Ordered the Kubota 3130DT with 513 FEL

[chriss]

It should be here around 8/26. I ordered it from an NC dealer and will have to pay delivery but it's still less than the local Kubota dealers. I now need to buy a trailer and truck since my Isuzu Trooper will not have what it takes to move the tractor to the property and back.

 

[cuzncletus]

Congrats. After much shopping and worrying, I ended up buying the same package you did about a three weeks ago. For a 91 cu. in. engine it's an amazing piece of equipment. A contractor I'm working in conjunction with thought I had brought a tree cutting machine into my acreage I'm clearing for development. Nope, just a little Kubota with a bushhog on it. Regular brush (grapevines, kudzu) higher than the tractor are a piece of cake. Small trees are just potential toothpicks. Trees the diameter of a small ball bat sound like h*** but so far not even a suggestion of wear and tear on the bushhog and blades. The tractor doesn't care. My PTO speed hasn't been over 340 and the machine has been able to do everything I've asked of it.

I wanted green real bad but I just couldn't pass up this much more machine than the 790 I'd settled on for not very much more money. By the way, trade the Trooper in. You've got way too much tractor for that.

I know you're anxious and excited. And you should be......

 

[chriss]

I am very excited! I'm just over 40 and don't remember being this excited about anything for many years with the exception of my kids births and maybe wedding day... Regardless this is what we work for! THE TOYS!
I'm also happy to hear you like your 3130 so much and I'll tell you I already had my loan approved on the JD 4310 and ready to sign the papers when I looked at this tractor. The only spec that isn't up to the JD 4310 is the PTO HP which is 27 on the JD 25.5 on the K. I can't imagine 1.5HP making that much difference. 4in more ground clearance and even .1hp more than the JD. Some folks in the JD forum felt I should compare a lesser JD to the 3130 but it's so much more tractor! The dealer I bought it from sells both and suggested the Kubota over the JD because of quality. I’m looking at a mid 90’s F250 ext cab diesel 4wd and an 18ft equipment/car trailer to pull the tractor around.

Which cutter did you buy and do you have a box blade and if so what brand and width?
Thanks for the positive reply about the 3130 it makes me feel more confident about my decision
/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[cuzncletus]

I pull with a 97 F-250 powerstroke extended cab. This is plenty of truck. My trailer is a full deck 18' car trailer, two 3500 lb. axles. It has trailered many full sized cars(Galaxies, Lincolns, Impalas mid-60's versions) all over the Southeast. It is marginal for the 3130 w/ loaded R4's, LA513 FEL, and bushhog. I'll go the less than 20 miles to my local property. I wouldn't begin to put it on the interstate to my retirement property in Tennessee. I recommend an equipment trailer of at least 8000 lbs. I'm not sure what my whole rig weighs, but I know I've towed big Lincolns and the 3130 w/ attachments is right up there in gross weight.

My bushhog is a "Bushhog" brand, Squealer 60" model. This has a stumpjumper and slipclutch, plus a 65 hp rated gear box. These are essential for my purposes. I also have a Bushhog brand boxblade w/ insertable teeth. I think other brands of Bushhogs like Woods are just as good but pay the three-four hundred extra and get the premium brands/models. All the knowledgeable people I have relied on have told me this is much cheaper and less frustrating in the long run. I'm a welder/fabricator as one of my second careers. I can't think fixing a lesser brand bush hog would be worth my time. Unless you're better at this than me, I don't think it would be worth yours either.

By the way, years ago I lived on a farm in Varina, Va., just down the road from Chesterfield, isn't it?

 

[icat]

Congrats on the new tractor. I have the same unit but with the HST and a 723 FEL. It is without a doubt a great tractor.

Like "cuz" I have the Bush Hog Squealer 600 and am extremely pleased with the unit. There are several trees on my property (well - they're actually so many toothpicks now) that wish I had bought a lesser unit. I've already recovered 10 or more acres of heavy wooded brush using the Squealer. And while the trees squeal quite a bit, the Bush Hog seems to enjoy chipping away at the undesirables.

I also have the 72" Bush Hog box blade - the SBX720. I have not had an opportunity to use it yet, so I'm not able to comment. I will say that it appears to be very well built.

 

[Neophyte]

chriss,

You are a better man than I ... you actually made a decision.

Just curiously, why did you go with the LA513 instead of the LA723?

 

[chriss]

Varina is near the Richmond Airport on the east side of the city. Chesterfield is the county directly to Richmond’s South and my property is far south west corner of the county. Did you say you have the 513 FEL?

Neophyte, I ask the dealer because I was concerned that I could go larger and the tractor would be able to use it and I would miss out. The dealer said that 90% of the 3130's he sells leave with the smaller loader and his experience was you wouldn't need any more than 1300+ pounds of capacity. The 2nd factor: I came very close to buying the JD4310 with the 430 loader which has a capacity of 100lbs less than the 513 FEL on the Kubota so I figure I'm gaining capacity anyway. I also think that the narrower bucket would be easier to take a bigger bite out of the ground that the wider bucket. But honestly I'm on the fence since the dealer quoted $600 more for the larger loader which is mighty tempting.

 

[cuzncletus]

Yea. Sure, I know where Chesterfield is. Man am I getting old. I used to be a Park Ranger for the Richmond National Battlefield Parks and used to go through Chesterfield virtually daily.

I've got the LA513. It seems quite stout. I'm using it primarily for pushing over trees and stumps. I've scooped some dirt for smoothing and it doesn't seem to strain with the 66' bucket. It might with a scoop full of crushed stone, but it seems really strong. I was buying to a price so the other loader was never considered.

 

[Henro]

<font color="blue"> But honestly I'm on the fence since the dealer quoted $600 more for the larger loader which is mighty tempting. </font>

If it were me for $600 I would go bigger. You only get one chance...later $600 will seem like nothing if you wish you had more.

OK...I know it is your money and all that...still...if it were me... /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif... no question in my mind what I would do!

 

[chriss]

After a long day on the tractor I have only one question.
Light or Dark Beer?

I may take your advice. I can call the dealer Monday to make the change.