HARD DECISION

[Travis_R]

I thought that a 7' would be too much. I already have a 5' King Kutter bush hog- that is in very, very good shape. Almost excellent shape. It has paid for itself, so I think I am gonna just keep using it for a while, then sell it later on and go buy a 6'.

Yes, my truck is a 2004 Chevrolet 1500 Silverado 1/2 ton ex-cab 4- door. My trailer does not have brakes on it... From what I've read, the 231 weighs 4,065 lbs. I have (2) 3500# axles on my 16' flat bed trailer, which equals 7000 lbs. I don't know how much the trailer weighs. It is a 1986 Tebar (sp??). My truck can handle it, but I have to be very careful. Especially if I get caught in the rain.

Thanks,
Travis R

 

[john_bud]

No trailer brakes at all? YIKES!!

That is no fun. My 23' boat rusted the surge brake lines and failed in traffic. 1 ton 454 suburban did not like stopping the boat! Your truck won't like stopping that load either. Be careful!

jb

 

[Travis_R]

Yeah, my uncle is going with me. He'll help along the way. It'll be interstate just about the whole way.

Travis R

**PS.........I am extremely excited. I didn't go to bed last night til' alittle after 2:00 am. I had to get up at 4:45 am to go to work. This is gonna be one h-e-double L of a LONG week!!!!

 

[Keith_B]

HOW DOES THIS SOUND?

1998 Massey Ferguson 231, very good condition, w/ canopy, 485 hrs., fresh oil change, new 2 month old battery w/ receipt, one remote hydraulic, vertical exhaust, black spring suspension seat (not the old grey "pan" style), $8000.00

Man said that if he cleaned it up, it would look as good as a new one on the lot.

I am going to look at it Friday or Saturday. It is about 5 hrs. away. I am bringing my trailer, so you know what that means!

ALSO, i could buy a used 7' Woods bush hog from him for $800.00. He said it was in good condition and comes with an extra set of blades.

WHAT DO YA'LL THINK?

Travis R

I think Farmwithjunk would love the tractor, because the hydraulics are just that, JUNK.

Do yourself a favor and ask yourself why a '98 Massey 231 is commonly found for well under $10K; when any other major brand tractor of that size and make is much higher priced. The reason is that this economy Massey has been plagued with problems, most notably weak hydraulics and steering problems. In '99 MF came out with a new 231, the 231S, but it has some of the same problems, just has a bigger Perkins engine in it, and is made in Turkey instead of Poland.

Here is a review of the 231S http://www.tractorbynet.com/cgi-bin/reviews/reviews.pl/reviews/75

I know a lot of people that bought the 231 new, and they are now using 60's and 70's model Masseys, Fords, IHs, etc.

Masseys in general are very good tractors, but not that particular model.

Here is an excerpt from a post of Travis's on the MF board here at TBN: http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/massey-ferguson/103616-massey-ferguson.html?highlight=231

My uncle has a 97' Massey Ferguson 231. The hydraulics barely work, but if you saw the looks of the tractor you would be amazed that the hydraulics even worked at all!

The hydraulics on the 231 are rated somewhere between 3.3 and 4 gpm. They are so low that some dealers didn't list the rate: Brewer Tractor Sales - Massey Ferguson, Bush Hog, Arctic Cat, Gehl, Krone, Tye, Quicke

That is a common theme with the 231, it was when I considered buying one several years ago, it is today, and it will be in the future. The "it's a Massey so it has to be good" logic doesn't hold true with the 231.

There are a lot of good Masseys, the 231 is not one of them.

 

[Oleozz]

The seat is a winner, those pan seats were hard on the back and the rear. My Ferguson 30 had a pan seat and after a day of mowing you were ready for a comfortable chair . Sounds like you have a good prospect with the low hours on that machine.

 

[Keith_B]

I thought that a 7' would be too much. I already have a 5' King Kutter bush hog- that is in very, very good shape. Almost excellent shape. It has paid for itself, so I think I am gonna just keep using it for a while, then sell it later on and go buy a 6'.

That sounds like a good plan. If you get into some heavy duty cutting the five may be just the ticket anyway.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

I think Farmwithjunk would love the tractor, because the hydraulics are just that, JUNK.

Do yourself a favor and ask yourself why a '98 Massey 231 is commonly found for well under $10K; when any other major brand tractor of that size and make is much higher priced. The reason is that this economy Massey has been plagued with problems, most notably weak hydraulics and steering problems. In '99 MF came out with a new 231, the 231S, but it has some of the same problems, just has a bigger Perkins engine in it, and is made in Turkey instead of Poland.

Here is a review of the 231S http://www.tractorbynet.com/cgi-bin/reviews/reviews.pl/reviews/75

I know a lot of people that bought the 231 new, and they are now using 60's and 70's model Masseys, Fords, IHs, etc.

Masseys in general are very good tractors, but not that particular model.

Here is an excerpt from a post of Travis's on the MF board here at TBN: http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/massey-ferguson/103616-massey-ferguson.html?highlight=231

My uncle has a 97' Massey Ferguson 231. The hydraulics barely work, but if you saw the looks of the tractor you would be amazed that the hydraulics even worked at all!

The hydraulics on the 231 are rated somewhere between 3.3 and 4 gpm. They are so low that some dealers didn't list the rate: Brewer Tractor Sales - Massey Ferguson, Bush Hog, Arctic Cat, Gehl, Krone, Tye, Quicke

That is a common theme with the 231, it was when I considered buying one several years ago, it is today, and it will be in the future. The "it's a Massey so it has to be good" logic doesn't hold true with the 231.

There are a lot of good Masseys, the 231 is not one of them.

All the proof we need that you don't have to know squat to learn to type!