Buying Advice Looking at a new Kubota....

bruce65trojan · May 1, 2016

New to the forum guys! I'm currently looking at purchasing a new Kubota here in the near future. I currently have a JD 5400 2wd and 1070. I have roughly 75 acres that I am taking care of. Majority of it is small plantation pine with some pasture area. The pines will be getting cleared section by section and will need to be cleaned up behind the timber crews. My plan is to keep the 5400 to bush hog between the smaller pine trees while using the new tractor for cutting the pastures and I would sell/trade in the 1070. I was considering the the 7060 4wd with FEL and cab. But I see no reason to get a 74hp tractor when the 5400 is already a 68hp. So now i'm starting to eye something bigger like the 8560 4wd or 9960 4wd. While these might be a little big for what I need now but I can see them being beneficial for the cleaning, clearing, and ground work to re-establish all my pasture area and for future use when I starting cutting and baling hay again. Like I mentioned the new unit will have a cab and FEL. I just wanted to get opinions on which model I should go with and why.

justinramani · May 1, 2016

Since you already have a tractor -why not invest in an excavator? Or maybe a skid steer? Both would come in handy for what you are looking to do.

bruce65trojan · May 1, 2016

Well I believe in the long run I will get more use out of the tractor once I have everything set up, Cutting, baling, feeding bales, plowing and etc. As if it was the excavator or skid steer I would just have to sell and purchase a 4wd tractor anyway.

TheMadOne · May 1, 2016

I'd say go as big as you can afford. The tasks you outlined are pretty HP intensive, so more definitely sounds like better to me. I will say that, looking at both on tractor data, your 5400 is a good bit heavier than the M9960, so even with more power you may struggle with traction when pulling roots and things like that. Maybe a Deere 5115? A fair bit more expensive(looks like roughly a 15k premium on tractorhouse), but has the weight to go with the power.

As an aside, I do question the selling of the 1070 as that leaves you with nothing but larger tractors. One day having that little guy might come in handy. You know your tasks better then me, but I thought I'd just float that idea.

Heck, I talked with a guy the other day who's smallest tractor was 160HP.

Jeez, I haven't even hit 50 posts yet and I'm already spending someone else's money...

bruce65trojan · May 1, 2016

I was thinking the same thing. Go big or go home! (As long as it's affordable) Like you said I believe it will be more beneficial to have a higher hp tractor. Being that both tractors I have now are 2wd, and only the 5400 has a FEL is the main reason I will be keeping the 5400 and getting rid of the 1070. I don't want to be in a position where the only tractor I have with a FEL is the new/bigger one. This way I could use the 5400 to do things that I wouldn't want to bring the cab around, low limbs and etc

Farmer495 · May 1, 2016

I'm a fan of having at least two ways to do something. I'd get the second tractor same or bigger power as your 5400. If both have loaders and are same power, you will always be able to do your work in the event of breakdown / flat tire etc.

bruce65trojan · May 1, 2016

Looking at tractordata, and the specs of the 5400 vs the 9960, wheelbase is +8", length is +18", width is +10", height is +10". In the grand scheme of things I don't think that is that much of a difference for the amount of power I would get. The kubota's are relatively compact from what I've seen.