Help me price check a DB 995 tractor loader snowblower.

[JMRtbay]

Good day folks!

I’ve been tractor shopping for a little while to assist in developing my 150 acres of bush. Have priced out new Kubota’s but that’s not going to work out.

Primary uses are going to be snow removal of approx 1600’ of drive, driveway building and maintenance, moving brush piles, loading a sawmill in the future and various other tasks such as brush clearing, rototilling etc.

I’ve already got an early 90’s 30ton cat excavator and a 1950’s tandem axle dump truck.

I found this David Brown 995 tractor loader with a luck now snowblower. It’s not local but the seller has send me a few videos and everything seems to function as it should. It’s listed at $7000 CAD which is equivalent to around $5550 USD. This price seems fairly reasonable considering the blower would be valued at about $2500 around here.


It’s located a fair distance away and if I make the drive to see it, it would be to buy it. I’ve got very limited options in close proximity.

Thoughts??

 

[groundcover]

I think I would hold out for a four wheel drive .

 

[JMRtbay]

I think I would hold out for a four wheel drive .

I’d love to! Anything 4wd is 10k+. Most are over 20k.

I’m curious if I could do most of what I need with a good set of tire chains and lots of ballast?

 

[rScotty]

I’d love to! Anything 4wd is 10k+. Most are over 20k.

I’m curious if I could do most of what I need with a good set of tire chains and lots of ballast?

Yes of course you can do most everything with tire chains. I made up some good ones and ran them all winter.....Used that rig for about 20 years in the mountains. The tractor was/is a 4 speed JD model 530. 33hp/6000 lb tractor with a similar loader. The trick to chains is to make them with X in the center so that they don't drop between the lugs too much.... and to cut and fit until they fit right and don't need any rubber tensioners to take up slack. It usually takes a season before I like the way they fit. To get started I buy a used set or three of old school bus chains that are close and then make them up from there.

In fact, 2wd with chains will usually give you a lot more traction than 4wd - particularly since most every tractor has a foot pedal lock for the rear differential. But be careful with the diff lock. Only engage when stationary & rocking the tractor back and forth. NEVER WHEN MOVING! Otherwise you can break the planetary. All the diff lock is is a pin that slides in and locks the gear to the shaft. Bang!

That is a medium heavy tractor with a loader and something on the 3pt I would be surprised if it needed - or wanted - any additional ballast. I'd try it first without. The problem with chains plus ballast is both bring you closer to the breaking stress on some transmission pieces.

You'll want power steering for the warmer months of loader work. In the snow most steering is done with the wheel brakes - so you want both a decent power steering and also decent brakes. Be sure to ask, as those are weak points on most outdoor tractors.

The other thing I would check is the PTO shaft. Hopefully it is the independent type with its own engagement lever and dedicated clutch. You want good shaft protection too - another experienced guy got killed this year when his shirt sleeve got wound up. Lets not make it two....

Just looked the DB995b up online:
TractorData.com David Brown 995 tractor information

It looks Look fine. A little lighter than I expected. But the Brits were still making things to be used and repaired forever back then. Lets see. It's British of course. I bet it leaks oil and has electrical problems.... neither fatally.

I'd see how she starts cold and how she runs and hopefully not bad noises....and if so then for that price I'd probably do it. But then older mechanical equipment doesn't scare me. And at least part of that reason is because things don't rust away here in the arid western US. My dump truck is a 1952 Chevy with side dump. It's just fine.

Oh, I thought of one more thing. Sometimes those loaders got mounted just to the front of the motor and the bell housing. That caused some tractors to break in the middle. Hopefully it has a sub-frame stretching from the front of the motor to the rear casting .... or something similar to spread out the stress so it isn't just straight onto the bell housing.

rScotty

 

[JMRtbay]

This was a 0* C (32f) cold start. Smokey as expected but seems to fire relatively quickly.

https://imgur.com/V8PUAA4

 

[JMRtbay]

Also, what would you folks estimate its weight as it sits with the loader and snowblower? The seller states the tires are loaded.

Specs show the base tractor weight of around 5000lbs.

 

[rScotty]

Well shucks. It's an old, old tractor. It smokes and leaks everywhere and clearly has electrical issues - wires hanging on fenders and missing bolts on dash cover. Clutch is grabby.
From the smoke and sound I'm guessing it is down on compression, but if you can keep it warm enough to start it may run about how it does until you are tired of dealing with it.

