What Tractor

[NewCountryBoy]

Hi. I just found this site and it looks great. I have been trying to get information about the tractors. My wife and I recently purchased 5+ acres in Central Oklahoma. I grew up out in the country and moved to the city when I went to school. I am back out in the country and am lost. I need to mow the lawn, it will all be finished cut, I believe. We do have one horse that we will be finally keeping at our property, with the plans to get another. I don't want to spend a lot of money on a tractor. We have a wonderful neighbor that is willing to move our round bales right now, although I don't want to rely on him for ever. Based upon this, I have a couple of questions. I would like to be able to mow now and haul a trailer, etc.
1. Should I start off with a center mounted lawn mower or a larger tractor?
2. Depending on that answer, are there any recommendations as to what to look for. I have purchased several books but I am looking for real life answers.

Brett

 

[flusher]

Hi. I just found this site and it looks great. I have been trying to get information about the tractors. My wife and I recently purchased 5+ acres in Central Oklahoma. I grew up out in the country and moved to the city when I went to school. I am back out in the country and am lost. I need to mow the lawn, it will all be finished cut, I believe. We do have one horse that we will be finally keeping at our property, with the plans to get another. I don't want to spend a lot of money on a tractor. We have a wonderful neighbor that is willing to move our round bales right now, although I don't want to rely on him for ever. Based upon this, I have a couple of questions. I would like to be able to mow now and haul a trailer, etc.
1. Should I start off with a center mounted lawn mower or a larger tractor?
2. Depending on that answer, are there any recommendations as to what to look for. I have purchased several books but I am looking for real life answers.

Brett

Since you don't want to spend a lot, think about a used tractor. You could get a Ford 8N gasser for $2-3K (lot of them around, parts are not hard to find) and mow with a $1400 finish mower

CountyLine Rear Discharge Finish Mower, 5 ft. - 2120547 | Tractor Supply Company

Center mount mowers on tractors like the Kubota B7510HST that I once owned cost at least $3K.

Two of my neighbor have 8Ns and they are handy little tractors.
For moving bales, there are 3pt hitch fork carry all attachments for that work.

New Page 1

Also 3pt bale spears are available

Washburn Company & hayspear.com Three point implements and 3 pt attachments

If you're into welding, these are easy fabrication projects.

 

[Diamondpilot]

I agree. Get a 8N but get a good one. This means no junk. Spend $3000 and get one that has been gone though. It will save you money in the end. A 6 foot finish mower, 6' rear grader blade, and a 3 point bale spear and you can do most anything in OK since you are fairly flat and very little if any snow.

Chris

 

[Specop_007]

I was in a similar position earlier this year. On my fathers farm we have a MF 35 delux that just didnt run. You could pull start it and it might start and idle but that was about it.

I looked at new options and to get anywhere near what that '35 had in terms of HP it was going to set me back around $15k or more.

I took that old tractor to a mechanic I knew and for a touch over a $1000 it now runs better than it ever has. Its still not perfect, the rear seal has a small leak but he did valves, carb, filters, replaced a broken manifold and water pump, points and plugs and a few other things. It RUNS now.

The point of this little story is this. You can spend 15 or 20k now and get something shiny new that does everything you would want. Or you can shop around a little, get something old and used for 2-4k, put another 500-2k in it in repair and for around 5k have a tractor that will do everything the new one would have. And really you might find a used one that doesnt need any work..... the difference between 3k and 15k buy a LOT of implements.

 

[NewCountryBoy]

Thanks for the response. Now I know what kind I should look for. As for a "good" tractor, what specifically should I be looking for. I am assuming I don't want somethign that smokes and that sounds normal. I am not a mechanic but enjoy working on cars. I think I could I could also enjoy tractors but I haven't tried yet. I know they are different. What kind of things should I be leary of when I go to look at them.

 

[Aqualize]

Thanks for the response. Now I know what kind I should look for. As for a "good" tractor, what specifically should I be looking for. I am assuming I don't want somethign that smokes and that sounds normal. I am not a mechanic but enjoy working on cars. I think I could I could also enjoy tractors but I haven't tried yet. I know they are different. What kind of things should I be leary of when I go to look at them.

