Years ago, I bought a Gehl Skidloader to use around the house and to help with building my
garage. Unfortunately, I let a friend talk me into selling it to him about a year ago and I've missed
it ever since.
I didn't really use it all that often but it was really nice to have when I did need it.
However, there were quite a few times that I could have used a small backhoe so I started
looking at small "TLB"s (Tractor/Loader/Backhoe).
I checked out pretty much every brand out there. The import (mostly Chinese) tractors were
about $1500-2000 cheaper but I felt like that I would lose that money in resale value. Not to
mention finding parts and future maintenance.
So, I decided to stick with an American brand. I looked at John Deere first but I really didn't like
how the backhoe was just an attachment to an existing tractor instead of actually part of the
overall design. Plus the JD was at least $2k higher than the other American tractors.
I went and tried out a Kubota TLB which I really liked. One thing that I noticed right away with it
though was that you had to keep it revved pretty high to get the max output out of the
hydraulics. Also, the seat was very uncomfortable. It tilted forward and there was no adjustment
for that. It just felt odd. However I did like the fact that there are Kubota dealers all around me.
Before making my final decision though, I thought that I would make the drive to the closest
Massey-Ferguson dealer and check out their TLB. Obviously, I really liked it since that's what I
bought. I have over 50 hours on it without any major issues. I did have a couple of little minor
issues but nothing related to the tractor itself; just a couple of things that were overlooked
during the pre-inspection and final assembly - a wire not routed correctly and a plugged grease
fitting which caused a pinch bolt on one of the backhoe pins to shear off.
So far, I love the tractor and whenever I get frustrated with anything at all, I just go to the
backyard and dig some holes. It makes for good therapy. ;-)
garage. Unfortunately, I let a friend talk me into selling it to him about a year ago and I've missed
it ever since.
I didn't really use it all that often but it was really nice to have when I did need it.
However, there were quite a few times that I could have used a small backhoe so I started
looking at small "TLB"s (Tractor/Loader/Backhoe).
I checked out pretty much every brand out there. The import (mostly Chinese) tractors were
about $1500-2000 cheaper but I felt like that I would lose that money in resale value. Not to
mention finding parts and future maintenance.
So, I decided to stick with an American brand. I looked at John Deere first but I really didn't like
how the backhoe was just an attachment to an existing tractor instead of actually part of the
overall design. Plus the JD was at least $2k higher than the other American tractors.
I went and tried out a Kubota TLB which I really liked. One thing that I noticed right away with it
though was that you had to keep it revved pretty high to get the max output out of the
hydraulics. Also, the seat was very uncomfortable. It tilted forward and there was no adjustment
for that. It just felt odd. However I did like the fact that there are Kubota dealers all around me.
Before making my final decision though, I thought that I would make the drive to the closest
Massey-Ferguson dealer and check out their TLB. Obviously, I really liked it since that's what I
bought. I have over 50 hours on it without any major issues. I did have a couple of little minor
issues but nothing related to the tractor itself; just a couple of things that were overlooked
during the pre-inspection and final assembly - a wire not routed correctly and a plugged grease
fitting which caused a pinch bolt on one of the backhoe pins to shear off.
So far, I love the tractor and whenever I get frustrated with anything at all, I just go to the
backyard and dig some holes. It makes for good therapy. ;-)
MASSEY-FERGUSON GC2310 TLB
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