If you had it to do over again...

jk96 · Oct 9, 2019

AllByteNoBark said:
Have not had my Kubota long but so far the only thing I would change is to buy it sooner!

Same here. I should have parted with my last tractor 2 years ago but was just hard to give up on a newish tractor with less than 300 hours. If I had it would have saved me thousands and a ton of frustration.

chim · Oct 10, 2019

Not exactly a do-over, but along those lines. The basic uses for a tractor here haven't changed substantially over the years. My expectations and desires have. To address the latter, tractors have come and gone.

SmallChange · Oct 10, 2019

Kwehme09 said:
[...]
- I would have wired my work light with a relay. I probably will actually do this one over.
[...]

Why? I'm afraid I might make the same mistake! Educate me?

747driver · Oct 10, 2019

davrow said:
That was actually THE deciding factor in getting my Kioti. Joystick by seat and steps on both sides.

2nd choice was LS, 3rd Massey. Kubota out of the running due solely to dealer.

I 2nd the step on my CK27 being on the right side as well ! I probably use the left side more but the right side gets use also. I found Kioti to be a better designed tractor for my needs.

widefat · Oct 10, 2019

murphy1244 said:
Hey Richard! Got any idea how to wire up a stratocaster with noiseless pickups??????????????????

Step 1:
Sell the strat and buy something with HBs.

GeneV · Oct 10, 2019

Kwehme09 said:
I've been having some trouble with my Kioti and Kioti Dealer, and been thinking back to when I bought my tractor. If I had it to do over again, I probably would have gone with a Kubota, not because of the quality of my Kioti, but because my local Kioti dealer has an awful service department compared to the local Kubota dealer.

A few other things I'd do differently:

- I would have sized up a model or two. I stayed under the 25HP mark, and in hindsight given my hilly terrain, I think the extra HP would have been helpful and worth the emissions stuff. I think I whiffed on this decision because I was going from a shuttle shift (19HP) to an HST.

- I would have wired my work light with a relay. I probably will actually do this one over.

- I would have checked the tightness of the nuts on my FEL mounts. They all backed out at about 15 hours and caused some minor damage on my new tractor even though the dealer claims they put lock tight on them all during install.

I'm sure a lot of people's Do-Overs are covered in almost every post, but I thought it might be interesting to collect them all in one place.

Kwehme, how old is the tractor? If it's fairly new, why not try to sell on you own or trade in? You'll loose a few bucks, but gain what you really want/need. Regret is for something you can't remedy, this you could fix.

CobyRupert · Oct 10, 2019

I don't think OP came here to bash his Kioti dealer.
If he did, then (as another TBN'er is fond of saying) the OP needs to "PUT YOUR LOCATION IN YOUR PROFILE INFO!!" so we have an idea of what area his dealer services. :stirthepot:

oosik · Oct 10, 2019

Now that I am getting snow here and reconsidering. There ARE those days when plowing my mile long gravel driveway. I sometimes DO wish for a cab and heat. But only then. It's just too nice in the summer to be cooped up in a cab. Eddie Bauer still does a good job for the winter activities.

Kwehme09 · Oct 10, 2019

oosik said:
Now that I am getting snow here and reconsidering. There ARE those days when plowing my mile long gravel driveway. I sometimes DO wish for a cab and heat. But only then. It's just too nice in the summer to be cooped up in a cab. Eddie Bauer still does a good job for the winter activities.

I run a rear blower in the White Mountains of NH with no Cab. Wouldn't have it any other way.

However, no matter the temperature I wear Fisherman's (Grundens) rain bibs and jacket as my outer layer.

Kwehme09 · Oct 10, 2019

CobyRupert said:
I don't think OP came here to bash his Kioti dealer.
If he did, then (as another TBN is fond of saying) the OP needs to "PUT YOUR LOCATION IN YOUR PROFILE INFO!!" so we have an idea of what area his dealer services. :stirthepot:

You are right. As annoyed as I am with my dealer (see here) I am not trying to slander them.

fried1765 · Oct 10, 2019

CobyRupert said:
I don't think OP came here to bash his Kioti dealer.
If he did, then (as another TBN is fond of saying) the OP needs to "PUT YOUR LOCATION IN YOUR PROFILE INFO!!" so we have an idea of what area his dealer services. :stirthepot:

A very valid location point you make.
Unfortunately, a few folks here are also stuck on .....RESIST!

ovrszd · Oct 10, 2019

fried1765 said:
A very valid location point you make.
Unfortunately, a few folks here are also stuck on .....RESIST!

Yeah, those guys from that area are always like that.

Kwehme09 · Oct 10, 2019

GeneV said:
Kwehme, how old is the tractor? If it's fairly new, why not try to sell on you own or trade in? You'll loose a few bucks, but gain what you really want/need. Regret is for something you can't remedy, this you could fix.

Valid point that I have given a little consideration. Trading in our old Ford 1310 (great tractor) was a tough sell to my wife, and convincing her that I need to trade/sell/upgrade again a year later will be even tougher. Between the hit I'd take on the trade or sale, and the slight upgrade I'd make on the new, I'd imagine would be a +/- $5K hit.

lilranch2001 · Oct 10, 2019

pocket change

oosik · Oct 10, 2019

Kwehme09 - when I had a smaller tractor, I had to use a 3-point blower to clear the berms. It was never the blown snow that bothered me - I could always adjust the discharge chute. It's always been the snow-laden small pines that line the entire driveway. This situation did not change when I upgraded to the Kubota M6040. Frankly - it got worse. With their snow load - they lean into the driveway on both sides.

Finally - this year - it was the chain saw and chipper. It certainly looked nice in the summer but in the winter - WHOOO. You could see dump after dump coming as I bladed down the driveway. No way to avoid it - and I really tried some exotic cures.

Cutting & chipping the small pines will be a never ending project. The gigantic ancient pines, that line the driveway, drop all their cones right on the driveway. Summer traffic chews them up and releases the seeds. Winter snow plowing moves the seeds to both sides.

Just a part of living in the country.

If I had to do it all over again. I would have moved down here in 1972 and not waited until 1982.

Kwehme09 · Oct 10, 2019

lilranch2001 said:
pocket change

Not when you factor in what divorce would cost me. :thumbdown:

lilranch2001 · Oct 10, 2019

one of the benefits of being divorced is NOT having to "run it past HER anymore"

ericm979 · Oct 10, 2019

If I had it to do over I'd have gotten a Branson 4225 instead of a 3725. The 3725 is plenty power for most things except chipping larger material with the PTO chipper. 5hp more would help. And I'd have considered a Kubota Grand L series. My Branson dealer is really good overall and is responsive while I had to beg the Kubota dealer for quotes. But if I could have stomached the Kubota dealer, the Grand L has some nice features that my Branson does not have. I didn't even consider it because it would have cost $8-10k more. But it turns out that I get way more use out of the tractor than I expected. The old small Kubota B7100 I had before was just too small to do a lot of the jobs I do with the Branson.

GeneV · Oct 10, 2019

Kwehme09 said:
Valid point that I have given a little consideration. Trading in our old Ford 1310 (great tractor) was a tough sell to my wife, and convincing her that I need to trade/sell/upgrade again a year later will be even tougher. Between the hit I'd take on the trade or sale, and the slight upgrade I'd make on the new, I'd imagine would be a +/- $5K hit.

To me it be groveling to the CFO for the extra 5k. But if that ain't an option, only other healthy choice is to embrace what you got and build a life with it. Screw regret, it's a toxic state of mind.