Kubota Upgrade

upnut · March 11, 2019, 07:23:36 AM

Looking at a 1988 Kubota B7200 tractor as a possible upgrade to the 350 Grizzly I now use for firewood. The Kubota is 4WD, 3cyl. diesel, hydrostatic drive, power steering, and comes with a 60" belly mower. My idea would be to ditch the belly mower, adapt the category I three point hitch for woods work and pull the hot rod trailer for firewood duty. My concerns would be the turf tires for traction and cold weather starting issues. Any thoughts? Thanks....Scott B.

thecfarm · March 11, 2019, 08:01:56 AM

Depends what ply the tires are. I had the wifes tractor,turf tires,30hp 4wd,NH,out in the woods a few times,with a trailer too. The itires are loaded too. And it did fine. Yes,I picked the best place to go,as I do with my tractor. I don't go over every stump and rock and wet hole that I can find.
I am only guessing at hp,under 30?

upnut · March 11, 2019, 09:07:57 AM

That would be the 17hp engine. The weight is listed at 1356, so it would be heftier than a lawn tractor and with the hydrostatic drive seems like it would be handy sneaking around the woodlot with a load.

Scott B.

hedgerow · March 11, 2019, 09:33:03 AM

Upnut
I don't know what you budget is but I would look around and buy one a little bigger. I have a AGCO 30 HP I bought used in 2005 it was a 2000 model. I pickup it up at a farm sale. I bought it mainly because of price it wasn't selling well that day. I had planned on moving it on and making a little money. We mowed with it one summer and its been here every since. It had 200 hours on it when I bought it has around 1,200 hours on it now. I use it a lot spot spraying fields pastures in the spring summer and fall. It has the R-4 tires on it and that's nice gap between turf and all out tractor tires. I never put a block heater on this one as I don't push snow with it I use the skid loader for that. I have started this one down to 20 degrees no problem if it has a good battery in it. It does have glow plugs so that helps a lot and I run full syn oil in it.

Crusarius · March 11, 2019, 10:02:09 AM

I had a B8200. I really miss that little tractor :( great little machine. perfect for around the house and was pretty amazing what it would do. I now have an L2800 and if I were to do it again would have kept the B8200 and got an M series having a 1 size tractor does not work for me. I need little and big.

You will not be sorry with this tractor. Sometimes it was grumpy starting when really cold but I used mine for plowing and it always started. May take 2 cycles to start but once it warmed up the tractor was great. I do not know about that model but my 8200 had the 2 speed rear PTO. that made it great for running a snowblower. use lower rpm's higher pto speed and it would really thrown snow.

If it has belly mower it will also have the mid or front PTo at 1000 rpm's

Did I mention how much I miss my 8200?

stevea303 · March 11, 2019, 12:56:45 PM

I owned a B7500 for several years, great little tractor that way exceeded my expectations. I put that sucker thru hell n back and it never failed me. Never had any cold weather starting issues. I've since upgraded to a Kubota Grand L series 4060 (cab w/ heat & A/C) because the older I get the more cold weather starting problems I have. :D :D

Crusarius · March 11, 2019, 01:16:35 PM

Quote from: stevea303 on March 11, 2019, 12:56:45 PMthe older I get the more cold weather starting problems I have.

Truer words have never been spoken

Old Greenhorn · March 11, 2019, 02:12:30 PM

Quote from: stevea303 on March 11, 2019, 12:56:45 PMthe older I get the more cold weather starting problems I have. :D :D

For a minute I wasn't sure if you were talking about yourself or your equipment :D I know in my case, it is both.

TKehl · March 11, 2019, 03:44:15 PM

I have a Kubota B1550 that is the successor to the 7200. Also hydrostat and 4x4.

Love it because I can take it into some real tight places with my little 4x8' trailer, jackknife it, and put it right next to where I'm cutting. Wood is cut and split on the spot, thrown on the trailer, and unloaded next to my stove.

