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Talk me out of buying a Kubota Compact Backhoe

MONSTERMUDDER

MONSTERMUDDER

Let's Go Brandon!!!
Joined
May 20, 2020
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805
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Sic Semper Tyrannis
Since everyone else is buying loaders and backhoes and shit...

Like I posted awhile back, got a rural(ish) piece of property that I'm fixing up and I'm at that point where rather than renting I'm looking towards just buying a new Kubota. This is a completely new deal to me, I am used to working with old, worn out and beat to shit tractors and I am fucking tired of that and don't have the patience. Anything cheap on CL / Marketplace is beat to shit and I'll spend more time fixing than using and everything decent on CL / marketplace used is still 80% the money of a new one with hundreds of hours of wear and tear, plus it's all the money upfront. Kubota has a pretty tempting financing deals at the moment.

I'm looking to clear brush with a skid steer quick connect third function with grapple bucket. Dig out stumps (with thumb attachment for picking stuff up), dig footings, minor site work, basic small loader backhoe shit. I don't need to set any records doing this work, it's just going to be a personal machine so I'm ok with it taking time so long as it will do it. I'm looking towards the 2601 Loader / Backhoe Combo since I want the biggest machine while staying at / under 26hp keeps me out of DPF nonsense. Anyone here have any experience with this or similar smaller bx23 ones?

TLDR
Kubota 2601 Loader / Backhoe are they any good?
How much pita to disconnect backhoe and use 3pt hitch? PTO on 3pt hitch?
Is this the right machine for basic property maintenance?
Will it load (loader and backhoe) into a 1 ton dump truck?
Do I need a Milwaukee 18v Grease Gun?

Thanks
 
:flipoff2:
fukkin bota
but jd is hopefully still jap:stirthepot:
we had a cut dack in the day, early 90'z
20 ish hp.
hoe ran an 8" bucket well
lets see where this goes.
 
They seem to hold their value. Anything orange or green here is instantly $15k if it has bucket. From what I remember, Kubota's financing makes it hard to justifying paying just a little less for a used one.
 
bgaidan said:
They seem to hold their value. Anything orange or green here is instantly $15k if it has bucket. From what I remember, Kubota's financing makes it hard to justifying paying just a little less for a used one.
Click to expand...

Is the same on the green side, used market is tough when. Manufactures have 0 for 84 available
 
If you have never operated a proper backhoe, you might be happy with this Kubota. I hate them. Non-responsive controls, bad operator station and REALLY weak breakout force.

I think the worst problem is no power with multi-function digging. One operation at a time is frustrating for someone who digs and controls depth at the same time. The Kubota seems to bypass / prioritize power to inhibit digging.
 
2000 L3710 with a Woods9000

I use it everyday. Every. Freaking. Day.
 
Get it, you probably won't regret it.. Handy little tractors. For home game use, you probably wont need a bigger machine even though it would be nice at times. Swapping the hoe for the 3 point isn't a huge task, just an annoyance if you're trying to do it quick.
 
I looked at 3 different websites just to see what the cost was, all were "click for best price"! fuck them

Im guessing its flirting with $30k new?
 
i have a new holland boomer 24. its my lawnmower, trailer mover... backhoe, box blade, flail mower, finish mower, auger, fel, f/r forks. blah blah..
perfect for my 5ac home and biz

however great to have around, they aren't money makers so about the best review is gonna be 'it did its job as expected' and get worse from there.

compact tractors are the pinnacle of 'if its worth it to you its worth it' or ' can do anything, but great at nothing'




compact tractors are great for what they are. but i think they will be a thing of the past in a decade or two. center articulate type wheel loaders and the mini telehandler type machines are going to soon be better do it all machines. or so's i'm thinking it will go
 
The Mini telehandelers don’t handle a bucket well in the long run unless your scooping up bark or sawdust things like that. The way that the boom is mostly on one side of the bucket creates too much leverage for real dirt work. They are also way slower at scooping and changing directions that a skid steer
 
The B2601 is a lawn tractor on steroids and only weighs 1600 lbs so isn’t gonna dig much except loose material.

Google specs say The loader height of dumped bucket For both loader & hoe is under 62” (5’2”) so not great, might barely clear a 1 ton dump side.

the L2501 is probably the machine you want that still avoids DEF and will do a good bit more work than the B series, and loader picks up more capacity & height. Still highly maneuverable for home use on a few acres.

changing 3 point attachments isn’t Totally painless, typically should Takes 10-15 min, but it’s not Too big a hassle once you get a bit of practice.
 
