So anyway, today I'm looking at tractors. Need one with a bucket loader and a bush hog. So here's this ad, and I'm looking at the tractor picture and suddenly I noticed something strange. What the heck is going on back there? http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=91953&item=7525596212&rd=1
That definitely has the features and is a good price. One thing to find out is how much weight is in the rear tires. I've found for mowing and especially for using the bucket loader its generally better to have heavy rear tires than have to throw a ton of weight on the rear attachment. Another thing you could look for is an older John Deer or Ford. Generally can be had for a good price (at least around here) and last forever. My family has had just about every kind of Tractor on the face of the earth and currently have around 5.
Mike, I wouldn't buy that tractor, nor the horse either!! Stick to the common brand tractors - parts are easy to get, they're more reliable. The 3 pt. bush hog you can get anywhere, and put on any tractor with a 3 pt attachment. Plus, you can get a belly mower, post hole digger, backhoe attachment, etc. I have a 21 hp Kubota and it's a decent little tractor, but I want to go up to about 30 hp. Buy as much tractor as you can afford to get, you'll end up doing more with it than you think. Just remember: when it breaks, where will you get the parts to fix it???
Looks like a trick pony to me. It has no front legs, so someone has taught it to walks on its hind legs. :eek2: Stay away from the tractor tho, unless you are a good mechanic/fabricator. And that is a finishing mower, not a bush hog. And it doesnt have the loader attachment either. But the horse is a trip. ou:
Stick with common named tractors. Older may even be better than a new one. Quality is suffering in John Deere, Kubota, New Holland and Massey right now. I have noticed it on some models and had dealers verify that they all aren't what they once were. I personally like Kubotas. We have had some on the farm for almost 30 years without problems. Good luck and take your time. A good deal with come along.
Exactly. Before you buy that thing, check into nearby dealers. Find out about parts availability, service, etc. Check resale value books. Does it have live hydraulics? Live PTO? Differential lock? There are only a few Asian makes worth buying, such as Kubota or Yanmar. The others have a very weak dealer support network. Nothing wrong with a Deere, either, and it's pretty hard to beat their parts service and resale value. Deere and Kubota are generally considered the top two choices in just about every sales category.
Kioti makes a good tractor with many drive train parts being Kubota on their 49 and lower hp models. In many cases, they used discontinued Kubota parts that can be bought at a Kubota dealer. I have had one for several years now and can say it is a very good tractor. It saved me a few thousand under Kubota and the dealers are growing in my area. They have been around for over 15 years, so I think they are a good bet to finally bust out in the market. Of course, if you want to drop a little extra dough, Kubota is the safest choice and are excellent products. Kubota had 65% of the tractor market in the US on models under 50 hp. a couple of years back.
i would look for a 8-10 year old ford tractor that comes with live pto, live hydaulics. parts always available. my dad has owned many fords since his first new 8N in 1951 and they have always been great tractors. eventhough ford did not invent the live hydraulics, ferguson did, they certainly perfected it.
Nope. What little work I've had to have done on it, which was due to our overuse, not product quality - parts were readily available. There are a lot of Kubota dealers around (at least in this area). All had parts on hand. It's been a very reliable tractor. My now ex-husband bought it. Unfortunately, he bought it too small. The only beefs I have with it are the size and some of the controls layout. I grew up with JD tractors, so it may just be a personal preference, but I find the JD style/pattern of controls easier to use and better thought-out. I believe that you get more tractor for the money in a JD, but either one is a good buy. Equipment buying is just like building garages/shops. Bigger is better, buy as much as you can, overestimate what you think you need.
