small farm tractors

Is there a website anywhere that lists tractors with and without "LIVE " PTO ???

Zane is a pretty cool guy.

His device adds a lot of convienience to the N's 3pt hitch, making it operate like a more modern 'Touch' or 'position' 3pt hitch. I don't believe it does anything for the pto, but I could be wrong?

The easiest way to give an N live hydraulics is to add a front crankshaft pump & re-plumb the hydraulics through that. From the factory, no N had live anything. There are few options to make them live pto, tho live hydraulics is not so difficult.

M&W made some conversions for the pto of the Red tractors, putting a clutch on one axle & routing the pto through the spider gears basically. I'm not aware of such a device for Fords. I'm sure someone somewhere made a few, but they would be extremely rare.

I have been known to be wrong tho at times.

--->Paul

Not really. It became popular on some tractor manufaturers in the mid-50s, and was not standard on some models through the 1990's yet. The Ford 100 series of tractors some had it, some didn't - many lines are like that from most manufaturers.....

So, hard to make any blanket statements on that.

Do you have any models in mind, or just looking at tractors and want a look-up sheet?

--->Paul

Don't make the mistake of buying a small tractor.

The biggest mistake you can make is buying a tiny tractor. Unless all you want to do is plow your garden (and even that requires more power than you would think) you will run into things that you just cannot do with a tiny tractor. If you want to use a boom to lift machinery it will tip your tractor back. You cannot carry today's big hay bales with a small tractor. You cannot pull a pasture sprayer of any size with a small tractor. You cannot pull a heavy vehicle out of a mudhole with a little tractor.

In short, up to a point bigger is better. A 45 to 70 horse tractor will be much more useful to the average homesteader. The 8 & 9 N's are old tech and will cost almost as much as a decent, larger, newer tractor. Why they have so many fans is beyond me--I've used several and see no advantage to them.

If you have only a couple of acres and intend only to mow lawns and work a garden the small tractors are Ok. If you need a workhorse, go find one of the mid-size diesels and find some way to pay for it.
Ox

Paul and Ox make good points. There really isn't a single best tractor out there, it's always going to involve tradeoffs. That's why having 20+ tractors is the way to go.

I think if you plan on only having one tractor, the versatility of a 65-70 HP newer diesel is going to make it the smartest expenditure in the long-run. This will be a tractor with the HP and weight to handle a loader, pick up bales safely with a 3-pt. bale mover, handle mowing and baling easily, and be a cheap keeper. Most important, it will have modern hydraulics and beefed up 3-pt. My neighbor has a JD 3020 diesel that seems like an excellent tractor for these purposes.

That said, an 8N is a big step up from the 9Ns and 2Ns. They are still a bit overpriced in my opinion, but have come down somewhat, at least around here. My cousins in Saskatchewan farmed about 14 sections with 8Ns. They are well-made and you can still get parts. Those 8Ns are from being a great loader tractor, though, and you can lose your religion putting on some of those old "jungle-gym" loaders.

Two tractors isn't a bad idea. Hauling manure and haying ain't much fun with only one tractor.

__________________
"Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity." Gen. George S. Patton Jr.

Do any of you have any experience with Branson Tractor brand they are made in South Korea?

Thanks Cornbread

What a coincidence,

Just returned home from a trip to the country and ran across a Branson Dealer. Talked to the owner and I'm considering a return visit a possible future purchase. I'm in the process of combing the net for more info to make a comparison with other affordable brands. Unlike the Chinese tractors these seem very well made and carry a 3 year warranty. Diesel, power steering, 4X4, live PTO and all of the goodies. Please post any more info and I'll do the same.

Front loader - many HP models to choose from and seem to be reasonably priced. I was looking at the 35 HP but may step up to the 45 HP. Not much price difference in the 28 to 35 range. One of the engines is a Cummins/Branson hybrid of sorts.

In the Spring of 2004, I looked at several tractors including the Branson (and Kioti, MF, Deere, and Kubota). This tractor does seem well made, and I exchanged some e-mails with an owner of a 45 HP model with a loader and backhoe. He was very satisfied. The tractorbynet.com web site has more info on them.

After a lot of "gut wrenching", I bought the Kubota. It had slightly less horsepower for the money when compared to either the Branson or Kioti, but it's hydraulics are on par with those two machines. Probably the two key factors that drove me to the Kubota were (1) resale value (although I fully expect the tractor will outlast me) and (2) less risk on quality related issues. Kubota has just been out there longer with a proven track record.

Good luck in your search.

www.tractorbynet.com

We have a bunch of tractors. Ford, MF, Long, Yanmar, Allis Chalmers. For small tractors the Allis Chalmers and Yanmar are pretty darn good. We use them mostly at the deer lease to mow and plow up small food plots. I have a trenching machine that goes with the Allis Chalmers and it is handy as the pocket on a shirt. They will not do the work that the bigger tractors we have do, but work really well for what we use them for. I can tell you that I have dirven the wheels off the Allis Chalmers for close to 20 years and it still runs great.