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I have the L2501 and absolutely love it. No emissions, plenty of power and I got hydrastat trans.
I'm not a fan of a backhoe on a compact tractor just because they tend to make more of a mess trying to maneuver around to dig.
Our local Kubota dealer is offering 5 year zero financing. I say get the L2501.
If they backhoe is frame mounted as opposed to 3 point mounted it will take some time to take it off and install the 3 point arms, putting it back on even longer to get it all lined up properly.
They are like the Swiss army knife of yard tools, So many attachments. I have forks, bucket, grapple, york rake, winch, grooming mower and a carry all, it takes just a few minutes to change out and move on. After having all these attachments I understand now why farmers have dedicated tractors for certain attachments, just change tractors and go.
Good luck, you won't be sorry.
I use the battery powered grease gun from TSC and so far no issues, grease every 10 hrs, I have about 70 on it in a year and a half.
This thread reminds me I need to pick up a brush hog, thinking about just ordering a gear box and building my own, most of the affordable ones are built very cheaply.
 
Dad bought a 23hp B series Kubota with a backhoe 10 or 11 years ago. We have used the backhoe a decent bit in that time (he has 3 acres, I have 16), but not really enough to justify it. Looking back, he wishes he would have gotten a bigger tractor (L series), and skipped the backhoe. If I remember right, the backhoe was a 7 or 8k upgrade, and you could rent a mini-ex (like I had to once), a lot of times and be way more productive.

Taking it on/off is pretty quick once you get the hang of it, but can be annoying at times.
 
My Woods9000 backhoe does ok. No complaints. The only thing being is disconnecting it. I have people telling me it pops right on and off. I see at least a weekend of fuckery doing that. Its on subframe and PTO driven pump system. I just leave it on. I freaking robbed the guy selling it too. (always keep cash on hand)
 
I've got a bx2200 with loader. I traded tmacie a trackloader and backhoe for it. It's a great little machine for yard and light farm type work. That's what it's for and it's awesome for that job. I wouldn't get a backhoe for it because its just too light to do any real work. I did move 80 yards to backfill inside the canopy foundation and it did a good job with that.

If your mostly yard work it will not disappoint. If any sort of earth moving and you don't live in a sandbox find a 580 case or something that will do it all.
 
I've had a b2301 TLB for nearly 2 years now. I use it for everything from a mobile wheelbarrow, to a cherry picker, to a log holder for bucking down logs with the thumb on the hoe. I bought a mower deck for it that hasn't been on in over a year, I don't like it at all and wish I wouldn't have bought it, the tractor is just too big to mow around anything any accuracy. The 50 hour service took me about an hour and $50 to do (filters, greasing, oil change) and could be done cheaper and quicker next time for sure.

If I were in the same boat without a tractor tomorrow, I'd buy it again. I didn't like towing it with my 11 Ram 1500, but my 19 Power Wagon pulls it much better.

Regarding the backhoe, mine spends more time on than off. I've dug probably 5-600 feet of ditch this year, sure as hell beats a shovel. Sure, it doesn't have the power that a larger machine does and doesn't do it near as fast, but will get the job done. You just need to learn how it works the best and use it that way instead of going full ham like a full size machine.
 
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I had/have a fair number of projects to do at my house. Waterline install, septic to garage connection, underground roof drains, failed retaining wall cleanup and others. I only have a couple of acres and needed something small and reliable around the $10k to do the work. Picked up a bx 24 with around 400 hours for 11k. It has the loader backhoe and belly mower. I have used it to install the wäterline, septic line, move over 500 90lb retaining wall blocks and 60 yards of dirt. Installed a culvert for the neighbor put in a drain for the neighbor moved tons of firewood and mowed the yard a few times. It is not the fastest thing or the most powerful but it's a hell of a lot faster than a shovel and wheelbarrow. It can dig down almost 5 feet but that's almost straight under the tractor. Trenching you can do about 24" deep and a little over 3' in length before you have to move. Getting off and turning the seat around to reposition is a pain. I use a stick to drive so I don't have to get off so much. The mower works well and gives a good cut but with my hilly off camber yard the exmark walk behind is faster. It is not a piece of major construction equipment but it is getting the job done and at my convenience. In a little over a year I put 120 hours on it and besides some trash in the fuel tank it's been super reliable. I have no regrets and will have a hard time getting rid of it when my projects are over.

EDIT I can take off all the attachments in 15 minute or less now that I have the process down. I also would not get a machine with a backhoe that was not easy to get off. I passed on a larger tractor with a sub frame mount woods backhoe. It had too much rear over hang and would take too long to remove. I don't regret that choice at all.
 
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If you're hoping to pull stumps I think you're going to be very disappointed. My 580 struggles with anything larger than about a 6" stump, so unless all you have is very small stumps a compact is really not doing much.
 
Stumps were at first a major dissapointment for me also. But I found if you have the time and patience you just work you way around the stump removing the small roots and exposing the larger ones and cut those with an axe you can eventually get some pretty big stumps out of the ground. My largest was a 20" white pine. It took awhile but it's gone. A mini ex would probably have done it in a few minutes.
 
What npkenny said on pg 1.

There is/has allways been a market for em, never sellin mine (1200 ferd <20 hp cut)
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