Go BottomJohn Deere 790
 | Jeff Golden
Join Date: Posts: 1 
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2000-09-11 19693
I've been enjoying this board for some months and finally feel the need to post. My family and I have recently aquired the family farm, 100 acres (80 acres cash crop, 15 acres wooded and 5 acres meadow/laneway). The crops are grown and maintained by the neighbour on a share crop basis, so large agricultural machinery isn't required (though they would be lots of fun). The farm maintainence falls to me and, unfortunately, the existing equipment went with my father's estate during his recent passing. I'm looking to replace the compact tractor and implements we had; Ford 1710 (2wd), 5 ft rotary mower, 6 ft blade, rear scoop and a few other assorted implements. The Ford 1710 did everything that we asked of it without complaint and I think something about the same size will do fine. I've looked at JD, Kubota, NH, MF and Kioti in the 25 - 30 hp range. The ones that catch my eye (and budget) are the JD 790 and the Kubota L3000. Ag tires, mfwd, gear drive, simple and rugged. They both seem like alot of tractor for the money. The JD dealer is good; already bought a JD LT155 lawn tractor/mower and a hand mower from him with excellent service. The Kubota dealer has been around forever and is well respected by the customers that I know. The dealers aren't the issue, the tractor is.Any comments on either tractor? They seem well suited to my needs (mowing, small logging, clean-up, light loader work, snow removal, grading), equally matched and competitively priced. Has anyone else tried both?
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| Kevin K
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2000-09-11 19700
I looked at both and picked the 790 because it has a contineous live PTO (with the 4WD option), the Kubota didnt. You will really like the live PTO if you use any implements with PTO requirements and you have to stop or change direction. This can be done with out stopping the implement's PTO motion. I have 60 hours on it now and not a single problem. ....
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| Robert Conway
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2000-09-26 20079
The Kubota L3000 does have a live PTO, in addition to a bit more HP and weight than the 790. However, the L3000 is unavailable with mid-PTO. Both machines appear to be excellent values and either one should give you years of enjoyment.
Price from my local dealers: (NY)
790 $11,900 (w/FWD, mid PTO and loader joystick)
L3000 $12,500 (FWD) ....
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| Rich Allen
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2000-09-26 20080
I looked at both machines and went with the L3000. It has more HP and 3pt lift capacity than the JD. I was using a Ford 8N with a heavy duty 6' brush hog. The Ford was barley able to lift the mower and I had to run at full rpm to do any real cutting. Every time I would turn around, the mower would disengage and slow down. With the L3000, the mower comes off the ground like a feather, I mow at 1/2 throttle with no problems, and the continuous live pto makes turning a pleasure. Also, JD has had problems with their 4XXX series tractors and I was concerned that the whole line may be questionable. Rich. ....
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| Rich Allen
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2000-09-26 20081
I mistyped in the above post. What I ment was that I was concerned that all of the JD machines were of lesser quality than in years past due to the 4XXX series problems. Just my gut feeling. Rich ....
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| Jeff Golden
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2000-09-26 20082
Thanks Kevin/Robert/Rich. Rich....you seem to wonder if the quality of the 4XXX machines shines an unfavourable light on the rest of the JD compact tractors. I looked at the 4200 - 4400 range of tractors, but think the 790 is a better value for my needs. I wonder if the 4XXX are past their "teething" phase and are now up to the quality that JD customers have experienced in the past. I too have followed the 4XXX issues of "scuffing", etc. Have no other new tractor lines by other manufacturers ever had problems out of the box?
From what I can see/read/hear, the "Yanmar built" JD's are comparable to Kubota's Economy L products. I can see used Kubota's at the JD dealer and used JD's at the Kubota dealer. The playing field seems pretty level, which is good for us on the consumer end. Maybe I should just flip a coin?
....
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| Norm
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2000-09-26 20083
Just to add one more thing to think about - don't necessarily overlook the used option. For example, I have a 755 that I love and wouldn't trade in for all of the 4000 series fixes you can shake a stick at. If I were sitting here, thinking about a first time purchase, knowing what I now know about these machines' durability, versatility, problems, etc., I would seriously consider buying a used, older machine. ....
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| Jeff Golden
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2000-09-26 20086
Good point Norm. I'm not leaning toward the 4XXX series in any case. The 790 or L3000 are the current targets. Assuming the 4XXX's are debugged, I'm not in the market (or willing to ante up) for features like cup holder, tilt wheel, floor mat and hydrostatic transmission at this point in time. My wife will get suspicious if I'm too comfortable; I can't make it look like I'm having fun. As far as used tractors go, around here the used market is booming (like everywhere else?) and I can get the 790 or L3000 for not much more than comparably sized used units in good shape. One locally available JD 755 w/FEL is listed for nearly the same price as I've been quoted for a new 790 w/FEL. The price premium seems worth it given the warranty and service attention that goes along with the new tractor. ....
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| Norm
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2000-09-26 20088
Jeff - of course, new for nearly the same price as used is the significant opposite argument: I'm not in the market so I am not aware of how prices are running. ....
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| Jeff Golden
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2000-12-24 22788
I wanted to take the time to let the site know what I ended up doing wrt my compact tractor purchase. It seems that alot of threads start off with a question; and the originator never closes it out. Anyway, I ended up with a JD 4300 HST/R4/420 ldr/513 mower and 6' blade. Why the switch from the 790 / L3000 style a tractor I originally looked at? I had the opportunity to use a JD 4400 HST over the 4 day Thanksgiving weekend. Thiugh I had originally wanted a simple manual shift tractor, the HST was so smooth and effortless to use that I couldn't resist. I tried to use the tractor with an open mind and it sold itself. Went with the 4300 to save a little $.
Thanks for responses to my earlier post. Happy Holidays to all!!! ....
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| Roger L.
Join Date: Jun 1999 Posts: 0
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2000-12-24 22790
I didn't think you could go wrong with any of the tractors that you looked at. Congratulations on your new "beast". That green color is sure easy on the eyes, isn't it? ....
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