Considering up-sizing from JD1023 to Kubota B3550

[tommott77]

Hi all,

First post as I'm at the early stages of considering up-sizing from JD1023 to Kubota B3550. The 1023 has served me extremely well up until this point; at the time of purchase to me it had the best attributes to match the duties I had planned for it and have not been disappointed. The main tasks of the 1023 up until now have mostly encompassed about 1 acre of mowing around my home along with various smaller-scale loader tasks both at my home the several smaller sized properties I own and maintain closeby.

The problem is that I recently purchased 10+ acres of property up in the mountains in addition to the other smaller properties. There's definitely some heavier duty work on the horizon to be done at there; re-clearing and maintaining of long/steep driveways, cutting some mountains paths, digging footers plumbing lines, cleaning up banks, ect, ect. I recently brought the 1023 up there for an initial clearing effort where it performed admirably well but I was definitely pushing it to its limits on steep (the property has about 400' worth of elevation change), bumpy terrain while pushing a flail mower at the max + of the 1023's PTO HP rating.

I'd love to find a tractor that capable of doing much more work out at the mountain property, likely growing into a backhoe at some point within the next couple years, while being able to fit and accomplish the more menial tasks around the other properties. After doing, what I though was a lot of research this weekend I'd thought I had found this tractor, a B3350. It had the backhoe and performance capabilities on par or greater than a 3 series JD for the large jobs, while still being lighter than a 2 series JD with a far superior turning radius for the small jobs.

Well I went to the dealer today and low behold I come to find out that there are two different size 'B' tractors. They only had a B2601 out there. Driving it around it did feel larger than the 1023 but not by too much and could still probably be manageable of getting in/out of tight areas, around a bunch of trees while mowing required for the smaller jobs. Wondering how the B3350 compares agility wise? On paper the specified rating of the turning radius of both the 2601 and 3350 are same using the brake, not sure how this pans out in the real world though and if the turning ability without the brake is much different.

Also curious as to how stable the B3350s are compared to a B2601 or even a my 1 series a BX SCUT for that matter on unforgiving terrain? I would definitely like to upgrade the safety, stability, and work-ability on steep work areas as much as anything by up-sizing. The B2601 looked a bit top heavy but the dealer told me that the wheels can be adjusted out by something like 4", which coupled with the larger wheels and wheelbase I would imagine would make quite a difference.

 

[MadMax31]

My advice, avoid the B3350. I don't care how many kinks Kubota ironed out in the complicated DPF system. Its reputation is gone. No other tractor Kubota makes has had anywhere near the issues that one model ( B3350 ) has had. The B2650 is the same frame and dimensions with no DPF system.

The B2650 is slightly larger than a B2601.

In my area, green paint is typically 2-3500 more across the board. I liked the 3032E, but not enough to buy it. The 3033R is way too expensive for the machine that it is.

If you require the 33hp of the B3350, with the bells and whistles, I suggest an L3560 or a JD 2032R.

I downsized from a B series machine to a new BX23S so I can get the backhoe. Just bush hogged 2 acres yesterday and it didnt take any longer or any rougher a ride. The loader is weaker for sure, but you dont buy a SCUT for a strong loader.

 

[Mike.O]

Also would advise against the B3350. Lots of troubles. Don't know much about JD machines but the L3301 is also a good machine with, from my understanding, a different,simpler DPF system than the B3350. Also, the only disadvantage is the L3301 has no mid-PTO, which only comes into play if you plan on MMM or front snowblower.

I researched the B3350 a bit, and settled on the B2650, which as mentioned above is the same tractor frame, +/- same weight, same loader, same BH option, just less PTO HP. No DPF.

 

[Jfet]

A lot of what you want to do in the mountains might be fun on a Kubota mini ex. We just bought a U35-4 for 28 acres of mountain property and the thing is a beast, grabbing trees and tossing them to the side, cutting ditches, re-leveling 1/4 mile of road and rolling up 15% grades with no problems.

 

[tommott77]

The dealer actually did talk about the DPF. He said to make sure to at least run it around at >2000 rpms. Otherwise the filter may prematurely block up and I'd have to bring it in for them to clean out or something along those lines. Wasn't aware that there was that much of an issue with them until reading here. From what I had looked at over the weekend I had thought that the 3350 was several years into its production run. I'll have to do some more reading up here to see if all the DPF issues are a recent or long term on-going problem.

