Help with buying a tractor.....Please!

Woodworkerman · Jun 15, 2008

Hello everyone!

I am in the market for a complete utility tractor setup. I recently purchased a home with 10 acres of land. We have a paved driveway that is about 500 yards, uphill, which I will need to maintain throughout the winter. We also plan to re-landscape and do other various chores that will put a new tractor to use. I am looking for something mid-sized with a climate controlled cab, loader, backhoe, and I plan to also purchase a 2 stage snow thrower and a mid mount grass cutting deck.

Now here痴 where the frustration sets in. I have a Kubota dealer nearby. I stopped by one day and the salesman directed me to the BX-24. He said they were selling a lot of them and they were good machines. I went home and found out on my own that they do not have a cab for them. I drove by there a few days later and saw a B3030 outside with a cab on it. I went in and the salesman said, 的 hate to bust your bubble, but you can稚 put a backhoe on any of our cab models. Needless to say, I left there feeling like Kubota was not for me.

I sent an email to my nearest Kioti dealer (about an hour away) explaining my needs and asking for some suggestions and/or pricing. I got no response.

I called the nearest John Deer dealer (about ｽ hour away) today to ask a few questions and was put on hold for about 10 minutes after which I hung up.

Needless to say, I have not been having much luck with my search for a good tractor. Can anyone recommend a manufacturer and model that might meet my needs? Thanks

LarryRB · Jun 15, 2008

I can't say which particular cab model Kubota's have the backhoe, but I have personally seen quite a few,, I can't say if they were 3030's or maybe larger,,, That dealer doesn't sound like he is interested, to me,, It also would help a whole lot if you mention where home is,,, There are a number of Kubota and other fine machine brands dealers that read this daily.. You may have a great dealer around the corner and you don't know it,,,

kozak · Jun 15, 2008

Woodworkerman,

Welcome to TBN !

Hard lines on your tractor search. Do you have a New Holland Dealer in your area. If so you can consider going with the TC40DA. The new series has options for Cab with all the bells & whistles which it did not have just a few years ago. Anything smaller from New Holland I don't believe has the Cab option. Your going to need a larger tractor anyways for the lot size & that long drive-way.

For the lawn have you thought about going with a zero turn radius lawn mower ??

Good Luck Tractor Hunting !!

Vic

Compact1 · Jun 15, 2008

Woodworkerman,

Please fill out your Public Profile. If you're close to my area (NE Missouri & West Central Illinois) I can put you in touch with several excellent dealers!

Woodworkerman · Jun 15, 2008

Thanks for the reply Larry. I got the same impression from the dealer. I'm surprised that they are not trying to get the sale!

Woodworkerman · Jun 15, 2008

Kozak, Thanks but I am not aware of any dealers in my area.

Compact, I fixed my profile and unfortunately I'm nowhere near you. Thanks anyway.

slewisma · Jun 15, 2008

I've seen some cabs that can be added to the BX24 and, after just a few days using a BX24, the BH isn't the kind of thing you'd use with a cab - you're in and out too much or up and off the seat enough switching from driving to BH work that it'd be a nuisance. Have you considered a cab for winter only, when the BH is not attached?

The BX24 and similar models from other brands are good tractors for doing a little bit of everything. I love my BX24. The key word though is little. How much of the 10 acres will you be actively working? What kind of shape is it in?

From what you've described so far I'd lean towards a bigger tractor and a separate lawn mower.

flusher · Jun 15, 2008

Woodworkerman said:
Hello everyone! I am in the market for a complete utility tractor setup. I recently purchased a home with 10 acres of land. We have a paved driveway that is about 500 yards, uphill, which I will need to maintain throughout the winter. We also plan to re-landscape and do other various chores that will put a new tractor to use. I am looking for something mid-sized with a climate controlled cab, loader, backhoe, and I plan to also purchase a 2 stage snow thrower and a mid mount grass cutting deck.

