Making the salvaged Kubota mini tractor safer, then clearing an old atv trail. 

Leave the front wheels since they match up with the back. You can add fluid in the tires for a lot of weight with a low center of gravity. You can lower the roll bar it seems to be too tall. You can also add steel weights in the front and a heavy belly pan could add a lot of bottom weight. I’ve been enjoying your videos for a while. Thanks for keeping me entertained!

You helped me get through Covid Marty, watching your videos is such an escape. I greatly appreciate the time you put into them to produce the quality content. With the videos you're the gift that keeps in giving, best wishes to you and all of your family from Ireland 🇮🇪

Personally I can watch your videos without my opinion on what you do. ,You are pretty talented.Thanks for the entertainment and education.

Marty you always show & teach tips and tricks that are very valuable. I know I have learned quite a lot from you. Please turn on the monetize option for your channel. You deserve & should be making compensation for your content. I think all would agree on that.

Had a SAME tractor with the orchard I had years ago and used to half fill the inner tubes with water to lower the centre of gravity when running along the side of slopes. Improved the stability quite a bit.

I'd leave the front wheels the way you found them. I agree with you it would place too much load on the bearings and the king pins.

You are correct Marty. Change the rear tires and not the front. Roll bar a bit high. Kind of encourages a roll. Otherwise, you are a good mechanic. Always nice to see machines recycling into new roles. Salute from NJ.

“Heaps more Tractors , you can never have too many tractors. How good is your “ favourite new tool” impact driver supper Cheap sent you. I see it has had considerable use now. One of the best inventions made. 👍 thanks as always.

Your boy is a bright one. "All of your machines are my favorite" great line. Great job of editing. Thanks Marty.

good day when marty posts

No problem for that Kubota. She is a work horse !!

Marty you must be getting very popular (deservedly ) your vids have more adds than a American soap opera.

Count me among those recommending that you NOT turn the front wheels around. I believe your concern that it will put too much strain on the front axles and pivots to be well founded. You son is an absolute gem and knows Dad's machinery. Well done my friend. The tractor is a true little jewel.

That engine really sounds great. It purrs like a kitten. The tractor is big enough for heavy pulling but small enough for your small trails. You really got yourself a good deal with that one!

The Post Apocalyptic Inventor and Marty T (and his cute sidekick) videos on the same evening. Life is good!

I thnk I've watch all your videos now, does help to keep my mind of the man flue!!

Not sure if you were being cheeky or not Marty, but I like how you focused in on the tire direction instructions on the sidewall while you spoke to commenters telling you the tires were on backwards ;) Clearly the manufacturer states that they can be mounted in either direction with leading v for traction and trailing v for reduced rolling resistance (eg. hard surfaces).

I think your intuition is right about reversing the dish of the front wheels. In any case there would be little to no stability increase untill the axel rotated all the way to one side or the other, hitting the stop. Cool machine! Chris

Another great video, loved by my 3yr old. Very interesting for us both to watch.

It doesn’t surprise me at all that it fell over. Those tires are way too skinny. Reminds me of when I drove my Tall tippy CLASS A RV through Buffalo NY during a wintery windstorm. The ac shroud blew off. Luckily I was towing a car on the very trailer I just ruined a few days ago. It probably kept me from laying on the passenger side window. I love the videos. I actually try to get anyone to hop up on my tractor and drive it. Best 400 bucks ever! 👍

Love that you are willing to spend some time for safety. So many youtubers that i otherwise really like will say this is unsafe dont do what i do then just do something unsafe. Only cool kids have rollbars 🎉

Flipping the rears and leaving the fronts is the right way to go. Glad you got the rops. You got a great deal on that tractor and saved a ton by fixing it yourself. Your fixit videos are great! Thanks for sharing with us!

I really enjoyed this video That little kubota is a workhorse Have a great week

I enjoy seeing you include your kids in your videos Marty

As I have been told by people who drive tractors a lot, you reduce tyrewear when driving on tarmac if upu hade the tyres on "backwards" like they where to start with. The idea is that the outside parts of the trads hits tarmac first and it takes up wear better than de centre part of the thread. Very well done recovering and fixing your little tractor! Greetings from Sweden!

"All of your machines' favorite are my favorite." Awwwwwwww...

I have several comments, forewarned I think that is very nice your son Haynes around with you when you're working on the tractor. I'm sure he will remember that all his life, and I also think flipping them back tires around is a good idea, I think and I'm no expert but just watching the tractor drive besides being good with mud I think they would also be good for the traction, just my opinion would be a pain in the butt that now you have to put air in the tires on the backside. But that's no big deal, I think you're absolutely right about leaving the front tires like they are, I do also think it would put unnecessary stress on the front and. I think the grease fittings on them knuckles was a very good idea.

