Buying Advice TYM 264 or Yanmar 424

coyotef150 · May 22, 2020

Hi. I am looking for some advice on either a TYM 264 or a Yanmar 424. I will use it mostly for firewood other normal tractor stuff. My property is pretty steep so stability is very important. I was pretty much set on the 424 since I saw them a few years ago ,but not having individual brakes bugged me and they didn't have a diff lock back then either. Last year I drove a 264 and a 424 and I thought the 424 seemed underpowered. It didn't have a lot of power on a hill in the dealer's yard and the hydro whine was pretty loud. However I just saw that Youtube video of a 424 pulling what they said was 30000 lbs. so was I just on one with issues. The 264 seems to have everything a tractor should for a good price. The auto throttle was neat and I liked the quick attach for the bucket.I have 2 Yanmar dealers within 15 miles and the TYM dealer is about 25. To throw another wrench into my decision is the fact that I also like the Kioti CK2610 if I could find one at the right price. I know the 2610 is bigger and I don't want to get too small or too big of a tractor. Right now I use a 1959 Ferguson TO-35 and a Ford 1210 neither have loaders. Any help would be very appreciated.

Slowpoke Slim · May 23, 2020

Well, not bashing the tractor in the video at all, but I think a 25 hp SCUT could have pulled that truck and trailer in the video. It wasn't really "pulling" 30,000 pounds. All it was doing was over coming the rolling resistance of the truck and trailer that were sitting on flat ground. Now if they repeated that test after taking all the wheels and tires off of the truck and trailer, well then we'd have something.

What kind of "firewood" work are you going to use it for? And how steep is "pretty steep"?

coyotef150 · May 23, 2020

I know you have to take videos like that with a grain of salt . The one I drove just seemed underpowered. I am not sure of the exact degree of incline of my hill, I Just know that I am sick of standing on the brakes and trying not to slide down the hill on the old Ferguson with no power steering either. My firewood work won't be to serious , some dragging of logs ,some lifting big pieces onto my splitter that I don't want to do by hand.I have a homemade 3 pt winch made from an old Jeep winch that I use on the Ferguson . I don't know if I would or should use that on a compact or subcompact.

rScotty · May 23, 2020

coyotef150 said:
Hi. I am looking for some advice on either a TYM 264 or a Yanmar 424. I will use it mostly for firewood other normal tractor stuff. My property is pretty steep so stability is very important. I was pretty much set on the 424 since I saw them a few years ago ,but not having individual brakes bugged me and they didn't have a diff lock back then either. Last year I drove a 264 and a 424 and I thought the 424 seemed underpowered. It didn't have a lot of power on a hill in the dealer's yard and the hydro whine was pretty loud. However I just saw that Youtube video of a 424 pulling what they said was 30000 lbs. so was I just on one with issues. The 264 seems to have everything a tractor should for a good price. The auto throttle was neat and I liked the quick attach for the bucket.I have 2 Yanmar dealers within 15 miles and the TYM dealer is about 25. To throw another wrench into my decision is the fact that I also like the Kioti CK2610 if I could find one at the right price. I know the 2610 is bigger and I don't want to get too small or too big of a tractor. Right now I use a 1959 Ferguson TO-35 and a Ford 1210 neither have loaders. Any help would be very appreciated.

Both seem like real nice tractors. In that size range you have nothing but real nice choices and a whole lot of makes. I'd go for whatever you felt is just the best quality with the best dealer. Is there a MF dealer in the mix too? Is HST an absolute must have? Brand new only?

I had some hilly land to cut firewood on 50 years ago and ended up using a Yanmar 16hp 6F/2R gear box with H/L. It had a FEL and it didn't have a bit of trouble with pulling power towing surprising large logs with a chain around them. Of course some of that was the regular gear box and how positive it is without any slippage. Like you, I had gotten tired of sliding down the hill on our farm tractor. Leaving the Yanmar in 4wd and lowest of the low range when decending made the difference and also backing down when things were too steep.
But what I was going to say was more important turned out to be the tires & wheels. The tractor wasn't heavy enough to bite in using ag tires, so I swapped them for some wide low turf tires and wheel that could be reversed to make the wheel base a lot wider. That lowered the tractor only about an inch, but the width of wide tire plus reversed rim really made it a lot more stable. The stability made up for the low HP.

I like auto-throttle myself on HST, but HST wouldn't probably be my choice on a small work tractor unless it had more than 2 speeds. I know, lots of people use them and like them. I'm just old-fashioned enough to thing there is still a place for direct drive. Favorite transmission is still a 4x2 powershift. Do they still make that for small tractors?
If any of them offers a standard SSQA type of quick disconnect front bucket I've found that to be very handy. But a total quick disconnect FEL not so much.
rScotty

coyotef150 · May 23, 2020

I am leaning towards brand new just for the warranty and financing.I don't know if MF makes an overgrown subcompact like the 424 or 264 . I too like the manual transmission idea but I don't want to get one and then wish I had the HST. I think the Kioti CKs have a manual transmission option that seems to be 1000-1200 cheaper. I think they are only synchronized on 2nd and reverse? The TYM has the SSQA but the Yanmar is their own pin type design.

coyotef150 · May 30, 2020

I have begun to also think about the Branson 2610 or the 2515 . Anyone have thoughts on them .

paulfun9 · May 30, 2020

I looked at the 5520 Branson it seemed a well built machine, sorry didn’t look at any of the smaller units.

ptsg · May 30, 2020

coyotef150 said:
I have begun to also think about the Branson 2610 or the 2515 . Anyone have thoughts on them .

Both good machines and selling very well, specially the 2515 due to it's larger size, which is nice since you're working on steep hills.

I have a F36RN, which is the European version of the 3515R but a Narrow model because it's sold here as a Vyneard tractor.

Besides being narrower than the US model, I still find it very stable on wheels. I do a lot of mowing on hills and it doesn't even get tipsy. I do have the rear tires filled, which I fully recommend to any tractor.

With the 2515, you get a lifting capacity on the loader of 2200 lbs on a 25HP tractor which is pretty nice to have. You also get a 540 and a 540E/750 on the PTO, that I use all the time.

coyotef150 · May 31, 2020

Thank you guys for the replies. There is a place not far from me that started selling Bransons last year. I may go check them out. That 2515 looks like a lot of tractor for the money.

coyotef150 · Jun 20, 2020

As you may be able to tell I am a very indecisive person. Did not check out the Bransons yet .I was going to look at the TYM today but they are sold out. Any thoughts on the Workmaster 25 Can't find much info on pricing online.