To Buy or Not To Buy

Let me second the congratulations!!!!!! You will wonder how you ever did without it. . bordercollie

bordercollie said:

Let me second the congratulations!!!!!! You will wonder how you ever did without it. . bordercollie

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Thanks! I hope that's the response my wife has too. It's the response I was expecting after we got married as well ... still waiting!

Congratulations. You'll never regret it. Enjoy your new "tool."

Thanks!

Yes let's enshrine the word "tool" in all our conversations relating to the RTV otherwise some folks might get the wrong idea if say a word like "toy" were mistakenly used making hard for grown men like myself to completely justify. I do intend however to have as much fun as possible using this tool! (After all some of the coolest things I've ever had, used, or been given were usually prefaced with the words ... "Now this is not a toy ..." and the RTV will be no exception! )

Congrats!!!!

Just cause you have a big smile on when driving it does not make it a toy, it is indeed a tool. (Keep telling yourself that) Take your wife for a ride and I figure that will help to win her over.

My house payment for the 1st house I bought was also under 250.

Thank You! I'll try to put it to work quick -- it's a hard thing to do sometimes when they are new and shiney.

I guess we never forget those financial milestones for comparison just need to put them into perspective. Now I really have to reorganize my barn to make a place for it. Seems everytime I buy something some of the fun gets sucked out because I have to make a place for it or build something to make it work which wouldn't be so bad if I didn't have a 1000 other things to do ... okay it's like 10 other things but still you know how jobs multiply once you get into them.

The dealer is trying to talk me into staying with the worksite tires. My use will be primarily on lawns and pavement. I have no intention of getting into mud or less than hard packed soil. The only other possible consideration is snow. I won't be plowing with the RTV since I have my L3540 for that but it may see some errands etc... in the stuff. My drive at home and parking area at my apartments are on somewhat of an incline so don't want this thing to be a big orange treadmill. The dealer says he sees no difference in ride quality but does know the ATV tires don't last as long as the worksite. ANy opinions?

I got mine with the worksite tires and found that if you get into any mud, they'll slick over and you're stuck. I couldn't climb a medium incline hill if the grass is wet without loosing traction. I believe they do well in snow though.

If you didn't have the fancy rims, I would have suggested you try the ATV tires and if after a couple weeks you don't like them we do a trade of sorts. I only live about a little over an hour from you and have a set of worksite tires on OEM rims that only have about 2 hours on them. They were my take-offs after I a) got stuck in 1" of mud and b) couldn't climb a wet grassy hill.

bczoom said:

I got mine with the worksite tires and found that if you get into any mud, they'll slick over and you're stuck. I couldn't climb a medium incline hill if the grass is wet without loosing traction. I believe they do well in snow though.

If you didn't have the fancy rims, I would have suggested you try the ATV tires and if after a couple weeks you don't like them we do a trade of sorts. I only live about a little over an hour from you and have a set of worksite tires on OEM rims that only have about 2 hours on them. They were my take-offs after I a) got stuck in 1" of mud and b) couldn't climb a wet grassy hill.

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The one issue I really want to avoid is tearing up my lawns. I can guarantee you that no matter how handy or how much back breaking work this thing can do if it makes a trail not only will I be upset (cause I'll have to fix it) but my wife will be all over it. She was the same with my tractor but it is heavy (about 5500lbs or so). I try never to use it when the ground is soft but thats not always possible and the R4's can make an impression. If I'm careful the impressions go away. The wet grass thing worries me a bit though. My rear yard is on a fairly steep incline (my tractor has to be in Low to go up it in some spots) I guess if it's wet I shouldn't be on it anyway. I'll apply my old rule that if it's too wet to mow then best to leave it go. My dealer has no problem switching the tires out ... his cost etc... is the same and will put on whatever I want. His concern with the ATV's is marking or tearing up grass/sod. In a trail or farm setting where ruts are expected then he says ATV's are a no brainer but if you're looking to do maintenance/finishing tasks where low impact to grass/ground is important then he thinks the worksite tires should work out fine. We shall see.

ArchwoodHolder,

Keep in mind that the worksite tires are $200 more than ATV tires. So if the quoyed cost for the RTV included worksite tires and you choose to go with the ATV tires, request a $200 cost reduction.

I have the ATV tires on mine. I have not noticed any issues with turf damage, although, my turf is not a fine manicured version.

Decided to go with the worksite tires (I played with a demo at the dealer) and seemed to do what I need on similar ground turf. Since I'm not looking to run any races and stay far away from the wet or muddy stuff ... I think it will do okay for my application.

Okay it's a done deal. The turn signals are on order and will arrive early next week, they'll install the canopy and do whatever prep they do then it should be delivered by mid-late next week.

I did ask the dealer why the Kubota's and just about every other brand had rust on them someplace despite being "NEW" and he said that that was one of the things sales people complain about the most to Kubota and even other brands such as Case & New Holland that they sell. He said that they all want you to believe they have a quality product but continually drop the ball when it comes to things like this making their jobs that much more difficult. I also put the screws to him and asked why they are all keyed the same. He said the only reason he knows is simply to make it easier for the dealers. I also asked him if they actively pursue or turn someone in if they run a serial number and it comes back stolen. His response was only if it was stolen off their lot or another dealer's. The way dealers and the manufacturer see it is they will probably be putting another unit into service as a result and regardless the stolen unit will ultimately need parts and service which is what they are also in business to provide so inevitably even if they don't see the customer replace the stolen item in the long run no one's really out anything. Bottom Line: Don't expect your dealer to help you recover a stolen piece of equipment ... but they'll be happy to sell you a new one.