☺I see you have your assistant mechanic and trusted advisor with you today. What a sweetie. Everything he sees and watches is a learning experience for him. That's how I learned. Watch dad. Keep up the excellent work.

It’s great to see your son watching. He will learn much and you will have a nice memory.

Oh man, as you were driving off down the road with that chainsaw blade sticking out I was thinking, "Oh no.... I hope you don't run into something and bend/break that!!!" Nice work as always, Marty. I adore your little one, he's a right sweet little guy.

two observations, chainsawing a tub is piss funny, and you live in absolute paradise. nice work

Every time I watch your tractor videos, I jump on Craigslist and look for a tractor. Nice job on the grease zerks.

I think I would let the front wheels the way they were. If it were mine, I would have started sanding and painting the tractor. I would have painted the roll bar before mounting it. Thats just me. You're doing a good job fixing it. Thanks for the video.

It's fun to watch someone with the ambition a few parts and a little know how take a piece of junk and make a good machine out of it. Love your videos.

That conversation with your son had me cracking up. Way too funny!

The rears tires look great! The truth is it’s your tractor and you do as you please.

You’re going to look back on this video in 10 or 20 years, see your boy so young, and truly realise what a gem this video is. ❤️

That little Kubota looks about perfect for your narrow trails. That front wheel assist seems to have helped going uphill a bit. Looks like some of your overhead brush will need trimmed so that new roll bar doesn't catch. Love your little helper, seems to really take to the tractors as well. Thanks again

Your nicest piece of equipment and originally an orchard tractor, narrow stance with a sprayer tank on the pto. great life!!

What beautiful countryside. Oddly enjoyed watching this video.

I hope to see the mini clearing the trail to the bottom soon

I really enjoyed seeing the work you have done on this little Kubota machine.

Just what you need in them there hills mate what a great little tractor for you an your family.

A Brilliant Little tractor. !!!!!... Works So Well ... The Front Wheels .... Maybe just add about a 25mm Spacer per side .... That should not affect anything really .... The Roll-Over Bar .... Maybe lower it about 300 or 400mm and Also cut the top off and modify it .... Cut a 'wedge' out of the bottom of the Top Bar and bend the ends down sothat it looks like an Upside Down boat hull. Still leave the 'Horns' as they are. Weld it all back together again. You will still have the protection yet minimising the 'Hook-up' .... Keep well and thanks for sharing all your Great vidclips .... Cheers from ChCh

On a lot of the older tractors you turned the wheels around when using planters and cultivators. When tilling they were set in closer.

The roll bar is called ROP or roll-over protection. It should also have a lap belt. Many a person has been caught under the ROPs as the driver was not wearing the lap belt. Also glad to see you towing with the drawbar and not the lower links.

glad to see you working on this old girl and putting er to work

I Love Marty Junior's comment about 'heaps' more tractors. Atta boy Dad !!!

Marty, I have twitched out a lot of trees for firewood. I have what they call a twitch bar which goes on my 3 point hitch, with 2 shackles on the bar, so I can hook chains too. By doing this , I can back right up to the butts and lift them off the ground so they don't dig in and making routs. A lot easier on the tractor. I'm sure you could make one that would work for you and keeps the dirt off them too.

Widening the front wheel stance would do nothing for stability, since the front axle pivots freely side to side. It's the back wheels that hold the tractor upright, as they are attached in a fixed position on to the frame. Putting the back wheels further out (as you did) should definitely help make it less tippy. Good luck with your projects Marty!

As always good job. I like the little tractor. I finally upgraded from my old TO-20 Ferguson. I moved up to a TO-30 Ferguson. Baby steps man, gotta start slow.... lol. I like you fleet of machines. So many women say ' You can never have enough shoes. I agree to point. There will always be room for another tractor in my life! Trucks to!

Excellent little machine, and now heaps safer! Cheers.

It looks great that the back tires are swapped around and now stick out for a better stance

Looks like you found a diamond in the rough and polished it up nicely. I think the front wheels should stay as is, changing the rear wheels seems to be a good idea. I'd shorten the height of the ROP bar by about a foot or 30 cm. Great little workhorse. Cheers from Tokyo! Stu

That’s a beautiful piece of property you’ve got on the mountain Marty...

Nice little tractor Marty,your son seems pretty interested in everything you do.👍👍

At 0:41 there's a directional indicator but I've always heard that if they're pulling the tractor the V should be pointing towards the front so they clean out easier and dig in for traction. If they're on something thats being pulled like a trailer, they need to be rotated so the V points backwards and helps them pull up and over whatever your pulling them through. At least thats the way my paw paw explained it to me.

You could add several gallons of windshield washer fluid to the rear tires for added ballast. It won't freeze and is not very expensive. Glad to see you switched the rear tires so they are facing the proper direction. Nice little tractor!

You are lucky to have such a good helper !

