UncleBubba63
New member
- Joined
- Jul 4, 2007
- Messages
- 8
After months of reading, searching, pricing, browsing, talking, etc... I finally decided on a tractor and took the plunge. I lost track weeks ago the number of tractors I compared, test drove, and almost bought.
In the end, I decided on a new JD 990, 4wd w/ loader and I couldn't be happier. All the time and research paid off. I made a good deal on a great tractor.
The interesting thing to me is that of all the tractors that almost made it home with me, the JD 990 was the one that seemed to be very difficult to find any (truly helpful) information on... A post here and there by a couple satisfied owners (or potential owners) and a bunch of stuff copied from the JD website. Nothing that really helped to sway me.
Really frustrating was trying to find prices. For some reason most of the websites do not advertise the price. it was hard to determine if I was getting a good deal on the 990 and the implements.
So, now that I actually own the 990 and have put several hours of work in, I would like to (hopefully) provide a post that is helpful to potential 990 buyers.
First, COST... here is what I paid for mine:
JD990 - $15896.00
300CX Loader - $3300.00
and for fun:
Frontier 6ft Heavy Duty Box Blade: $775
Squealer (SQ720) Bush Hog w/ slip clutch - $1295
From what I can tell, these are very good prices.
Second, Performance.
I have 40 acres. About 4 acres is my yard, about 2 acres in wild life food plots, about 3 acres in a hay field, 2 acres in fruit trees, and the rest in timber.
So far I have used my tractor to mow, tear out an old orchard, clear some badly grown up areas, pull out some stumps, mow down saplings, grade out the driveway, do some landscaping, pile up trees for burning, and a few other things.
In all of these, the tractor has performed tremendously. The Yanmar engine is quite strong and not an issue.... when mowing, it only bogged down when I hit a huge ant bed. Two inch saplings were a breeze, but a two foot ant bed was a challenge. Understandable.
The loader is taking some time to get used to, but so far I have enjoyed having it and would not buy any tractor without one. It is extremely useful and versatile. The Bush Hog and the Box Blade are really sturdy, rugged, and even I am going to have a hard time tearing those two up.
All in all, this is a very fine tractor and set up. I was worried that I would buy the tractor and find that I should have bought something a little bigger with a little more HP... well, not an issue any more. I cannot think of a single thing that I would want to do around here that this tractor cannot do. Bottom line: it is more than enough tractor for a non-commercial user.
The only thing I have found that I would like to see different is:
1. A step to get up on the right side of the tractor too.
2. some kind of electrical device that would keep the barn cats off my tractor! kidding of course.
Other than that, I am very, very satisfied. I am very glad I got the four wheel drive... you should get that too. Don't fret that the engine is a Yanmar... it is not an issue. You do not need to fill the tires with water or buy wheel weights, the tractor is well balanced and weight is good.
Oh yeah... to achieve 540 rpm on the PTO, the tractor has to run up to 2600 rpms on the engine. That seems high to me. But, it is not a big deal... the engine can easily handle that and water temp stays way down... just seems like that would burn more fuel that necessary... heck, i don't know... just my two cents.
Well, I hope this post helps someone considering a JD 990. Please feel free to contact me if you have any specific questions.
Have a great day and enjoy your tractor or your search for one.
God bless,
Bubba
In the end, I decided on a new JD 990, 4wd w/ loader and I couldn't be happier. All the time and research paid off. I made a good deal on a great tractor.
The interesting thing to me is that of all the tractors that almost made it home with me, the JD 990 was the one that seemed to be very difficult to find any (truly helpful) information on... A post here and there by a couple satisfied owners (or potential owners) and a bunch of stuff copied from the JD website. Nothing that really helped to sway me.
Really frustrating was trying to find prices. For some reason most of the websites do not advertise the price. it was hard to determine if I was getting a good deal on the 990 and the implements.
So, now that I actually own the 990 and have put several hours of work in, I would like to (hopefully) provide a post that is helpful to potential 990 buyers.
First, COST... here is what I paid for mine:
JD990 - $15896.00
300CX Loader - $3300.00
and for fun:
Frontier 6ft Heavy Duty Box Blade: $775
Squealer (SQ720) Bush Hog w/ slip clutch - $1295
From what I can tell, these are very good prices.
Second, Performance.
I have 40 acres. About 4 acres is my yard, about 2 acres in wild life food plots, about 3 acres in a hay field, 2 acres in fruit trees, and the rest in timber.
So far I have used my tractor to mow, tear out an old orchard, clear some badly grown up areas, pull out some stumps, mow down saplings, grade out the driveway, do some landscaping, pile up trees for burning, and a few other things.
In all of these, the tractor has performed tremendously. The Yanmar engine is quite strong and not an issue.... when mowing, it only bogged down when I hit a huge ant bed. Two inch saplings were a breeze, but a two foot ant bed was a challenge. Understandable.
The loader is taking some time to get used to, but so far I have enjoyed having it and would not buy any tractor without one. It is extremely useful and versatile. The Bush Hog and the Box Blade are really sturdy, rugged, and even I am going to have a hard time tearing those two up.
All in all, this is a very fine tractor and set up. I was worried that I would buy the tractor and find that I should have bought something a little bigger with a little more HP... well, not an issue any more. I cannot think of a single thing that I would want to do around here that this tractor cannot do. Bottom line: it is more than enough tractor for a non-commercial user.
The only thing I have found that I would like to see different is:
1. A step to get up on the right side of the tractor too.
2. some kind of electrical device that would keep the barn cats off my tractor! kidding of course.
Other than that, I am very, very satisfied. I am very glad I got the four wheel drive... you should get that too. Don't fret that the engine is a Yanmar... it is not an issue. You do not need to fill the tires with water or buy wheel weights, the tractor is well balanced and weight is good.
Oh yeah... to achieve 540 rpm on the PTO, the tractor has to run up to 2600 rpms on the engine. That seems high to me. But, it is not a big deal... the engine can easily handle that and water temp stays way down... just seems like that would burn more fuel that necessary... heck, i don't know... just my two cents.
Well, I hope this post helps someone considering a JD 990. Please feel free to contact me if you have any specific questions.
Have a great day and enjoy your tractor or your search for one.
God bless,
Bubba
! Use it well and safely 
