Welcome and congrats. About two years ago I was in exactly the same position as you; I had just purchased a new
B7800 and really didn't know "j**k s**t" about tractors /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif. I am sure you are going to be glad you bought it.
I have received more help from people here than I can begin to acknowledge. Folks are generally knowledgeable, friendly, polite (with occasional lapses /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif ) and happy to try to help.
Here are my suggestions, FWIW:
1. If you are mechanically inclined, there is no reason not to do routine maintenance yourself, but keep a log documenting what you do, and when, in case a warranty issue arises later on.
2. Consider ordering the shop manuals for the tractor and any Kubota attachnments (FEL, Backhoe) that you buy. They are much more detailed than the owners' manual and not that expensive. Can be bought at
www.tractorsmart.com.
3. I agree about pallet forks. $ for $ the two most cost-effective (and frequently used) attachments that I have are my toothbar and Payne's pallet forks. With the latter, you can unload the pallets on which any other attachments you buy (and there will be more /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif ) will probably come.
4. Follow the owners' manual break-in procedures and maintenance schedule. Also, learn and recognize your tractor's limitations (they're in the owners' manual) and don't try to use a 30hp tractor as if it was twice as powerful. You're going to be amazed at what it CAN do, but it does have some limits.
5. You have a quality machine with a great reputation. If you ever want to sell, or trade up to a larger machine, you will never lose money on a quality machine, so long as it has not been abused and has been well maintained. By way of example, I recently sold my Honda walk-behind snowblower (when I bought a 3ph machine). I had maintained a spreadsheet log of its hours and service which I made available to potential buyers. After owning and using it for 3 years, I sold it for $100 more than I had paid for it (prices had gone up in the meantime).
Most everyone here, myself included, will be happy to try to be helpful about any future questions you may have. That's how I try to repay all the folks who have helped me and saved me from doing stupid things. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif