Tractors, Mowers, Chippers, Trailers, Chainsaws, Generators, Driveway Erosion Control, ETC.

I have the buying part down but it’s the telling myself I don’t need it and selling it part I can’t come to terms with

 

Agreed! How can I have 15 mowers and only 1-1/2 that actually work?? All the others "just need..."

 

In all reality it's more like breaking even or just not losing money. An even worse (or at least just as bad) habit of mine is finding weber barbecues and fixing those up too.

 

Mounted some nilight LED 18W lights on my tractor. Spot in front and 1 flood in the rear. They really made a huge difference and are $17/pair on Amazon. The front set had tube mounts and a harness and was $31. The harness has an inline fuse, relay, lighted rocker switch, and wire ends.



Here are my factory headlights with LED bulbs installed



And the Nilights



Rear Flood:

 

I bought a 4 pack of those to put on a couple various things a while back. They’re pretty good lights, especially for the money. They actually pull just under an amp at 12.5V, or about 12 watts. You can’t beat them for the money though. I bought the 4 pack, I think it was ~$28. I don’t know how long they’ll last, but the 2 I’ve installed so far have ran flawlessly in the 15 or so hours I’ve used them. Edit: I bought 4 flood lights, I don’t have any of the 18w spot lights. I’d imagine they are about the same as far as power draw goes though.

 

The new LED pods really are awesome. I've got a set of Auxbeam side shooters that I use as utility lights on the the truck for when I'm plowing. I've had them about 6 years at this point, tucked under the rear bumper where they get sandblasted and salted every storm, and they still work great. (they're starting to look pretty rough, though)

 

I've got some Kawell LEDs on my MF35. Two 42w flood facing forward, and two 27w flood facing rear. I'd like to add two more smaller units facing sideways so I have 360* light output, but my current setup (no pun intended) is fantastic and provides a lot of usable light. I can see off to the sides well enough that adding more isn't really a necessity.

edit: kindof a bad picture but you get the point.

 

Anybody help this man out with this question? I've never owned a compact tractor.

 

If you're doing a lot of hauling or mowing, get something with a gear transmission. You lose a lot of your rated engine power with a hydrostatic, and if you're not doing much for loader work a gear transmission is a better option.
As for brands, any of the major manufacturers (Kubota, Kioti, Yanmar, Massey, etc) should be fine.

 

Meh. A hydro works fine. Just gotta have a bigger tractor for it.
I do agree though. Gear is always better. I don’t think John Deere sells any sub compacts with gear trans anymore. All hydro.

 

I am learning that now-it looks like Kubota doesn't have a sub without a hydro, but Bobcat does and I think Kioti does

 

Which defeats the purpose of shopping for a sub-compact

I agree, I'd rather have a bigger tractor with an HST, but he's asking specifically about subs. So....

 

Well JD 5 series is still considered a “sub compact” and you can get it with gears!

It’s a pretty big tractor though lol

 

JD also had the 3D series now which is gear. 3Rs , 33 and 39 have both hydro and gear, 46R is only hydro

@MDFM31 what HP was your cub?

 

Have you done a filter and oil change on the XT3 hydro? I have an XT3 and 2 other Cub 3000 shaft drives and the hydros are pretty stout in all.

 

25hp Kohler. It's an XT3, the biggest one they make, but it's still just a garden tractor.

 

I just got the filter in the mail to do it. I specifically got the XT3 for the shaft drive and serviceable hydro. It seemed like the most heavy duty garden tractor. The hydro performance really fell off a cliff though. Hopefully the filter and fluid change will help it, but I already started warming the wife up to a sub...

Do you haul much with yours? I have the Cub trailer and fill it with cherry or maple pretty often. I could tell it was working harder but it never seemed to hurt it.

 

I don’t recall Kioti subcompacts being available in a geared transmission when I was researching. I went Kubota, mainly due to the extensive dealer network. If I can’t get what I need locally, it can be on a bus or truck, and in my hands the next, or sometimes the same day. I also like that it’s a Kubota engine under the hood of my Kubota tractor. Probably not a huge issue, but I think everyone else farms out for power.

I went with a BX23S, because it fits my needs best. Can’t speak to PTO use. Might have a front mount blower at some point, but unable to speak to power loss while operating a mower deck. Plows and buckets snow fine though. The backhoe has moved some impressively sized rocks and tree stumps. And I’ve cleaned up about 20 yards of wet clay, spread 25 yards of stone over 120 feet of driveway, and pulled a scraper box to recondition the other 600 feet of road into my property. The only issue I’ve run into with power loss so far was with the aforementioned clay. Packed my tires (R4’s) into slicks. All that extra rotational mass slowed the machine to a crawl. It also moved a loaded utility trailer, and boat and trailer around my yard with ease.

Been pleasantly surprised at just how capable these subcompacts are. It was money well spent for me. Might want a bigger tractor at some point in the future. Probably a B-series Kubota. The L- series are nice, but no mid PTO, so no front blower, or mid mower option. That’s a no go for me. My ladies uncle has a L3901 though, and it’s a pretty sweet machine. Skids some good sized logs around his property with it. I’d skip the 2501 if you’re thinking of an L, and go straight to the 3301, but that’s my opinion. Yours may vary.

 

I worked mine really hard for awhile pulling a 400lb gravel drag and a box blade but bought another Cub so I could use the XT3 for mowing only. The BDU-10 hydro in these is historically very stout and up to the task of what you were using it for. I hope it's just the filter and oil. I do recommend the Cub brand filter. Many of us have had problems with aftermarket filters.

I run Rotella 5w-40 and 15-40 in my Cub hydros. The Cub oil is ridiculously expensive.

 

Good to know about the factory filter. I got an aftermarket one with a quick turn around because the factory filter won't arrive until after Xmas.

You are right about the oil. Just spent about $110 on 6 quarts of it.