anyone have opinions on Branson Tractors?

[larryjhall]

If it is of any value still to anyone: I purchased a Branson 3510i with a Backhoe and Loader in 2008. It is a very sturdy, reliable and heavy duty Machine for the price I paid. I had my heart set on a John Deere but the dealer I went to treated me like dirt and ignored my needs. I drove off with my perception and my money. Next I went straight to the Kubota dealer, but he refused to deal and was over- priced on everything I wanted. I went back home and did research and found a nearby Branson Dealer. He wanted my business and worked with me on my needs and price. I discovered you get more for the money with Branson. It has just a little more of everything over an equal Kubota , John Deere, Mahindra and many others regarding basic functions over all weight and features. Moreover, I am including in this claim the factory loader, its capacities and the backhoe capabilities. The loader and Backhoe are built by Amerequip. One main feature on the Branson is that it has two Hydraulic pumps (one for steering and one for attachments). I work the crap out of this tractor moving tree trunks, brush, clearing, digging huge pits, ponds, roads, and many other things. I never have used the PTO however. After plenty of experience on the machine it is-- so far so good for me. The only drawback I see thus far is Branson Dealers are dropping off like flies; the dealer I bought from has dropped Branson from their product line. There are still many out there and I can still get attention on parts that I Broke (my Fault). However, I have found Branson and Century parts are over-priced in comparison to other tractor brands. They force you to by more than you need and pay more for it. For this reason-- If I buy another Tractor, and I will, I am shying away from Branson. I will go look at New-Holland, Cub Cadet, Bobcat, and maybe Kubota again. John Deere can kiss my ---$%$%%.

 

[duke7595]

If it is of any value still to anyone: I purchased a Branson 3510i with a Backhoe and Loader in 2008. It is a very sturdy, reliable and heavy duty Machine for the price I paid. I had my heart set on a John Deere but the dealer I went to treated me like dirt and ignored my needs. I drove off with my perception and my money. Next I went straight to the Kubota dealer, but he refused to deal and was over- priced on everything I wanted. I we back home and did research and found a nearby Branson Dealer. He wanted my business and worked with me on my needs and price. I discovered you get more for the money Branson. It has just a little more of everything over an equal Kubota , John Deere, Mahindra and many others regarding basic functions over all weight and features. Moreover, I am including in this claim the factory loader, its capacities and the backhoe capabilities. The loader and Backhoe are built by Amerequip. One main feature on the Branson is that it has two Hydraulic pumps (one for steering and one for attachments). I work the crap out of this tractor moving tree trunks, brush, clearing, digging huge pits, ponds, roads, and many other things. I never have used the PTO however. After plenty of experience on the machine it is-- so far so good for me. The only drawback I see thus far is Branson Dealers are dropping off like flies; the dealer I bought from has dropped Branson from their product line. There are still many out there and I can still get attention on parts that I Broke (my Fault). However, I have found Branson and Century parts are over-priced in comparison to other tractor brands. They force you to by more than you need and pay more for it. For this reason-- If I buy another Tractoré*�nd I willæ‚* am shying away from Branson. I will go look at New-Holland, Cub Cadet, Bobcat, and maybe Kubota again. John Deere can kiss my ---$%$%%.

Long tractors were in my opinion, decently built , The company was in Romania, however, they were assembled, I think in N.C. .
They have been out of business for awhile, but parts are easy to get and cheaper than most.

Not happy to hear your experience w/ the J.D. dealer, I too wouldn't have bought a thing. Some people are just that way..
For me I don't have that problem all my J.D. tractors are older than a lot of people on this site. Funny thing I was repairing a fender from a 1020
I'm restoring and I compared it to a newer tractor, I think it was 2008 (what make) I won't say. Anyway the fender was bent from someone backing into
something, so I laid the fender on the concrete floor and put all 205 lbs of me down on it the to begin straightening, this thing wouldn't budge
the amount of steel in this JD fender could make at least 20 fenders of the 2008 I mentioned.

The old John Deer's are a remarkable tractor they are just so dang tough you can't hurt um if you stay within the parameters of common sense.
I think a lot of people destroy a tractor by not knowing it's limitations, you can't use a 40h.p. tractor when the job calls for at least a 70 h.p. tractor.
I have seen people twist loaders and even frames, rip off the draw bar and a lot more.

