Utility Tractors... Take me to School..

[Wingate]

My first tractor was a FARMPRO 2425 from china or were ever. I broke more stuff on that tractor,its funny now to think back and tell story's about it, but it sucked every time i needed it most it was broke



I have the Grand L4330 Kubota now and love it. I have never had any trouble out of my Kubota. It starts ever time even when temps are less then 0 out side. I am not going to brag up one brand but talk more about stuff you might want to look at and can't or shouldn't live with out.



MUST HAVE LIST



Front end loader that has the quick attach front plate (skid steer type). Pallet forks are a must have, they are best for moving trees and brush. Just picking up large stuff around the house or loading a truck you will find big stuff just dosn't fit in the bucket like you would think it would... I use mine all the time.



Telescoping Lower Links on the end of the 3 point arms..... they extend out about 2. 5 inches when released. Best money spend and time savers for heavy equipment. I would never buy a tractor with out them ever again. sometimes all you need is an 1/2 inch. THIS IS A MUST HAVE !!!!! Will save a lot of wasted words and smashed fingers trying to hook stuff up don't short your self with this one.



Fill your rear tires with your choice of fluids or add weight some how. The class of tractor your looking at has a lot of power for its size. it just needs a lot more weight. The weight make all the difference when you start pushing or trying to drag something.



I have added 3 chain hooks welded to the top of the front bucket. also a must have



OPT. list... this will very with the use of the tractor.



I love my HST trans. for the type of work i use my tractor for it was by far worth every penny i spent for the upgrade. hands down. If you do a lot of field work i would look at the GST or some kind of clutchless shift trans just depends on the use of the tractor



R4 tires or AG... ... . hum I have had both if you plan on doing a lot of field work and need the added traction AG tires way out pull R4 in the field on wet grass or fresh dirt (like plowing or field work) AND SNOW R4s suck in snow. If your driving it in your front yard or on hard dirt or pavement R4s shine on this service. I have the R4 and for what i do it i love my choice.



The only thing to add is get the tractor that you need, not get the one that will do the job, its must better on the equipment and more fun to operate when its not working its guts out trying to keep up.



hope that helps some I just wish i had about 5 tractors one would be a BIG CAT CRAWLER with tons of power, little tractors will move a lot of dirt, but they are no high lift. don't tell but i made a small pond with mine just playing one day

The hay spear setup that I opted for is built like a set of pallet forks, just round spears instead of flat blades... Hopefully so that I can use the spear if I need to move pipe, stacks of tin, etc...

I agree on the hooks on the bucket. When the tractor was brought home, It had the bucket and cutter on it, the blade and spear were "shipped loose". I was out there trying to unload them just wishing that I had time to weld some hooks on. Trust me, thats going to happen in the VERY near future. Will probably be putting two on the hay spear attachment also...

 

[BIGNASTY]

Ford

I dont know if I should say this on a Dodge website but I like my old Ford 660 not all the fancy things you guy's have but works for me and was fun to rebuild

 

[Wingate]

I dont know if I should say this on a Dodge website but I like my old Ford 660 not all the fancy things you guy's have but works for me and was fun to rebuild

aaahhh. . its ok if you are talking about a Ford tractor. . I think we all recognize that the old Fords were some dang tough tractors. My B. I. L. had a really nice big Ford that WOULD be a good tractor today IF he ever knew the meaning of the word MAINTENANCE!!. .

He will NOT be borrowing my new Bota. .

 

[BIGNASTY]

I just keep it around for pulling my wood splitter around and disc the fields it has a PTO and I built a wood splitter that is on steroids my wife tells me I over build things but have had many offers for it and the tractor. Ill make a believer out of her when we put it to work next spring in MT building our house

 

[JUeckert]

Marquez... .



We thought we had a dependable supply locally, but that seems to have fallen thru. So, I called in a favor and was able to aquire a few rolls from over near Kilgore. But, at 70 a roll, not sure how much of a favor that really was???? This drought is really hurting people.

Talked to a guy that I have bought from in years past, he's got atleast 500 rolls and fixing to roll up two more pastures. .

So, we drove down there this morning, picked up 10 rolls and came back. .

I gotta say, the little Cummins had a sweet sound loaded down like that.

Next time I go that far for hay, i'm going to get a lighter trailer so I can haul more rolls.

yea, my little part of the county has been hit the worst from what i have seen and understand. It's very depressing to see folks about two miles up the road get rain, while it just passes me by. i've been through about 5 different people cutting my meadows over the years. Finally got tired of the b. s, especially when thing's got tight like this year, and bought my own equipment several years back. I understand it cost to move stuff in an do the work, but let me know if you cant or dont want to bale the field, dont leave me hanging till a frost! Goodluck with that new tractor, everything goes to plan i will be adding another cab tractor to my collection tuesday. .

 

[Wingate]

Yep... . we live out close to interstate and have gotten 3-4 inches of rain in 30 seconds... . By that, i mean, it rained for 30 seconds and the drops were about 3-4 inches apart!!!!. . Can't really depend on any of the guys around here anymore... Thats why I drove down to Marquez to get it.

Like I was saying in my previous post, I had a source over in Kilgore that i assumed was fairly well hidden, but apparently not good enough. So he was sold out.

 

[Bill Stockard]

Yep... . we live out close to interstate and have gotten 3-4 inches of rain in 30 seconds... . By that, i mean, it rained for 30 seconds and the drops were about 3-4 inches apart!!!!. . Can't really depend on any of the guys around here anymore... Thats why I drove down to Marquez to get it.

Like I was saying in my previous post, I had a source over in Kilgore that i assumed was fairly well hidden, but apparently not good enough. So he was sold out.

