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Mace Canute · 07-02-2009, 02:35 AM

This has nothing to do with the OP question of what the realistic life span of a compact tractor is, just a little FYI....I own 3 John Deere tractors I keep on a friends acreage. One is a "70" and one is an "R" and the last is a "3010" with a 148 FEL. The hour meters long ago quit working so it's anybody's guess as to actual hours on them. The 3010 is the newest of the bunch as they were made from 1961 to 1963. 70s were made from 1953 to 1956 and Rs were made from 1949 to 1954. They needed some tender loving care when I bought them, but together, my friend and I got them running and running well and he uses them all for various work. The R is tremendously economical to run and the 3010 is still one of the nicer tractors to drive. These tractors have LOTS of hours on them and their biggest downfall was the lack of proper maintenance that was done on them by previous owners. Little problems can become big problems, eh? These tractors were built when quality wasn't just a buzz word and by many of todays manufactures standards,they were over built as far as strength of the castings, etc, goes. I have no doubt these old beasts will run for DOZENS of years more with a little maintenance. My buddy has 3 old "D" tractors and 2 run... one is a 1929 model and the other one actually is quite usable!(but it is a gas hog!) Like I said, just a little FYI for you.

07-02-2009, 02:35 AM	#27 (permalink)
Mace Canute Bronze Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 95	Re: tractor life span? This has nothing to do with the OP question of what the realistic life span of a compact tractor is, just a little FYI....I own 3 John Deere tractors I keep on a friends acreage. One is a "70" and one is an "R" and the last is a "3010" with a 148 FEL. The hour meters long ago quit working so it's anybody's guess as to actual hours on them. The 3010 is the newest of the bunch as they were made from 1961 to 1963. 70s were made from 1953 to 1956 and Rs were made from 1949 to 1954. They needed some tender loving care when I bought them, but together, my friend and I got them running and running well and he uses them all for various work. The R is tremendously economical to run and the 3010 is still one of the nicer tractors to drive. These tractors have LOTS of hours on them and their biggest downfall was the lack of proper maintenance that was done on them by previous owners. Little problems can become big problems, eh? These tractors were built when quality wasn't just a buzz word and by many of todays manufactures standards,they were over built as far as strength of the castings, etc, goes. I have no doubt these old beasts will run for DOZENS of years more with a little maintenance. My buddy has 3 old "D" tractors and 2 run... one is a 1929 model and the other one actually is quite usable!(but it is a gas hog!) Like I said, just a little FYI for you.