Ok guys and gals...my dad just sold my uncle our Kubota B26 because it was just simply over-worked for the jobs that we needed it for. We should have been looking in the 35-45hp range and that B26 fell way short. I don't know if you guys saw the pictures that I posted up about a month ago of me stuck in the mud, but the boom strength just isn't there. Had I not been in reverse helping the boom out, it would have NEVER pulled that tractor out of that creek...we need a tractor that the boom can support it's own weight MUCH better than the B26 offered...not bashing the product, it did decent. But it's just too small for our needs...any suggestions?

Thanks from the middle of the Big Blue

 

CAT & JD have some nice backhoes.

 

I'm looking REAL hard at the L48 Kubota with the loader & backhoe.
Basically, the B26's bigger brother.


click on the pic to link to Kubota's page for the L48

 

I work at a Deere dealer as a mechanic. We do a lot of work on small industrial equipment. You may want to look at a John Deere 110 backhoe. Its built off the frame of a 4610 tractor. Bout 40-45 hp I think. We don't see them come through the shop very often and don't have hardly any complants that I know of. I mainly work in the ag. shop though so can't say for sure. Jus my .02

 

I was actually looking at customizing a JD 3720...looks like a really good TLB...MUCH more powerful than the B26, but not MUCH bigger...I think it will out weigh it by about 1500-2000lbs max...Thanks guys. Oh yeah, that L48 is a LOT bigger than what we need, I think (size wise it's MUCH larger than the 3720, but not much more in the strength department)...

 

I LIKE "Bigger than I need".......
It means never having to say, "It's too small for the job I need to do."

That's also why I drive a dually as a daily commuter.

 

Well, the B26 IS too small for SOME of the stuff that I tried using it for...We also have a John Deere 5525, which was in that instance WAY too big for the job. I think with about a 35-40hp TLB, we should have the best of all worlds. That B26 just wouldn't cut it for some things...nice little tractor though...I like the features and how easily that it can get INTO places...it just has a hard time getting OUT

 

I need something in the L48 range as I have 53 acres, with approx 40 of it logged before I bought it.
The loggers took the trees but left all the stumps, and the ground must have been wet when they were working as some of the skidder ruts are 2 feet deep.
So I need to move a bunch of earth to fill the ruts, move several HUGE piles of de-limbed branches into burn piles, clear the brush in the burn areas, and a boat-load of stumps need to be 'popped'.

Then smooth everything back down and plant some straw.

 

Man, I think that if I had 40 acres of digging and excavating to do, I would go bigger...unless you just plan on making a project out of it. We have two sections of property...our 23 acre plot (where the house is at and where I got stuck) and we keep our 2 horses on it...then we have a 67 acre set up with the big barn, tractor and our cattle over there...we NEED the big JD a lot...it only has a loader on it though. We use the back mainly for pulling trailers, plowing and cutting, kicking and bailing hay.

 

Go with the cat 420e, IT, extendahoe, nice machine, and Cat was running a zero % financing deal a few months ago.
If your a Deere fan, go with the 410j, very good, powerful machine.
Cat just offered a better financing rate than deere at the time or I would own the deere instead of the 420.
Rich

 

Holy crap, richard! That thing is TWICE the tractor that I am looking for right now! LOL That is for industrial jobs and stuff...I just need something a little bigger than a Kubota B26 LOL The JD 5525 is MORE than enough for the big jobs around our farm!

On a side note, that Cat really is a nice TLB...how much did it run ya if you don't mind my asking? I bet it is a BRUTE

 

I got a pretty good deal on it, its an IT machine, quick coupler front and rear, 4wd, cab heat, ac, 3 buckets, forks, hammer, all for the low, low price of 120k.

ouch

Rich

 

Derek,
I'm going to have a guy (with a BIG CAT) come in and clear 5 acres for the house site.
The rest I'll do after the house is done and we move in and have time to kill post-retirement.

 

Not really bad when you consider that it's a CAT and commercial...that thing will last a VERY long time. It really looks like a HOSS of a tractor! It's just about 90K more expensive than the tractor that we need...heck, it's about 60K more expensive than the 5525...out JD might be rated at higher HP, but I bet that Cat would work circles around it though...

 

Sounds like big fun! Man, I am only 26, but I think about retirement all the time! I just want to try and make sure I have as many cool toys as possible when my time comes! LOL Enjoy it and congrats, you've earned it!