Which Yanmar model (if any)

[Scotty Dive]

Wooly - here is my story and I will deny all knowledge if my wife reads this! I had two sears garden tractors that were very capable but I need something larger and with 4WD but could not justify a larger tractor purchase. Then we had a winter of winters where the town had know idea where to put the snow in our cul de sac. Seriously, I had a mound of snow 25 feet in front of my mailbox and 8 feet high. We had to get our mail through a neighbor for a month. That is when the CFO authorized my purchase of "something" to handle the snow etc. I looked at snow blowers and figured I would spend a grand on one that could handle monster snows. Then I started looking at small garden tractors to replace the sears ones (I spent more time under them then on top of them) and a junky MTD was $1500 and up for more stout ones. But still no 4WD. I knew I needed a compact tractor but could not afford a used John Deere and thats when I read about Yanmars. I searched craigslist but there were very few of them in Ct and the ones that came up where 2wd. I placed a wanted ad for a Yanmar and got someone motivated to sell. I bought the tractor (remember I did not know much about them but am pretty mechanical) for $4k with loader, back blade and a woods brush hog. I never thought about a ROPs until I drove the tractor and realized how tippy it was on my 35 degree hill. That was easy money (~$600) to spend but didn't do anything to make the tractor more stable. Then I started seriously doing some damage over and over to my lawn - I realized I didn't need the digging/pulling power of the rice tires and saved some more to get the turfs. I had them loaded as well. So all said I have about another $1200 in tires. I have not sold my rice tires, but I suspect I can get $500 to $750 for them with the rims. So now I have a tractor that is set up they way I like it and I know it was installed correctly. So that gets me to the $6K mark with the two attachments. I have bought other attachments and added gauges and lights to the tractor but I wont count that here. I also do not have power steering and I have a bum shoulder. Before the shoulder problem I had no problem with the steering even with doing loader work, but I can't do it anymore so that is why I bought the power steering kit.

 

[yanmars]

For the money spent it has overall been a good tractor.

 

[woolyAcres]

Over all grunt is a lot more with the bobcat but it's a lot heaver to. It is not 2x as productive maybe 25% more. But it is much much nicer to operate with hydro trans,power steering smooth hydraulics large comfortable platform and everything seems to be where it is supposed to be. Don't get me wrong I loved my Yanmars they were great but they were 1982 and older machines. And did everything I needed especially the 1702. Until I found the deal on the bobcat I planed on keeping the Yanmar forever. In fact I kept it quite a while after I got the bobcat because I was so fond of it and I new I could count on it. But after using the new machine I did not want to use my beloved Yanmar anymore If you have never operated anything like a bobcat ct 225 (kioti ck 27) you should really take one for a spin it is a pleasure to operate and get on and off of not a chore.

Thanks for the honest evaluation.

 

[woolyAcres]

336,3110,JD 950,,,,JD 1050 & yanmar 3810 all of these are pretty much the same tractor.. difference is jd 1050 & yanmar 3810 have turbo, other than that, pretty much the same

This is good to know, though these larger machines are probably (currently) out of my price range.

 

[woolyAcres]

Wooly - here is my story and I will deny all knowledge if my wife reads this! I had two sears garden tractors that were very capable but I need something larger and with 4WD but could not justify a larger tractor purchase. Then we had a winter of winters where the town had know idea where to put the snow in our cul de sac. Seriously, I had a mound of snow 25 feet in front of my mailbox and 8 feet high. We had to get our mail through a neighbor for a month. That is when the CFO authorized my purchase of "something" to handle the snow etc. I looked at snow blowers and figured I would spend a grand on one that could handle monster snows. Then I started looking at small garden tractors to replace the sears ones (I spent more time under them then on top of them) and a junky MTD was $1500 and up for more stout ones. But still no 4WD. I knew I needed a compact tractor but could not afford a used John Deere and thats when I read about Yanmars. I searched craigslist but there were very few of them in Ct and the ones that came up where 2wd. I placed a wanted ad for a Yanmar and got someone motivated to sell. I bought the tractor (remember I did not know much about them but am pretty mechanical) for $4k with loader, back blade and a woods brush hog. I never thought about a ROPs until I drove the tractor and realized how tippy it was on my 35 degree hill. That was easy money (~$600) to spend but didn't do anything to make the tractor more stable. Then I started seriously doing some damage over and over to my lawn - I realized I didn't need the digging/pulling power of the rice tires and saved some more to get the turfs. I had them loaded as well. So all said I have about another $1200 in tires. I have not sold my rice tires, but I suspect I can get $500 to $750 for them with the rims. So now I have a tractor that is set up they way I like it and I know it was installed correctly. So that gets me to the $6K mark with the two attachments. I have bought other attachments and added gauges and lights to the tractor but I wont count that here. I also do not have power steering and I have a bum shoulder. Before the shoulder problem I had no problem with the steering even with doing loader work, but I can't do it anymore so that is why I bought the power steering kit.

