Green vs. Orange

skyhighZJ

skyhighZJ

Gov retirement < needs to live
Joined
May 31, 2012
Location
Aberdeen, NC.
Looking to get a tractor for our farm. Biggest duties will be unloading and moving round bales. A box blade for road maintenance.
Pretty much resigned to a straight drive (no HST) John Deere or Kubota.
Personal experiences please. Service, quality, power, sales, xyz.

If someone has another recommendation that’s not Mahindra I’ll listen.
 
I'm good N dang happy with my $10k Kioti

25 hp with front bucket, box scrape for road, bushog for briars, blade for snow, auger for posts, and chipper for trees. Its paid for itself 10x over

@Jason W. Can testify to the abuse its seen and keeps on coming back for more


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Hard to beat a Kioti for price and dependability. Same engineering as a Kubota at 2/3 the price. Basic maintenance is about the same on all tractors that you’ll be looking at and isn’t rocket science. Neighbor has 2 Kioti machines that get worked hard for the last 7-8 years with no issues.
 
Who has the best dealership/ service department around you?Dont matter much what brand you purchase they all will need parts sooner or later find out who can get them the quickest. I would probably go green I run a 7420, 6155r and a 8310r pretty much everyday. Nothing runs like a deer, or has the same resale value
 
I own several kubotas. I would buy a kioti or other Korean made with a dealer somewhere in the state. As far as parts it's usually cheaper easier and as quick for me to order online than to drive to dealer. Make sure you get rear remotes and if that brand offers, a 3rd function valve for the loader.
If you plan on using it as a loader a lot of the time I would not count out hydrostatic.
 
Unless you are wanting to finance it, I would look at older tractors too. Can likely get a bigger tractor for the same money....

I know folks with newer Kubota, Kioti & Mahindra that like them.
 
braxton357 said:
As far as parts it's usually cheaper easier and as quick for me to order online than to drive to dealer.
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This, absolutely this. As an amateur tractor actor, I could care less about dealer support because the only thing they support is emptying my wallet. If I were making my living with it and had to finish jobs ASAP to keep feeding my family, it would be a bit different.
 
skyhighZJ said:
Are they locally serviceable? Or easy enough to do on your own?
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Both

I have a killer dealer in Lexington. But hell, in 2 years I've changed the oil twice and fixed a hydraulic leak...that's it. No lie I've beat this thing like a redheaded stepchild and it just WORKS
 
jeepinmatt said:
This, absolutely this. As an amateur tractor actor, I could care less about dealer support because the only thing they support is emptying my wallet. If I were making my living with it and had to finish jobs ASAP to keep feeding my family, it would be a bit different.
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The guys using them to feed their family and aren’t stuck in the old days still order their parts online these days. The only time a dealer is worth a shit any more these days is when you don’t have time to waste and they happen to have the part now, or when you have time to kill and can go work on something else while the machine gets fixed.

I’d run a Kubota or Kioti before any of the new jd stuff. We still run a bunch of old Ford/NewHolland equipment and keep fixing it because it’s still cheaper than new machines. Slowly starting the hunt to swap out the Ls190 for a tracked machine and it will most likely be orange.
 
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I'll be making a similar purchase in the spring.
I'm down to either Kioto or LS.

LS has a lot of great fans and are a spec king. Typically having higher lifting and pull ratings than equipment even one class larger.

The only downside youll find online is parts dealers and shipping costs. But their NA HQ and parts warehouse is in NC so great for locals.
 
I went orange when I got mine. I got an L2501 (2015 or so). Come play with it one day if you want.

Highest HP without having to have DEF and regen crap to deal with (25hp at that time, not sure if it's the same or not now.). IIRC, it's rated at like 24.8. Plenty of power for what I do. Mostly 5' rake, 5' box blade, FEL dirt moving, post hole drilling, etc. Wouldn't want much smaller for all that, or much bigger.

Don't nix the hydrostatic...it's great if you are doing a lot of FEL work instead of plowing fields.

I did get the backhoe. Really wish I put that money towards a mini-ex instead.

Central Carolina Power Equipment is right up the road, just South of Sanford on US-1. New location a year or two ago....if you've been north on US-1, you've seen it. Worth a stop and talk. Kubota | Central Carolina Power Equipment | Located in Sanford, NC
 
Kioti 40 hp here. Bought new in 2009. Never a problem. Would buy it again in a heartbeat and only 70% the cost of the other orange brand.
 
I'd suggest New Holland, been a while since shopping for new. last one we got was an 08 60hp for 15k out the door,. way cheaper than the others. or coarse it was tax exempt.
 
Didn't read much the above responses. I will say that somewhat older is better. Newer green stuff requires a green service tool computer to reset, even for simple stuff, like if you run out of def or have to change a fuel pump - from what I've heard and read. I'd recommend staying away from anything that requires def to begin with. That should eliminate most problems like that. Aside from those issues, blue, orange, & red will serve you well. Whether NH, Massey, Mahindra, Kubota, or even grey market - just be sure to know the matching native model so you can find parts when you need them.
 
4wd with loader, that is a need, not a want

another Kubota here, 24hp (17@pto) hydrostat with loader, 60” box blade and 60” belly mower.

I don’t think mine is really big enough for hay rolls, has a 1000lb load rating in the bucket and you’ll feel it need to have the box blade on for counter weight to move gravel

23 yrs old, still rockin

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I bought an 08 L4400 with 340 hrs on it. 4x4, loader, canopy top, HST. Came with a 6ft Woods bush hog. I think i gave 18k. It's 45 hp, but still small and manageable. Basically the same motor that's in my excavator too, so filters and such are easy to remember.

I like it a lot. Not sure if I would have bought it new from a dealer, but I'm happy with the tractor and the deal I got on it.
 
I’ve seen both Kubota and JD have 0% for XX months financing. I don’t think I’ll need anything in the realm of DEF or Emissions required tractors. I don’t think??
 
How much does a round hay bale weigh? I think my loader is rated for 1400 lbs maybe? 3 pt will pick up over 3000, if I remember right.

I feel like you're going to need a decent sized tractor and may have to go with a little older one to avoid emissions stuff. I don't remember what year they started putting it on them, but the closest thing I have to emissions stuff is a muffler.
 
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