Kubota M4950

[Anonymous-0]

Hi,

I have saved up a budget of 7000.00 to replace my ford 2000. The ford only has a 4 sp which does not have a good gear for my 5ft ruff cut mower and is a little underpowered for my 84 inch finish mower. I also want to get a tiller to make a ¼ acre garden. I was looking to get a 4610 or an equivalent Massey. There is a Massey, Ford and Kubota dealer each within ten minutes of my house. I really want more gears, those easy attach 3pt arms that have the inch or so of free play at the balls and enough power for my mowers to operate no greater than the 75% duty cycle of the machine at a good ground speed. My question is about Kubota tractors I have seen a M4950 that has what I want but only a 170cu engine. It is a six cylinder. Kubota claims it has a 49hp pto but any equivalent Ford or Massey has 30+ more cubic inches, 18% more displacement.

Are Kubota’s better engines or will the hp drop off quicker with a drop in rpm’s?
The M4950 engine is a little smaller than a ford 3000 diesel. Is it really a ford 3000 equivalent?

Kubota’s are attractive for me since they are a little lighter and are easy to find with 12 to 16 speeds and hydraulics for my snow plow. I put a little over 50 hours per year on the Ford 2000. I will always have at least 7-10 acres minimum and consider my next purchase to be my last one.

Thanks,
Dean

 

[phillip d]

I don't know about the 3000 series fords but the one thing the 4610 we had lacked in was gears.It had a high and low 4 speed,but really seemed like it only had 2.1st and 2nd were really close,than a BIG gap to 3rd,than 4th wasn't much faster than 3rd.We have had M8200 Kubota's since they first came out.Thad model does seem to drop off fast at 1200 rpm.Don't know about the M4950's at all.You would have to try it I suppose.The 6 cyl should hold up well?I can almost bet that parts for the ford are alot cheaper than the Kubota and Massey,just a guess.If it's gears you need and fuel economy to boot,than Kubota may be the one.pd.

 

[Walt Davies]

I have two smaller Kubota's a 30hp and 17hp both never run out of power no matter what I am doing with them.
Walt

 

[Anonymous-0]

Not to put down ford or massey if they are your "brand" but having operated different models of all 3 brands in a home mowing bush hogging and construction abuse environment, once you have the kubota you will never go back. The major flaw (I think) in the Ford and Massey Designs is that they Never really Changed from the 9n Design. They only varied from it and made slight improvements. The only real difference between a massey 35 and a 240 was the diesel engine and 2 stage clutch, plus a god awful, almost useless hydraulic system. Now the Kubotas wont last forever like a massey 35 or your ford 2000, i.e. 30+ years, but for ease of operation, durability functionality reliability they cannot be beat. We've used those tractors on the jobs when it was too cold for the backhoes to even start. We've used 2 in the last 20 years and the 1st got replaced only to have a bigger heavier tractor. Now that can be a downside. Yes they are Light, but a little counterweight goes a long way. Used all 3 types of transmissions available, (used a friends hydro for work at his house) and the in-between gear setup is the best by far. I think its the GST or something like that. All I know was It is set up like the Backhoes we run, and thats nice. You get the set power for the gear and no whining down to a crawl like you do with a hydro, but you can shift on the fly and shuttle fwd to rvrs without clutching, which is aweseome for loader work. We abuse those tractors and use them for things and work loads never intended for their size and they have never failed. Besides, they are just comfortable to operate for 8-10 hours. Just my opinion. Hope it helps.

 

[Lanse]

We have a kuboda B3030 here and i love it. Its a hydro, but has 3 ranges. It is very easy to use and works great, plus has 4WD and can go through anything. Get it, you'll be glad you did

 

[Mark FL]

My brother bought a new Kubota to use in his landscaping business about 8 or 10 years ago. It is around 30 hp and has a loader and blade on it. I drove it once and and it has the shuttle clutch. He likes it.

 

[Tx Jim]

Ihave a Kubota M4900 that I have pulled a NH 617 disc mower when my normal cutter tractor burned. The Kubota pulled it very well for a 49 pto hp tractor. BTW it has 5(five) cylinder engine and is good on fuel. Jim

 

[Luke S]

I used to make fun of them, just like a lot of guys on this site. And when I was in the market for another tractor, and having been soured on 5000 series Deere's, I thought what the heck lets try one of those little orange buggers. That first tractor (Kubota M4700) did more work than some tractors twice it's size do. I pulled a disc mower with it, tedded, raked, square baled, ran a 5'x5' round baler, pulled a 10' brushog, and never gave me one second of trouble. All I ever did to it was change the oil and filters. It was 10 years old and still had the original battery even. I sold ti to my neighbor, and bought an M7040 with a cab and 4x4 and now I am in heaven. We still have a few smaller Kubota's too. I don't care if my JD lovin neigbors make fun of me or not, that is all we are gonna run.

 

[Anonymous-0]

I have had a Kubota L245DT since 1977 and I can't really complain about it. Most of my frustration with it was that I often tried to work it beyond it's capacity, which is not the tractors fault. The engine has several small plugs pressed into the block at various places and one seems to blow out every couple of years. They access oil lines cast into the block and it dumps oil out at a rapid rate. If I was running a backhow and this occurred, the engine would be ruined. Hopefully the newer ones have correctet that weakness.

If you like all three brands pretty closely, I would consider the dealer as a tie breaker. Talk to previous customers, check with the local Better Business Bureau, etc.

 

[Anonymous-0]

Thanks for the feedback. I think Kubota's are in the running.