Look for the expensive stuff and hard to repair. E.g. the clutch, you have to divide the tractor in two to change it. Granted, these tractors are not so hard to divide as new ones but still.
Hydraulic pump is also important. I don't know how a Ford 8N is constructed but if it is any similar to a Ferguson TE20/MF35 the hydraulic pump is located in the transmission housing under the seat. That way you can't see if it is leaking so you have to test the hydraulics and preferable with a load on. Other manufacturers (like the Swedish one I'm used to, BM Volvo) have a separate hydraulic system (oil not shared with transmission) and the hydraulic pump is located beside the engine and powered via the fan belt, hence easy to change.

If you are into buying a old tractor and you know the specific model the forums at Yesterday's tractors can be a good read. Also there is a section here on tractorbynet for vintage tractors.

I bought myself a good book, How To Restore Classic Farm Tractors. I found that google books have it scanned so you can have a look at page 23 ("evaluating a running tractor") and 28 (continuation and "negotiating a price").

edit: Google books didn't have the whole book but a big preview that thankfully contained the pages I wanted to share.

 

[Aqualize]

[...] I would like to be able to mow now and haul a trailer, etc.
1. Should I start off with a center mounted lawn mower or a larger tractor?
[...]

So you mean to mow the 5+ acres of pasture? Or the garden? For pasture ("open fields") I recommend a mower in the 3pt hitch and a larger tractor. Center-mounted lawn mowers works good for gardens where objects has to be avoided and a "big" (think Ford 8N etc.) tractor won't fit (of course front mounted lawn mowers with steering wheels at the back is the best but overkill for small gardens).
But considering you want to haul round bales with a trailer/wagon I definitely think you should buy an older agricultural tractor of a smaller size, with good brakes, I wouldn't be afraid of buy something a bit younger than the 8N, something late 50s, early 60s. You would then get more gears to choose on.

If you don't need to load/unload the bales from a wagon the 3 point hitch bales are excellent for moving bales around the property. Much better than using a FEL for these old tractors, they are meant to be carrying things on the rear axle. Plus it's easier to maneuver around (because it works like a forklift). But get one with 2 (long) or 3 (one long and two short) spears. There are those with only one spear but you can get a problem if the bales aren't very compact they will not loose contact with the ground directly while you start raising the spear plus that you perhaps hadn't hit the exact center of gravity, so the bale rotates a bit on the spear and takes even more raising of the spear before it looses contact with the ground. All this results in a not so good ground clearance.
I have not any specific experience with these but I would guess the 2 spear solution (2 long spears placed very low) is the best as even loose (not hard compacted) bales will loose contact with the ground directly when the spears raises.

 

[NewCountryBoy]

We have about .75 acre around the house that is treed and will need mowing. After looking at it last night, it looks like with all the trees, I will need a smaller mower, probably a little push mower. I am looking at mowing the back acres which is probably 4+.
This might be a stupid question but can you add a FEL to an older tractor or do you need it to be installed on it from the factory? Are the finishing mowers relatively easy to manevure?

 

[Aqualize]

I agree, get some other machine for mowing the lawn around the house.

Yes you can add FELs later but need to consider a few things.
First problem is getting a mounting kit for your specific tractor, as you probably is looking for a used FEL there can be a problem to find the right one. These things can be constructing relatively easy if one can is good at welding, drilling holes etc. in metal. But easies is to find a FEL that has been on the specific model of tractor, or to know that it will fit (the mounting kits can perhaps fit tractors from different brands, but finding this out is the hard part).
Next things is the hydraulics. You need a tractor where external hydraulics is possible (I'm writing this as I don't know if tractors like Ford 8N has it) and then buy a hydraulic valve package (if not included with the FEL).
For a first-timer this can take time and I would look for a tractor with FEL already. But if you are planning to buy a used tractor in fairly good condition and spend a little extra in a tractor repair shop they could probably easily mount and install the FEL.

Edit: I'm writing this with small agricultural tractors in mind. I don't know (but would expect) the same holds for more modern CUTs.

 

[Diamondpilot]

Biggest issue on old tractors and FEL's is no power steering. Very tough to steer with a load in the bucket. If you are looking for a cheap good tough simple tractor look at a Jinma 284. Same size and HP as a 8N but 4x4, just as simple but diesel with good hydros. I have one and have been very pleased. Bought it new with a FEL for under 10K.

Here is a pic of mine with my plow on in place of the the bucket on the FEL.

Chris