Annie, this looks quite similar to what you described. I like the low hours but will take your advice and look for something bigger. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7531815729&category=91953&rd=1 I'm closing on the 'ranch' Tuesday in Jackson MS. My brother is taking care of all the paperwork since I can't get back to USA for it. He was there yesterday (Saturday) for a final inspection and confirmed that the neighbor's tractor is still there. Maybe we can work something out where he continues to maintain it for a while and keep his horse on it. From what I can see, this is just the sort of thing I'm looking for. Needs a bucket up front though, can't tell if this one has it or not. I want to clear out the underbrush and open the place up. There's going to be a lot of stump pulling involved from what I was told. I also kind of like his trailer... Looks small for the tractor but would be fine for a couple of ATVs.
I can vouch for the durability of the Kubota!....in '92 I bought a very used (3000 hrs) L275 from the local rental center for $3k. It has been a real work horse, with very few problems, it just keeps going, and going, and.... It's a 3 cylinder diesel rated at 27 hp, 4 wheel drive, and includes a front loader. For attachments, I have a landscaping rake, potato plow (single blade), and post hole digger. Really wish I had a backhoe attachment for digging..... The front loader doesn't work too well for digging. So I use the plow to break up the surface, then the loader to scrape it level. I use it for maintenance of my 13 acres.... drainage ditches and regrading, moving dirt, firewood, trees, drilling fence posts, and moving snow. For field mowing I just use my JD 425 garden tractor....it's a tough one! I just cannot imagine not having the trusty ole Kubota...it has bailed me out sooo many times. :TU:
Mike, Congrats on the new homestead! Yup, that Kubota on eBay is the same model as mine (B7500), except mine's older (2001). You can't do any stump pulling with it. It's just lacking in the power dept for that. It takes all that tractor has to pull out the end of a 6" round fence post that's broken off in the ground, much less a stump with a root system. If you could work it out to use the neighbor's tractor, that may prove to be the way to go. It looks a bit beefier. You can always look into renting equipment too, that way you can get the 'big' stuff when you need it. If it's as overgrown as it sounds, what you might need to begin with is a bulldozer. Believe me, I have that buy vs. rent argument with myself here a lot. I do consider buying the bigger equipment to use for my needs then resell. At least here in MI, there is enough heavy equipment around that prices are decent and you can recoup most of it (barring tearing it up in the interim!). If you're extra lucky, and skillful, you can always barter if somebody in the area has equipment to. My dad has a bulldozer that resided here for a while, my neighbor keeps his cows on my back 10 acres and maintains the fencing, etc, plus he has an excavator and dump truck so he gave me a bunch of free fill in trade. Keep us posted!
Kubotas are high quality tractors. Their quality is not what it once was, but what is? That 7500 is a little small for you. Anything in the B series will be a little small. Go with an L series tractor for your needs. We use several B series tractors on the farm because larger tractors will not go in between the rows of our trees. One little 7100 HST has around 4000 hours on it. Those were very hard wide open hours too. Their M series tractors are very good also. We have owned 2 of those over the years with no regrets. Are you still considering tree farming?
Annie, I'm learning bartering. The guy I bought the 73 arce farm from last year is keeping the trails open in exchange for hunting rights. Poods, that would be the place to plant a tree farm with enough acreage to make it worthwhile. But I'd have to clear the land first. That's a major undertaking which I'm still just thinking about. The 8.5 acre 'ranch' is much easier to deal with. The back acre is "wetlands" so I can't mess with it per EPA rules unless I'm willing to get into some complicated stuff. The back third is recently clear cut with a lot of stumps or so i'm told. The middle section with the house, sheds, and pasture on it is still populated with large oak trees as you can see from the pics, and the front part is more complicated to explain. I'm looking to buy the neighbor's houses on that end of the property (with half acre lots) to extend the highway footage on HWY 80. At least one of them is willing to sell from what I'm told. Eventually the best use of this will be commercial. I need to open it up and flatten it out. Incidentally, I've got my 76 Dodge Power Wagon 440 4x4 with 4.11 gearing to pull stumps too if the tractor can't handle it. It was bought with this purpose in mind. I was told you can't kill a Power Wagon no matter what you do to it. And I'm willing to try to find out if that's true.
