M62? M59? Or something else

[Maine Woods]

Hi, my name's Zach, I'm from Maine and I'm new to the forum.

I'm looking to buy my first Kubota.

I have multiple properties commercial and residential totaling a few hundred acres. I am not looking to work all of the acreage, I have different plans for the different properties. I hope to plow snow, dig, move dirt, clear land, bush hog fields, possibly hay, ( possibly snow blow, but driving in revers doesn't sound fun) with my new tractor. The majority of the time will probably be spent clearing land for things like fields and trails.

For terrain I have, swampy areas, mountainous areas, flat fields and New England woods.

I am firmly in the camp of bigger vs smaller when it comes to need. There is no real budget in mind, but I am rather cheap, I don't mind going new or used. An accurate summation might be, I'm fine not buying the biggest and best tractor out there, but I also don't want a machine that will struggle doing some of the things I want to do.

I have a little knowledge (which is always dangerous) and I'm leaning towards a TLB like the M62. I'm looking for suggestions on other tractors that might fit my needs, if anyone would suggest a pre-emissions M59 over a newer M62, if there are any years to avoid, things like that.

 

[fried1765]

Just over a year ago I picked up a 295 hour off lease M62, from a big Texas dealer.
Ewald Kubota - 830-379-4591.
Machine had 295 hours on it (leased by a plumber).
I bought it for my friend (he paid) and then had it shipped to him in VA.
Selling price was $63,500.
Machine was pristine!
New one is $100 K
Shipping from TX to ME should be under $2,500.
No tax issues.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Can you work on or maintain a tractor yourself?
If not, don't go used.

TLB's are great but they have their downfalls.
A TLB is not very good for hay work.
It sound like you should be looking more at something like a M7060.

 

[PoTreeBoy]

What are your time constraints? Retired?
Tractors are not the best land clearers, if you're talking about trees and stumps. And their wiring and hoses, etc are not well protected from stumps, staubs, etc.

But, if you've got the time, you can do a lot. You mentioned multiple properties, do you have the means to transport a sizable machine?

 

[McMXi]

Hi, my name's Zach, I'm from Maine and I'm new to the forum.

I'm looking to buy my first Kubota.

I have multiple properties commercial and residential totaling a few hundred acres. I am not looking to work all of the acreage, I have different plans for the different properties. I hope to plow snow, dig, move dirt, clear land, bush hog fields, possibly hay, ( possibly snow blow, but driving in revers doesn't sound fun) with my new tractor. The majority of the time will probably be spent clearing land for things like fields and trails.

For terrain I have, swampy areas, mountainous areas, flat fields and New England woods.

I am firmly in the camp of bigger vs smaller when it comes to need. There is no real budget in mind, but I am rather cheap, I don't mind going new or used. An accurate summation might be, I'm fine not buying the biggest and best tractor out there, but I also don't want a machine that will struggle doing some of the things I want to do.

I have a little knowledge (which is always dangerous) and I'm leaning towards a TLB like the M62. I'm looking for suggestions on other tractors that might fit my needs, if anyone would suggest a pre-emissions M59 over a newer M62, if there are any years to avoid, things like that.

So no cab models for you? As for a snow blower, there are rear pull inverted models that you can run on the 3-point and never have to look to over your shoulder. @Moose7060 has one of those fancy blowers on the back of his M7060.

A new M62 is around $85k but you could consider putting $40k towards a nice low hour Kubota M7060/Kioti RX7320 and $45k towards a 10,000 to 12,000lb sub 1,500 hour excavator. That pair would offer a lot of options and flexibility, not to mention all year round comfort if you opted for cab models. Just a thought.

 

[mikester]

TLB's are jack of all trades machines and masters of none. If you are clearing land buy/rent a suitable machine like a 20+ ton excavator or dozer. Get the jobs done, sell the heavy equipment and then go buy a nice suitable cab tractor.

Those TLB's are still CUT's and are too light duty in comparison to full sized construction equipment. Being too cheap can end up costing you more in the long run.

The best year machines are the final model years where the bugs get worked out. The M59's last year was 2015.

 

[Smokeydog]

When I did hay I had multiple tractors so did many small farmers.

Now to manage our mostly wooded hillside farm our M59 fits the bill. Great landscaping machine. Can handle maintenance of trees, roads trails and rough mowing. If need large clearing would contract out or rent larger equipment. Work smart.

lot of ancillary equipment needed for any machinery.

 

[Maine Woods]

Can you work on or maintain a tractor yourself?
If not, don't go used.

TLB's are great but they have their downfalls.
A TLB is not very good for hay work.
It sound like you should be looking more at something like a M7060.

