Spend my money - New 40-50hp Tractor. Kubota vs Massey

[Talenel]

looks like a heck of a nice tractor grats!

 

[Dawilliams]

Congratulations

 

[gkk2001]

A late reply to your question posed to this group, and you may have purchased already? I recommend the L4701. I have an L3800 with less land than you and love it. I am not as big as you either but near 6 ft and have plenty of leg room. The seat is fine unless you plan to be on the machine for 8 hours. Work stints of 2 to 4 hours are not bad. I have the HST as well, love it but do hear the argument of gear vs hydro. I had a JD machine for 12 years, hydro as well with no HST issues and now 7 years with the Kubota, again not one single issue.
I think with FEL and 3 point removed, you can haul the 4701 with a good double axle trailer.

 

[gkk2001]

So sorry, if I only read a few more posts, I see your decision with the 4800 and ditto the other comments, great choice. And best of luck using it. Be safe.

 

[Bigpuddie]

New guy here that is having a hard time making a decision after countless hours of research. This is going to be long...



I have 11 acres which about 25% wooded. The rest is a river floodplain with fallow fields that I plan to work in the future. Buying additional wooded acreage is a definite possibility. I have a 15 tree orchard and plan on several smaller food plots for whitetail hunting. I have a gravel driveway and we do get a significant amount of snow every winter. I use wood pellets to heat the house and buy them palatalized by the ton. I would like to be able to move the pallets around with the tractor loader. If i could guess the tractor will be used for 60% loader work, 20% field work (brush hog, disc, tiller), and 20% other (grading, snow, tree/brush removal, and general tasks)



I have always been of the opinion to buy a bigger piece of equipment than you really think you need. The old saying "no one ever complained about having too much horsepower or too much torque" applies.. I do not need a 40-50hp tractor for most of the stuff I'm planning on doing, but I would like to have more than enough power and lift capacity.



The only problem I see is weight. I have a 2019 Ram 1500 5.7 (lease) and would hate to have to move up to a 2500 if I decided there was a need to trailer the tractor around. A 40-50hp model with loaded tires and fluids is probably at the very top end of my truck's towing capacity.



So, here we go.. I'm looking at the following:



L3901DT

L4701DT

MX4800DT



Initially I priced the above with the 8x8 shuttle trans but may want to think hard about the hydro version. I am more of a simplistic kinda guy. Drive manual truck/cars and feel that the more "nannies" a vehicle or piece of equipment has the more likely it will spend time in the repair shop. Is the HST inherently more complicated and troublesome than the tried and true shuttle?



I'm also considering one of the newer Massey Ferguson offerings.

Do any of you guys know anything about the Massey 2705e? It is VERY comparable to MX4800 on paper, has a turbo Shibaura engine with NO DPF, and seems to have a really good fit and finish. Much better than some of the offerings from Mahindra and the other S. Korean companies.



The Massey is also significantly cheaper than the Kubota MX4800 with more options.



Thoughts?



Thanks!

New Massey Fergusons are very nice tractors. I wouldn't think twice..

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

 

[Muzzy]

Congrats, Nice Rig..

 

[FrontierTruck]

I got a 2018 MX4800 hst 4wd for sale. No attachments Extremely low hours, $17,500obo needs a Instrument cluster

 

[dggott]

I was thinking "How often are you actually going to tow the thing", then you had that thought too. I think towing is probably the very last thing I would worry about.

