Kubota X900
On the one hand, I'm
really tempted to skim over the rest of our decision-making process and
jump to the fun part --- our new UTV! But I know that many of you read
our blog precisely for the nitty gritty details. So here goes....
The John
Deere Gator XUV 825i
looked really good on paper. But Mark's friend in the construction
industry recently went for Kubota UTVs. And when Mark learned that the
Kubota X900 is a diesel, has sealed hydraulic brakes (to keep out
mud...we hope), and places the radiator up high for cleaner air intake,
he was sold.
Although we usually buy
everything as cheaply as possible and I've never owned a vehicle less
than 12 years old, used wasn't even on the table for this purchase.
We've been burned pretty badly with used ATVs in the past, and when
your off-road vehicle fails way off road, you're thoroughly sunk. So we
took notes and went to the dealership to see if our savings would cover
the X900.
Although the base model
(no hydraulic dump bed) was listed at $13,345 online, the dealer quoted
us $11,900...and mentioned that we could get $400 off and free delivery
by paying in cash. Since I'd gritted my teeth and prepared for the
online price tag, we opted to upgrade to the hydraulic dump bed (an
additional $1,100) to expedite the inevitable rip-rap hauling. We don't
sell our vegetables to others, so we had to add on sales tax ($662.50),
which brought the final price tag to just a little below the online
base price.
We'd been saving and
planning to spend $10,000 on access this winter, so we didn't go too
far over budget. That said, it was
terrifying to clean out so much of our buffer in one fell swoop.
On the other hand, when
Mark toodled through the floodplain without a single skid or spin (no
ruts!) and then dumped a load of manure by the worm bin, it all felt
worthwhile. And when I went for a walk the next morning and didn't have
to load up fifty pounds of manure or feed to haul back home on my back,
simply enjoying the beauty of the day instead, I knew we'd made the
right decision.
Our long-term goal is to
grow old here on the farm, and that means putting our funds toward the
necessary improvements to ensure we can continue to thrive with our
chosen way of life. Hopefully the Kubota X900 will be as valuable a
step in that direction as were our porches
and roofs.
Next up: reading the 96
page manual so we do everything right.
Or explore more posts by date or by subject.
About us: Anna Hess and Mark Hamilton spent over a decade living self-sufficiently in the mountains of Virginia before moving north to start over from scratch in the foothills of Ohio. They've experimented with permaculture, no-till gardening, trailersteading, home-based microbusinesses and much more, writing about their adventures in both blogs and books.
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For what it's worth; I think you made an excellent choice. The hydraulic drive it an innovative concept. For a relatively slow moving vehicle such as this it gives excellent torque and control.
The benefit of a new vehicle is that you at least get a warranty.
Kubota has a long history in machinery and diesel engines. Hydraulic pumps and motors are a pretty mature technology. The electronics will probably be completely sealed (encased in resin). So except from tires and batteries that one would expect to wear out, the only real vulnerability I see are the hydraulic lines/pipes. From the pictures I've seen, all of those seem to be inside the vehicle and protected by the bottom plate.
Based on youtube videos, the component on an RTV that causes the most trouble and breakdowns seems to be the one between the steering wheel and the seat. (Just kidding in your case
)
Great choice guys, kind of an evolution from golf cart to ATV to UTV. It would be interesting to see a video of the drive from the road to the homestead:) it's never easy spending money when you're not already in debt but this is more like an investment in infrastructure.
And that monorail would have been a nightmare on tracks.
Thanks for the congratulations, everybody! Your good wishes mean a lot to us and we will definitely post updates. (Probably far more than you want --- I think this will be Mark's equivalent of proud-daddy-baby-pictures for a while.)
Marco --- Unfortunately, the ATV died a couple of months ago. Mark will probably give you more details later, but it's that exact problem we're hoping to avoid by buying new --- a vehicle that kicks the bucket far from any mechanic. Now that the UTV is here, we can drag the ATV out and deal with it properly.
Eric --- We definitely plan to put the dump bed to good use hauling in rock for the driveway. Much more feasible than the old method, one five-gallon bucket at a time.... I doubt we'll drive the UTV to town, but it's nice to have the option as backup in an emergency (such as during a heavy snow).