I'm very mechanically inclined. I have done some engine work, but the bulk of my experience comes from working on manufacturing machinery, so electric motors, plcs, hydraulics, things like that. I will have to look at the M7060.

 

[Maine Woods]

What are your time constraints? Retired?
Tractors are not the best land clearers, if you're talking about trees and stumps. And their wiring and hoses, etc are not well protected from stumps, staubs, etc.

But, if you've got the time, you can do a lot. You mentioned multiple properties, do you have the means to transport a sizable machine?

I am not retired, I have a young family so time is a constraint. I have a 3500 Duramax that will haul 17,000 lbs. so the tractor cant be too big.

 

[Maine Woods]

Just over a year ago I picked up a 295 hour off lease M62, from a big Texas dealer.
Ewald Kubota - 830-379-4591.
Machine had 295 hours on it (leased by a plumber).
I bought it for my friend (he paid) and then had it shipped to him in VA.
Selling price was $63,500.
Machine was pristine!
New one is $100 K
Shipping from TX to ME should be under $2,500.
No tax issues.

I appreciate the lead, I had not considered having it shipped in.

 

[Maine Woods]

So no cab models for you? As for a snow blower, there are rear pull inverted models that you can run on the 3-point and never have to look to over your shoulder. @Moose7060 has one of those fancy blowers on the back of his M7060.

A new M62 is around $85k but you could consider putting $40k towards a nice low hour Kubota M7060/Kioti RX7320 and $45k towards a 10,000 to 12,000lb sub 1,500 hour excavator. That pair would offer a lot of options and flexibility, not to mention all year round comfort if you opted for cab models. Just a thought.

I would like a cab, I saw you can get an aftermarket for the M62 but it wont have AC which inst a deal breaker but not ideal.

Your point about the 2 machines vs 1 is definitely valid, but I think my wife would struggle with the concept. Her math would be 2 is larger than 1. But, it's definitely a point I will try and make.

Are there any drawbacks with the pull behind blowers?

 

[Maine Woods]

TLB's are jack of all trades machines and masters of none. If you are clearing land buy/rent a suitable machine like a 20+ ton excavator or dozer. Get the jobs done, sell the heavy equipment and then go buy a nice suitable cab tractor.

Those TLB's are still CUT's and are too light duty in comparison to full sized construction equipment. Being too cheap can end up costing you more in the long run.

The best year machines are the final model years where the bugs get worked out. The M59's last year was 2015.

Good point.

Nobody has mentioned per-emission over new. From everything I read it seemed like emission controls were the biggest source of trouble. Is that not really an issue?

 

[Maine Woods]

When I did hay I had multiple tractors so did many small farmers.

Now to manage our mostly wooded hillside farm our M59 fits the bill. Great landscaping machine. Can handle maintenance of trees, roads trails and rough mowing. If need large clearing would contract out or rent larger equipment. Work smart.

lot of ancillary equipment needed for any machinery.

Growing up in a rural area I definitely saw what your describing. I just guessed it was farmers having multiple tractors so they used them instead of changing implements all the time. But I never asked anyone why.

As far as large clearing goes.. most of it would be things like trails, fields who's wooded perimeters have crept in over the years, maintenance, landscaping, ditch work, a bunch of small and varied tasks.

 

[McMXi]

I would like a cab, I saw you can get an aftermarket for the M62 but it wont have AC which inst a deal breaker but not ideal.

Your point about the 2 machines vs 1 is definitely valid, but I think my wife would struggle with the concept. Her math would be 2 is larger than 1. But, it's definitely a point I will try and make.

Are there any drawbacks with the pull behind blowers?

It's @mikester's comment about "jack of all trades, master of none" that prompted me to suggest two used machines for roughly the cost of one new machine but offering way more flexibility, and much better performance at specific tasks. We all deal with these sorts of compromises to one extent or another.

As for the inverted snow blower, I've owned and used a front mount for five years and a rear mount for four years and have never owned or used an inverted model. The main potential issue with the inverted type is that you have to drive over the snow before you blow it which may or may not be an issue, depending on the type of snow to be moved. The other consideration is backing into a large pile of snow to send it on its merry way. With front mount and traditional rear mount, it's no big deal pushing into a snow pile. With an inverted you might have to get creative. @Moose7060 has been there and done that so his input is worth a lot more than mine.

 

[fried1765]

Growing up in a rural area I definitely saw what your describing. I just guessed it was farmers having multiple tractors so they used them instead of changing implements all the time. But I never asked anyone why.

As far as large clearing goes.. most of it would be things like trails, fields who's wooded perimeters have crept in over the years, maintenance, landscaping, ditch work, a bunch of small and varied tasks.

Seemingly, an M62 would be great for the uses you describe.