Ok, so whats the deal with the NorTrac tractors?

[coolreinfarm]

Well I bought a Nortrac 254 tractor 12 years ago still have it, it has the original battery, new fan belt and 1 hydraulic hose replaced. Money was very tight at that time and 8500 for a tractor and loader worked for me. The problem I see that people try to use them as bulldozers, digging basements, clearing woods etc. The loader is US made and works well. The downside is nobody works on them period. You have to keep it undercover out of the weather, the gauges and wiring are not weatherproof. The engine will not start in cold weather, has to be heated, I see they put a heater in the lower radiator hose. I bought a Kubota l3240 before I retired at 22000, big difference in the two but the Nortrac did everything I asked of it and I use it in the woods or digging post holes now.

 

[tomplum]

Interesting discussion. I would believe much of what is said in regards that you should plan on taking more ownership of repairs and maintenance. probably more so due to what is dealer support. I didn't buy my LS from an experienced dealer as there really wasn't one near. I don't mind twisting wrenches. Quality of these Northern tractors, I dunno. Let see what their idea of support is come Monday. We are in a world economy even though some have no idea if we really are, how we got there or if we should continue to be. Politics is strange.

One could take note of this statement."There are many Japanese and Korean car brands for sale in USA. None from China, though General Motors has the largest car market share in China." Volvo is a good example. It is owned by Geely, definitely a worldwide player in heavy industries based in China. The S60s we have here were the first to come from China , others have or will follow.

 

[Code54]

I do know around here the resale is terrible on Norrtrac or the off brands, Kubota and Deere is excellent.

 

[Oldpath05]

So i've been looking at the 45XT and the 55XT. These tractors are lower priced than the 30hp Kubota with a loader i was about to buy. I called Northern Tool last night at 11pm pacific time and right away got a hold of an American that spoke English. I was trying to figure out more info on how i can get one with a loader as they dont show them on the website. He told me to call the main customer service on Saturday. I called them and the guy told me how the whole process works. They are assembled and tested in Minnesota. The 45xt and 55xt are new tractors and so may not have all the implements listed on the website. He told me to call Nortracs main number on Monday 952-808-6697. The customer support already seems to be top notch. These guys were very helpful and I didnt expect to get ahold of anyone at 11pm on friday night but i did. Its good to see you can contact Nortrac directly instead of just a random associate for all of northern tool, so there's that.

I need to gather more info on monday, but it seems to me the downside of buying these tractors is mainly about getting repairs done. With a kubota you can just take it to the dealership to get it fixed (i assume) but im sure it would also be very expensive. With the amount of money you save on these tractors, you could buy an entire garage full of every tool you would need to work on these tractors. Personally, I dont like depending on mechanics to fix my stuff when i can learn how to do it myself. If you start fixing your stuff early, you will become a great mechanic in a few years and save yourself a ton of money.

I like that philosophy, an old fashion get-er done attitude. If I was like you I'd buy one as long as I could see it up close and try it out first, when I say try it out, that means bring the tractor up to full temp, then use it for half to one hour moving dirt etc.

 

[MossRoad]

That should tell you all you need to know.

That should tell him all he needs to know. I ain't buying one. Or a Deere, or a Kubota or a New Holland, or any "tractor" for that matter.... :laughing:

 

[freetrapper]

Nortrac, Jinma, Agri Pro, Farm Pro, Foton, plus a half a dozen more are manufactured by the same coumpany who also makes Mahindra, the parts are very available through a dozen places in the states and easy to work on if needed. I would say if you ask around you will find more than one place in your area who works on them if your not mechanicaly inclinded. As for my self I work on my own for the same reason I did not spend 25 thousand on a Kabota or Deere I can not afford being retired to spend that much on a tractor or give someone 25 or 30 dollars an hour for something as a mechanic I can do my self. Tractors I have found out are like trucks if you talk to one person it has to be a Dodge but the other guy won't have anything but a chevy and you will never sell a ford man on anything but a ford, you have to judge your own situation and do whats best for you.

 

[sd455dan]

I have been seeing Northern Tool (Northern Hydraulic) sell tractors under the Nortrac name for 20+ years. They haven't gone away. TBN folks own them. I've never seen one up close- but it reminds me of my Japanese made Shibaura New Holland. I thought it was American made at first. Nope foreign. - I once owned a Datsun - excellent car that became Nissan. I bought a Hyundhi back in the 1990's and have had 4 of them since. Terrific car. Korean made. Each time there were warnings against them. Parts, dealers, etc.

I bought my TC30 used. I couldn't see paying 8,000 more for a new LS (29hp) that had 600 fewer hours. Nortrack was in the running until I found my tractor on Craigslist. - I stayed away from the pricey green and orange tractors- nice as they looked.

Good luck.

Just checked out the new 55xt tractor the OP mentioned , and guess what engine powers the tractor - a turbo charged inter cooled Shibaura...
The tractor Looks like a Foton which is what has been mentioned replaced Jinma when they added the (XT) to the tractors model #s.
Looks like a nice machine , although they say in 1 part of the ad it has a 12 speed trans for forward and reverse and then list the tractor speeds in each gear and I only counted 8??.
The tractor weights seem all goofed up to. 6210lb for the cabbed tractor and 7983 for a bare tractor...
Other specs that just seem wrong are the front wheel tread width`of 49???? inches and a hydraulic system pump volume rating of 5.5 GPM???

Just guessing- but it sounds like someone entered the specs for a 30 hp tractor for some of the info.

 

[EddieWalker]

I've never seen one in person, but have seen their ads for sale in the Northern Tool catalog, and I've seen them for sale online used with very low hours for half of what they cost brand new.

My thought is there is a reason they are offered for sale used so cheap, and in my experience, everyone who buys something wants to sell it for as much as they can get for it. Selling that cheap tells me they cannot get very much for it. That also tells me there is a reason for selling cheap. I do not want to be the one to learn that lesson!!!

 

[bjr]

I've owned a JM354 Jinma for close to 15 years now and maybe have 3-4000 hrs on it. The only OEM parts I've bought was some wheel lug nuts and a power steering cylinder packing kit and engine fan and top and bottom cooling hoses and a thermostat. I bought basic tractor only NO front end loader. All my attachments are three point. Besides the added cost for the FEL attachment I had read too many stories of the bell housing/transission case breaking from the loader stressing that area of the tractor. I don't think these tractors were mean to go dig dirt with the FEL. If this is what you need to do then go buy a used construction machine and you stand a chance of doing work without a MAJOR break down. It sounds like your in a remote area, so I would suggest a used construction machine over a residential/farmete type tractor. I like my Jinma, but I understand it's limitations as well. I too do my own mechanic repair. bjr

 

[northernsierras]

I've never seen one in person, but have seen their ads for sale in the Northern Tool catalog, and I've seen them for sale online used with very low hours for half of what they cost brand new.

My thought is there is a reason they are offered for sale used so cheap, and in my experience, everyone who buys something wants to sell it for as much as they can get for it. Selling that cheap tells me they cannot get very much for it. That also tells me there is a reason for selling cheap. I do not want to be the one to learn that lesson!!!

I almost bought a used 25hp nortrac for 11k with 55hrs and a FL on it but the guy had sold it just before i could take a look at it. His ad was up for about a month in a non farming area on craigslist. Considering the same tractor new goes for 15k, i would say thats a pretty good sell considering it was a 2010 model. If you see any used nortracs for sale, please post a link, i'd be interested in what they're selling for.