (for eyes other than yours) that it is remarkable to me how relatively small a price difference exists between the larger B models and the L3130. There are quite a few posts that have noted that you really do get quite a lot of bang for not too many bucks by making that jump. A 3130 weighs about 1,400 lbs more than a B3030, so you're paying maybe $1.25 a pound for the bigger tractor - compare that to $8.99 a pound for rib-eye - and the tractor lasts longer /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Anyway, enjoy your new baby, and I wish you many, many happy hours of seat time away from the hustle and bustle of the big city. And bundle up, because you won't have all that "hot air" that emanates from our nation's capital to keep you warm!

Best regards, John

 

[dlroy101]

John,

I do appreciate the reply and if I was going to be clearing large portions of the property I know a larger tractor would have been in order. I did hesitate to eliminate the larger tractors on my list, but knew after really thinking about it that they just weren't going to work for me. I could just see myself trying to squeeze between trees and banging into them constantly. I might have some of the same problems with the smaller tractors, but hopefully not as many. The tractors that remain on my list are not too far apart in performance, so the decision has become tougher now.

Thanks again,
Darrell

 

[daTeacha]

Well, they say bigger is better and if you really need a backhoe, that is pretty much true. On the other hand, I've moved a lot of lumber and logs with my subcompact B7100DT which weighs in at less than 1300 lb, loader and all, and had only 16 engine hp when new. It has an unknown number of hours on it since the previous owner disconnected the hour meter at 1490 or so. It's about 25 years old.

I've used it in the woods, carrying or dragging logs of decent size but nothing really big. A 12' piece of hickory 15" in diameter is about all it will lift and it's pretty tippy both side to side and front to back with that load, even with a 6' blade hanging on the back. Are you doing actual logging, or just cleaning up the woods, maybe after a logging operation?

If dragging logs, the trick is to keep the front of the log off the ground so it doesn't plow a furrow, in which case you want to get something strong enough to lift it or you want to get or make a wheeled cradle which picks the log up when you move forward. A big tractor is pretty hard on the woods. I had my place logged with horses. The loggers had a 50 hp NH which they used for directed falls only, but I can still easily see the ruts the thing left when a tree dragged it backwards as it fell. The horses and cradles did so little damage that people came by the next summer and asked if I had decided against the logging.

I'm looking to move up in size for stability and ergonomics, but don't rule out the little guys when considering a tractor. You can do a lot if you aren't in a big hurry.

 

[LouVA]

I bought a used B2410 last spring and put 60 hours on it this past summer cutting about 15 acres of grass with a 5' KingKutter finish cutter on very steep hills in the western Virginia Alleghenies near the West VA border. I drove it up from central Florida on a single axle 5 X 8 flat bed trailer into these mountains with a 4 cylinder Subaru Forester some 800 miles north. Without any equpment it weighs about 1450 lbs. and fit right on my small 1 ton trailer. It's so easy and fun to drive that I am disappointed when I run out of fields to cut. I have only a 5' scraper blade for it besides the cutter since I do not farm.

 

[dlroy101]

I have quotes from two different dealers on the models I'm interested in. They are:

B7610 - (1) $13,300 and (2) $13,800
B2410 - (1) N/A and (2) $13,400
B7800 - (1) $14,650 and (2) $15,400
B2630 - (1) $15,250 and (2) $15,900
B3030 - (1) $16,550 and (2) $17,100

5% MD Sales Tax would need to be added. I like both dealers. Both said they would deliver to my home. Dealer 2 is only 10 minutes from home. Right now I'm thinking it's between the B2410 or the B7800. My wife likes the B2410. For her the smaller the better. It's a tough decision.

Darrell

 

[daTeacha]

Have you told each dealer you are shopping hard between the two of them? You might get some service work or other goodies thrown to sweeten the pot a little. Drive around the area and look for Kubota's in private hands. It seems nuts, but stop in and ask the owners where they got their tractor and why. In other words, get references about the dealerships to help you make up your mind.

In all the discussions I've read here about which tractor to buy, nearly everyone agrees that the dealer is the single most important since the tractors can more or less all get the job done.

 

[flusher]

Don't know where your pain threshold is on bottom line price, but here's what I paid for my setup last May:

B7510HST with LA302 FEL ---$12,600
KK brush hog (48") ---------- $675 at TSC
KK box blade (48") ---------- $375 at TSC
Used Yanmar RS1200 rototiller (48") -------- $300

Don't know if the B7510 is enough machine for your needs, but it's around 2000 pounds with the FEL. You could get by with a $2500-$3000 double axle trailer to haul the tractor/FEL.

You'll have to figure out how to get your implements to your site, unless you want to leave them there. For example, my KK brush hog weighs about 425lb. You'll need space on the trailer for it if you want to truck it back and forth.

