Opinion on Farm Tractors

[al6517]

I am not a fan of JD for the same reasons as the others, go with a dealership or repair shop that will be around awhile or where you can get parts local. I have a big IH/CASE diesel and the dealership has been here forever so that works for me.

AL

 

[Oreo]

The dealer makes a big difference. Ask your neighbors-- is the dealer good to work with? Is he a jerk? Having said that, for small tractor owners, I recommend three brands-- John Deere, New Holland, or Kubota. Of those, my best choice is John Deere. The paint and the name are there, but so is an extremely reliable dealer and parts supply network, and the cumulative result of more than 90 years of unbroken design excellence and industry leadership. Ok, so maybe only about 87 years of industry leadership. . . . . they cost a little more, but it's a pay me now or pay me later deal, trust me. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe some of the small JD's (as well as the big farm tractors) are still made in the USA. I realize they have one full line of medium size tractors built in Germany-- but they are bigger than you're talking about.

I'm also curious-- have you had problems with your Yanmar, or is it just time to upgrade? I've considered Yanmar to be one of the better Japanese brands, in fact they built some small tractors for John Deere in the late 70's and most of the 80's. All the little John Deere 50 series tractors with a black grill-- models 650, 750, 850, 950, 1050, 1250, 1450, and 1650 were all built by Yanmar.

My boss has a Massey Ferguson 1260, which is built by Iseki. I'm sorry to have to say, stay away from Iseki-built tractors-- the 4-wheel drive was underengineered and we had to waste over $2,000 getting it rebuilt. Also, the hydraulics don't seem to be as capable as those on a Deere or Kubota of a similar size.

 

[twentynine]

Quote:
Not one single problem with the Yanmar. It however is a little small. I would also like to have a front end loader. Adding a front end loader to the Yanmar is not a good idea. It is 2wd and still small.

John Deere-- The JD tractor I quoted the price on is powered by a Yanmar diesel. To my knowledge their is not a tractor under 50hp manufactored in USA.

Another point of notice is the JD is equipped with a 2 speed hydrostatic transmission, the Kubota and Mahindra have regular geared transmissions.

Massey Ferguson is not in the running, nearest dealership 50+ miles away. One of the qualifications for me considering a brand is a local dealership.

 

[cw]

you only have 14 ACRES and your gonna spend how much on a tractor, why not get a nice older used tractor, you can find a nice 2020 John deere for less then a third of what your gonna spend on the new stuff, and you will have a great tractor there are too many great used ones out there just gotta look
my 2 cents

 

[twentynine]

Quote:
Valid question!

Been looking, looking hard for a couple years now. Not having a whole lot of luck. Lots of Ford 2-3000s, some Ford 100 series, a few JD 2010-20s, maybe a Massey 135 every so often. Not a lot to pick from and what doesn't look abussed, demands a premium price. It is not unusual to see a 2020 with thousands of hours, good sheet metal, and tires go for close to 10k or more.

And yes it is a way major expense, if made, this tractor will have to be the end all be all!

 

[cw]

where are you located? you say lots of ford 2000 and 3000 s, could you even find a few 4000s? those were some of the best tractors ever made? if serious about a tractor go check out a website called yesterdays tractors, you ll get better advice there, plus you get the oppertunity to look at the photo ads,
now to the rat killin, what are you gonna do with your tractor? grow grain?, bale hay or just mow pasture?

 

[twentynine]

S. E. Louisianna

lots of trees makes size an issue, full size frame tractor like a 2-3-4-5000 Ford would be on the large size, useable, but a compact tractor like my Yanmar is just right. If the Yanmar had a few more horses and a front end loader. The last halfway decent used tractor I saw was a JD 1250, can't remember the year, but it was pretty nice, $11k no FEL, maybe 2000hrs. Looked at a Massey 130 w/FEL last week, $7500, busted, broke, abussed, left out in the elements, mostly rust- no paint, short rubber, blue smoke. I walked away I don't think it was worth half of $7500.

Tractor uses----

Bush hog some where around 5 to 7 acres 3 times a year, ,

utility work, fencing, debry removal, tree removal (lighting strikes, desease and such)

drainage work always a concern and never ends.

planting 2 acres rye grass, for winter grazing, yearly

grade driveway

move material for the 17 other projects going on

14 acres doesn't sound like a lot of property, but I always have something to do. This time of year you can forget about putting a P/U truck in the field, a 4wd would destroy the pasture, a 2wd won't make it through the gate. So any trip to the back field is either by shanks mare or tractor. I limit my trips into the field this time of year because of damage to the turf, but sometimes you got to do what you got to do. Large tree on the fence last Monday, spent most of the day getting the tree off the fence, left it laying where I cut it because of wet ground. To tell the truth I am still working on removal of damaged/down trees caused by hurricane Gustav in Sept '08. I have a few areas still inaccessable because of down trees. Looks like jack straws piled one a top the other.

 

[I have WHAT in my yard?]

Hey 29 we have ten acres and essentially the exact same Kubota you're looking at. I am very glad we bought it, the mount of hours of work just from mowing, moving dirt and trees around worth every penny. I adore my front end loader.

Pros - one of our big issues was making sure that both DH and I could drive it comfortably. I am very small so alot of seats had trouble staying in operation if I didnt weigh enough. The kubota had a decent seat adjustment. We have not had any issues with parts or repairs, but like the others said that is a dealer issue, ours is willing to work with us on refurbished parts if we need them. We haven't had much trouble with it. I'll check later for the hours.

Down side - per DH - he doesn't care for the way the brakes work when they are unlocked. Ours IS hydrostatic which I love. His only other complaint is that the four wheel drive feature must be held down with your heel to stay on. 90% of the time you don't need the 4 wheel, but during the snow he got tired, and I have trouble holding it down. (But I almost never need it for what I am doing.)

I'll ask him tonight when he comes home what other comments he might have.

We had a 67 Deutz that we literally ran into the ground. FIL rolled it - nearly killed himself - the engine did not cut off. But, later DH rolled it back upright and it started right back up and drove away.... sturdy sucker but no kill switch so it was more dangerous.

I am glad we got it, it wasn't what we thought would happen, but since he got laid off, most of our income has come from the tractor......

 

[ijon1]

Quote:
JD rock I grew up farming with them and still have one. Your right about the dealer, he makes the difference.

 

[TriciaHowe]

We have a circa 1940's Ford 8N - We love it!