Yes, it's been dry this year. Trees that lived through the dry hot summer of '06 have died this year. Our 30 acre hay meadow produced 42 round bales on the first cutting and only 9 on the second. The third cutting was with the Bush Hog. In contrast, the summer of '07 we baled 200 round bales in three cuttings.



BTW, I bought a Kubota L3830 GST in mid '06 and it now has nearly 1,000 trouble free hours on the clock.



Bill

 

[JUeckert]

Yes sir bill, i took a dozer over to pittsburgh back in sept for some undercarriage work. The grass was short, but least it was green as compared to what i had. The green might have had to do with one of the heaviest t storm's of the summer passing through your region the day of my trip. Wingate, keep me in mind for hay next season, i normally sale only to my neighbors, [excess] but i will be gaining 2 more decent size meadows this spring, should give me more surplus. I dont play that 70. 00 buck a roll crap either. Hard times is just that, but i know some who take advantage of the situation.

 

[Babyfat]

CONGRATZ on the New Kubota

 

[Wingate]

BTW, I bought a Kubota L3830 GST in mid '06 and it now has nearly 1,000 trouble free hours on the clock.



Bill

thats good to hear. . it will probably take me 20 years to put 1K hours on it. .

 

[Wingate]

Yes sir bill, i took a dozer over to pittsburgh back in sept for some undercarriage work. The grass was short, but least it was green as compared to what i had. The green might have had to do with one of the heaviest t storm's of the summer passing through your region the day of my trip. Wingate, keep me in mind for hay next season, i normally sale only to my neighbors, [excess] but i will be gaining 2 more decent size meadows this spring, should give me more surplus. I dont play that 70. 00 buck a roll crap either. Hard times is just that, but i know some who take advantage of the situation.

Hopefully we're gonna be ok until next. The guy I bought from in Marquez had really good fert. coastal... just a long drive to get it.

Didnt know you sold hay... will have to remember that... !!!

 

[Wingate]

CONGRATZ on the New Kubota

Thanks!!!. .

 

[jholman]

I have a Kubota L5030 Hydro with a front end loader. I have two sets of wheel weights on the rear tires and the tractor will tip if I don't have a round bale on the rear spike. If the rear bale would happen to fall off you would have a rear tire in the air. From experience, not a good feeling. This is a 50 hp compact tractor. The tractor is not the safest tractor to move bales. You need a tractor with more weight. I hay around 300 acres, put up 400 round bales, and the Kubota never goes in the field. They are a great tractor, but not for big bales from my experience.

 

[Bill Stockard]

I have a Kubota L5030 Hydro with a front end loader. I have two sets of wheel weights on the rear tires and the tractor will tip if I don't have a round bale on the rear spike. If the rear bale would happen to fall off you would have a rear tire in the air. From experience, not a good feeling. This is a 50 hp compact tractor. The tractor is not the safest tractor to move bales. You need a tractor with more weight. I hay around 300 acres, put up 400 round bales, and the Kubota never goes in the field. They are a great tractor, but not for big bales from my experience.

I've never moved a round bale with my Kubota L3830. My brother bought a 50+ HP M series Kubota with A/C cab to handle his round bales replacing a tired old Farmall 656D. It does a good job with them probably because it has a longer wheelbase than the L series. He doesn't have wheel weights or water solution in the rear tires. He also uses it to mow hay with a 9' rotary scythe mower. He uses a 120 HP John Deere to operate the round baler. The JD is too big and heavy to feed the bales in wet muddy pastures and it doesn't have 4-wheel drive like the Kubota.



Bill

 

[JUeckert]

The comments on weights and moving round bales are very good points guy's, one reason why i suggested going to a bigger hp class in previous posts. Being he is a hobby farmer, the higher hp class wasnt mandatory. That being said a lot depends on the size of the bales, 1200/1500lb being the most common in this region. Some like myself can bale up to the 2000lb size depending on the grass type. WINGATE, do yourself this favor if you arent allready doing so. When moving round bales with a tractor in your weight class [with frontend loader] keep a bale on the back forks also, or something of similar weight.

 

[Wingate]

Right now I'm just keeping the cutter on the back... Of course, we all know to keep the load close to the ground just in case you hit a hole or it bounces. .

The rolls I picked up last weekend are right around the 13-1500 lb range. . (that x10 is why I was saying my little Cummins was singing a tune coming home)

I need to fill the rear tires with antifreeze. . And I will most likely being building a weight box in the near future.

This tractor will be really intermittent use. . If I did this for a living or had a large farm, things would be different. I would have the biggest cab model I could find.



Is there a proper "amount" of liquid to add to the rear wheels??? I plan on using extended life antifreeze to help prevent the wheels from rusting, or is that a bad idea???

 

[PC12Driver]

Is Rim Guard available in your area? It's about 30% heavier than antifreeze, non corrosive, and won't create a hazmat scene if you get a leak (it's basically beet juice). They have tables for proper fill capacity on their website.

 

[Babyfat]

We have been using windshield washer fluid for years, Rim guard needs to be changed about every 5 years or so is what I have been told by Miller Tire in Ohio and they use washer fluid also.

 

[Wingate]

washer fluid????... so they are just using methanol and water solution???. .

 

[Skydiver]

Regarding liquid in rear tires: I know that there is a price to be paid for safety.

I stopped adding water to my rear tires because if the tube got punctured the guys at the tire shop would/did not want to deal with the extra weight/mess so I twice had to buy a new 28" tube. I worked at a the tire shop for 10 years part time. I should have borrowed their wedge hammer and done the job myself. I don't like breaking down large tires either.