Buying a Branson

[Bowmbd]

Good day all! I’m looking to purchase my first compact tractor and have been quite impressed by the Branson specs compared to other similar big name brands. I guess my first question is what are the good, bad and ugly about Branson? I’ve found some bad reviews online about the company but I know you can’t believe everything you see/read and these people could just have a vendetta against the company or just a bad experience with their dealer so I’d just like some honest feedback with experiences (I’ve also seen a lot of good feedback as well). My second question is what would everyone’s recommendation be on size and type of transmission? I have an acre and a half at my house I want to use it for clearing snow, laying stone on my driveway, clearing brush/blown down trees and eventually once my riding mower dies I’m thinking about adding a mid mount mower deck. I also have a farm where we rent the tillable acreage but I’d like to use the tractor for bush hogging and grading trails, till up small 1/4 acre food plots and other smaller maintenance tasks for hunting. If I feel I’d use a backhoe enough to justify buying one I might add one down the road as well. I’m leaning towards the 3015 but not sure whether to go with hydrostatic or gear drive. Any recommendations from previous experience would be much appreciated. Is the 3015 going to be enough power to accommodate these attachments and accomplish these tasks? Last thing I want is to buy a new tractor and realize down the road it’s not enough for what I want to do. Thanks in advance for any input and help in making this decision!

 

[K5lwq]

I will tell you that have a 4815C and I would buy it again. The tractor is a nice design and I really appreciate the simplicity of how Branson meets tier 4 emissions standards. I am not a fan of computer controlled engines on a tractor. I am a fan of mechanical direct injection.

As far as your other questions it is mostly preference that only you will be able to decide. I like shuttle shift transmission and rear finish mowers or flail for lawns. I also like R1 tires. But most people will like HST and R4 tires.

No matter what you choose good luck.

 

[Bowmbd]

I will tell you that have a 4815C and I would buy it again. The tractor is a nice design and I really appreciate the simplicity of how Branson meets tier 4 emissions standards. I am not a fan of computer controlled engines on a tractor. I am a fan of mechanical direct injection.

As far as your other questions it is mostly preference that only you will be able to decide. I like shuttle shift transmission and rear finish mowers or flail for lawns. I also like R1 tires. But most people will like HST and R4 tires.

No matter what you choose good luck.

Thanks for the feedback and I definitely agree with the less electronics and computer controlled the better. I own a 72 Case 580CK which has zero electronics on it and very easy to work on. It’s a shuttle shift as well so I’m use to that type of transmission and enjoy using them but have never used one for mowing a lawn. If it wasn’t for possibly adding a belly mower down the road I’d go with a shuttle shift, I’m just not sure if that would be a hassle trying to mow with or not.

 

[LouNY]

I believe that your Case 580 is a torque converter with a forward reverse shuttle,
the tractor shuttle would be a mechanical shuttle.
There is a considerable difference in feel and operation.

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

OP,

I was all set to recommend a SCUT until you said you were going to work some acreage at a farm. I think a SCUT at the house with a belly mower and a FEL would be plenty of tractor for 1 1/2 acres, unless you get a ton of snow in winter.

But for the farm acreage? How many acres? Are you going to have other equipment at the farm to use for field work? A SCUT with a belly mower has very low ground clearance for doing anything in a field or working food plots with.

That 3015 has 25 pto hp. Which attachments, and how big, are you wanting to power from it? I run a 6 foot brush hog on 32 pto hp, and it runs it fine unless the grass gets heavy and over hood height. Then I have to slow down, which is no problem and easily done with a hydro trans.

If you have attachments now, which ones, and how big are they? If you don't have attachments yet, just make sure to size them down to the hp you have available.

Are you needing to transport the tractor to and from the farm and your house? Do you have truck and trailer with enough weight capacity for hauling a bigger tractor?

I'm thinking you could use a 2400 at the house, but like a 4820 to 5520 at the farm.

 

[Bowmbd]

I believe that your Case 580 is a torque converter with a forward reverse shuttle,
the tractor shuttle would be a mechanical shuttle.
There is a considerable difference in feel and operation.

You’re correct about the torque converter, thanks for pointing that out because I didn’t even think about the difference between that and a mechanical shuttle.

 

[Bowmbd]

OP,

I was all set to recommend a SCUT until you said you were going to work some acreage at a farm. I think a SCUT at the house with a belly mower and a FEL would be plenty of tractor for 1 1/2 acres, unless you get a ton of snow in winter.

But for the farm acreage? How many acres? Are you going to have other equipment at the farm to use for field work? A SCUT with a belly mower has very low ground clearance for doing anything in a field or working food plots with.

