Farmwithjunk said:
It's always good to hear everyones opinions, but opinions must be regarded not as "fact".
Ah but there is the rub because some facts are wrongly dismissed as opinion. Take for example these photos, it shows a tractor with loyal fans here on TBN (and I will not mention the brand, I blocked out the name in the photos) I've pointed some things out in the past and been "flamed" for pointing out what is in these photos.
Photo 1: The tractor has the rear remotes and the lever is actually UNDER your right leg so you have to move your leg to operate the remotes. That is fact. It is opinion that it is bad ergonomics.
ALSO in Photo 1: Also, the tractor has no rubber mats or flat floor. For a tractor this size that is sold as a full featured tractor this is surprising. That is opinion. Fact is that the floor will scratch and rust and the large hump will get in your way. This is a large tractor for its power range, about 30hp, I know of only one or two other tractors this physical size without a flat floor.
Photo 2: This is sold as a 39hp deluxe tractor with HST. OK now here I hit one of my major pet peeves! When a loader is installed, these tractors become ONE SIDE entry/exit machines. You can see my hand in one of the photos, my hand measures roughly 8" across, which illustrates that there is no room to exit from the right of the tractor. It is fact that you cannot exit/enter from the right side. It is opinion that this is bad design.
Photo 3: This is the same tractor again, you can see the "stout" (that is how it was described by the sales guy) loader valve mount. To me it is a "mess". Both are opinions. Fact is the hoses are exposed to tree limbs or other things that can snag it.
Photos 2 & 3 will illustrate the next points. The loader control valve is also set in an awkward place (that is Opinion). Most loader controls that I have used, whether fender mounted or loader mounted, have the end of the loader control stalk/lever roughly in line and to the right side of the center hub of the steering wheel (that is fact). This one was well behind the center of the steering wheel, in fact it was in line with an imaginary line that would run from the bottom plane of the steering wheel (that is fact). It seemed too far back to me (that is opinion). Again, that is just my opinionated view. You can see how far behind the center of the steering column the loader is located in the first picture. In these pictures also look at the placement of the throttle control. With the throttle pulled back, it could come into contact with someone's leg who had the drivers seat pulled forward (that is fact), but it is my opinon that it is also a bad design.
Photo 4: This shows a very lightly built bucket (fact). The tractor claims to have lots of capacity (fact). My opinion is that the bucket is too lightly built and will be damaged far too easily given the size of the tractor and the claimed capacity. My opinion is that the top of the bucket should have some reinforcement instead of a simple 60-degree fold. My opinion is that the bucket top will collapse if bucket hooks are welded to it and a heavy load is lifted (again the tractor is rated to lift heavy loads). Fact is the bucket come standard with a QA system. Opinion is the QA system is roughly made poorly finished, but it will probably provide a long service life, even if it is not the smoothest to operate.
I could post more photos of these tractors as I did make a pretty complete review of them. I walked away less than impressed (opinion) because these tractors, while brand new, had the ergonomics that were roughly equivalent to a 1985 to 1995 tractor (that is fact). They had decent fit & finish (fact) but they were not up to the design standards of some other brands (opinion & fact). They were feature filled and low price relative to some other brands (fact & fact). Were they worth the low price? It depends on if you are willing to give up some things (and that is where the ultimate opinion of the buyer come into play).
So what I am trying to illustrate is that often FACTS and OPINIONS become intertwined. And things that ONE person sees are not always seen by another person.
