Learn me about tractors

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Touchdown! Greaser!
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Cowboy - yeehah!
the last time I was on a tractor I was 16. It was a fairly new Ford 400? or something. It was a long time ago.

Now I need a ranch use cheap one. Hard budget of $3500. Use; Front load dirt and some metal beams, blade dirt and level ground, mow +2 acres, post holes, trenching, etc.

Thinking a very old Ford, IH, or Massey. Not really interested in the newish Kubotas or other imports although if the deal is right, I could be swayed. When I was on it as a teen, I knew nothing about mx, or repair, but remember the guy saying if I cut down a rear tire, I was fired.

What to look for, what to avoid, what to ask?
 
For you budget, if you are talking only of the tractor (not equipment), you should be able to get a pretty nice older tractor. Go for something like a 4020 John Deere. No cab, no AC, etc., just a tractor.
 
$3500 with a front loader? That may be tough to find. If a primary function is going to be front loader work, you want a 'FWA' live front axle unit. The funny thing is, the small tractors are often more expensive than the bigger ones.

Get a copy of Fastline or find them online.
 
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Henning said:
$3500 with a front loader? That may be tough to find. If a primary function is going to be front loader work, you want a 'FWA' live front axle unit. The funny thing is, the small tractors are often more expensive than the bigger ones.
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I ran a crop tractor (narrow front end) with a front bucket for awhile one summer. The driver that followed me put it on its side. Not a good combination, narrow front axle and a front bucket.
 
somorris said:
For you budget, if you are talking only of the tractor (not equipment), you should be able to get a pretty nice older tractor. Go for something like a 4020 John Deere. No cab, no AC, etc., just a tractor.
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I haven't looked in a long time, but last I saw a decent 4020 went over $7k,
 
For that price, you will be hard pressed to find one with a loader. Though it can happen. Around here (mississippi), ford 400 and the ford 4n go for about $3500. I bought a new Mahindra in 2011 with a loader and I love absolutly love it.
 
Clark1961 said:
I ran a crop tractor (narrow front end) with a front bucket for awhile one summer. The driver that followed me put it on its side. Not a good combination, narrow front axle and a front bucket.
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No it's not, those aren't good for anything IMO. I'm talking about a wide 4wd type axle. The bearings on the 2WD units don't hold up to the loader work very well.
 
Cheapest thing that I can think of that would stand up to that might be an MF 65 with aux hydraulics, or an MF industrial, but you won't find on worth a hoot for less than $5k.
 
You may need to use one tractor for the FL jobs and get a different one for long-term mowing and grading. It's easy to buy a bigger one than you need and then wish you had gone smaller.

#2 daughter's best HS friend's dad owned the JD store in Gardner, KS. I was one of his "floor-plan" customers and had an ongoing rolling inventory of various dogs and cats (all nice ones) that he took as trade-ins. My all-time fav was the four-wheel "Kubota wid a loada" that could do almost anything my MF 150 could do as well as mucking stalls and other tight-quarters work that big ones couldn't touch. I kept a ~3 acre yard mowed with a JD 317 yard tractor with a 50" deck. It was effortless.
 
Henning said:
The funny thing is, the small tractors are often more expensive than the bigger ones.
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QFT. I call the 8N & 9N the piper cubs of tractors. Expensive but really not practical for much. You can buy a real tractor just as cheap...but everyone wants an 8N.

If I had bought my skidsteer before I bought my tractor (50hp Mahindra w/ loader), I would have never bought the tractor. If you're not going to plant, then there is nothing that a skidsteer won't do better than a tractor. Bushhog, grade roads (harley rake), front end loader, excavate (backhoe attachment), haul logs (grapple rake), auger (unlike a three point PTO auger, a skid steer auger can be reversed when hung). You're not going to get a good 50 or 60 HP skidsteer for $3,500. I got a great deal on mine and it was still $13k including some...but not nearly all...accessories.

Also, they now have two speed skidsteers so they're no longer painfully slow getting from point A to pont B.

You should be able to get a decent old Allis or Massey w/a front end loader for $5k or less...but, as Henning said, $3,500 might be unrealistic unless you get lucky or catch a good deal at an auction.
 
If that Fergie doesn't have PS it's gonna be a hog to drive around with the bucket loaded. The Ford has PS I'm sure that would help. The tires on the Ford look sketchy.
 
timwinters said:
QFT. I call the 8N & 9N the piper cubs of tractors. Expensive but really not practical for much. You can buy a real tractor just as cheap...but everyone wants an 8N.

