Advice needed: B6000/B7000 models

[Hassman]

Hi all,
I am new here and I am looking at buying a B6000 or a B7000 (the B7000 is about a 6 hours drive away though, the B6000 is about 3 hours away by car).

I live in Thailand and I have heard that parts are hard to come by here, as these older model Kubotas were imported privately and not by the main dealers.

Both the B6000 and the B7000 (both 4 wheel drive) are similarly priced at about USD 2'000 -over here that is a decent price for a tractor that size.

Included with the tractor price is a rotary tiller.

Is there any reason to buy either of these models over the other? (I already know of the left hand PTO on the 6000).

Are these tractors really as bulletproof as people say? Are parts hard to come by over in the US or elsewhere?

Any input and/or advice is greatly appreciated!
Many thanks and best regards,
Hasse

 

[85Hokie]

Hasse

Glad to have ya here !

That is a hellva price on either, both having tillers too.

There is more to this story, the 6000 has a ccw tiller? OR did someone change the rotation of the pto?

The 7000 would be my choice, but then again it is further away to get for you too.

Got pictures?

 

[Hassman]

Thanks a lot for your input!

Here is the 6000:
http://www.truck2hand.com/index.php?actions=content/view&content_id=942816

And here is a B5000 (advertised as a B7000):
http://www.truck2hand.com/index.php?actions=content/view&content_id=820491

And a B6001:
http://www.truck2hand.com/index.php?actions=content/view&content_id=976602

The B7000 I mention in my previous post is off the market -I guess it got sold.

Sorry for the links instead of pictures -I have not used my Photobucket for ages so I have forgotten my password.

The seller of the B6000 has now told me that the engine is in pretty poor condition -he reckons it is at 65%.. I like the tractor but I don't really fancy buying it and then having to rip the engine down and having it re-worked.

The B5000 is too small for my needs but the B6001 is still of interest even though the quoted price is almost USD3000.

Tomorrow I will go to a "market" where they sell a lot of machinery and tractors and see what is available just down the road from me.

Many thanks!
Hasse

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Out of those 3, I would hands down go with the B6001, looks like it's in good shape too.

 

[Hassman]

You are quite right the 6001 looks to be in good condition and it has 14 hp which is nice.

Can anyone please confirm to me if the B6001 has clockwise or counter clockwise turning PTO? I know they have different engines (if I am not mistaken the B6001 has a 3 cylinder D650 engine??)

I was running around all day today and now it is too late to call the seller -will do that tomorrow and hopefully I can arrange to see the tractor some time next week.

I am starting a banana plantation and I need a really small tractor to get in between the plant rows -there are more modern Kubota and Yanmar tractors available at decent prices but they are a too large so there is no point in buying any of them.

Again I am very grateful for any and all input and information from you guys!

Best regards,
Hasse

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

The B6001 should have a standard rotation but I'm not 100 sure, check to confirm.
And yes it does have a D650 engine.

 

[Hassman]

You are right that the B6001 has standard rotation, I checked.
The tractor looked good, had minimal slop in the steering joints and was not smoking or making funny noises, everything on it worked including lights and indicators so I bought it.

Many thanks for the input here on this thread!

All the best,
Hasse

 

[Changnam 59]

I have a B6000 in Thailand that I have owned since 2011.

You will find very little in the way of parts for a B6000 or a B6001 in this country.

I have put around 300 hours on the B6000 in the last four years and I keep it running using a mix of parts imported from the USA and parts machined from scratch in Thailand.

I seek to minimise parts imported from the USA as it ends up pretty expensive with freight and import tax. Another complication is Kubota USA's policy of not supplying customers outside the US so you need to find a workaround for that.

Thankfully my B6000 has needed little in the way of parts and it has been a great purchase.

On the positive side consumables such as lubricants, batteries and tyres are readily available here.

If it helps I can give you some leads for where to look for secondhand parts but generally it involves climbing around oil sodden junkyards and is often fruitless.

 

[Hassman]

Hi Changnam,

I hear you on the parts availability (or rather the lack thereof) but all the tractors available from the "proper" importers are too large for what I need it for, and these old Kubotas have a good reputation for being more or less bulletproof so I thought I would take the risk.

The tractor has only been 2 months in Thailand -it was imported to be used in a sugar cane plantation but they decided it was not the right one for the job so they put it on the market. It seems to not have too many hours on it -hardly any wear on pedals etc. Non smoking engine and even the little cute mirror in place!

I used to work in manufacturing industries in and around Chonburi for many years so I have good contacts for getting parts made, hopefully I will not need too much of that though..

If you could throw me a bone and let me know what oil filters and air filter that fits and are available locally I would very much appreciate it.

Many thanks!
Hasse

 

[Changnam 59]

Sorry I cannot help with oil filter or air filter. The reason being the B6000 does not use disposable filters. It has a steel mesh oil filter and oil bath air filter.

For my particular application, brush hogging around palm trees, the B6000 is IMO better than any of the new Kubotas available on the Thai market. Its particular advantages are tight turning circle and low height which means it can pass under palm fronds and get very close to the trees. Hydrostatic would offer little benefit in that brush hogging I generally use one gear and often run for an hour or so without changing gear or throttle position.

If your B6001 lacks a three point hitch, as many imports here do, you may find a topic I posted here a few years back about getting a 3PT made here interesting. It includes photos.

 

[Hassman]

Hi again,

Yeah I already saw your thread about the 3p hitch (and saved the photos), mine is lacking the hitch -the tiller is "hard mounted" on the back of it.

I have already located the swiveling eyeballs (or whatever they should be called) to make my own arms, I hope to have the 3P sorted out by the end of the week or at the latest early next week. When I finally get my behind in gear I tend to get things done reasonably quickly.

If I can ask; what is the length center to center of holes of your lower arms and what is the lowest/highest position they can be at measured from ground up?

Cheers!
Hasse

 

[Changnam 59]

The lower links are 58cm measured from the centre of one spherical joint to the other in a straight line.

I do not know how that length compares with original Kubota lower links for either the B6000 or B6001 but it works fine with the Chokchai brush hog I have.

I cannot give you the height information you want right now as I have the direct mount rototiller fitted and the three point hitch removed. 3PT should be back on in about a week.

The height info would be of limited value in that my current set up does not lift the brush hog up high enough. The problem is the vertical links lifting the lower arms are too long. I had no info on the length of the Kubota vertical links and guessed the length. It is not a huge problem as I have been using the 3PT like this for the last four years but over very rough ground the brush hog can run out of upward travel.

If you want the height info remind me in about a week. It may help as to how not to do it!

 

[Hassman]

Thanks for the measurement of the lower links.

As you say the lower/upper limit is of little value and it can be altered easily enough if I see that it is too high or too low.

I will re-build my tiller to mount it in the 3p hitch once the hitch is finished, I will have to split and re-build the PTO shaft for it but that is ok -basically I will use that one PTO shaft for all implements that require PTO.

If I run into any problems or need any help I will sure let you know.

Cheers!
Hasse

 

[D2Cat]

This is kind of a neat thread. A guy from Thailand come to OrangeTractorTalks and ask a question, and he gets an answer and additional information from a person from Thailand.

It sure shows the power of the internet!

 

[Hassman]

This is kind of a neat thread. A guy from Thailand come to OrangeTractorTalks and ask a question, and he gets an answer and additional information from a person from Thailand.

It sure shows the power of the internet!

The world sometimes proves to be a lot smaller than one thinks...