coondle
Bronze Member
Here is some of my story with Foton tractors, marketed here in Western Australia as Euroleopard.
I bought a 504 Euroleopard which is a rebranded Foton 50 ehp Roll frame and sunshade 4 unequal WD Very Very happy except paint is not good
Chinese brand engine it ran my NH 570 square baler to the baler's limit in hilly country and NH recommend 80 ehp min.
It runs my JD 348 baler with ease, but then again the JD cannot bale at the same rate as my NH could.
I have run my Bale Bandit with it, that was a bit of a challenge on very steep hills even ballasted and Bale Bandit needs min 90 hp but the bandit has its own pto driven hydraulic power pack as tractor hydraulics do not give 92 litresPer Minute at 2500PSI need to run the bandit.
It pulls a 7ft grader blade in loamy country and I can fill the blade wit soil. Bought the tractor secondhand with 192 hrs on clock f0r under half new price, it now has around 1300hrs
Only problem a new bearing for the shaft driving the front wheels Bearing and two seals (one to keep oil in and outer around other way to keep dirt out) cost $27.00 but I put new oil in transmission $200.00.
One other issue is that the fuel injection pump is not supplied with oil from the engine sump pump. Instead it has its own little sump and the oil therein needs to be changed when engine oil is changed. There is a small drain on the bottom and a small filler at the top.
So happy with the 504, I bought a 604 with 122 hrs for less than half price, equipped with level lift front end loader a perkins 1000 series 4 cyl naturally (non-turbo) made under licence in china.
Fantastic it runs the bale bandit better than the 504 and as fast as i expect the bandit to go.
Handles the 1/2 tonne packs of baled hay with ease and pulls my 2000litre 18 metre boom spray reasonably well a bit slow up steep hills when full but soon learnt to do those paddocks when the spray tank is not so full.
Have had clutch problems. The previous owner was quite aged and apparently traded it due to inability to manage a heavy clutch so unsurprisingly at approx 700 hours clutch plate worn out
Not easy to get a replacement so refaced it
At 780 hrs the clutch failed again, this time friction material stripped off clutch plate on one side
Very close inspection showed pressure plate dished toward centre by approx 1.9 mm
Sooooo machined plate and flywheel resurfaced clutch plate with material giving some 187 thou total thickness and bonded and riveted not just riveted (a belt and braces approach) cost of that total under $500.
Now reassembled and about 350 hrs done with fingers crossed
Could do with more hydraulic capacity ie FEL a bit slow on lifting but again VERY VERY happy
All of this about $40K cheaper than some other well known brands albeit a sunshade rather than a cab.
At the moment considering buying a 404 with loader (secondhand) to use in delivering my hay packs. I have set up my truck to carry 10 packs of hay (210 bales) with a 4.5 tonne trailer behind with ali ramps. The idea is to take my FEL with me and use that to unload the packs. I have developed an allergy to unloading"idiot cubes" of hay by hand. Need to check the lift height of the loader to ensure that the forks will reach the top layer of packs.
No hesitation to buy another if needed, price power and performance TOPS gave best bang for buck.
Was considering an 82 hp model with FEL, but procrastinated too long and it went to another happy home.
I also have a Jung Liang (unsure of spelling) industrial front end loader 10Tonne 125 hp class 1.7cu metre bucket Deutz motor under licence and very happy for my farm use again bought secondhand with 117 hrs
Anything else for the price of that class I was looking at a 15000 hr machine ready for a full rebuild
I am fortunate as have mechanic brother so not overly challenged by the foton dealer closing in WA
So long as you realise that in all probability the level of dealer backup will not be the same as other mainstream tractors no problem, but on the other hand you have every chance of getting a newer serviceable tractor of higher specs for your money
BUT i would suggest that as far as possible do not buy a tractor that barely meets the requirements of the job
Having reserve capacity for the job increases flexibility to take on other tasks if they arise and provides a margin of safety on your present tasks. Some I know have come and asked what size tractor for their lifestyle block so I tell them and almost invariably they buy the bare minimum because a bloke in the pub told them
Now if I am asked I suggest they ask someone in the pub because it is clear that blokes that prop up the bar in the pub are smarter than me who is out and actually doing the job!
It is not as if I do not have experience with tractors, there is at least 10 on the farm at the moment with dozen or so over the years, the current list is :
Fordson E27N full track crawler, Case 930, Case 930 Comfort King, Case 830 Comfort King Western Plains model, Case 4190 Fwa with FEL, Case 2280, Universal Farmliner 445, Euroleopard 504, Euroleopard 604, Allis Chalmers WD, David Brown 780 with forklift, and though technically not a tractor the Jung liana front end loader. A sampling from the past includes several E27N ford sons, petrol/kero and P6 diesel, Chamberlian 3380B, Massey ferguson 175, several Ferguson TE 20, International WD 6, International BTD6 bulldozer, John Deere 2700,..... You get the idea.
Value for money, the Fotons FOR ME (note for me) have proved very hard to beat even though there is no dealer within it seems 2500 km of me.
My buying advice is do your homework, even mainstream dealers do not have a full parts inventory, but usually parts will be available somewhere in Australia, and there are fewer dealerships than there was a few years ago. Further even big mainstream names now supply tractors built in Mexico, Brazil, eastern Europe. India and China. The Tractor world is now globalised.