If I had bought my skidsteer before I bought my tractor (50hp Mahindra w/ loader), I would have never bought the tractor. If you're not going to plant, then there is nothing that a skidsteer won't do better than a tractor. Bushhog, grade roads (harley rake), front end loader, excavate (backhoe attachment), haul logs (grapple rake), auger (unlike a three point PTO auger, a skid steer auger can be reversed when hung). You're not going to get a good 50 or 60 HP skidsteer for $3,500. I got a great deal on mine and it was still $13k including some...but not nearly all...accessories.

Also, they now have two speed skidsteers so they're no longer painfully slow getting from point A to pont B.

You should be able to get a decent old Allis or Massey w/a front end loader for $5k or less...but, as Henning said, $3,500 might be unrealistic unless you get lucky or catch a good deal at an auction.
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Skid steer auger (unlike a three point auger) you can put some down force on as well.:yesnod:
 
Skid steers are great. Probably the most useful piece of kit on the place. But you aren't finding one for $3,500. And a mower for the front end is $5k, unless you build your own.
 
Geico266 said:
Good for mowing only. There is a reason people buy those, then buy something else. ;)
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And not really even good for mowing unless you put a guard behind you...sitting way too low...down in the shrapnel area.
 
Chip Sylverne said:
Skid steers are great. Probably the most useful piece of kit on the place. But you aren't finding one for $3,500. And a mower for the front end is $5k, unless you build your own.
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For mowing, nothing beats a ZTR. It'll out mow a tractor with a bush hog or finish mower 2 to 1...or more...

Mine mows 61" at 14 mph.

But that's another $7,500 or so.

Damn, I got a lot of money sitting out in the barn. :redface:
 
I'd put my Lilliston 7-6 against whatever else shows up for pasture and acreage.

timwinters said:
For mowing, nothing beats a ZTR. It'll out ow a tractor with a bush hog or finish mower 2 to 1...or more...

Mine mows 61" at 14 mph.

But that's another $7,500 or so.
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timwinters said:
For mowing, nothing beats a ZTR. It'll out mow a tractor with a bush hog or finish mower 2 to 1...or more...

Mine mows 61" at 14 mph.

But that's another $7,500 or so.

Damn, I got a lot of money sitting out in the barn. :redface:
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I built a bush hog for he front of the skidsteer. For clearing, nothings better. Cuts through 3" saplings like buttah. All out in front where you can see what your doing, unlike a tractor bush hog.

But no, it ain't no finish mower.
 
I've got a JD 5200 front wheel assist, with a loader & cab, no A/C:(. Tires filled with PC fluid. That thing will do anything including baling hay, big rounds weighing 1,000 pounds and running the JD535 big round bailer. 45HP. :yes:

Buy Green. :yes:

Paid $17K for it, still worth $12-15K.
 
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Chip Sylverne said:
I built a bush hog for he front of the skidsteer. For clearing, nothings better. Cuts through 3" saplings like buttah. All out in front where you can see what your doing, unlike a tractor bush hog.

But no, it ain't no finish mower.
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Sounds like the nitro burning Lawn Boy my boss at the machine shop made for clearing some brush and small trees on his farm. Cut the front out of the mower deck, drilled 1/8" holes for jets in the carb and filled it with VP Nitromethane. It was loud....:rofl:
 
timwinters said:
For mowing, nothing beats a ZTR. It'll out mow a tractor with a bush hog or finish mower 2 to 1...or more...

Mine mows 61" at 14 mph.

But that's another $7,500 or so.

Damn, I got a lot of money sitting out in the barn. :redface:
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I've got a JD F935 with a 6' deck, and a 5' trail mower behind it. It cuts 11' swath! No! I'm not kidding!
 
Geico266 said:
I've got a JD 5200 front wheel assist, with a loader & cab, no A/C:(. Tires filled with PC fluid. That thing will do anything including baling hay, big rounds weighing 1,000 pounds and running the JD535 big round bailer. 45HP. :yes:

Buy Green. :yes:

Paid $17K for it, still worth $12-15K.
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Nice machine. Bet it's not too handy in the woods....
 
Henning said:
Sounds like the nitro burning Lawn Boy my boss at the machine shop made for clearing some brush and small trees on his farm. Cut the front out of the mower deck, drilled 1/8" holes for jets in the carb and filled it with VP Nitromethane. It was loud....:rofl:
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There's something to be said for hydraulic power, like, it's relatively quiet.
 
wabower said:
I'd put my Lilliston 7-6 against whatever else shows up for pasture and acreage.
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It's all about blade tip speed, Wayne. I have my ZTR re-shieved and ramped up about 15%. Maximum allowable tip speed from the factory is 19,000 FPM (IIRC)...maybe 21,000...somewhere in there.

I could always mow "wide open" at 14mph but now I can do it in thicker grass without any skipping at all...as long as I keep the blades sharp.

I'd be willing to bet your 3pt mower is turning in the 14 to 16k range.
 
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