Biggest issue I have is more with the trailer than the tractor. The trailer axle is pretty far forward so the trailer can tilt. I have to load the front heavy (stacked) and the back light (thrown) or it wants to dump since I'm using a hitch mounted to the 3 point instead of a drawbar and there is no down pressure on the 3 point.

Can't find pictures pulling with the tractor, but here's a picture of a typical load, just behind my Suburban as it was windy with chance of sleet/snow and I was nearly a mile from the house.

upnut · March 11, 2019, 05:24:45 PM

Thanks for the replies everyone. TKehl may have brought up an issue I hadn't considered. I winch alot of wood closer to the trailer, and the bigger stuff will actually lift the atv rear wheels on a hard pull. No down pressure on the trailer hitch would not be good. Don't know if a drawbar is even an option on this unit. The axle on the hot rod trailer is back of center for hauling...

Scott B.

TKehl · March 11, 2019, 05:29:30 PM

That trailer will put weight on the rear for hauling.

I'd recommend adding a weight bracket on the front. I need to do that on mine as the 4' tiller and 5' King Kutter finish mower on mine make the front awful light. :(

upnut · March 20, 2019, 07:32:58 AM

Went with a Kubota, in a little different package...

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After reading and re-reading several recent threads, decided to go with an RTV 500. Sort of a 65'th birthday/firewood/retirement deal. When the ground settles enough it will get a workout......Scott B.

ButchC · March 20, 2019, 08:08:36 AM

Same as Upnut I decided to go the side by side route.For less money than a good used Kubota tractor I bought a 2005 Kubota RTV900 4x4 with just over 1000 hours on it. These are a huge upgrade from the smaller RTVs. Has diesel power, 3 range hydrostatic trans, hydraulic dump and rear remote, it would pull a plow. If you need a 3 point there is an aftermarket unit available. Add some sides to the bed and forget the trailer. Back it right to the tree and go to work. I have $4500 invested in mine. A H-D side by side will do almost anything a small tractor will do except mount a loader and can be a lot more useful depending on your situation,,, just a thought.

hedgerow · March 20, 2019, 09:42:42 AM

Upnut
I think you will enjoy the Kubota. I have two friends farmer/ranchers that have them. Both are the largest models diesels AC and heat. One went from four wheeler's to Kubota and I am not sure if he ever drives his pickup. The other one has had side by sides for years probably starting with mules he has had every brand under the sun and loves the Kubota's. My retirement check and farming check will only buy two old Cushmans for running around on the farms. One is 60's and the other is 90's models with tractor style tires on them they get around with out much problem. Maybe the next time we have $7.00 corn I can get a Kubota.

upnut · March 21, 2019, 06:18:33 PM

First day on the job at my brother's, hauling chunks from the log deck into the woodshed to be split and stacked. I intentionally built the wood hauling trailers down sized for atv's, it may be time to increase capacity! They are built on Dexter torq-flex axles and thick wall square tubing, so taller sides and beefier tires would help...

Scott B.

upnut · March 28, 2019, 09:32:24 AM

Wood ticks.....My brother had shoulder surgery, arm in a sling, but can drive the Kubota one-handed and take pictures! Took all the equipment to the woods to work up some ash and elm blocks with the vertical splitter, didn't want to lift them. Nice day in the woods...

Scott B.

upnut · April 19, 2019, 03:20:03 PM

Along with the brush guard I wanted a bumper and a recovery hook of some kind. Found this Smittybilt beaver step on flea bay that fills the bill and fits like it was made for the RTV...

Scott B.

Crusarius · April 19, 2019, 04:55:30 PM

that looks kool but also look like if you hit it on anything its going to break right off. To bad its not hinged to flip out of the way.

upnut · April 19, 2019, 05:30:46 PM

Well, it's hammer forged carbon steel weighing in at 15 pounds, with a 10,000 lb rated tow strap point. It's designed for any 2" receiver on jeeps/pickups as a step/recovery hook. The front receiver on the RTV is rated for 110 lbs tongue weight and 550 lbs rolling weight. It's actually quite stout.....Scott B.