A List of Basic No Frills Tractors

[fieldman12]

I would stick with any of the name brands such as Massey Ferguson,Deere, New Holland/Case IH,Kubota. Some of the not well known brands I would consider is Kioti and Mahindra. I know guys that have bought some of the no name tractors in the past and could not hardly give them away a couple years later. They would get way less than half what they paid for them. The name brands you get about what you paid for them in most cases.

 

[Catfish Man]

The Massey Ferguson 2600 series is comparable to the NH workmasters in price and features.

2605, 2615, 2635

I have a 2615 if you have any specific questions.

Be aware that if you come here and ask about different types of canoes there will be some people that recommend an aircraft carrier.

 

[Ted Summey]

The Kubota MX4700 and MX5100 with the gear transmission in 2 wheel drive are about as basic as they come. I understand your basic tractor idea. Functional, simple and reliable with less to go wrong. All manufacturers will have something similar. Sticking with major brands is good advice.

 

[TripleR]

It might help to know what size you are looking at and your intended uses. Also many of us have a different idea of what constitutes "basic", to some a synchronized shuttle shift is a luxury and to others it's "basic".

I tend to be one of those guys who recommend an aircraft carrier when asked about a boat, but I have several "basic" tractors I can no longer use. Age, arthritis, etc. can sure become a factor, so many of us who have been down that road feel it best to throw that in.

 

[Buckgnarly]

Look into the DS series of Kiotis. My DS3510 is a no frills tractor and I would not trade it for anything. My idea of no frills is no unneeded plastic trim/floor/crap, gear trans, manual everything (no push button PTO/4WD/etc), and nothing I can't add later like remotes. If that is waht you consider no frills, look into them!

 

[Robert_in_NY]

Case-IH has the Farmall A series which is a great line of tractors. Priced very affordably and no electronics. I have a 45A and it is great. It was exactly what I was looking for.

I also have a decked out Kubota but that tractor serves a different purpose. The basic, bare bone tractors tend to be a great value if you want a new tractor but can't justify one with all the bells and whistles. I paid around $4k more for a brand new Farmall 45A then what it would have cost me to buy a used Ford/NH 3930 to do the exact same jobs. I needed a simple, open station tractor to mount a post pounder to the middle of it. I didn't need anything fancy or a 32 speed transmission (although the Farmall does come with a shuttle standard), just a smiple tractor that would run reliably without a bunch of wires. It's main use is post pounding in the vineyard and pulling the tedder and rake during hay season. It has been my best buy out of everything I have ever bought so far. I like it so much I have been looking at buying a second one as well as its big brother the Farmall 95.

Most tractor brands have an economy line (what you call stripped down). I don't know all the different models just because they change so often but a quick call to your local dealers can be very helpful. I just talked to my JD dealer to see what they had similar to the Farmall 95 and he mentioned the John Deere 6D as a very similar setup and I plan to demo both units before I end up buying.

As for the guys questioning buying a stripped down new tractor please remember, a current new "stripped down" tractor is very comparable to most used tractors 10 years old and older. They just don't have the fancy electronics to change your direction and such. I have no problem suggesting a Farmall 45A or similar to a landowner who is in need of a tractor for simple property work like brush chopping and running a tiller for food plots. Why suggest a $40k Kubota like my M8540N when a $15k Farmall 45A would do the same job? Yeah, the Kubota has a cab and all sorts of electronics (which is why I bought that tractor) but I still prefer the Farmall over it for every other task other then spraying in the vineyard. That stripped down Farmall is just a fun tractor to operate.

I also agree with some of the others though, don't concentrate so much on price or limit yourself to an economy tractor. You need to factor in what your tasks are and make sure you buy something appropriate. What good is a new tractor if it isn't ideal for your main task.

 

[CompactTractorFan]

John Deere 3005/4005

About as basic as you can get.

 

[GManBart]

The name brands you get about what you paid for them in most cases.

That really depends. If you buy a New Holland Boomer, rather than the identical LS, you get to pay a bunch more, for the same machine. My LS would have cost over $8K more if it said NH on the side. $22K versus $30K for the same machine???? NH dealers have even said they would do warranty work on an LS if it was approved by LS, and the parts are the same (aside from the headlights and grill), so you have the same support backing you up as far as parts availability over time as if you bought a NH.

In reality, none of the big names other than Kubota are building their own machines until you get into truly large Ag machines, so there's a risk with any of them that the supplier might disappear, making parts availability difficult. With LS being owned by one of the largest companies in the world (LG), it's a pretty safe bet they aren't going anywhere.

Even further, when a tractor has a common engine and transmission, like the LS does, it means parts will be available for decades. Most of the other parts aren't particularly unique to any brand if they break....a hydraulic cylinder is a hydraulic cylinder, etc, etc. The whole "parts availability" issue is far overblown.

When you look at Kioti, the reality is they're making a lot of tractors for a lot of companies, and they're another one that isn't going anywhere.

The resale value issue is also overblown. We're not seeing LS, Kioti, or Mahindra tractors that are a couple of years old, being sold at a fraction of their original cost. One, they're all good machines, so people tend to keep them. Two, they start out at a lower price, so the typical depreciation is relative, and good ones get snapped up pretty quickly, but not at ridiculously low prices.

 

[Highsmith]

Thanks for the helpful responses. It saved me a lot of time.

 

[flusher]

Flusher,
That is a nice tractor for the money and a good choice imo. Enough weight to get something done along with the triple hydraullics on the rear. As you know already though the triple hydaulics isn't bare bones. You are in a location with nice weather to boot and a cooler climate in the summer, the OP is about 400 miles south in latitude and inland. Expect much higher temperatures there.

Cooler climate in the summer? Not here in the North Sacramento Valley. We have triple digit temps from June through late Sept. And 18" average annual rainfall.

The weatherman calls it a "Mediterranean climate", but as far as I'm concerned it's just darn hot for 4 months every year (like Missouri, my native land, but without the high humidity)

There's a range of 7000 ft mountains between me and the Pacific Ocean. Mediterranean climate--my dying a__.

Ten-four.