One thing that bothers me about Kubota they always fade fast and look bad
How does the I think 3560 special edition
Compare I like it has a different hydro pedal the pedal on my L3901 stinks always getting foot caught and brakes are on same side
I like the lifting capacity of the jd 4044r If I buy Deere
Out of state which will save me 4000
Over all
But if has a lot warranty problems
I never had a fading problem with my Kubotas. Once a year I put a coat of paint sealer on it - one hour job - and the orange has always remained bright and shiny. I do the same thing with my Deere and the plastic parts (hood, cab and fenders) look great, but the paint is peeling in big flakes on several places. The worst was the FEL bucket. Within a couple months of my purchase, when it had only been used to transport split firewood, the paint on the bucket peeled off on big sheets as long as 18" in length with rust underneath. Clearly they had not prepared the surface properly. I expected scrapes, but not wholesale peeling.
I like the twin HST pedals on the Deere. I was surprised by that as two decades of using the Kubota treadle design had me convinced that was the way to go. But I quickly adapted and find control much more intuitive.
My two big issues have been with the Tier 4 in cold weather and the electronics. Last winter we had a prolonged cold spell where the snow was that light powdery stuff that blew everywhere. And unfortunately it filled in the low spot in my 600 yard driveway to a depth of about four feet when the night temps were in the minus 30s and the daytime high hovered just below zero. It was at that point that the Tier 4 system decided a burnout was needed, but the ambient temp was so low the engine couldn't reach the threshold to allow a burnout...so the tractor went into limp mode. To be fair, any Tier 4 tractor might face the same issue, but the way Deere handled it was a classic example of poor customer service. I asked my dealer if it was possible to force a burnout either after the fact or when I saw a cold spell in the forecast. The 4044R was a new tractor at the time and they couldn't find answers in their documentation, so they called John Deere headquarters. And called. And called. Two and a half weeks of sub-zero temps later corporate finally called the dealer back. "Tell the customer to wait for a warm spell." They never did address the question of manually triggering a burnout before conditions got that bad.
The other issue is the electronics and those crazy error codes that are not in the owner's manual, the Deere website, or materials provided to my dealer. Error 4212.17 doesn't tell me a thing. Should I shut down? Is it okay to keep running? Where should I even start with troubleshooting steps? Some of the problems are intermittent, which makes diagnosis really tough. Like the time I was heading to town to fill up with off road diesel. Had the cruise engaged and was putting along in high range at about 1500rpm and a ground speed of about 12mph. As I reached the end of the flat section and started down a gentle grade the rpms suddenly shot to 2600 and the tractor accelerated to 18mph straining to go even faster!
I hope Deere irons out the problems and gives their customer service folks a solid kick in the rear. When it functions right it's a very nice tractor. But after this experience I'm done with Deere.