That 3015 has 25 pto hp. Which attachments, and how big, are you wanting to power from it? I run a 6 foot brush hog on 32 pto hp, and it runs it fine unless the grass gets heavy and over hood height. Then I have to slow down, which is no problem and easily done with a hydro trans.

If you have attachments now, which ones, and how big are they? If you don't have attachments yet, just make sure to size them down to the hp you have available.

Are you needing to transport the tractor to and from the farm and your house? Do you have truck and trailer with enough weight capacity for hauling a bigger tractor?

I'm thinking you could use a 2400 at the house, but like a 4820 to 5520 at the farm.

So for the farm field work isn’t a concern since that gets rented out to a local farmer. We use it primarily for hunting and have around 100 acres of wooded ground that was recently timbered. The reason I was thinking 3015 was for the extra ground clearance and extra pto power over a SCUT for attachments. The farm has a lot of mountain stone and tree stumps now to navigate. I currently don’t have any attachments since my 580ck can’t remove the backhoe. I’d like to be able to run a brush hog, tiller and box blade on the farm for maintaining trails and planting small kill plots in the woods, probably 1/4-1/2 acre max. I just don’t want to buy something too small and abuse the machine to get the work done. I have minimal experience with attachments so that’s where I’m looking for some guidance on what pto hp I need for what I’m looking to do. Majority of equipment I’ve run in my life has been old or way too big for what my needs are now.

 

[Panik]

OP, I don't have a dog in this fight... I have a small Kubota that I am very happy with. As an FYI I do seem to remember that at one point since I joined the forum reading about multiple reports of issues with Branson not being supportive of dealers and owners (i.e. customer service and parts). Wanted to point that out as something to think about when considering a purchase. Might be worth checking to see how long your local dealer has been in business and how backed up they are on in their shop. Hopefully, those kinks have been worked out and things are going smoothly now.

For what it is worth I happen to live near the U.S. headquarters and there is one dealer in town and he seems to stay pretty busy.

 

[Bowmbd]

OP, I don't have a dog in this fight... I have a small Kubota that I am very happy with. As an FYI I do seem to remember that at one point since I joined the forum reading about multiple reports of issues with Branson not being supportive of dealers and owners (i.e. customer service and parts). Wanted to point that out as something to think about when considering a purchase. Might be worth checking to see how long your local dealer has been in business and how backed up they are on in their shop. Hopefully, those kinks have been worked out and things are going smoothly now.

For what it is worth I happen to live near the U.S. headquarters and there is one dealer in town and he seems to stay pretty busy.

Thanks, that is really my only concern at this point is support of dealer and honoring warranties. From what I’ve read some of the issues with tractors could have been operator error or just a faulty tractor. I get there’s no brand that sells 100% of tractors with no issues off the lot but backing up that warranty to fix an issue is definitely a must have. I’ve looked at Kubota as well but for what you get with a Branson and the price point it’s hard to not give them consideration. The dealer started in 2008 but not sure when he started selling Branson’s, definitely want to see how old the owner is and if he has a succession plan in place if he’s close to retirement. I know I’ll get a one-sided answer asking them about warranties and if they’ve ever had issues with them so that’s why I’m hoping to get some feedback on here from owners.

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

So for the farm field work isn’t a concern since that gets rented out to a local farmer. We use it primarily for hunting and have around 100 acres of wooded ground that was recently timbered. The reason I was thinking 3015 was for the extra ground clearance and extra pto power over a SCUT for attachments. The farm has a lot of mountain stone and tree stumps now to navigate. I currently don’t have any attachments since my 580ck can’t remove the backhoe. I’d like to be able to run a brush hog, tiller and box blade on the farm for maintaining trails and planting small kill plots in the woods, probably 1/4-1/2 acre max. I just don’t want to buy something too small and abuse the machine to get the work done. I have minimal experience with attachments so that’s where I’m looking for some guidance on what pto hp I need for what I’m looking to do. Majority of equipment I’ve run in my life has been old or way too big for what my needs are now.

I think for size of attachments, staying with a 5' brush hog and a 5' tiller you should be ok with 25 pto hp. You still have the flexibility to slow the tractor's ground speed if you hit a tough spot with either attachment that starts to drop the engine rpms under the work load. Breaking fresh ground the first time will be hardest on the tiller, but after that, it will get easier the next season. Maybe a broadcast seeder driven off the pto?