I'm not convinced that the loader uprights are supported right. Check carefully for bell housing cracks. The 3 pt lifts OK. Will it stay up for ten minutes? That ol tractor looks to have been used hard by the kind of backyard fixit guy who understands enough to make something get by without ever being actually fixed right. I'm used to be a bit that way myself.
My experience is that buying used machines from those kinds of guys always end up being a lot more project than I had figured on.

What is your intention here? Trying to get by? Or want to fix up something and keep it?

Bottom line: It's all about money. I'm afraid you aren't going to do any better for the price, but I sure do wish it was nicer. Can you spend 20K & get something newer half the size in 2wd that doesn't need anything?
OK, that DB looks usable for a guy who is a home mechanic, but it sure does remind me of all the time I wasted fixing old machinery until one day my wife said, "It's time we got a new - or nearly new - tractor". She took out a loan. That was one of the best financial decisions we ever made.

 

[JMRtbay]

Well shucks. It's an old, old tractor. It smokes and leaks everywhere and clearly has electrical issues - wires hanging on fenders and missing bolts on dash cover. Clutch is grabby.
From the smoke and sound I'm guessing it is down on compression, but if you can keep it warm enough to start it may run about how it does until you are tired of dealing with it.

I'm not convinced that the loader uprights are supported right. Check carefully for bell housing cracks. The 3 pt lifts OK. Will it stay up for ten minutes? That ol tractor looks to have been used hard by the kind of backyard fixit guy who understands enough to make something get by without ever being actually fixed right. I'm used to be a bit that way myself.
My experience is that buying used machines from those kinds of guys always end up being a lot more project than I had figured on.

What is your intention here? Trying to get by? Or want to fix up something and keep it?

Bottom line: It's all about money. I'm afraid you aren't going to do any better for the price, but I sure do wish it was nicer. Can you spend 20K & get something newer half the size in 2wd that doesn't need anything?
OK, that DB looks usable for a guy who is a home mechanic, but it sure does remind me of all the time I wasted fixing old machinery until one day my wife said, "It's time we got a new - or nearly new - tractor". She took out a loan. That was one of the best financial decisions we ever made.

Thanks for your detailed analysis.

So I was a mechanic in the military for 12 years. That being said, I don’t really have any interest in a “project”. The clearance lighting wiring being a mess doesn’t really scare me off. That would be easy to fix, but chances are I’d just smash it off again working in the bush.

The seller advised he did both clutches and release bearings a few years ago as well as the hydraulic pump and loader control valves. The engine breather leaks a “bit” of oil which is suspected as being the rear main seal.

Once the bulk of the initial house build is complete I would likely sell off some of the large equipment and get a newer TLB or similar. Certainly a cabbed model as clearing snow at -40 wouldn’t be a lot of fun in those temps.

If this tractor could work for me for 5 years that would be swell. I don’t mind minor repairs here and there but most of my time will be consumed working on the property it self. I’m trying to avoid the financing route of a new tractor as we a currently working with the bank for a construction mortgage.

I’ll continue chatting the the seller about some of the points you brought up.
Thanks!

 

[rScotty]

Well, I figured you were a mechanic from some of the rest of what you said. Obviously I wouldn't recommend that old tractor to anyone who wasn't comfortable with old iron. But you know what you are getting.

The fact is that if you are building a house yourself - I did that a couple of times - then you know you pretty much have to have a tractor just to help lift things and clear snow&rocks&mud and as a third hand. That one looks like it will do all of that that part of the job OK as long as it will start. And most diesels will start if they are warm. Nothing wrong with an electric blanket and a tarp.

If you had a house and were looking for a tractor to retire with I'd say run the other way. But if you have neither, you have to start somewhere. And that is a whole lot of potentially good tractor for not much money. Like you say, the loader and the blower are probably worth the price. You aren't likely to find it for less.
rScotty

 

[JMRtbay]

Well, I figured you were a mechanic from some of the rest of what you said. Obviously I wouldn't recommend that old tractor to anyone who wasn't comfortable with old iron. But you know what you are getting.

The fact is that if you are building a house yourself - I did that a couple of times - then you know you pretty much have to have a tractor just to help lift things and clear snow&rocks&mud and as a third hand. That one looks like it will do all of that that part of the job OK as long as it will start. And most diesels will start if they are warm. Nothing wrong with an electric blanket and a tarp.

If you had a house and were looking for a tractor to retire with I'd say run the other way. But if you have neither, you have to start somewhere. And that is a whole lot of potentially good tractor for not much money. Like you say, the loader and the blower are probably worth the price. You aren't likely to find it for less.
rScotty

Thanks, your input is appreciated.