Those R O P S frames can cause more accidents than they save in the bush What a great little tractor , runs good too...

For dragging logs out you might want to buy or build a logging arch. These mount on the three point hitch. These pick up one end of the log toa add weight to the rear wheels as well as lifting the log off the ground keeps the log cleaner. Clean logs won't dull you chain saw chain as quickly.

Looking good! What if you cut a foot or two off the hight of the roll bar for lower clearance. You could also perhaps, add a small roof? Lovely to see the boy so interested in machinery. Obviously, takes after his old man. 😀👍

Nice touch adding the box on the front. Andrew Camarata would be proud!

Let's see, you improved the tractor, got firewood, cleared and leveled the trail when you hauled the logs out, a win, win, win!

In addition to the roll bar, please consider adding two pipes mounted at the front corners of the hood with a swooping bend back to the corners of the roll bar. weld attachment points for un bolt removal. This will add to the rigidity of the roll bar. Please consider mounting a bracket from the front of the tractor for removable weights. These weights will aid in keeping the front end down when pulling, and giving the tractor a heavier and longer tipping distance from the rear wheels. This looks like it will be your narrow trail clearing tractor, if prepared properly it will do what you need it to do without undue risk to the operator or the next generation of little helpers. Good stuff as always Marty, looking forward to many more.

These were great little tractors, so low geared, could just about do anything with them. Some farmer bought the imports in here in Aussie as GP and back up tractors, a bit to small for any real heavy work but great little scrapers, They were rice field tractor in Japan were they needed small light machines. Glad you turned those back wheels around, they are unstable enough without having them with a narrow wheel track, I have heard some blokes have also used spacers to take the wheels out (front as well) further. Have fun with it they are fun to work with. You could add weight to the back with adding water to the back tires no more than a third to a half max and add weights to, --- damn I just saw someone else has said the same thing. but it is a good idea it also help with traction.

What an amazing place you have to play in Marty.

You read every bit of my mind when you cut the slit in the tub for the chainsaw haha

Nah, leave front wheels alone! Maybe shorten that roll bar down a little so it's not as much as a risk, love ya vids bro👍

You might want to shorten the rollover bar by about 8 inches to a foot, so that it is just over your head. Won't hang up so much on branches and will have a shorter lever arm to flip the tractor. The little tractor makes a nice skidder.

Marty, my wife and I live in Broken Arrow Oklahoma. She would never Let me bring home so many machines. I hope you find many more machines to work on. You are one of the best mechanics I’ve ever seen

Good stuff Martin.. your boy is great, keep them engaged, cheers.

Would love to see you finish clearing that trail and get the old washed out trail all repaired up too. Keep up the great content, from Canada

Hi Marty, Introduction of greasable points to the top pivot is clearly a great improvement. And the return of the ROPS is certainly a wise move, not only from side ways roll overs but also front liftoff and rotation around the rear axle. Also the reversing of the rear wheels to increase track. The old Massey and others allowed for multiple increases in both rear and front trace, but the front track was acheived by haveing a split arm with multiple bolt positions which moved the pivot point outwards. You could add some weights to the front to help with stability if it looks like a real issue, most Kubotas have the hook plate on the front and you simple add steel blocks by hooking them on, adding weight at a low level. You may also be able to find a manual for it on line, I found both the operators manual and full workshop manual for my L3410. Love you little son, as you said he is on to it, the only difference between men and boys is the size and cost of their toys! Regards Dennis That track is barely wide enough for that trator, you may have to get a small excavator to do some widening.

lol what a great young lad you have. He was right though heaps more tractors needed

Marty the super dad, heartwarming

Like I said before in my comments after the last video. Your little Kubota is going to be perfect for the narrow and tight places. Especially considering the price! It has a PTO so you should consider getting a few more attachments such as a roto-tiller or a small chopper. It'll make work easier at home in the garden. Great video content! Thanks again for your time and videos. Have yourself a great rest of your week.

Great video 👍 really impressed that you take on board comments from your viewers I have always been of the opinion we're never to old to learn 🤔as for turning your front wheels outside in if they had been designed with that option in mind they would have lined up perfectly with the rears so your spot on leaving the fronts alone 💪 seems like a very good running an capable little tractor 👍

That's a very capable tractor Marty, watched the other two on it as well, nice work👍🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

My husband and I love watching your videos. Watching from North East Texas..

Leave front wheels like they were! 👌🏻🤙🏻🤙🏻

Hey Marty please make a video of you clearing The slip up with the excavator and maybe even into the creek best wishes love your videos

Nice work Marty, I agree with you front wheel rim direction. They are quite a light built tractor in comparison with David brown. So keeping it standard is a good idea. Reversing the tyres is doable at home. Using a technique. But you done the right thing turning them out. The back end oils and hydraulics are important to keep serviced on them, there hydraulics and pump are sensitive to any poor quality oil, a costly problem when it turns to custard. You can home rebuild the fuel injection pump on them to that really helps it power and clean efficiency. A set of new injectors is worth doing too. There cylinder heads don't like poor fuel burn and get hot on the injection area or insert. If your keeping it long term that is. You can always de-carb the injectors and free the return valve out. But it appears your really pickup a great little 4x4 runner. Scored 😁🤣. Have a great time with it.