Now here痴 where the frustration sets in. I have a Kubota dealer nearby. I stopped by one day and the salesman directed me to the BX-24. He said they were selling a lot of them and they were good machines. I went home and found out on my own that they do not have a cab for them. I drove by there a few days later and saw a B3030 outside with a cab on it. I went in and the salesman said, 的 hate to bust your bubble, but you can稚 put a backhoe on any of our cab models. Needless to say, I left there feeling like Kubota was not for me.

I sent an email to my nearest Kioti dealer (about an hour away) explaining my needs and asking for some suggestions and/or pricing. I got no response.

I called the nearest John Deer dealer (about ｽ hour away) today to ask a few questions and was put on hold for about 10 minutes after which I hung up.

Needless to say, I have not been having much luck with my search for a good tractor. Can anyone recommend a manufacturer and model that might meet my needs? Thanks

You can get a soft-side cab for a Kubota BX24 TLB from this supplier

Sims Cab Depot - Kubota Compact Tractor Cab Enclosure - Models: BX2350, and BX24

It's the wrong color and looks a little odd to me, but it'll probably keep the wind off you in those PA winters.

I owned a Kubota B7510HST (21 hp engine, 17 hp pto) with the LA302 FEL and used it for 3 years around my 10 acre spread (flat pasture land) while building the house and installing landscaping, paver block walkways and a patio. Worked fine for me. Kubota makes excellent equipment.

Never needed a backhoe for anything. Used a Ditch Witch 1330 rental from Home Depot to dig the electrical, water and gas line trenches. Cost $130/day rental and I managed to cut all the trenches (about 1100 feet) in 8 hours.

Decided to go haying so traded that 7510 a few months ago for a Mahindra 5525 (55 hp engine, 45 hp pto) to handle the plowing/discing chores.

GreenWannabe · Jun 15, 2008

I know of at least two alternatives for backhoes on cabbed tractors. One is the new JD series of backhoes - but their smallest tractor with a factory cab is the 3320, which is a mid-sized compact with 32.5 engine HP and 25 pto HP. Their new backhoes for the cabbed tractors aren't showing up on their website yet, but I think might be a model 375 or 385?

Woods Equipment has backhoes which are sub-frame mounted available for some cabbed tractors. You can take a look at their documented mounting kits at this link: Woods Equipment Company - Manuals. If that doesn't work, go to their home page, select agricultrual, then click on the button there for product manuals, and look for Backhoe Sub-frame Mounting Kits. It is possible other third-party manfucturers, such as Bush Hog, Rhino, or Bradco, could make a backhoe mounting kit for their backhoes on cabbed tractors; I am just not aware of them. You could also contact them to see if they have a subframe mounting kit for the particular tractor you select, if it isn't shown on their site.

I'm pretty sure that you will have to go to a more powerful and more expensive tractor to get a factory cab. For Kubota, their smallest cabbed tractor is the B3030, rated at 30 engine HP and 23 pto HP. The smallest NH/CaseIH and MF/Agco/Challenger models with cabs are Class III models, in the 40 HP range.

Good luck with your search. As many others have stated, the dealer is as important or even more important as the machine.

Woodworkerman · Jun 15, 2008

Slewisma, I am interested in buying a cab model just because of extreme hot and cold. I see where they might be a nuisance as you indicated but I expect to spend quite a few cold winter days plowing or snow-blowing so I really would like to have it. As far as the property goes, it is mainly wooded. We will be doing a lot of landscaping, minor logging and stump removal, and other basic maintenance. I figure just removing the snow and the leaves from the long driveway I could use something like this.

Flusher, I know you can get after market cabs for many tractors, but since i am going in head first, i thought I might as well get a nice one from the original manufacturer.

Green, I checked out the JD 20 line on their website. They look awesome. I was actually just calling the local dealer to make sure that I could get BH on those models. I hear that JD is kind of pricey but I have not received any quotes on any yet.

Thanks guys.