Best Tractors

[bergere]

OK,,

What is the most reliable, powerful, easy to run Tractor out there? What is the best attachment for mowing/cutting down pasture grass?
I can't afford something big.
Looking for a smaller or mid sized one would be great.
Have 14 acres, 3/4 of it in over grown pastures.

[opus]

Kubota seems to be a good unit for the money. Been around a few of them lately and I like them. 35hp or so should be plenty. Keep clear of Deere, lot of money for green paint, dont care much for the newer ones, we have 2 of them.

[cloverfarm]

DH and FIL have four John Deeres, all small to medium diesels from the 1960s and 70s -- a 2510, 3020, 4020 and 4430. They are pretty content with them, especially since the 4430 has a cab, air, heat, and stereo. :

[opus]

I thought we were talking new. I would take a 3020, 4020 anyday over a new one! The 4230 (or is it the 4320?) and such were pretty much troublesome though, dont start under 50 degree's, overheating often.....

[agmantoo]

bergere, for good value and reliability consider a used Ford, preferably a blue one in the 40+ hp range. Couple that to a 6 ft cut bush hog or rhino brand rotary cutter and you are good to go without breaking the bank.

[Oilpatch197]

A John Deere 4020 is the BEST all round tractor.

if you can find a older Ford 601 Workmaster, back when Ford was Red, they are good tractors.

[agmantoo]

Admittedly at 4020 is/was a good tractor. At its size would it not be an overkill for 14 acres?

[Ross]

Goodness knows I think a 4020 is one of the best tractors ever made but small??? Ok it isn't 350hp but it isn't small either. Chalk up another vote for Ford. A 2000 or 3000 or a super major 5000 would be a decent tractor in good shape. Massey 35 135 or a 50, 65 165 etc. are good choices too. If you were closer I'd sell you the little 35 I'm working on, I'm getting rather attached to it and that's a bad thing!

[bergere]

Thank you everyone,, am keeping notes.

Anyone else?? The more working info I have the better!

[fordson major]

good cheap horse power!well the bigger they are the cheaper they sell!706 ih ford 5000 or a super major . lot depends on the dealer close to you . no sense getting a deere if you have to drive a hundred miles for a filter. older allis are cheap here but depends on your local market. iwould not pay 500 for an 8n but here they sell for 2500. some models are toubled and discounted at the dealer . as to mowing pasture a bush hog with a slip clutch if you have brush or if just weeds and grass a flail bine is real handy just watch for rocks! don't be a fraid of too much horse power its to little that hurts !

[Oilpatch197]

my uncle used to farm 18 acres with a 4020, and you can get front loaders, they pull a blade well, he even has a Jim pole and it has enough power, my uncles is a Gas model. He also Had a John Deere 45 combine with a 3-row corn header.
He also had a John Deere 40 combine with a round back and it came with no cab.(it was open like a tractor)

[rambler]

Well, I wrote you a 5 paragraph message this afternoon, but as often with this software, it said I wasn't logged on and trashed it. Sigh. So I'll sum up a lot shorter this go 'round:

Don't buy Chineese. Just avoid that.

Do you want new compact? Any JD, New Holland, Case (red-painted NH), or Kubota will be great. Find a nearby dealer, sit down on a few, and pick the one with the features you want & like. Me, I hate hydro trannies. Others can't work with a regular tranny. Whatever floats your boat, either work fine. Plunk down $18,000 or so & enjoy it. Can't go wrong.

Find a used one of above & plunk down $8,000-12,000.

Find a Mahindra or Jimma or Kioti dealer made in India or Korea & have a pretty good tractor with fair support for less money.

Did I mention avoid the China-made tractor? They have aweful fit & finish & features & support, they cost 1/2 of the others maybe but are not worth that.

You can get a grey-market tractor fairly cheap, & it is basically a good machine. These are often Yanmar or Kubota, and were sold new in Japan, resold used here in the USA. They do _not_ have dealer support here, harder to get parts, less safety features, know what you are buying. But they are basically built to good standards. Maybe 60-80% of a USA marketed used compact for price?

For $2000 - 5000 you can find a good old used USA gas tractor. They will always be worth what you paid for them, and work good. You need to search out the features & such, as some are better with pto, power steering, hydraulics, etc than others.

So, do you want new, used, tiny compact, or larger older USA tractor?

Compacts are well discussed at www.tractorbynet.com, and older USA machines are discussed at www.ytmag.com.

Avoid China machines.

For mowing down lumpy pasture hay with weeds & twigs, a rear 3pt rotory brush hog type mower works best. Not a finish mower, tougher but often cheaper rough mower. 'Bush Hog' is the popular brand name, but many brands out there. You need something else if you wish to bale hay, the brush hog shreds it to fine pieces.

--->Paul

[rambler]

Hey, it let me post this time!!!!

Before I had mentioned your question is a little odd - the biggest most powerful tractors are either New Holland or Challenger (used to be Cat, drivetrain is from Cat, assembled by Agco now) tractors with close to 500 hp. Big Bud (a small company used to be in Montana) developed a 900 hp 3 axle tractor, but never sold it. They made some of the biggest strongest tractors tho, over 500 hp.

I don't think that info is really helpful to you?