Awesome night time relaxing viewing, thanks Marty ..

The rear wheels can be doubled up, thus the extra holes towards the outer edge of the center. Leave the fronts mounted as the were otherwise excessive stress will be placed on the kings.

I've owned several Kubota's over the years and every one of them had a paragraph in the manual that said "Do not turn front discs to obtain wider tread" or something along that line. I talked with one of my Kubota service technicians after I bought my first one and he said that by adding more width to the front of the tractor you actually cause the tires to turn in an arch instead of pivot. This causes excessive side loading of the front bearings on the wheel and the pivot point in the housing. I second adding some ballast to the wheels. It isn't recommended for the front though. They always recommend adding weights to the front if you don't have a FEL (Front End Loader). I don't know if you get the weather we get here in the northern US but if you do a good substitute for freezing temperatures is windshield washer fluid. It is a slow process filling a tire and they even make spouts that attach to the bottles that will screw on to a valve stem to help add the fluid. Personally given how many gallons you would add to tires that size I would skip the pouring them through the valves and just pop the bead on one side and pour it in while the tire is laying down. 70% fluid, 30% air is what is recommended.

Howdy Marty. I am tractor mechanic and farmer. just wanted to give you a word of advice about the front wheels idea. The only reason to spin the front wheels the other way is if you are using the tractor in very light duty tasks on areas with lots of sand. But for what you use it for that would put way to much strain on the front and actually cause a loss in traction as the wheels are to far from the center of gravity. Spinning the rear tires as you did is a very simple and effective solution to having tipping problems. Another thing you could do is get or make longer studs and put a spacer between the wheel and tractor to both add weights and widen the stance

That has turned into an awesome little workhorse for you, I just love the sound of it, you have it running really well, nicely done!

Mighty work from a Mighty Impressive Little Machine

Thanks to you, I know more about tractors than I ever thought I would, now I need to find one. There should be at least one in Central Texas I can get my hands on.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Marty, you are a lucky guy.

You should make scrub rails to force low hanging branches to run up and over the roll over bar..

All of your machines are my favorite too Marty! inspirational patience my friend. Makes me believe I can do better...keep it coming. Alberta, Canada

I couldn't spot anything done wrong here, I recommend a hinged exhaust lid though, keeps the worst stuff away from the valves. Loved the moving box attachment up front, was internally suggesting to cut through and you proceeded to do just that! 9:20, I see what you did there! Seriously though, it struck me she said that before giving thought to the fact that every equipment purchase you make generates more than enough views to be worth it, plus you can always sell some off to make more space, you did your part in giving them a new lease on life so it's on the next caretaker from there on out ^^ My mantra with smaller tractors is always keep half a dozen of them, never know when you might need one when another is in limbo awaiting parts/repair. Better to have 3-4 with intended roles, and 2-3 without any attachments that you can press into service should anything happen.

Out off all the equations you have I dig this Kabota the most it looks very handy for many jobs with the right implements .

WORTH IT - Fill tyres with ballast (might have to consider anti freeze type liquid) over half up to 3/4 best for no slosh effect. Consider putting a simple but strong hinge on your ROPS for when you need to lower - I would NOT shorten them, they look right, as if you do roll the shorter the more likely to roll again, especially considering the lack of (one using) a lap belt. The hold all tub would be better positioned on the ROPS, also allowing you to put a dual purpose WEIGHTED bull bar (rail track?) and grate for front protection and stability. If you mount the box on the ROPS you might also be able to position the chainsaw bar downwards, (through bottom of box) freeing up more space. It might be worth your while making (purchasing) a simple spacer to extend front wheels, as you don't have adjustable rims - I agree the dish out pushed the front tyres out just too far.

If you load the tires with rev antifreeze it will be much more stable,and pull more

You are so Talented. Tractor really needs weight on the rear instead of carrying so much weight on the front. Just an observation. Love that Hair.

Always nice with a little helper and commentator :-)

Nicely done, great little rig. Whip yourself up a 3 point log skidder attachment, super handy. Mine is just a large U upside down with a hook for chain, works great. Not only gives you a lift for lifting logs or anything else on ground but also puts weight on tires for traction. It also keeps bulk of log out of dirt while dragging saving your chainsaw chain later. Just be aware with bigger logs they can swing in from momentum or pulling tractor back and tap your pto shaft. So build a bolt on guard or run a heavy duty pto cap like I do.