What kind of snow removal attachments are you looking to use? A bucket on a FEL will work, but it is certainly slower to use. Are you thinking a snow blower, front blade, rear angled blade? How about a grapple for tree work? Are you going to want to run a wood chipper off the tractor pto?

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

Thanks, that is really my only concern at this point is support of dealer and honoring warranties. From what I’ve read some of the issues with tractors could have been operator error or just a faulty tractor. I get there’s no brand that sells 100% of tractors with no issues off the lot but backing up that warranty to fix an issue is definitely a must have. I’ve looked at Kubota as well but for what you get with a Branson and the price point it’s hard to not give them consideration. The dealer started in 2008 but not sure when he started selling Branson’s, definitely want to see how old the owner is and if he has a succession plan in place if he’s close to retirement. I know I’ll get a one-sided answer asking them about warranties and if they’ve ever had issues with them so that’s why I’m hoping to get some feedback on here from owners.

The dealer network is the weak link in my opinion. I think the product line is great, could probably have a much larger market share if advertising/dealer network/website/corporate support issues ever got handled. I've joked before that Branson's goal must have been "Build a great product. Tell no one."

Spirit of full disclosure, my dealer went out of business a couple years ago. Another dealer took on the brand, and lasted a whole year. The second "dealer" was an equipment rental company. I went in there a grand total of twice. Both times I was treated like garbage by a kid behind the counter that was a complete jackwad. I never went back in after the second time. It was not a big surprise to me that they didn't make it, with the way they treated people that walked in their door. So as of about a year ago, there are no Branson dealers in my state.

That being said, I've not needed a dealer yet. I've had no issues with mine that needed a dealer to handle, and I think the only time mine was in the original dealer's shop was to have them do the initial 50 hour service and check everything over real well. After that, I don't think it ever went back in. I know I can order filters and stuff online, or through a couple of the dealers that frequent TBN. So for me, so far I haven't needed any warranty work done.

 

[K5lwq]

As a flip side to Slim's experience my dealer has been great. I looked at all the popular brands and the dealers did not seem interested in selling me a tractor. So it really varies by location.

 

[Bowmbd]

I think for size of attachments, staying with a 5' brush hog and a 5' tiller you should be ok with 25 pto hp. You still have the flexibility to slow the tractor's ground speed if you hit a tough spot with either attachment that starts to drop the engine rpms under the work load. Breaking fresh ground the first time will be hardest on the tiller, but after that, it will get easier the next season. Maybe a broadcast seeder driven off the pto?

What kind of snow removal attachments are you looking to use? A bucket on a FEL will work, but it is certainly slower to use. Are you thinking a snow blower, front blade, rear angled blade? How about a grapple for tree work? Are you going to want to run a wood chipper off the tractor pto?

Thanks for the help, I was thinking with the small sqft I’ll be using them on I could get away with a smaller size of both attachments and not regret being able to go bigger. For snow removal I’m still debating between a front blade, snowblower or just FEL, thoughts on them? I’m in central PA so our winters are all over the place, some years we get a couple inches all year and this past winter we had over a foot in one storm. I would love to have 1 of every attachment but unfortunately I don’t have that kind of disposable income. My thoughts are to finance the must haves if they have a 0% interest deal going on then add more attachments when I’m able to or if I can find a good deal on used stuff. Snow removal and hunting are my 2 main ones. I’m still young enough I can spray and seed plots by hand as well as split wood but I know 1 day I’ll want to add those options. Grapple, chipper and a smaller backhoe with a thumb would be great but I can wait for those as well.

 

[LouNY]

Or consider used two wheel drive with chains when needed.
https://www.tractorhouse.com/listin...to-99-hp/manufacturer/international/model/574

https://www.tractorhouse.com/listin...hp/manufacturer/international/model-group/656

All the work you want to do has been done with 2wd for many years.

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

Thanks for the help, I was thinking with the small sqft I’ll be using them on I could get away with a smaller size of both attachments and not regret being able to go bigger. For snow removal I’m still debating between a front blade, snowblower or just FEL, thoughts on them? I’m in central PA so our winters are all over the place, some years we get a couple inches all year and this past winter we had over a foot in one storm. I would love to have 1 of every attachment but unfortunately I don’t have that kind of disposable income. My thoughts are to finance the must haves if they have a 0% interest deal going on then add more attachments when I’m able to or if I can find a good deal on used stuff. Snow removal and hunting are my 2 main ones. I’m still young enough I can spray and seed plots by hand as well as split wood but I know 1 day I’ll want to add those options. Grapple, chipper and a smaller backhoe with a thumb would be great but I can wait for those as well.

