Need to know what kind of tractor to buy

I have a John Deere 4700 (48 horse power) tractor with bucket loader and backhoe as well as a few other attachments. I like it. Good tractor. It is the largest in the series and I would not want anything bigger. BUT It has literally split in have twice. There is a design flaw in the way the forces are transfered such that the transmission casing can split. Not pretty. See here for a photo:

http://sugarmtnfarm.com/blog/2006/11...ls-rising.html

This is a several thousand dollar and several week long repair. I still like the tractor but it worries me that this has happened not once but twice. I am not rough with the tractor. I don't stump jump, etc. Its a flaw in the design and JD should fix it retroactively for all owners of the tractor - a recall should be done.

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SugarMtnFarm.com -- Pastured Pigs, Poultry, Sheep, Dogs and Kids

I am not up on all the tractor information( I'm a girl LOL) but we have a Ford Dexta and love it. It was built in 1959 and is a diesel. It has a very low range that is excellant for our plastic layer and roto tiller. Important to me is it rides nice on the highway, my fields are a couple of miles apart. The tractor has a live PTO . We paid $2,500 for ours about 9 years ago. We are looking for parts to restore our little helper. We need fenders so if you know where we can find them I would be appreciative.
Linda

Wow! Thanks for all the help!

I have a couple of tractors that people have contacted me regarding selling: an 861 and a 961. I just posted the info on the 861 here to see what kind of price I should pay... I have no clue.

My mom and I just bought 10 acres, 5 acres are pasture and the rest is hay.
I'm not sure what shape the pasture is in, as #1 I am clueless to these things, and #2 the neighbor has been using it for a number of years for his cattle. He has 9 head on the 5 acres right now... So I am thinking I may need to do alot of work out there to get the pasture in shape?

I was needing the tractor for tilling, post hole digging, moving round bales, and blading the driveway. Someone told me I needed a front loader? What is that used for? And also this tractor has a brush hog... I don't have any brush, really, just some trees in the pasture. Do I need a brush hog?

Again, thank you all SO VERY MUCH. This is my first post and I have already learned alot from all of you!

Thanks, Kelly

MAN! I'd LOVE to have either one. I'd like the 861 better, but the 961 is a little more HP. Either one sould go anywhere from $2500 to $4750.

I take it from your last post that your ground is not hilly? Ours is and my drive goes down into a valley and back up to the house. I have a 1974 Ford 4000 SU 2wd tractor. It's worth about 5500.00. It is a 50 horse tractor and it really struggles moving snow on the hills. I seriously need a 4wd tractor. If your land is flat, you won't have that problem to this degree, but it's still easy to bog them down in heavy snow.
Do get a front end loader (hydraulic bucket on the front), it's the most used implement on my place. Try and find one that has forks for moving manure and straw.
Also, do be prepared for the shock of your life if you ever have to pay for serious repairs. It doesn't take much to get into 2 or 3 grand in repair bills. Some tractors DO NOT have parts available. My Ford, built in 1974, doesn't have parts available to fix the leaking power steering housing below the steering wheel. They aren't made anymore and you can't find used ones do to this being such a common problem.
If I had it to do over, I'd buy a brand new 40 to 50 horse 4wd and be done with it.

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"They laughed, because he was different"

"He laughed, because they were all the same"

No, we don't have any hills. It's basically a soft slope from the road to the back of the property. I did check into parts and found a web site with parts listed. And a tractor repair shop about 12 miles from me. I am pretty mechanically inclined, so I will try my own repairs first.

He said NO power steering, it's gas, and he is getting back with me on the hours... but I thought he said 700 hours.

I have no clue about buying a tractor...

My mom (77) and I (51) just bought 10 acres, 5 are pasture, and we are trying to jump right in and get things started. Two city gals with just a notion in their heads to live their dreams... but enough sense to take it a little at a time... LOL...

We know we will need a tractor. So we are starting there. I am trying to find out what things like "live" means, and PTO and what the implements even look like... ? Duh! Any one know a web site on Tractors 101?

So... we are looking, but we have no knowledge of rural living or anything... I had someone tell me they were selling their place, we looked, we bought, we are dreaming of chickens and goats, etc. but dealing with reality right now of needing sheds, equipment, etc. before we can even think about animals and all the fun stuff...

Of course, funds are limited, so we are looking for some really good deals...

I thought this might be a good one as he said the engine has been rebuilt. He was just "talking to the wife about needing a bigger tractor last night" then he saw my post about wanting a Ford 860, so he contacted me.

I got excited, then I wondered if the price was okay or not...? If it is in good condition and all... ?

Here's the description he gave me...