This is a great story and I think a fantastic deal overall. Have you had a chance to use it for snow?

Your suggestion to post a want ad on Craigslist is a really good one. I'm in a very similar situation. Last year with snow piling up everywhere and no place to put it, I bought the largest, sturdiest garden tractor I could find - a 20HP Wheel Horse- with the intention of getting a front mount snow blower for it so I could keep the driveway clear. It's fine as a lawn mower and even better than expected at moving snow, but it's simply not big enough, and of course, it lacks 3PT hitch and loader. Theres no spousal objection to a larger tractor, but it's currently a money problem. I just need to step back from all the shopping, maybe post a want ad on Craigslist, and have some patience.

 

[Scotty Dive]

Wooly, yes I use my tractor a lot for snow. What I have is a six-foot back blade that I used to plow backwards and frontwards depending on the snow and driveway. Again what with living in a cul-de-sac, the town really struggles where to put the snow. I end up with huge piles of snow on either side of my driveway and that starts spill out into the cul de sac. I use the front end loader to move the town provided piles and it has worked really well for us including a winter of winters that we had last year that was very comparable to the winter of winters that made me think about buying a compact tractor.

 

[yanmars]

Talking about current price ranges, they certainly change. I got my 336D in late 1987, I think it was a 1982 model or so. It had around 800 hours and came with the Yanmar loader and a large rear blade attachment. I only paid $3700, quite a bargain even then. I know I could get well more than that today with a fair amount more hours.

I have learned my lesson over the years, I tried to have it do too big of projects for its size and I am careful with keeping the radiator screen etc. clean.

 

[clemsonfor]

Generally speaking 1 to 2 foot wider Implements. Bushhog 4'vrs 5'. Box blade 4'vrs 6'. Grader blade 5'vrs 7'. As far as better value? I guess only time will tell. The Yanmar was Cheeper obviously ( I still paid about half of what I had to pay for the bobcat)but it was a used 30 + years old gray market and the ct was a new 1 year old model. So I think that if in 30+ years the bobcat is still going strong like the Yanmar was then I don't think anyone could complain about that.

Thats the part that i hope we see. I hope all these tractors that have been made in the last 20 years are around when there 30-50 years old. Demand for old tractors is still high for people other than colectors, cause there simple reliable and proven efecient workers. I know my uncle has a JD tractor that is close to 20 years old. that tractor engine (which is yanmar) is still strong but the rest of the tractor is falling apart around it. Lost one whole range on the transmission and the hood plastic is just terrible, all cracked up. ANd it has never had anything dropped on it, plastic just cant hold up to time.

 

[clemsonfor]

Talking about current price ranges, they certainly change. I got my 336D in late 1987, I think it was a 1982 model or so. It had around 800 hours and came with the Yanmar loader and a large rear blade attachment. I only paid $3700, quite a bargain even then. I know I could get well more than that today with a fair amount more hours.

I have learned my lesson over the years, I tried to have it do too big of projects for its size and I am careful with keeping the radiator screen etc. clean.

1987 dollars do not even compare to today. i understand what your saying though . Its a mental thing though really. Still a good deal to buy something and use it 20+ years and get more than you paid back then

 

[woolyAcres]

@Scotty Dive-

Was your Craigslist want ad specific to Yanmar or was it more general - wanted 20-35HP 4WD compact tractor?

Glad to hear it's been a good snow mover. I'm curious, were you able to move snow with the rice tires or did you switch to turfs + chains right away? My little Wheel Horse has turfs (and chains in winter) and it does an amazing job on snow/ice. The only times I got it stuck last year were when I managed to burrow into a snow pile that was deeper then the clearance and the little guy got perched up with no weight left on the wheels. To get it out I had to shovel the snow out from under the belly until the tires could grab something.