So, are you looking for new or used? Big old iron, or new tiny tractor? What is your price range? (A Ford 660 with 37 hp is _way_ stronger than a little compact Kubota with 35 hp - but the Kubota is way more useful for tight manuvering & loader work - and either can cost less than a Ford 8N but the 8N has the _worse_ features & power & safety of the 3.....) So, what direction are you leaning, newer or older?

'Easy to run' is probably a small new compact tractor - lots of safety features (almost too much to be useful...) and creature features. In my opinion this hurts durability tho. I'm more of a Ford 100 series tractor person myself. Just bought a Ford NH 1720 4wd machine with loader 18 months ago, neat little machine of 27 hp, has a lot of features but not so much plastic, computers, & switches on it as the real new ones... My oldest tractor is an early 40's IHC 'H' tracotr of almost the same hp - the 2 tractors are worlds apart, but I like them each for thier own thing....

Can you describe more of what you want it to do? Real farming? Real hay making? A loader? Just mowing grass every now & then?

The question is so wide open, not sure how to best help you.

--->Paul

[cloverfarm]

Originally Posted by Oilpatch197

A John Deere 4020 is the BEST all round tractor.

if you can find a older Ford 601 Workmaster, back when Ford was Red, they are good tractors.

My dad has a Workmaster ... he upgraded from an 8N. Reliable men, reliable tractors

My dad used a bush hog type mower for our pastures when I was growing up, then used a flail mower. He didn't try to mow all of it though, mowed some grazing areas and then mowed walking trails into the brush.

DH uses the JD tractors for row crops and making hay. But when he wanted to tear up a 15-year-old pasture this spring he had our neighbor with a really BIG tractor come and use the mold board plow.

Hope you find what you are looking for!

Ann

[Haggis]

After I bought a tractor this week for $2500, I came across a site called Yesterdays Tractor.

It shows pictures of smaller tractors the might be perfect for a 14 acres place. I have 100, about 30 acres are clear, 10 to 15 more are pasture/brush, and another 20 or more could be cleared up with not much more than a bush hog.

I bought a 1950 Ferguson and most of the parts are still available as are parts for most older tractors.

A fellow with just a few acres doesn't really need much more than a little tractor with a three point hitch and 20 to 35 hp.

[Tractorman]

Ford 3000 or 4000 best small tractors made in my opinion

[bergere]

Originally Posted by rambler

Hey, it let me post this time!!!!

Before I had mentioned your question is a little odd - the biggest most powerful tractors are either New Holland or Challenger (used to be Cat, drivetrain is from

Can you describe more of what you want it to do? Real farming? Real hay making? A loader? Just mowing grass every now & then?

The question is so wide open, not sure how to best help you.

--->Paul

OK,, more clarification,

Reliability is number one.... I do not want to have to fix the thing every week.
Second- just want a Med size Tractor, do not think 14 acres will need more than that.
Need a Brush hog, also will be haying, scrapping out tracks for my cart, moving posts/logs around, hay,, what ever. Not sure how big we are going to make the Garden. A Post hole auger attachment would be nice. Has to be flexible in its useage.
Not rich, so something in the mid price range, the most value for my money.
And oh, ya,, Reliability, and ease of getting parts when needed.

[Alex]

There sure have been lots of good recommendations in this thread. I sure like the iron website, and Ross's suggestions are lots of fun - I would like to have one of each. Some of the suggestions seem a little big for only 14 acres. On the other hand, it's always nice to have more, or is it?

Not mentioned below, but our "Tillie-The-Tractor-Two" does not have hydraulic steering. However, after awhile, believe it or not, you learn how to let her steer herself - really. BUT, if you can get hydraulic steering, get it, especially with a full loader, you can learn to work with it, like I said, and why should you?

From another post of mine,

We love our 1985 Ford 1900, with Front End Loader, Three Point Hitch, PTO, 4WD, 30 Hp Diesel, only 590 Hours, with a 6' Brush Cutter. A real workhorse! Two years ago, we paid $7,000 CDN for the whole works (about $5,300 USD) plus we paid about $300 to have it painted.

We love it, and use it much more than we thought we would - true with all tractors that I have had over the years. However, we have a Quarter Section (160 acres) and have more need for a small 30 hp tractor than you do.

Highly recommend the Ford, 1900.

Alex



"Tillie-Two-the-Tractor" 1985 Ford 1900, 30 Hp Diesel 4WD, w/Brush Cutter On Three Point Hitch (just after she got some fresh new paint)

[Ozarks_1]

Be a bit wary of Kubotas ... lots of money for orange paint and a "name".

A friend's got one he uses mainly for mowing his 5-acre lawn. He breaks mower deck bolts a LOT - and they're special dealer-item-only replacements. Naturally, they bring a premium price.

Me?
I've got a 1948 Ferguson with all sorts of add-ons and updates.
The nice thing about it is I haven't spent a lot of money and did the add-ons (like the front end loader) as I could afford them.

One bit of advice though:
If you get an older tractor, convert it to electronic ignition. (I'll bet you'll get sick of messing with the points!)

[DrippingSprings]

I would think that a new looking rebuilt Ford 8n 9n Jubilee 2000 or 4000 would be fine and they can be had reasonable. I bought an 8n with the electronic conversion and converted to 12 volt with a 1 wire gm alternator. It looks brand new and has been refurbished. I got it and a bushhog,box blade and rototiller for 3600.