I have a 861 that I bought from the original owner. It has the original paint and right around 700 hours on it. This is a live power tractor as you probably already know. The tach and hour meter still works and is correct. I have a Dearborne three bottom plow, a Sunmaster 6' pull type brush hog and that go with it. this tractor has the original rear wheel weights mounted and are all there. I have owned this tractor since 1995 and in 1997 I had the motor completely rebuilt with new sleves, rings, pistons and etc. The cost was $1150 back then and it was only because it was using what I thought was to much oil at the time. I was just talkin to my wife about buying a bigger tractor with a loader last nite.

Then he told me it was gas and no power steering in later emails.

I thought I might go look at it just to see a real tractor "in person." LOL...

Backhoe. They are _very_ hard on the compact tractors, & put the wrong stress in the wrong places. Many compacts come with a 'frame mount' backhoe, which has it's own set of brackets that go under to the front of the tractor. I suspect you have a 3pt backhoe? Is it JD brand? If 3rd party, I wouldn't think you had any warrenty coverage!

Skimmed over your message until I got the part about it breaking 2x, was going to ask if you have a backhoe, then reread that you do. Either be gentler with the backhoe use, or get a frame for it.

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The hours on the the Ford for sale can nont be right, as I mentioned in the other post. It's 40+ years old, should get 100-200 hours use per year at least, so could be 7000 hours?

Do _not_ get an N tractor with your low experience with tractors. They were the first truely useful tractor & set the standards for modern features, but that was 60 years ago.... No safety at all, & many of the 'modern' features were very crudely done, and not enough gears to chose from. Wonderful tractors, but overpriced & not good enough features for an inexperienced person to use for real work.

Frankly, a newer modern 10 year old compact diesel tractor with a lot more saftey features might be better to your needs. The problem is, you don't know what you need, so it is hard to say what you should get. If you blow snow or till or want to bale hay, you need certain things. If you just want to cut down weeds in the pasture (with the bush hog....) then you need less power, more gears. If you want to plow, then you need power & efficient engine. And so on. A loader makes a tractor very much fun & useful for many odd jobs, but also makes it more dangerous.

Tough to give good advise, tough for you to know what to ask for. A catch 22.

--->Paul

I would get in contact with a good neighbor farmer and have him explain the tractor features and available dealers and so on.Every community has people who would be very willing to share knowledge and be helpful.

We had a early 70's (British) Leyland 270 -about 55(?) hp, diesel, heavy, solid, reliable tractor. These go incredibly cheap - under $4,000 with typical wear, but there aren't too many folks left familiar with the brand for servicing. Parts are available, though. (Hubby got green fever & upgraded last year)

Consider hiring a neighbor & tractor to do some of the urgent work (fence posts & snow removal?), learn a bit more about your specific tasks & needs - both now & later. A tractor is a wonderful help, but things can be done relatively easily & efficiently without that kind of investment right away. Smaller livestock? think small square bales, large wheeled garden carts, sleds in winter, etc. How big a garden, can you hire it plowed & tilled, or rent a roto tiller?

The front end loader bucket is the most used attachment for our tractor, from cleaning barn, moving feed & bedding, to picking apples, to hauling brush & debris to the burning pile...you will not regret the additional investment.

Good luck & have fun!

mommagoose - You can find Dexta parts online at Yesterday's Tractors: http://www.ytmag.com/cgi-bin/store/s...&md=DEXTA&cat=

They have your fenders for $131.34 complete. We used them for our petrol (gas) Dexta and were very happy.

HTH,
Mike

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"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." -- Edmund Burke

Keeping it together with prayer and the "Handyman's secret weapon" - duct tape!

I agree with the poster who said to hire the work done, if possible, to begin with and then purchase a tractor when you have little more experience with what you are needing the tractor for and which tractor will do the work. Good advice, I think!

We have been on our 20 ac. farm for 4 years now with out a tractor, And eventho we raise and train Draft Horses, Everthing that we have done so far has been by hand.....

Don't get me wrong, it hasn't been easy, and I have bled and shed my fair share of tears trying to get stuff done all by my self- but I have my own post hole digger, stretcher, fencing tool, etc. for my fence for my animals...(I just hate asking my hubby to help- to much pride) My dad brings big round hay bales up with the horses and drops them in front of the barn, and I have to figure out how to move them and feed them myself....

But we have used the 4x4 chevy farm truck and the ATV just as much as I think we would have used a tractor... plus our neighbor has tractor so if we really needed something done we could ask him.... But I would wait and find out what you really need one for first! just my 2 cents, Lori Volden, Cannon Valley Percherons.

Yes, it can, but there's probably a miscommunication when someone doesn't know tractors. Owner said he'd rebuilt it in 1998. I'd guess it's 700 hours since the rebuild.

I agree with the suggestion to hire the work done until they have more experience with what needs doing, though. I hate the thought of someone inexperienced gunning the throttle or dropping the clutch suddenly when facing uphill, or getting too close to the edge of a gully, or running across a rock on a slope.