Branson versus Mahindra 28xl

[cmkh3]

I have posted this in the Mahindra forum as well so...

Does anyone have an opinion (LOL) about which company will be around in say 10 years or 15 years, or 20 years...'
Thanks
Chris

 

[George2615]

Hard to say whether one or both be around in 20 years. Just my opinion, I think they both will be around but I see more Mahindra dealers than Branson.

Mahindra has already been around (in the US) for 20 years. Mahindra USA came about in 1994. Mahindra's parent company started in 1964.

Branson LLC entered the US market in 2003 but they started importing to the US in1988. Branson's parent company started in 1968.

Just like LS Tractor. Fairly new with their own LS brand but have been building tractors a long time and build them for many others. The history of LS Tractors goes back to 1975 as a division of Hyundai, and began with cooperation with Yanmar of Japan. In 1983, the former GoldStar Cable Company acquired the company and renamed it GoldStar tractors. The company names were changed to LG in 1995.

Tractors have been sold under GoldStar, Fiat-GoldStar, LG, LG-Fiat, LG-New Holland, LS and LS-New Holland names in South Korea. In North America, they have been sold as LG Montana, Montana, Farmtrac LandTrac, LongAgri LandTrac, McCormick Tractors and Landini.

 

[cmkh3]

How good is Branson at being able to supply parts in a timely manner?
Thanks
Chris

 

[George2615]

You'll have to ask a dealer or hopefully a branson owner will reply.

 

[pjames]

I own a 2001 with 750 hrs. Bought it with no loader and dealer hasnt had any problem gettin parts hes been a dealer for 8 years. Hasnt needed much more than filters but he was even able to get afactory loader for it.

 

[pjames]

Would be cool if they were around in 5 years

 

[LoneStarRanch]

You'll have to ask a dealer or hopefully a branson owner will reply.

I have not had any problem getting parts, but like someone else said, I haven't needed much more than filters for my Branson. In addition to the dealer support, corporate support (out of Rome, GA) is great too. Sent an email trying to get a new operators manual (bought my tractor used w/o a manual) and they had one to me in the mail within a week at no cost. The Branson tractors are great and I think are beginning to catch on quickly...I see them being around for a while. I have heard nothing but good things about Mahindra as well, but have no first hand experience.

 

[George2615]

cmkh3,
I have no experience with Branson but forgot to mention I do have experience with Mahindra. In 2004 I bought a new 2615HST with loader. Used it for 10 years with no major problems. Performed routine service as required and it was just getting broke in when I sold it. I had put an aftermarket cab with heater on it. Used it for everything. I sold it with only 466 hours and upgraded to a 36 plus HP cab tractor. I would have stayed with Mahindra but the price difference was too much. I ended up with an LS XR3037HC w/ loader and lots of options I didn't have before.

 

[Zork]

I really liked Mahindra. I do not remember which sizes I looked at but one was smaller than the 3510 and larger than the 3520. You can check my posts for this information if you need to confirm which size.

The problem I had with the smaller Mahindra was that the loader arms would not lift the front of the tractor off the ground more than a few inches, and at 5-11 it seemed my legs did not have enough room. The larger Mahindra was a beast and I wanted it, but when I test drove it the loader was so sloppy that I thought I was going to lose control, even with no load. The arms swayed violently left and right when I was driving over uneven ground. I recall someone claiming the earlier models incorporated plastic shims at the pivot pins; if this is true, the tech's must have forgot them during installation.

 

[cmkh3]

OK So I drove the Branson 2400H in the dealers field which was not level and had waist high grass also some trees and a dip with loose soil and a pretty good uphill rise. The steering and throttle and direction was easy to operate but it stalled repeatadly on the uphill (perhaps the fuel level was too low). Other wise the side by side forward reverse pedals felt very natural and it seemed to have good vision. I did like that it had over double the ground clearance of the other scuts I have driven However the overall size is similar. I also drove the Massey 1720TLB and the Kubota BX25D and while the dealers lot was flat packed gravel it did drive nicely. The Kubota dealer didn't seem to care as much, perhaps because of the name on his product or ?I did get to move some square bails of hay around with the Massey which it did really nicely. I which the Mahindra had side by side pedals instead of the treadle which I really didn't like. So far it seems the Branson is leading the pack.