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Not a farmer, but we have a 28 hp 4WD Mahindra we use for keeping our long gravel driveway plowed, scraping the ruts out of the gravel roads, landscaping our 5 acres, clearing the veg garden, moving rocks around, and a ton of other general uses. We have lots of attachments for all kinds of uses.
We bought the Mahindra because there is a local dealer for parts (Keno Tractor) and because we weren't interested in buying new, and most of the "big name" brands were either beat to heck or were priced too high.
I'm interested to hear your experiences with small, say under 25 hp estate tractors... both good and bad.
I've got a Deere GT245 which is a 20 hp lawn tractor that I've had for six years. I have over forty acres and use it to mow the part that I keep for lawn, haul brush, wood, etc. in the trailer, and blow snow.
The tractor works like a champ in the summer as a tractor. The Deere snow thrower is a bit of a problem. I'm going through belts (a long expensive kind), shear bolts, and break downs way more than any of my friends with Ariens riding equipment. Deere seems to have the tractor part down, but the snow thrower arrangement is letting me down a lot.
I live in the UP and know a lot about the snow side of things - another 12 - 14 inches today and another shear bolt gone while going through not an unusual load for my friends with the Ariens products.
Seems a lot of tractor sales are really more dependant on the reputation of the local Dealer as opposed to cars with a least one Dealer in every city.
My little Kubota Tractor Loader Backhoe has been a real workhorse without complaint. If I had it to do over again, I think I would have gone the next size up for double the capacity and yet still small enough to maneuver... something like the Kubota B26 maybe...
Here is a link to something similar to what I have now...
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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I prefer the hydrostat for smaller tractors and loader work. I have some tractors with manual trannies for field work, and have both Kubota and Farmall at the moment, but have had Green and Yellow and Blue too in the past. I also have a Bobcat Track loader, Yanmar Trackhoe, and a Case Crawler loader, each in the 12,000# range. My favorite by far is the Case, (hydrostat w/ shuttle) as it is very versatile and we have been through a lot together. (it is very easy to get stuck if you are not careful, the trackhoe is a handy 'tow-truck')
The parts prices were killing me, so I bought a bunch of Case company stock just before Fiat-Allis bought them. I was lucky for once and made enough on the stock gains to cover a lifetime of parts. (but have lost equally in my JD stock at times)
I bought a Kyoti 25HP 4x4 with frontend loader. I picked this one because the dealer was close and they made all sorts of promises they never kept...no surprise there.
As a female in the south I had visited several dealers JD, New Holland ect. JD was just tooo expensive. The New Holland people wouldn't hardly give me the time of day and asked where my hubby was so they could talk with him I told him that he would not get my business and I would tell ALL my horse friends who are female and make the tractor purchase decisions.
I've sold that one and will get something when I move, it will depend on the terrain and size of property I get as to what I'll get next time, but I'll tell yah...that frontend loader was wonderful.
I bought a Kyoti 25HP 4x4 with frontend loader. I picked this one because the dealer was close and they made all sorts of promises they never kept...no surprise there.
As a female in the south I had visited several dealers JD, New Holland ect. JD was just tooo expensive. The New Holland people wouldn't hardly give me the time of day and asked where my hubby was so they could talk with him I told him that he would not get my business and I would tell ALL my horse friends who are female and make the tractor purchase decisions.
I've sold that one and will get something when I move, it will depend on the terrain and size of property I get as to what I'll get next time, but I'll tell yah...that frontend loader was wonderful.
My buddy from GA advised me to go new holland because I have no clue about tractors. He said it would be everything I'd need.
As for not giving you the time of day- it works the same way at a car dealership. Just smile as you turn away and say-- 'well, this would have been a cash sale....'
Give them something to think about when adding up their commision checks for the month. I followed through with a note to the corporate website about problems with specific dealerships. I'd like to think it helped, but there's no way of knowing.
My first thought was also John Deere. Unfortunately, my county no longer has John Deere, New Holland or Kubota Dealers.
I visited two JD dealers in the next county. One was much too busy to talk and told me to leave my name and number with the receptionist and I would get a call next month after Harvest Time.
The other was also very busy and said that I would need to know exactly what model I wanted and they would order it as they do not carry "Home Owner" tractors in stock.
The New Holland Dealer had a lot of tractors, but, I just didn't find what I was looking for... by the way, that dealer of 60 years is now gone also. I too was leaning towards Hydrostatic and he had lots of gear units.
Kubota had inventory on hand, was a little busy with Harvest Time... told me to take a look around and the owner would be out to answer any questions I might have... I ended going back to Kubota and told him the model I had decided on and what my budget would allow... and that is why I now have Kubota...
Good for you Ultra..how they treat their customers and potential customers is very important in my book. JD vs Kubota is really not that big of a deal as both are big brand names. I have a JD tractor but in your shoes I would have done the same thing.
If salespeople don't have time for me then I don't have time for them or their products.
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
34,705 posts, read 58,022,681 times
Reputation: 46172
your Kubota is a fine choice. "Big is better" was adequate comment. Weight means a lot to tractor work, as does the Dia of tires. I have an L series Kubota, and my neighbor a B. We trade when necessary, but I prefer "bigger" A friend with a 35 HP Kyoti really uses it heavily, and I like it. (He has 20 acres of hilly woodland) My next will be a 50 hp Kubota, but in L series to get Hydrostatic tranny. The quick connect bucket is nice too (Bobcat style) That way I could use my attachments, such as brush fork with "jaws". A 4:1 combo (Clamshell) bucket is a good option, as it allows you to pick up all sorts of stuff without leaving the seat, very nice when pulling fence posts. It also allows you to open slightly and grade a 'metered' amount. Very smooth, can clean up piles on asphalt, and back grade nicely too.
I do like my extra hyd cyl on my 3 pt and top link. It allows you to grade an angle with a box scraper, and to engage box scaper teeth without dismounting. It is very handy for 'hitching - up' too, as you can tweak the arms independently.
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Deere 245
(it is very easy to get stuck if you are not careful, the trackhoe is a handy 'tow-truck')
