Which kind of tractor to get -- Ford 8N or old Kubota Subcompact

Keep in mind getting something that parts are available locally.

Nothing worse than a tractor setting waiting on a part.

You buy from the dealer? My filters come from the auto parts house at 1/3 the price. They are the same filter, different paint.

I will try to heed your comments. Budget is tight at $2k to maybe $2.5k.

I found this for $2.5k with a tiller and a back blade. No belly mower. 4x4 but only 15HP. Looks so purty though. $2.5k. Kind of far away, so hauling will be hard.


Found this 2N {the owner forgets if it is a 2N or 8N) with archaic loader. Literally right up the road which is a rarity –– so I could just drive it home. May have a backblade he could throw in. Asking $2500 or thereabouts with maybe firearm trades for the tractor with loader but NOT the backhoe. Backhoe is $1,500 and frankly I don't have the cash nor the desperate need.




This Bolens is tempting for $1800 with the mower but it is only 2WD and comes with all of the negative attributes you guys listed earlier.


This is a TO-35. $2900 and 1.5 hours away. Comes with backblade and the owner seems like one of the old guys that takes care of everything. A bunch of manuals included.


This 8N is 20 miles away and I think I would drive it home. $2,500. Comes with boom lift here are some more details [span style='font-style: italic;']Within the past 3 years I have rebuilt the engine-new pistons, bearings, cam and valves. I also replaced-Brakes, clutch, throughout bearing, PTO bushing, governor, radiator, thermostat, water pump, 12 volt battery (new). I bought this tractor because of the Hup gear box option which gives the tractor 12 forward speeds and 3 reverse speeds-without the Hup feature a tractor has 4 forward and 1 reverse speed.[/span]


Golden Jubilee 12 Volt f0r $2,900, almost drivable distance to my place.


––––––––––––––––––-

The way I see it, the 2N/8N with the small loader with down pressure for $2500, the 8N with the recent mechanical work for $2,500, and the Juiblee for $2900 are all good candidates. If you had to choose from the above –– what would you go with?

None of those will do anything near what you want to do. Save your money for another year

__________________
The internet - fueling paranoia and misinformation since 1873.

Something with a useable loader will beat out anything else you pictured.

A bigger ag tractor is fine with 2wd. The Fords or other of that size have longer frames, and can be weighted down in the rear to keep good traction. Those very small light tractors closer to a garden tractor need 4wd to use their awesome 15-16 hp. (Yes, a bit of a haha, but true - the light rears with short wheelbase spin out too easily.)

When you can afford $5000, you can look at tractors with a live pto, and other neat & fun items that makes a tractor nice to use. None of these really will do what you want as mentioned, but you should be able to resell/ trade with no loss to you in a couple years so you aren't risking much. The backhoe would help you with the stumps more than a chain, but you don't realize that until you tug a few times and realize a smaller tractor isn't a tree puller....

The loader is the most useful thing you'll find on a small farm once you have one you will find that is what you use every other day at least, so if you can afford a running tractor with a working loader for your price, buy that period.

--->Paul

That Satoh has a tiller on back, not a blade. Are you *sure* that's 4wd, they don't usually have that front tire on the 4wd models. Around here, that tractor in 4wd with a tiller at $2500 would be a very good deal. Of the bunch you listed, that one is the most interesting imo. The Bolens would be next, imo. The TO and such are all fundamentally the same as the N, with the same limitations.

Post Carbon, not saying it's going the pull a 3 foot trunk out the ground. Just that it doesn't have to flip over while trying. Hitched right (below the differential) it will just sit there and dig its tires into the ground. Many folk hitch to a stump wrong (wrap around the axle, or use the top hitch), which will allow or even cause the tractor to promptly flip.

The only way I'd ever buy a tractor, without a loader, is if I already one, with a loader.

I use my cheapie backhoe loader regularly, more than the backhoe. I' ll buy another tractor just for the 3 point hitch and pto.

A loader is worth the investment, IMO, the heavier, the better.

The N-series tractors do not have a real front mounting point. You are actually putting all the stress on a single pivot pin that mounts the front axle to the frame(cast iron engine mounting) of the tractor. The mounts you generally see are bolted to the axle on each side and that pulls against the pivot pin......

Plowing with a backblade is not too bad with an N, but as mentioned you might need chains and weights. And if you get several snows, pretty soon you have no room left to put the snow and you'll just be moving the tractor sideways as the blade rubs against the pile behind...... If you could get a blower it would be better.

Hauling a tractor on a car carrier/ towing service flatbed might be possible on a moments notice, if the distance isn't too far. You might check rates locally for that to get a ball park idea.

Any implement such as a backhoe, or a bucket, I would want to be easily detachable from the tractor. I would then make a permanent "ready stand" for ease in hooking it up and taking it off so I could use the tractor without all the extra weight--especially on the older N series tractors. They weren't made to take all the extra rolling weight and you would also lose horsepower by keeping them attached, not to mention ease of maintenance and getting on and off the seat. Also, with the N series, the live hydraulics need for backhoe or bucket will likely be jerry-rigged, since the tractors did not have that originally....