I once seen a guy w/ a brand new 40 h.p. tractor attempting to pull a very large off set disc, he had the tractor at full throttle , he kept it up
util everything let go including the engine ,trans and rear end, the tractor had 20 hours on it and the dealer refused to honor the warranty
rightfully so. I finished the field for him w/ my J.D. 4020 power-shift it pulled the disc without a grunt, it;s also a 99 h.p tractor made for this type of work.

For the price of a brand new tractor a person can buy 3 older John Deer's and never have to worry about parts availability or changing implements again,
that's the point I'm making, but of course this is not for most people, you have got to love these old tractors and enjoy operating them.
I restore mine, however, I also use most of them as well, not all of them, some are for looking at and driving in parades and such..

 

[fieldman12]

One other point you may not be aware of, there was a man named John Deere who invented a steel plow.
That plow helped open the great prairie land of our country and was instrumental in building this great nation, I don't think any Korean tractors
were there.

When you buy American you also buy a piece of that heritage.
As John Deere once stated "I will never put my name on a product that does not have in it the best that is in me."[/ QUOTE]

Actually John Deere was not the first inventor of the plow. The plow was in use when John Deere perfected the plow. The issue people where having was the plow had a rough texture and the moist soil would stick to the plow. John Deere made a plow out of an old saw blade and polished it smooth. The moist soil then would not stick to the plow blade. John Deere actually got the idea from a smooth needle in his moms sewing machine growing up. Tradition means allot to me. John Deere, Ih,Case,MF,White, Oliver,MM, Ford, farm equipment plowed the open prairies of this country. There is nothing wrong with any of the not so well known brands out there anymore but getting parts and especially resale can be a big issue. Over the years I have bought name brand tractors and kept them for 10 or 20 years and darn near got all my money back. I see people buying the less known brands and end up loosing 60 to 70 percent of there value. All the brands anymore including the name brands are much cheaper built all the way down to the quality of the metal. I love the old machine better than any new machine today.

 

[duke7595]

One other point you may not be aware of, there was a man named John Deere who invented a steel plow.
That plow helped open the great prairie land of our country and was instrumental in building this great nation, I don't think any Korean tractors
were there.

When you buy American you also buy a piece of that heritage.
As John Deere once stated "I will never put my name on a product that does not have in it the best that is in me."[/ QUOTE]

Actually John Deere was not the first inventor of the plow. The plow was in use when John Deere perfected the plow. The issue people where having was the plow had a rough texture and the moist soil would stick to the plow. John Deere made a plow out of an old saw blade and polished it smooth. The moist soil then would not stick to the plow blade. John Deere actually got the idea from a smooth needle in his moms sewing machine growing up. Tradition means allot to me. John Deere, Ih,Case,MF,White, Oliver,MM, Ford, farm equipment plowed the open prairies of this country. There is nothing wrong with any of the not so well known brands out there anymore but getting parts and especially resale can be a big issue. Over the years I have bought name brand tractors and kept them for 10 or 20 years and darn near got all my money back. I see people buying the less known brands and end up loosing 60 to 70 percent of there value. All the brands anymore including the name brands are much cheaper built all the way down to the quality of the metal. I love the old machine better than any new machine today.

Thanks for the history lesson regarding the plow, I found it very interesting. It's refreshing to know there are others who still have a warm
spot in their hearts for these old machines,

I find it amazing how well built the old tractors are , especially when you consider a 50 year old tractor can be taken out and
worked hard and it keeps ticking like a fine made watch.

If you compare the same tractor with one of the new one's 50 years from now, I would bet the new one would not even be there to compare, as it
probably had long rusted away, but the now 100 year old will be.

 

[fieldman12]

Thanks for the history lesson regarding the plow, I found it very interesting. It's refreshing to know there are others who still have a warm
spot in their hearts for these old machines,

I find it amazing how well built the old tractors are , especially when you consider a 50 year old tractor can be taken out and
worked hard and it keeps ticking like a fine made watch.

If you compare the same tractor with one of the new one's 50 years from now, I would bet the new one would not even be there to compare, as it
probably had long rusted away, but the now 100 year old will be.

