Buying Advice 4wd Yanmar YM1500 vs 2wd Ford 1320 - opinions?

[dyrne]

I'm considering purchasing one of these. Both are in good condition with the ford being slightly more power and the yanmar giving me 4wd. Both have decent loaders on them... I've never had a little tractor this size... I'm thinking the yanmar 4x4 will crawl around in the wet conditions this fall a little better but a little more weight and hp might make a big difference since they have loaders. Not sure about parts availability between them but they're both in really good shape and about the same price.

I've got a small rolling farm in KY with an orchard I need to keep up and several washes I want to clean up a bit. I don't think either of these will push dirt very well of course but anyone have an opinion which way I should go?

ford: TractorData.com Ford 132 tractor information

yanmar: TractorData.com Yanmar YM15 tractor information

Appreciate any thoughts.

-Mike

 

[Tractorable]

Tell us a little more about the type of work you need to do with the tractor? Do you own a larger tractor to get bigger jobs done? Any PTO work?

Both are low hp (17-20Hp) Japanese tractors suitable for 4' implements. The "Ford" weighs 600lbs more but is 2wd.

I'd probably be inclined to go with the Yanmar just for the 4wd.

 

[silvertramp]

i had a 2wd MF65 and currently have a Yanmar276D. Both with loaders. The much larger MF was constantly getting stuck. IMO, 4x4 with a loader on a small tractor is a must. I've had my Yanmar for 9 years and it has been almost bulletproof.

 

[dyrne]

Tell us a little more about the type of work you need to do with the tractor? Do you own a larger tractor to get bigger jobs done? Any PTO work?

Both are low hp (17-20Hp) Japanese tractors suitable for 4' implements. The "Ford" weighs 600lbs more but is 2wd.

I'd probably be inclined to go with the Yanmar just for the 4wd.

I'd need to run a small bush hog, an auger occasionally, use it to keep the gravel road driveway up sometimes drag some cut up logs out of the way. Might want to run a wood chipper off of it to mulch some of the trees we've cleared and use a tiller. Yeah I think I'm leaning toward the yanmar.

 

[amaxwell]

I'd need to run a small bush hog, an auger occasionally, use it to keep the gravel road driveway up sometimes drag some cut up logs out of the way. Might want to run a wood chipper off of it to mulch some of the trees we've cleared and use a tiller. Yeah I think I'm leaning toward the yanmar.

I would not be without 4wd with a loader on a tractor.

 

[Inspector507]

I'd need to run a small bush hog, an auger occasionally, use it to keep the gravel road driveway up sometimes drag some cut up logs out of the way. Might want to run a wood chipper off of it to mulch some of the trees we've cleared and use a tiller. Yeah I think I'm leaning toward the yanmar.

If you're thinking of running a 3PH chipper the lightest one I know is made by MacKissic. They say it will chip up to 3.5". If you were thinking of a larger chipper, make sure you have the HP to run it.