I don’t know what I don’t know.

What should I know before I go look at a Kubota MX5400 with cab, FEL, grapple, box blade, back blade, top & tilt, 265 hours, $50k?

I know the cab model precludes a backhoe, but I’m not sure what I’d use a backhoe for. I know what I’d use the attachments it comes with especially the grapple. We’ve got 15 acres of basically cedar swamp with a ton of downed trees I’d like to cleanup. It’s basically impenetrable on foot. The other 5 acres is gravel driveway, gravel parking areas, house, 30’x60’ garage, and beach.

I’m also looking at 40 acre parcel just down the road as well with trails and food plots.

Here is a pretty good video from Neil Messick.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nnUylZMXl0

"Red Flags to Watch for When Shopping for a Used Tractor"



I watched a ton of videos before I purchased my MX5400 open station around 14 months ago.

If you decide to move forward with the MX5400, I have a full shop manual in PDF format I'll be happy to email to you.

How old is it?

How much $ do you have for something that may not be used all that much?

You could rent some heavy equipment for a couple of weeks for around $3k or there abouts.

If you buy the 40 acres you could probably use something like it. Otherwise it is a big expense that you probably won't use alot.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: old rugged cross,

Pay close attention to the loader, especially if a grapple was used. Grapples are great but it's not that hard for inexperienced operators to tweak the loader if misused/abused and they are not cheap to repair.


What kind of tires does the tractor have? R1, R4, R14, ...?

Is fluid in the tires? If so, what kind? Some types are corrosive.

If the tractor is going to be used in heavily wooded areas, you've got to be especially careful with cab models.

No backhoe? Hard pass.

It looks new, but the year wasn't listed on the for sale sign. R4 tires.

Rental place is an hour away, 4 hours of my time, and $100 in fuel to get a piece of equipment. The 24 hours rates are better than I realized though. With a little creative thinking I could probably make it work for most of what I need to do right now.

Any job I have for backhoe is one I'm fairly sure I'd be better off renting a mini-excavator for or maybe a wood chipper.

https://kubotaforum.com/

You might find some useful info there.

quote:

Originally posted by gjgalligan:
https://kubotaforum.com/

You might find some useful info there.

Great suggestion, gjgalligan.


Here is another forum that helped me.
https://www.orangetractortalks...ums/#google_vignette

This is my open station MX5400. My most used attachments are the Land Pride RCR1872 and Pallet forks.

What a beaut Jupiter, and brand new!

quote:

Originally posted by ridewv:
What a beaut Jupiter, and brand new!

Thank you, Sir.