Problems, problems.

 

[CT_Tree_Guy]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I'm going to leave you in the good hands of those experienced with the machines you have in mind. )</font>

Ah, another broken promise. I always knew I was cut out for public office - when I move to Washington I'll look you up. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif


B3030. B3030. In conclusion, B3030.

 

[cmperry]

I have used a B7510 all summer now on 10 acres and have used it hard. No trouble hauling (3).. 8 inch white birch, tree length,,,box blading 300ft of driveway,,and alot of general things that need to be done while building a new home. My advise is to forget about the B7610 and use the money difference on implements,,$1000 is alot for the small pto HP difference. I have a co worker with a B7510 and a 60 inch snowblower here in Maine and he has never been lost for pto HP. I have not ran up against anything that 1-2 pto Hp would have cured. Tried the B7800...nice tractor but alot more money...go slow and they both can do the same job..

 

[cart99]

Hi neighbor sort of. I live in Lovettsville and my sister-in-law lives in Capon Bridge. I'd say get the biggest tractor you can afford, which would probably be the B7800, but splurge on the B2630 or B3030 if you can wing it. The "nice" features are really worth the extra money.

I don't want to complicate your decision too much, but you should consider giving Neil Messick a shot at your deal also. His Kubota dealership is not that far from Frederick. He's got a solid reputation and is active on these forums, which I considered a major plus.

Also, feel free to PM me on local dealers, my opinions, etc... I own a B3030, and three of my neighbors have Kubotas so I'm familiar with several of the tractors on your short list.

 

[CT_Tree_Guy]

To all:

I'd like to elaborate on my previous post. I don't want to come across as being insensitive to, or ignorant of, the cold hard reality that we can't always get what we want, and are darn lucky if we have all that we need. (I wanted a Holder C8.72HF, but that's another story).

It's just that a tractor purchase is a very big decision for most of us, and we'll probably be sitting on that tractor for a long, long time. Once you're sitting on it, you can never cough up the extra cash and turn it into the tractor you might wish you had bought. You usually get one shot at it per many years. Regret is a terrible feeling to have, for me at least. I've eaten a lot of spaghetti and beans to get the tractor I wanted, but I have very few, if any, regrets.

Why B3030, B3030, B3030? First, I think the 2410 is a little too much on the small side for the tasks described (and tasks unforeseen) and the acreage involved. After all, larger tractors such as the L3400 and NH TC33 were under consideration, but had to be ruled out due to weight/towing considerations. Plus, I would hate to give up that middle hydro range. To me, that leaves the 7800 (and it's "kissing cousins"), and that leads directly to the 3030. (OK, or maybe the 2630 - insert Tim Allen snarl here). There's a great thread - "B3030 vs. B7800". For anyone in Darrell's situation, I think it's worth reading. The consensus in it, and elsewhere, is that the extra $1,700 or so is definitely worth it. It's not like I'm advocating leather seats and a Bose stereo.

That thread points out many of the plusses. Proportional 3PH vs. quarter-inching (HUGE IMHO); telescoping 3PH arms; independent PTO; hydrostatic power steering; better cruise control (OK, so I never use mine); and the creature comforts: tilt wheel, better seat, or so I've heard (good seat = better seat time?), cup holder (HUGE /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif); and with all apologies to the B7800 owners that I'm ticking off, I think the 3030 just plain looks cooler, dare I say more "modern"?

I'd add to that list the very important fact (again IMHO) that the rated power is developed at 2600 rpm vs. 2900, and that HAS to mean longer engine life, and probably quieter operation. And it weighs only 111 lbs. more than the 7800. Very towable.

I've read a few posts about guys converting the 7800 over to telescoping 3PH arms for $200-300; asking how to convert the quarter-inching 3PH to proportional; trading in a 7800 with low hours for a 3030; and others expressing REGRETS, there's that ugly word again, about not having gotten the B3030. Nowhere have I heard anyone say "darn, why on earth did I waste my money, I wish I'd gotten the 7800 instead".

So there it is, and to all the B7800 owners out there, please take this post in the spirit in which it is written; to paraphrase Marc Antony, I come not to bury the 7800, but to praise the 3030. I am absolutely sure that the 7800 is rugged, reliable, and powerful (hey, it's a Kubota) and can do more in 100 hours than I could do in a lifetime. There's just so much bang for the buck in going for the 3030 (similar to the step up from the B3030 to the Lxx30) that it makes bank robbery seem a lot more understandable - in fact, just short of acceptable.

We can't always get what we want - but isn't it awfully nice when we do?

Man, am I going to get slammed - oh well, nice knowing y'all /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

John D.