I bought a 504 Euroleopard which is a rebranded Foton 50 ehp Roll frame and sunshade 4 unequal WD Very Very happy except paint is not good
Chinese brand engine it ran my NH 570 square baler to the baler's limit in hilly country and NH recommend 80 ehp min.
It runs my JD 348 baler with ease, but then again the JD cannot bale at the same rate as my NH could.
I have run my Bale Bandit with it, that was a bit of a challenge on very steep hills even ballasted and Bale Bandit needs min 90 hp but the bandit has its own pto driven hydraulic power pack as tractor hydraulics do not give 92 litresPer Minute at 2500PSI need to run the bandit.
It pulls a 7ft grader blade in loamy country and I can fill the blade wit soil. Bought the tractor secondhand with 192 hrs on clock f0r under half new price, it now has around 1300hrs
Only problem a new bearing for the shaft driving the front wheels Bearing and two seals (one to keep oil in and outer around other way to keep dirt out) cost $27.00 but I put new oil in transmission $200.00.
One other issue is that the fuel injection pump is not supplied with oil from the engine sump pump. Instead it has its own little sump and the oil therein needs to be changed when engine oil is changed. There is a small drain on the bottom and a small filler at the top.
So happy with the 504, I bought a 604 with 122 hrs for less than half price, equipped with level lift front end loader a perkins 1000 series 4 cyl naturally (non-turbo) made under licence in china.
Fantastic it runs the bale bandit better than the 504 and as fast as i expect the bandit to go.
Handles the 1/2 tonne packs of baled hay with ease and pulls my 2000litre 18 metre boom spray reasonably well a bit slow up steep hills when full but soon learnt to do those paddocks when the spray tank is not so full.
Have had clutch problems. The previous owner was quite aged and apparently traded it due to inability to manage a heavy clutch so unsurprisingly at approx 700 hours clutch plate worn out
Not easy to get a replacement so refaced it
At 780 hrs the clutch failed again, this time friction material stripped off clutch plate on one side
Very close inspection showed pressure plate dished toward centre by approx 1.9 mm
Sooooo machined plate and flywheel resurfaced clutch plate with material giving some 187 thou total thickness and bonded and riveted not just riveted (a belt and braces approach) cost of that total under $500.
Now reassembled and about 350 hrs done with fingers crossed
Could do with more hydraulic capacity ie FEL a bit slow on lifting but again VERY VERY happy
All of this about $40K cheaper than some other well known brands albeit a sunshade rather than a cab.
At the moment considering buying a 404 with loader (secondhand) to use in delivering my hay packs. I have set up my truck to carry 10 packs of hay (210 bales) with a 4.5 tonne trailer behind with ali ramps. The idea is to take my FEL with me and use that to unload the packs. I have developed an allergy to unloading"idiot cubes" of hay by hand. Need to check the lift height of the loader to ensure that the forks will reach the top layer of packs.
No hesitation to buy another if needed, price power and performance TOPS gave best bang for buck.
Was considering an 82 hp model with FEL, but procrastinated too long and it went to another happy home.
I also have a Jung Liang (unsure of spelling) industrial front end loader 10Tonne 125 hp class 1.7cu metre bucket Deutz motor under licence and very happy for my farm use again bought secondhand with 117 hrs
Anything else for the price of that class I was looking at a 15000 hr machine ready for a full rebuild
I am fortunate as have mechanic brother so not overly challenged by the foton dealer closing in WA
So long as you realise that in all probability the level of dealer backup will not be the same as other mainstream tractors no problem, but on the other hand you have every chance of getting a newer serviceable tractor of higher specs for your money
BUT i would suggest that as far as possible do not buy a tractor that barely meets the requirements of the job
Having reserve capacity for the job increases flexibility to take on other tasks if they arise and provides a margin of safety on your present tasks. Some I know have come and asked what size tractor for their lifestyle block so I tell them and almost invariably they buy the bare minimum because a bloke in the pub told them
Now if I am asked I suggest they ask someone in the pub because it is clear that blokes that prop up the bar in the pub are smarter than me who is out and actually doing the job!
It is not as if I do not have experience with tractors, there is at least 10 on the farm at the moment with dozen or so over the years, the current list is :
Fordson E27N full track crawler, Case 930, Case 930 Comfort King, Case 830 Comfort King Western Plains model, Case 4190 Fwa with FEL, Case 2280, Universal Farmliner 445, Euroleopard 504, Euroleopard 604, Allis Chalmers WD, David Brown 780 with forklift, and though technically not a tractor the Jung liana front end loader. A sampling from the past includes several E27N ford sons, petrol/kero and P6 diesel, Chamberlian 3380B, Massey ferguson 175, several Ferguson TE 20, International WD 6, International BTD6 bulldozer, John Deere 2700,..... You get the idea.
Value for money, the Fotons FOR ME (note for me) have proved very hard to beat even though there is no dealer within it seems 2500 km of me.
My buying advice is do your homework, even mainstream dealers do not have a full parts inventory, but usually parts will be available somewhere in Australia, and there are fewer dealerships than there was a few years ago. Further even big mainstream names now supply tractors built in Mexico, Brazil, eastern Europe. India and China. The Tractor world is now globalised.
