Kubota = Krap

[woodmort]

Long Rant about my Kubota:

Last spring I traded in my 20-year old JD tractor w/ 48" mower and bagger for a Kubota BX2370. Now, after about 5 months of use I can tell you that the Kubota is a poorly engineered piece of crap! What Kubota has done--apparently--is to down-size their larger tractors without reengineering the result to make it safe and easy to use.

Start with the tractor: 1) The power take-off lever is in such a position that when you're getting on and off the tractor it is in your way--if you're wearing shorts it is guaranteed to catch under the edge and hang you up (if it doesn't "nut" you). BTW, you can't get off the other side because the front loader lever is in the way. 2) The vaulted flasher/direction lights stick out so far from the sides of the tractor that they catch on anything you're mowing around. I completely destroyed one when it caught a fence post and the other--which I moved--doesn't work because the wires got pulled off by some lilac bushes. Luckily I don't need to take mine off the property so don't need them. The ROP (Rollover Protection) is about 2 feet higher than it needs to be so, unless you fold it down--a ten min job--you can't put it inside any building. And because the work you will be doing on the machine is inside, it is a guarantee that you're going to whack your head on it at least half a dozen times per job.

Now I have 5 attachments--a post-hole driller and a rototiller made by Brush Hog and a 54" mower, front loader and bagger made by Kobota. The Brush Hog attachments go on/off with ease--get them lined up, slip on the PTO, fasten a couple of pins on the 3-point hitch and you're ready to go.

It is the Kubota attachments that don't seem to be made for their tractor.

The front loader has taken me, on average, a hour to detach and reattach because it needs to be lined up exactly plus the hydraulic hose attachments are a PIA to use--they're snap/fit that neither snap nor fit. Given the size of the tractor and loader there just is not enough room between the load shafts, front end of the tractor and tires so something gets hung up. Today, after an hour of trying to detach the **** thing (something I've done about 10 times, each with a different problem) I managed to smash in the hood so that now pops open every time I start the tractor. Oh yeah, when the loader has more than about 100 lbs the tractor becomes very unstable--I went downhill with a load of 3 cement blocks and couldn't get enough traction to stop--scary! I've also had it rock up on 3 wheels when hitting a bump with the loader empty and about half raised.

The mower takes about 20 minutes to detach and an hr to reattach because the PTO is in a position where no human hand can slide the collar back and make the two parts mesh.. I found the best way is to put it up on a ramp and work underneath. Also the mower does a lousy job--although it is fast--leaving 3 very distinctive cut lines.

Finally the bagger is impossible. I spent 5 hrs this afternoon trying to get it on and finally quit in frustration. The bagger itself was no problem but attaching the PTO was. The PTO connection between bagger blower and tractor has to be so precisely aligned that it is impossible to do at home. This is not your ordinary slide collar PTO connection but one that must be aligned and then drawn on using a turnbuckle type of attachment between the tractor and mower. There's gotta be a special place in Hell for the engineer that thought that up.

Now I've done fine woodwork--I can set up a bandsaw in a matter of minutes to to intricate work--and know my way around farm machinery fairly well but this piece of equipment frustrates me to no end. I can only imagine how it would be for some average Joe that has neither the time nor the expertise to handle this stuff. Take my advice, stay away from Kobota--JD makes as good product. I'm sorry I switched.

Oh yeah, my dealer is gonna hear about this too.

 

[WYNot]

Growing up on a farm and using all sorts/brands of equipment, I can sympathize.

JD doesn't get a free pass though.

While I've driven JDs of all sizes and types and generally love them. When we moved into our current house, the previous owner left behind an RX110 lawnmower. One of those rear engine jobbies. If that was the first and only JD I've ever encountered, I'd think all JD tractors were crap and would be very leery of ever buying another. It handles like crap. Can barely get over an exposed root without spinning tires. I could go on and on. Luckily for JD I've been exposed to many of their tractors, Models A, B, R, 4420, 730, etc and their lawnmowers, 110, 212, etc. They definitely dropped the ball big time on the RX110.

 

[Fred's Hens]

I"m sorry about your new BX. It is a brand new model and so I'd have no idea about the possible changes that may lie at the root of your various discontents.

I had the previous model the BX 60 series. The unit was phenomenal. Since those BX's were the largest selling subcompact tractors in the world, people loved them widely praised them and it's not a fluke. Kubota practically invented this class of small machine. Now, of course, most manufacturers produce a similar sized unit.

There are lots of YouTube videos showing just how fast people mount and dismount the Loader in under 1 minute. There is a learning curve here, so of this might not be design flaws alone, but might involve user familiarity, knowledge and practice. I'm old, slow and careful and I could do mine in 5 minutes. If this takes you an hour, you might consider having your dealer demonstrate the procedure again.

I did end up selling my BX and stepped up to the larger B series. I love it as well and wouldn't trade it for the world. Again, sorry if you have buyer's remorse, but the legions of Orange faithful aren't just going to give you a free pass on the Kubota = Krap title of your rant thread, sorry. That dog won't hunt.

So, load that thing up and go trade it in on the Deere of your choice. Life's too short.

 

[woodmort]

Fred's Hens I'm glad you like Kubota but I'm telling you the model I have is an engineered piece of CRAP and that dog hunts very well. Not only are there dangerous flaws like the location of the PTO lever and the poor stability, but it does not do the things that are claimed by Kubota Tractor Corp. For starters it does a very poor job of mowing--I used mine today and you should see the various levels of the cut within each pass--looks like a bad, self-given hair cut. It is my feeling that Kubota took their larger BX model and downsized it without considering that there were things the bigger model could do that would not work on the smaller model--there is just not the room or the stability. Nor did they bother to reengineer the accessories to work on the smaller model. They were just trading on their name and previous sales to sell this one.

BX tractors may be big sellers but then too so was the Ford Pinto, which didn't mean it was safe or well engineered.

As far as getting the loader on/off (this is just one issue BTW) my dealer demonstrated it to me when I picked it up--took him about 10 minutes to get it off and 15 to reattach it. Then I was given a go and was able to do both operations in about 15 and 20 minutes. The big thing was that, in both cases, the tractor was never fully pulled outside the loader arms. This is where the problem lies because there is so little room--there is about an inch between the arm and the tractor--there is no "slop" room so unless the parts are in exact alignment on both sides there is a problem. This is especially true when attaching because when you drop the loader arm it has to be exactly over the receivers, misalign either side and it can either become wedged behind or in front of them making a major operation out of freeing them. This is where the tractor's hood gets damaged. Now I have taken my loader off and reattached it about 10 times in the 5 months I've owned it. I have done both operations in as short as 10 minutes and as long as an hour and 30.

As far as U Tube videos are concerned, there are a lot of things on U Tube that ordinary people with a real life cannot do. After all, NASCAR pit crews can change 4 tires in seconds but my local mechanic take 10 minutes once it is on a lift. Besides I seriously doubt the 1 minute time frame if it included driving the tractor between the loader arms, shutting down/restarting the motor and getting on/off as per the manual's instructions. (And assuming they didn't get hung up on the PTO lever.) Heck working as fast as possible it would take someone at least 20 secs to just uncouple and attach the 4 hydraulic connectors.

Sorry but as I told my dealer--if you want to sell one of these, don't send the prospective buyer to me because I'll discourage the sale. Right now I considering my wife's advice to trade it in but the alternative would be to let it sit by the road with the key in and hope someone steals it. Problem is I'm afraid I'd be liable if the thief has it roll over on him/her.