whenley
New member
Hello All,
I live in Northern Virginia, have 10 acres of rolling hill. 8 of the acres are virgin woods which I am trying to thin and clear deadfall. I already have an old Ferguson TO20, which I have managed to keep running. It does pretty well dragging things out of the woods but a FEL would sure be nice. The FEL is the primary reason I want a new tractor. I will be doing a lot of dragging/pushing things around, and some minor excavating/digging.
I have looked at the Japanese tractors (Kub, Kioti, NH, etc) they are very nice but rather pricey.
I am getting serious about purchasing a Jinma 284. I recently visited Gary at Emerybuilt (Norfolk, VA) to check the tractor out.
Although he did not have a 284 with FEL on the lot, Gary was very helpful. I liked the simplicity of the Jinma, sort of a more modern TO20. Seems easy to get to things when you have to work on it. It is certainly heavier and more powerful than comparable Japanese tractors. I am pretty good mechanically so am not too worried about maintainence/upkeep.
I have two main questions for the group:
1) Is there enough experience with the Jinma shuttle shift to confidently say it is a trustworthy and worthwhile option? The 284 I saw at Emerybuilt had the shuttle. I sort of liked it. But it did feel a little spongy - I guess because it is cable operated. Not a positive engagement feel like a stickshift. I would appreciate any comments or experience with the Jinma shuttle shift option. Is it 'safe' to go with the shuttle shift option?
2) What is the feeling about loaders for the 284. Reading the forums and a link at Johns site, I see a bit of a consensus that the Koyker160 is 'better' than the standard Jinma ZL20 - but of course it costs $1000 more. I have had a hard time finding specs for the ZL20, but it seems the 160 has 800lbs more lift capability? that is quite a bit. Will the 284 handle that? Is it just a spec issue? Am I misreading? Is it of any realistic importance? I have never worked with a FEL.
Gary also mentioned the Accutech Loader, I have been able to find even less info on that.
Any comments on the various loader options would be welcome.
Thanks in advance.
This forum is great. Without it and the other internet resources - I would not even know about the Jinma/Chinese tractor options.
Worth in Virginia
I live in Northern Virginia, have 10 acres of rolling hill. 8 of the acres are virgin woods which I am trying to thin and clear deadfall. I already have an old Ferguson TO20, which I have managed to keep running. It does pretty well dragging things out of the woods but a FEL would sure be nice. The FEL is the primary reason I want a new tractor. I will be doing a lot of dragging/pushing things around, and some minor excavating/digging.
I have looked at the Japanese tractors (Kub, Kioti, NH, etc) they are very nice but rather pricey.
I am getting serious about purchasing a Jinma 284. I recently visited Gary at Emerybuilt (Norfolk, VA) to check the tractor out.
Although he did not have a 284 with FEL on the lot, Gary was very helpful. I liked the simplicity of the Jinma, sort of a more modern TO20. Seems easy to get to things when you have to work on it. It is certainly heavier and more powerful than comparable Japanese tractors. I am pretty good mechanically so am not too worried about maintainence/upkeep.
I have two main questions for the group:
1) Is there enough experience with the Jinma shuttle shift to confidently say it is a trustworthy and worthwhile option? The 284 I saw at Emerybuilt had the shuttle. I sort of liked it. But it did feel a little spongy - I guess because it is cable operated. Not a positive engagement feel like a stickshift. I would appreciate any comments or experience with the Jinma shuttle shift option. Is it 'safe' to go with the shuttle shift option?
2) What is the feeling about loaders for the 284. Reading the forums and a link at Johns site, I see a bit of a consensus that the Koyker160 is 'better' than the standard Jinma ZL20 - but of course it costs $1000 more. I have had a hard time finding specs for the ZL20, but it seems the 160 has 800lbs more lift capability? that is quite a bit. Will the 284 handle that? Is it just a spec issue? Am I misreading? Is it of any realistic importance? I have never worked with a FEL.
Gary also mentioned the Accutech Loader, I have been able to find even less info on that.
Any comments on the various loader options would be welcome.
Thanks in advance.
This forum is great. Without it and the other internet resources - I would not even know about the Jinma/Chinese tractor options.
Worth in Virginia