We have a bx2200. I'm 6' and 220 (sometimes. other times, I'm 200 or 230. not funny). I grew up on a farm with real tractors, albeit old tractors (2 cylinders and green, until my dad took the big leap for a 4020) and just kinda laugh to myself every time I look at the BX. It is too small for what we need (25A, 20 is timber, the rest is yard or being put into food plots and cover) We have a big garden. I can't pull the Pheasants Forever no-till planter or drill because it's too small. There are other things I can't do because it's too small. BUT it was all we could find in the price range. She bought this place Jan 18 and was a city girl before that, so had NO equipment and had to pay neighbor to mow yard and get a charity initial garden till from the realtor. So, time was an issue too. I'd guess we'll get something bigger when we find it. Having said that, this thing does a phenomenal amount of work. Absolutely phenomenal. And anything else we get will probably be too big and heavy to mow yard with. Well, not TOO big, but plenty heavy. But, I do feel kinda weird stepping up into the seat instead of climbing up, and probably look bigger than the tractor. The only thing I don't like about it, is it's relatively high center of gravity with the FEL. It spends a lot of time with one rear wheel off the ground. I could maybe do more work if we took the turf tires off the back (RT4's on front) and replaced them with something with some tread, but don't want to spend her money and do like the turfs for mowing.

 

[wendol]

Thanks for the opinions and advice. Headed to the dealer this morning and talked numbers face to face. Dealer was great, explained a lot to me, and gave me a very fair deal. Plus, he's local. When I buy, he will be getting my money and no one else..

I have shopped 4 Kubota dealers and 2 massey dealers. Massey is out of the running as they offer no incentive to use one of their financing programs. In fact, they punish you for it. To the tune of 4-5 grand vs kubotas +- 900.00. That's the difference between the "financed price" of the tractor, and the "cash price" for the tractor. Massey's financing is simply...very expensive.

I havent signed papers yet, but I will this coming week. Pretty sure I've settled on the following

MX 4800 DT
Synchro shuttle
1065 loader with QC bucket
R4 tires
Telescoping 3 point arm kit with pinned stabilizers (not standard on the MX4800)
2000 lb capacity forks

Can you provide more details about what and how the "Telescoping 3 point arm kit with pinned stablizers" work?

 

[rbtreasures]

Interesting. The loaders on the L3240 thru L5740 Kubotas are LA854. These are rated at about 200 pounds more capacity than the MX4800's LA1065. The LA854 shows 2,489 pounds at the pin / 1,878 pounds at 500mm. The LA1065 shows 2,275 / 1,691.

I found this on two different sources, and it contradicts the info that I saw somewhere else that said the Kubota loader number was its capacity in KG.

i have a 2008 l3240 it has been a money pit always staring problems

 

[mikester]

I'd forget an HST tractor if your plans are any ground engaging tasks. I'd go with a gear drive hydraulic shuttle or powrershift instead. HST is fine but inefficient for ground work and they eat horsepower as well.

Personally I find my HST M59 is superior for ground engagement and loader work vs comparable sized gear tractors Ive owned. Im constantly surprised by how much grunt and push this tractor has when using the loader. My biggest complaint is a lack of cruise control on the machine which would be nice for bush hogging.

Gear tractors are great if you drive on roads a lot, are plowing, or towing things. Long duration and steady speed stuff.

80 percent of the OPs work seems well suited to a good HST. Any undersized machine is going to struggle.

 

[SidecarFlip]

New guy here that is having a hard time making a decision after countless hours of research. This is going to be long...

I have 11 acres which about 25% wooded. The rest is a river floodplain with fallow fields that I plan to work in the future. Buying additional wooded acreage is a definite possibility. I have a 15 tree orchard and plan on several smaller food plots for whitetail hunting. I have a gravel driveway and we do get a significant amount of snow every winter. I use wood pellets to heat the house and buy them palatalized by the ton. I would like to be able to move the pallets around with the tractor loader. If i could guess the tractor will be used for 60% loader work, 20% field work (brush hog, disc, tiller), and 20% other (grading, snow, tree/brush removal, and general tasks)

I have always been of the opinion to buy a bigger piece of equipment than you really think you need. The old saying "no one ever complained about having too much horsepower or too much torque" applies.. I do not need a 40-50hp tractor for most of the stuff I'm planning on doing, but I would like to have more than enough power and lift capacity.

The only problem I see is weight. I have a 2019 Ram 1500 5.7 (lease) and would hate to have to move up to a 2500 if I decided there was a need to trailer the tractor around. A 40-50hp model with loaded tires and fluids is probably at the very top end of my truck's towing capacity.