Here's the one I've been drooling over.... Awesome International utility Tractor

(And using a bucket loader as a manllift to chainsaw tree limbs is No. 1001)

geo

The N is not high enough horse power to do what you are wanting to do, and carefully check that the Kubota is not a 'gray market' brand. Authorized dealers do not stock parts for the after market units and they are orphans with no parts replacements available.

I would suggest you send out word of mouth that you are looking for a tractor. Let sellers contact you.

I think, from reading your posts, that a larger horse power International with a loader and live PTO would be a better fit. Good luck in your search.

I only checked the model # written on the side with tractordata.com. It says it is 4x4 so I figure it is. I believe that is what the D stands for at the end of the model name.

The trees I would try to pull out are like 12" in diameter or less. Most likely 6" to 4" trees. I don't have a land truck or I would try to pull them out with that.

Lots of good advice has been given here and here is one more. None of those tractors you are considering are very hard to haul and I do a lot of that type of hauling with my equipment trailer and 3/4 ton pickup for hire. I bet you have a neighbor or two around who would haul your new purchase for a hundred bucks or so and it would be a heck of a lot better than trying to drive an old (but new to you) tractor 20 miles on a public highway.

I have three tractors and use them all for different things but this IH utility tractor of mine is the go to (my Kubota has a loader). I also pull stumps and haul logs with it in addition to plowing, dragging the pasture, snow plowing with a back blade, fertilizing, cutting hay etc. As has been said - expand your horizons a bit and keep looking. I bought this tractor that is in excellent mechanical and physical shape for $2500 and paid another $300 for a 5 foot brush hog, a back blade and a drag harrow. The same model as this was being sold in the same general area for $4800 and it was rusty and had massive hydraulic and oil leaks...you really do have to keep looking for the good deals as the prices vary wildly. I would also caution you to check for the condition of the tires if you are short of cash, I just paid $305 each for two new rear tires for this tractor because I got tired of a slow leak and patching the tubes.

__________________
www.salmonslayer-simplelife.blogspot.com

All good points. I went and checked out some tractors out on dealer lots. Very rusty and high priced for what you get. I think I have come to the conclusion that many have you suggested -- buy the cleanest and best maintained machine for my money. After looking around, I think that would be an 8N sized tractor or similar -- I don't think anything with a loader is going to fall into my price range. I will see what I can find.

I would'nt buy a tractor without a loader as someone else has said. I sure wouldn't buy one without a loader if I was planning to resell it. It will be much harder to sell because it is often hard as well as expensive to buy a loader for a tractor and the majority of people want a loader.

I have a 4X4 Kubota with a mid mount mower, backhoe, and front end loader...600 hrs and only ever needed a 25 cent o ring for a hydro fitting. I take some heat as we live 6 miles from the John Deere small tractor factory but kubota's are bullet proof.

__________________
Retired Army livin debt free but still workin for the Fed. 21 acres, 3 ponds totaling 5 acres, welsh harlequin ducks, NZW rabbits and thousands of bass, bluegill, and catfish.

OK... some of you may disagree with this, but I have narrowed down my search to these 2. I just can't find clean/available tractors that are larger in my price range –– especially with a loader. To expand my budget would require saving until next summer, which would negate me using the tractor to clear my drive this winter or use it in the spring.

1st 8N: Not refurbished but new tires, rear rims, converted to 12V, with backblade, tire chains, a towing ball on the front and on the rear, and he would deliver it for $1400 plus a Glock 19 9mm and accessories I am selling. [span style='font-weight: bold;']$2,000[/span] He sent me some more pictures on my phone, I would say it is a little dirtier/worked harder than it looks in the pictures.




2nd 8N: Completely refurbished, the guy checked every fluid, put new rings in the engine, overhauled it, might throw in a backblade and might deliver. No tire chains that I know of. [span style='font-weight: bold;']$2,2200+[/span] (if backblade or delivery is not included) and I still need to sell the Glock 19 to raise the cash to buy it. This might be dumb but it doesn't look like it has running lights –– something I would need for plowing snow in the winter.







Naturally, I am leaning towards the refurbished one. It almost looks too nice. I think paying a little extra for it now will pay off in the long run with repairs.

Wow...that second tractor sure is sharp.

I have to think that the second refurbished tractor will be a little more problem free than the first one, especially if the guy did things right.

Brakes, tires, rims, hoses, wires...new quality replacement parts can prove a tractor to be more problem free.

Check the lifts on the back of the 8N's. Sometimes they seem to work fine but are weak when you try to lift much weight. Also keep clean hydraulic fluid in it. Moisture in the fluid can play havoc with your pump in cold weather and they aren't fun to replace.

__________________
Dear Math, it is time you grew up and solved your own problems.

Thank you for the advice!

I don't know my N series/Ford/Fergeson very well, but just looking at the rear wheel centers, these are not going to both be the same tractor.

The newest 8N have a little bit better options, with better tranny and the side-mount distributor, think the 3pt works a tad better doesn't it?

I wonder if one of those is a older 9N, or 2N????

Paint looks nice, but a better optioned tractor might be a better deal than a shiny one. Again, I don't know the N's well enough to know if I'm even close to telling you anything valuable here.....

--->Paul

Paul, thanks for the advice. The nicer 8N is a 1948 and the more used one is a 1949. The guy with the well worn tractor replaced the back rims, may explain it.