You can do everything that a bigger tractor and implements can do. You just have to have the right sized (smaller) attachments, and maybe take smaller bites as you go.

You can absolutely clear snow with a FEL and bucket on the front and a box blade on the 3 pt. I've been doing it that way for years. It is slower, but it does work, it just takes many more passes because you can't windrow off to one side. It also makes it more difficult in a big snow winter because you can run out of places to pile the snow. I think eventually I will have a 3pt snow blower and a front blade on the FEL for my "final" snow equipment. The blower is my next attachment purchase, hopefully this fall. We had such a mild winter this last one, that it became less of a priority to SWMBO, so we bought a sectional couch instead (lol). After the blower, I think a 3rd function for the FEL and either a grapple or a front blade will be next.

If you're staying with 25 pto hp, just bear in mind the snow blower and (if) wood chipper will probably have to be on the small side so the tractor's engine can keep up with the demand. I'd still go hydro on the transmission, which will make it easier to control your ground speed when you get into bigger snow piles. You'll still want a blower wide enough to cover your rear tire track, but I'm thinking 5' blower is the most you're going to want, and plan on slowing down when it's wet and heavy snow. Most of the time up here our snow is pretty dry, just because of the colder air temps.

 

[Jchonline]

Thanks, that is really my only concern at this point is support of dealer and honoring warranties. From what I’ve read some of the issues with tractors could have been operator error or just a faulty tractor. I get there’s no brand that sells 100% of tractors with no issues off the lot but backing up that warranty to fix an issue is definitely a must have. I’ve looked at Kubota as well but for what you get with a Branson and the price point it’s hard to not give them consideration. The dealer started in 2008 but not sure when he started selling Branson’s, definitely want to see how old the owner is and if he has a succession plan in place if he’s close to retirement. I know I’ll get a one-sided answer asking them about warranties and if they’ve ever had issues with them so that’s why I’m hoping to get some feedback on here from owners.

What other tractor brands does the dealer sell? For me that is a red flag.

 

[Torvy]

Good day all! I’m looking to purchase my first compact tractor and have been quite impressed by the Branson specs compared to other similar big name brands. I guess my first question is what are the good, bad and ugly about Branson? I’ve found some bad reviews online about the company but I know you can’t believe everything you see/read and these people could just have a vendetta against the company or just a bad experience with their dealer so I’d just like some honest feedback with experiences (I’ve also seen a lot of good feedback as well).

I am still in the market, so I cannot speak directly to Branson, but I can tell you this much. IMHO, you are about 1000x more likely to find fan boys on the internet than someone with a vendetta about a brand. Does it happen? Sure. Look around here at all of the brands. OK, maybe not 1000x, but considerably more people have confirmation bias. They want to feel good about whatever their decision was, so they ignore the problems and rave about their machines. (tractors, trucks, cars, beer, it does not really matter)
So far for me, the only brands I have excluded are Mahindra (wife's coworkers (engineers) warned us off of them and there is no crossing her on that) and Yanmar (no dealership within 1 hour drive...my self imposed maximum distance). I will literally make a spreadsheet (or rather add to my existing one) detailing the relative volume of complaints versus complements to give myself some idea of how reliable they are...it is a lot of work, but I am a bit of a data nerd. The dealership thing is more local than not, but sometimes you may see that manufacturers who do not vet their dealers well will consistently have 'bad' dealers.

 

[oldnslo]

My 2400H had three repairs under warranty. First was steering unit under dash. This was replaced before I brought it home.
Second input shaft bearings on front axle were assembled wrong and ground the casting to shreds. Dealer replaced complete axle assembly.

third was the clutch safety switch. They had some that were not sealed properly and moisture would get into them and freeze in cold weather so the switch wouldn’t work.

I have not required any major parts so cannot comment on part availability

there service manual is difficult to follow. Suspect part of this is caused by translating from Korean to English

 

[Oldnbusted]

Idk if this has been mentioned yet, but the new 15 series tractors are all the same size. So weather you go for a 25hp or 48hp you’re getting a machine with the exact same footprint as the others.

I thought I was in the market for a 25 or 30 horse, but ended up with a 4215. The price point was close enough that I chose to go with as much power as I could afford.

I bought the shuttle. Grew up on a farm with old geared tractors……. I just can’t make myself like hydros. To me they are only really suited for dirt work where the back and forth is constant, but the constant whine of the hydros is just unbearable for me.

 

[Bowmbd]

What other tractor brands does the dealer sell? For me that is a red flag.

Branson, Deutz Fahr and Scag mowers. Being too new is the red flag?