So, here we go.. I'm looking at the following:

L3901DT
L4701DT
MX4800DT

Initially I priced the above with the 8x8 shuttle trans but may want to think hard about the hydro version. I am more of a simplistic kinda guy. Drive manual truck/cars and feel that the more "nannies" a vehicle or piece of equipment has the more likely it will spend time in the repair shop. Is the HST inherently more complicated and troublesome than the tried and true shuttle?

I'm also considering one of the newer Massey Ferguson offerings.
Do any of you guys know anything about the Massey 2705e? It is VERY comparable to MX4800 on paper, has a turbo Shibaura engine with NO DPF, and seems to have a really good fit and finish. Much better than some of the offerings from Mahindra and the other S. Korean companies.

The Massey is also significantly cheaper than the Kubota MX4800 with more options.

Thoughts?

Thanks!

...and JD is even more expensive.....

I'd base my decision entirely on location of a dealer and the brand he sells and services. You have an issue, always prudent to have the dealer close by.

 

[WOFT]

I know this is old but I am in almost the identical situation as the poster. Additionally, I have a Ram 1500 5.7L HEMI with tow package rated to pull up to 12,700 lbs. Which tractor did you finally decide on?

 

[fried1765]

...and JD is even more expensive.....

I'd base my decision entirely on location of a dealer and the brand he sells and services. You have an issue, always prudent to have the dealer close by.

An absolutely terrible parameter on which to make a decision!
The local dealer can be readily bought out by some worthless turd, or go bankrupt at any given moment!

 

[fried1765]

I know this is old but I am in almost the identical situation as the poster. Additionally, I have a Ram 1500 5.7L HEMI with tow package rated to pull up to 12,700 lbs. Which tractor did you finally decide on?

FWIW: I have a Kubota L48TLB for which Kubota claims an empty weight of 7760 lbs.
I have a 14K trailer that weighs 3450 lbs. empty.
The total thus being 11,210+ lbs.

I have towed it over 300 miles (one tow) with a 1997 GMC 2500 4x4 Suburban.
The weight is well over what the Suburban is rated to tow, but towing was very acceptable.

Stopping distance is the biggest concern when heavy towing, but with properly set (electric) trailer brakes, towing 12K with your Ram 1500 should not be a problem.

You MUST have a weight distribution hitch however, and have your load properly distributed.
I used a Category IV Equal-i-zer hitch, (GW 14,000 lbs, TW 1400 lbs., expensive -$808 @ E-Trailer.com) and I highly recommend it!

 

[rc51stierhoff]

If I understood the posts above you are pretty close to your orange dealer, no? So unless you are traveling with the tractor you can drive tractor to your dealer or they can probably stop by. I’d ask them but if they are decent dealer you are pretty close. So maybe size and trailer not so big of a concern regarding your truck. I’d buy the tractor wanted and beg borrow to get service. Buy enough tractor for what you plan to do with it and property for foreseeable future and get what you want. If there is something wrong I’d hope your dealer makes it right, that is if they stand behind what they sell. If they don’t commit to that it’s something to consider before you sign a paper…they do have to do some assembly and set up before they deliver.

 

[jyoutz]

Forget a HEQ loans for anything. The Fed has eliminated the interest deduction on HEQ loans this year.

No deduction.

I'd forget an HST tractor if your plans are any ground engaging tasks. I'd go with a gear drive hydraulic shuttle or powrershift instead. HST is fine but inefficient for ground work and they eat horsepower as well.

I've had a few i the past. Gear drive now.

Massey will give you the best bang for your buck and I think (not sure) that Massey engines are less complex emissions wise than Kubota. It will depend on availabliity and local to you dealers more than anything else.

Trying to think of dealers in your area. I know there is a Kubby dealer in Flint. Not sure about Massey.

