Went to the MasCon show in Boston on Saturday. Didn't have a whole lot of time to mess around on the nifty new equipment, but I thought I'd post a brief report for anyone interested since there was a fair amount of Kubota equipment (and dealers) present.
Got into several deep discussions about the L39 vs. L48 vs. M59 with the Kubota dealers there. Seems that they're not expecting the Great Orange Beast (a.k.a., the "M59") until mid-summer but clearly expect it to be a major success even at ~$50K once it appears. In their collective view, the L39 *is* the replacement for the L48… no doubt about it… and Kubota’s direct competition for John Deere’s aging 110.
Interestingly, they see the M59 more as a step-down (in size, price) machine for the current gold chain/yellow machine crowd (i.e., full-size hoe owner/operators) than they do as an expensive step-up machine for the L39 and L48 crowd. Further, they do not see the dropping of the L48 as leaving any sort of gap in their product line. They feel that the L39 and M59 are about at the capability level spacing they want (translation: expect street prices to go way up on the L39 after the last of those L48’s disappear!) And no, there is still no tire upgrade package available for the L39. The dealers sure wish there was!!!
And for my backhoe mentor and most excellent friend Larry: There are no new unsold L48’s left in the New England market. The website you checked must have been way out of date (no real surprise). Only ones left that I know of are "used and abused" old-timers (kinda like Larry and moi).
Who was at the show and who wasn’t that we care about? Kubota had the biggest presence overall… followed by ASV, CAT, Bobcat, New Holland compact construction machines (i.e., no "blue"), CASE mini-excavators, skid steers & full-size backhoe and even I-R/Volvo. Tons of truck folks and a few large excavator folks too… but nothing greatly interesting to us mostly tractor folks here. I did have a nice talk with the I-R folks who insisted both that: a) Volvo did not buy out the entire I-R construction equipment line, and, b) that service and parts for the I-R BL-series backhoes are still readily available through I-R dealers (not Volvo or Bobcat) despite many rumors and stories to the contrary.
Missing (much to everyone’s chagrin) was John Deere. There wasn’t a single Deere machine… yellow or green… in the entire show. I admit: I was disappointed. Others were shocked. There were loads of specialty machines there in every size and type... many with names I didn't recognize. Fun to look at, but mostly way too expensive to waste my time.
I did learn a lot about mini-excavators that I hadn’t known before and it should help me greatly in my quest for a second digging machine. Seems that not all "same class" mini-excavators are created equal by a long shot. There were also tons of skid steer loaders there… but I learned nothing new there other than that I can’t afford a new one (or probably even a used one from a same-brand dealer). I did see the new ASV PT-60 (replacement for the RC-50/60?) but didn’t have a chance to ask what had changed or how much the price had gone up. The lights were turned off at that point, and it was time to go home.
I may go to the Conex Connecticut show next week to see what different might appear there and what used equipment those dealers might know of. If anyone else from NTT plans to attend, please let me know. I will use my Starbucks gift cards to get you a coffee!
The Conex Connecticut website is:
http://www.conexshows.com/conex/conct/index.po
Dougster
Got into several deep discussions about the L39 vs. L48 vs. M59 with the Kubota dealers there. Seems that they're not expecting the Great Orange Beast (a.k.a., the "M59") until mid-summer but clearly expect it to be a major success even at ~$50K once it appears. In their collective view, the L39 *is* the replacement for the L48… no doubt about it… and Kubota’s direct competition for John Deere’s aging 110.
Interestingly, they see the M59 more as a step-down (in size, price) machine for the current gold chain/yellow machine crowd (i.e., full-size hoe owner/operators) than they do as an expensive step-up machine for the L39 and L48 crowd. Further, they do not see the dropping of the L48 as leaving any sort of gap in their product line. They feel that the L39 and M59 are about at the capability level spacing they want (translation: expect street prices to go way up on the L39 after the last of those L48’s disappear!) And no, there is still no tire upgrade package available for the L39. The dealers sure wish there was!!!
And for my backhoe mentor and most excellent friend Larry: There are no new unsold L48’s left in the New England market. The website you checked must have been way out of date (no real surprise). Only ones left that I know of are "used and abused" old-timers (kinda like Larry and moi).
Who was at the show and who wasn’t that we care about? Kubota had the biggest presence overall… followed by ASV, CAT, Bobcat, New Holland compact construction machines (i.e., no "blue"), CASE mini-excavators, skid steers & full-size backhoe and even I-R/Volvo. Tons of truck folks and a few large excavator folks too… but nothing greatly interesting to us mostly tractor folks here. I did have a nice talk with the I-R folks who insisted both that: a) Volvo did not buy out the entire I-R construction equipment line, and, b) that service and parts for the I-R BL-series backhoes are still readily available through I-R dealers (not Volvo or Bobcat) despite many rumors and stories to the contrary.
Missing (much to everyone’s chagrin) was John Deere. There wasn’t a single Deere machine… yellow or green… in the entire show. I admit: I was disappointed. Others were shocked. There were loads of specialty machines there in every size and type... many with names I didn't recognize. Fun to look at, but mostly way too expensive to waste my time.
I did learn a lot about mini-excavators that I hadn’t known before and it should help me greatly in my quest for a second digging machine. Seems that not all "same class" mini-excavators are created equal by a long shot. There were also tons of skid steer loaders there… but I learned nothing new there other than that I can’t afford a new one (or probably even a used one from a same-brand dealer). I did see the new ASV PT-60 (replacement for the RC-50/60?) but didn’t have a chance to ask what had changed or how much the price had gone up. The lights were turned off at that point, and it was time to go home.
I may go to the Conex Connecticut show next week to see what different might appear there and what used equipment those dealers might know of. If anyone else from NTT plans to attend, please let me know. I will use my Starbucks gift cards to get you a coffee!
The Conex Connecticut website is:
http://www.conexshows.com/conex/conct/index.po
Dougster