I really want 20+ pto hp to open higher powered implement options; mainly a chipper/shredder. The dealer did kind of make it sound like that they'd take care of any issue however or at least it wasn't too bad of a job. I'll have to get into the warranty a bit more and more specifically about and what's involved with dealing with the DPF during any future discussion. He quoted me under $20k for a 3350 w/ loader, with the 0% for 84 months, which has me somewhat intrigued as that appears to be about $4500 off sticker price on kubota.com.

Another thought that I am/did consider was getting a used mini-excavator, bobcat, or something along those lines to do all the big work needed out there in one somewhat of a fell swoop and then sell it off as I really don't have any long-term storage options for anything along those lines. I'd then be back at my current position however in terms dealing with any ongoing maintenance items and whatever future projects may arise once all is said and done.

 

[drsii]

tommott77 just to give you my experience the b3350, it really isn't worth the gamble. If it wasn't for the DPF issues it would be a great tractor. I loved the power and agility.

Most don't experience the issues until about 140+ hours. Here's a short list of the issues so you don't need to scour through hundreds of threads. My b3350 recieved all the latest updates from kubota and still.

- Told by kubota (told to dealer, then me) to run the tractor near max rpm at all times.

- As you increase in hours the DPF Regen Cycles get shorter and require longer to complete. at 250ish hrs I was running a regen every 5-7 hours and they required about 1hr 15min + to finish.

- There is a chance that during that regen cycle your tractor will shut down to protect itself and cannot be restarted for at least a few hours.

- If you live in a cold weather climate you will not be able to get the tractor hot enough to complete a regen cycle and will be trying to put cardboard in front of the radiator with a grill bra. But it wont work.

- After a # of failed regen cycles. The tractor will go into protective mode and cannot be reset / restarted without a visit to the dealer to reset the computer.

 

[tempforce]

after owning a B3350 for a year and most of that time it was in the dealers workshop. the most i had it in service was one 25 hr period with the shortest of a hour and a half. before it needed to be looked at or hauled off to the repair shop. they did refund my purchase price minus a years worth of interest and no comp for the time i lost from not having the tractor. the b2650 had increased to the same price as i received for the b3350.

there is a noticeable difference in power between the two.. the b3350 would run at a higher r.p.m. which i was told to keep it at full throttle or shut down. requiring many more on tractor, off tractor cycles. especially when connecting equipment. as i couldn't feather the hydraulics to bump the tractor forward or back due to the high rpm. the engine would die, due to safety devices... (good idea)... using the mower the higher rpm of the b3350 did a nicer looking lawn. the b2650 needs a few hundred more rpm to spin the blades faster.... doing all other jobs the B2650 is slower, but it will get the job done.
without visiting the repair shop monthly or sometimes weekly, like the b3350.....

it had a total replacement of the catalytic dpf unit, a new computer, several software upgrades, new wiring harness, replacement of every sensor, new thermostat, larger capacity alternator and a trip due to a bad o-ring in a hydraulic connector. due to the system requiring disconnecting hydraulic line to replace emission components.. also the a/c had to be pumped down and recharged at least once, to do the above repairs...

i would like to mention the local dealer, was very generous, by giving me a substantial in store credit, for the way kubota handled my case.. trying to keep a customer...

 

[tommott77]

Thanks and really appreciate the input.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, stayed up all night last night reading up on the issue.

I came to the conclusion that even if the tractors are somewhat reliable at this point all the work involve in constantly idling up, turning on/off, ect are close to deal breakers. These are practices I've grown quite accustomed to not doing on the 1023. All that extra work seems counter intuitive on a diesel engine, especially a turbo engine at that.

If that's not a deal breaker the worry about it not starting due to some computer/DPF issue, up a 400' mountain, probably 75 miles away from any dealers quite frankly is.

I'm have considering looking at some used tractors. Just as long as I can assure and justify to myself that I'm not going to loose my shirt without a warranty. I've found a couple B2300s somewhat locally, one with 49 hours. At a quick glance they appear to be the forerunner to the B3350, a tad smaller, and with the same engine but I'm assuming without the DPF and accompanying issues. Hopefully I won't stay up all night checking back on their reliability and for any known issues...If anybody cares to chime in before I find myself doing so would be greatly appreciated

 

[Bulldog777]

Have you considered the L 2501?
No DPF. You mentioned ten acres....you might wish you would have gotten an L series. I recommend if you haven't already, to go look at the L2501. Most dealers will let you drive them.
Just a thought. I have two friends with the L2501, and they love them.