Buying Advice Need an all purpose machine.

[Verticaltrx]

See, this is what I'm looking for...

Here's the rub on older tractors for me... How do I figure out if it's a good workhorse or a collector's item? If you had a 1957 Chevy pickup, would you toss a load of firewood or scrap metal into the bed?


Also... I see lots of newer tractors boasting 20+ HP two and three cylinder engines. Then I see older ones with single cylinder 8-12 HP. Are they really up to the task? I mean, my push mower is 6.5 HP and it's just swinging a 21 inch blade and pushing a 30 lb aluminum deck... 13 horse should move two blades and push a 60 lbs worth of mower... But this is spinning much bigger blades than the push mower and it's pushing 600+ lbs worth of tractor plus 180 lbs of me on it.

When I see a 20 HP riding mower at Home Depot that takes no implements and I see a compact Diesel with a cat 0 or 1 three point with 15 HP, it gets confusing.

Most of the lawn tractors you see at Home Depot and such are quite over rated on the power, it's just a marketing game. By the time garden tractors reached the 80's-90's they had more than adequate power for most any task. New ones have more power than can be used effectively, and in some cases more power than the drivetrain can reliably handle.

In general anything you find garden tractor or compact tractor wise made within the last 30-40years will not be any type of collectors item. Tractors aren't like cars anyways, they have a very long service life and are meant to be used for many many years. I have a '53 Ford Golden Jubilee tractor that I use every week on the farm, for everything from hauling manure, to bush hogging, to baling hay. For every one you see restored there are just as many still out in the field working. And to answer your question, yes, I would still haul scrap metal or firewood in a '50s vintage pickup, even if it was restored. That's just the way I am, if something was built to be worked, there's no reason is still can't be today.

Go back and look at the three Kubota's I posted in my previous post. They are close to your price range, have hydraulics and PTO, accept many cat. 1 attachments and will fit in the bed of a full-size pickup.

 

[Pele]

You aren't likely to find an older machine that's small enough with a loader in your budget.

You aren't going to find a smalll used garden tractor with loader that's worth bringing home for $2000. Probably not even for $4000.

So scrap the loader for now, I'll pick it up later on... I just need the hydraulic hookups for it.

 

[DennisFolsom]

Also... I see lots of newer tractors boasting 20+ HP two and three cylinder engines. Then I see older ones with single cylinder 8-12 HP. Are they really up to the task? I mean, my push mower is 6.5 HP and it's just swinging a 21 inch blade and pushing a 30 lb aluminum deck... 13 horse should move two blades and push a 60 lbs worth of mower... But this is spinning much bigger blades than the push mower and it's pushing 600+ lbs worth of tractor plus 180 lbs of me on it.

When I see a 20 HP riding mower at Home Depot that takes no implements and I see a compact Diesel with a cat 0 or 1 three point with 15 HP, it gets confusing.

I generally agree with what Verticaltrx said. However, here's a little different slant on it.

There are many variations in how horsepower is rated. On the newer small engines, they rate HP at near the top of their RPM range. The horsepower on tractors (as opposed to lawn mowers) is generally rated at a lower (more realistic) RPM. Torque enters into the equation as well. Torque is actually a more usable number, but also is keyed to RPM.

Due to the way it was rated, the 17 HP Kohler engine in my 1985 Cub Cadet, even as worn out as it is now, probably puts out as much usable power as a new 22 HP model.

Getting up into the subcompact category, I expect that an old 15 or 18 HP diesel would be every bit as powerful in real-life use as a newer 20 or 22 HP model. I don't think the horsepower ratings on the newer diesel subcompact tractors are quite as exaggerated as the gas lawnmower types, but I suspect there is still some of that marketing hype involved.

All this was a long-winded way of saying "don't put too much faith in horsepower ratings, especially of the lighter models."

 

[tsteahr]

So scrap the loader for now, I'll pick it up later on... I just need the hydraulic hookups for it.

As has already been stated several times, with the size and budget restrictions you have imposed, you have limited the selection to garden tractors. Garden tractors are simply not capable of, nor have they been designed to perform the tasks you are requiring. They are 700-800lb machines. They are lightly built (frame, front axles, rear axles, transmissions, steering, etc) compared to the smallest machines designed to perform these tasks (scuts). There is no point in finding a garden tractor "with the hydraulic hookups" for a loader. A loader on a 800lb garden tractor is incapable of performing the tasks you are looking for (moving gravel, lifting heavy items into a truck like engine blocks and rear ends). A 800lb garden tractor is simply not heavy enough (not enough mass) to control the smallest, light duty, rotary cutters (42", over 400lbs) land pride RCR15. Garden tractors can cut grass, blow snow, run a appropriately sized rear tiller, pull a cart, etc. Beyond that, you have to move up into the next class of machine.

At the risk of being blunt, you are wasting your time looking for a garden tractor to perform the tasks of a larger machine. If you do manage to get the implements you desire attached to a garden tractor, you will only succeed in breaking the tractor in short order.

As has already been stated, change your requirements, change your budget or hope and wish for a gift to be bestowed upon you.

Best of luck with your search.

 

[Pele]

^

There we go...
The garden tractor is too small to do the trick.
That's info I can use!

People kept saying that there's no hookups on the garden tractor. I've clearly seen that there are some that offered them. People say they never made the loader parts for the garden tractor. Between manufactured ones and home built ones, I've seen several units available.



I have no clue how much a loader bucket full of gravel or dirt weighs. I move it with a shovel and wheelbarrow. When all the weight is on the front wheels of a wheelbarrow, it doesn't feel so heavy to me because I'm only lifting one end up.

I also have no clue how much power it takes to move that rotary cutter. I'm used to a Toro self propelled and a Stihl trimmer. I figure if the tractor has a hitch, it's gotta be able to pull the cutter.


I'm also the kinda guy that will put 2000 lbs in a cart when the label says 1500 lbs capacity. I won't run it all day like that, but I'll do it for a short time. I will run it at capacity all day though.

Thanks for telling me why it won't do it.


I'll look into the Kubota 6000s that were posted earlier. They look like they'll fit the job. I'll also look into scraping up more cash.

Question:
How many hours on a tractor is too much? What counts as high hours?

 

[tsteahr]

Question:
How many hours on a tractor is too much? What counts as high hours?

There are others here who can answer your question with far more experience than me, but it seems to be generally accepted a well maintained liquid cooled small diesel should last for several thousand hours (3k, 4k or more). A well maintained air cooled small gas engine should last for at least several hundred hours. So if a machine seems to be well maintained I would not be afraid of 3k hours.

The overall condition of the machine is just as important (more important really) than hours on the meter (it's easy for someone to disconnect a meter anyway). I've seen scuts on a dealer lot with 150hrs that have had the tar beat out of them and look in far worse shape that a well cared for unit with 1500 hrs that has not been abused.

Hopefully others with much more experience will chime in.

 

[theturbodog]

For what it's worth: My grandfather had a similar size yard and used a JD 420 with 3pt, MMM, tiller, and a hydraulic tilt front blade on it. It was a great tractor and he used the snot out of it. I don't know how many hours were on it though(lots).


This might work for the loader problem. Since the 400's took a factory loader they should be built plenty stout.

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