Yes there is some hp loss with a HST, but so what? Buy a large enough tractor. My MX 6000 is 63 hp, and has 51 pto hp. 51 pto hp is enough for most implements in the 6-7’ range. And 63 hp is plenty for ground engagement implements.

 

[jyoutz]

My view (take with a grain of salt, I don't own a tractor this large):

• Don't worry about towing. You'll probably never put it on a trailer other than servicing, and your dealer will deliver and pick up for a bit of money - pocket change compared to having the wrong tractor. If your needs change and you need to frequently take it somewhere (frequently enough you can't borrow or rent a vehicle), then you'll need a bigger truck, if that ever happens just get a bigger truck
• Don't worry about HP loss in the HST. You're already buying more HP than you need, you can afford to leak a few for convenience
• HST v's shuttle comes down to usage. For the casual user, and for a lot of loader, driveway and snow work, HST I think is better - it's just easier to use and easier to get the speed you want. For ground engaging work at a constant speed with constant revs - tillers, plows, discs - a shuttle would probably be better. But doesn't really sound like you're doing much of that. Either will work though. SWMBO will probably prefer an HST, if that matters
• Agree with ruling out MF. So far as I can tell their ownership changed, and they're now more a brand engineered thing than a genuine tractor manufacturer like Kubota. That's not necessarily bad, but I think it means many of their products haven't been refined for 30 years, they've been designed by some kid and contract manufactured or assembled from off the self parts. All the little details won't be quite as good as a Kubota because it's ultimately really first or second gen product, and it won't make you happy every day like a Kubota would
• L3901 v's L4701, the 4701 comes with an LA765 loader, the 3901 with an LA525. 1 ton is about 1000kg, the model number is roughly kg of lift at the pins - for some reason the L series is the only Kubota brochure that doesn't specify lift capacity. Neither of them will lift a ton to full height, the LA765 is a lot closer than the LA525. If you need to move a 1 ton pallet (presumably a bit more than a ton including weight of pallet and of forks), I'd rule out the L3901. Unless you can (and want to) hand unload some bags first
• The MX has an LA1065 loader. This has proper specs, and can lift 1000kg at the pins, 767kg 500mm forward. That's to full height, so depending on how high the truck that brings your pellets is, reasonable chance you could lift a ton. Definitely a lot closer than the L series
• The L4760 has an LA1055 loader, that'll lift 809kg 500mm forward. That's also in the ballpark, but I suspect it's a lot more expensive tractor. Has some great features though

Bottom line, if you have to lift a ton of pellets, then the MX is the smallest Kubota that'll do it (and even then it's marginal). And if it were me, I'd get the HST.

Finally, watch your budget a bit. You'll need a lot of implements - at a minimum you need a quick attach bucket, a set of quick attach forks, some sort of counter weight (a heavy implement or a ballast box), a back blade for snow (that could be your counter weight), a box blade for gravel, maybe you need to load the tyres.

The MX LA1065 loader has no difficulty lifting a one ton pallet from a flat bed trailer, even with my 400# pallet forks and frame. But I’m also only off the trailer and carrying it low until I set it down. Full lift height (over 9’) with a ton on the forks is something I haven’t tried and don’t intend to.

 

[SDT]

Yes there is some hp loss with a HST, but so what? Buy a large enough tractor. My MX 6000 is 63 hp, and has 51 pto hp. 51 pto hp is enough for most implements in the 6-7’ range. And 63 hp is plenty for ground engagement implements.

Usually, there is little PTO HP penalty with a HST transmission. The inefficiency shows up in drawbar HP. Too much HP being converted to heat vis a vis a gear type transmission.

SDT

 

[jyoutz]

Th

Usually, there is little PTO HP penalty with a HST transmission. The inefficiency shows up in drawbar HP. Too much HP being converted to heat vis a vis a gear type transmission.

SDT

is is significant in very low hp tractors where every hp counts. Also a factor for large farm tractors doing heavy ground engagement. It’s not really a limitation on the types of uses that the typical 35-65hp cut is used for.