People today don't use tractors under 100hp even close to as hard as they did years ago. Tractors back then where built from the ground up to pull and be built rugged to hold up to the harsh conditions on the farm. Todays tractos in the same catagory weight is a good 1,000lbs to 3,000 lbs less than the old machines stripped down. Some people say well just get weights for todays tractors but if you look them over side by side you can clearly see allot of the main components of the machine are lighter built and there is no way adding weights will fix that. I know when the John Deere 5400 tractors and down came out they where said to be built strictly for mowing for counties and so on. Most people today use there smaller tractors for light tillage, mowing, and haying and all the manufactures know that. I miss how they use to be built and even more I miss the american brands are not all built here.

 

[duke7595]

People today don't use tractors under 100hp even close to as hard as they did years ago. Tractors back then where built from the ground up to pull and be built rugged to hold up to the harsh conditions on the farm. Todays tractos in the same catagory weight is a good 1,000lbs to 3,000 lbs less than the old machines stripped down. Some people say well just get weights for todays tractors but if you look them over side by side you can clearly see allot of the main components of the machine are lighter built and there is no way adding weights will fix that. I know when the John Deere 5400 tractors and down came out they where said to be built strictly for mowing for counties and so on. Most people today use there smaller tractors for light tillage, mowing, and haying and all the manufactures know that. I miss how they use to be built and even more I miss the american brands are not all built here.

Agreed. That's why I only have the old ones, and they are a nice hobby. It's a good feeling to take one, and bring it back to the way it looked new.

 

[dpauly]

Bought a new 3120R w/FEL in Dec. 2011. Overall a pretty decent tractor, but Branson factory customer support SUCKS as far as I'm concerned. Had it back to the dealer once for repairs - took over a week as I recall to get parts, put them on and get tractor back to me. Currently, my tractor has been sitting in my yard for ALMOST 5 WEEKS NOW! for a broken fuel injector pump and (according to my dealer) all Branson can/will tell them is "part is on backorder." Is there any excuse in this day and age, with computers and almost instant delivery, for a company to operate if they plan to be around for the future? Even if they don't have the good sense to stock a particular part in their dealer supply net somewhere, wouldn't ya think they'd take one off the production line to get a customer up and running again? I've learned my lesson - I will pay the extra money and buy the John Deere, New Holland, Mahindra, or any other brand, so long as I can be assured the company takes customer support seriously. Buyer beware!

 

[LindenBruce]

Well, have you tried calling corporate? The dealer may have other issues and the request for your part may not be making it up the food chain. I would exhaust your options before blasting a brand on your first post. People have a tendency to not taking things seriously when a poster does this. B.

 

[dpauly]

Well, have you tried calling corporate? The dealer may have other issues and the request for your part may not be making it up the food chain. I would exhaust your options before blasting a brand on your first post. People have a tendency to not taking things seriously when a poster does this. B.

Apparently you didn't read my post thoroughly. My second sentence stated "Overall a pretty decent tractor", so I didn't just "blast a brand." I also related how this is the 2nd time the less than 2 year old tractor has had to go back for repairs. The 1st time, which took well over a week to get it back to me for what was a rather 'cheesy' repair, seemed excessive. (I sure wouldn't have been a happy camper were it a car, and bet most people would have felt the same.) And yes, I did "call corporate." But first, I sent an e mail to the address they advertise on their facebook page (which they didn't bother to reply to; nor even acknowledge. This is sorry customer service in anybody's book.) When I did call, I was connected to what sounded like just a low level employee who was really not that helpful and didn't hook me up with anyone "up the food chain." I have faith in my dealer - he stands to get the work (read money) when (if) the part ever does get there. 2 tractor dealers in my area have quit carrying Bransons in the past few years. I gotta think the lack of parts support - which puts the dealer in a bad light - was a big driver. (And if I were a current dealer, I'd darn sure be rattling Branson's cage, because this kind of 'support' causes customers to walk.) Sorry, Branson gives the impression of a complete lack of concern toward customers who've already purchased: much like certain phone or cable companies who seem only to care about the customer they haven't yet signed up.

 

[TSO]

This is an angry thread! Lol, jeez u guys.

I know some of you might love your 50 yr old green tractors, but the OP was asking about the newer Branson line. Doesn't really make much sense to bash all these "foreign" tractors, especially when your beloved green compact tractors are mostly built abroad, especially by Yanmar in Japan (that's the common consensus on this forum anyhow).

I can appreciate the American pride angle in buying an older tractor. But for the vast majority of tractor shoppers now, while heavier built, they aren't as versatile as the NEW stuff.

It's a world economy folks, act accordingly.