Advice on first tractor

[a7blues]

I need advice please. I have 10 acres. About 2.5 of horse pasture the rest barn/house/garden/woods. So, after years of manual labor taking up the entire weekend and still not done as good as it should, i have decided to breakdown and get a small tractor. My favorite saying of late is that it is not a lot to maintain but takes a lot to maintain it. My needs are a small tractor, with a loader. I will use a small rotary cutter to maintain fence lines, a box blade for the gravel driveway to the barn and fertilizer spreader. I was thinking of around 20 hp. Was strongly considering a yanmar grey refurb. I live about 1.5 hours southwest of atlanta and there is a dealer that does refurbs in North alabama that seems to have a good rep. Began to waver from that when i understand the PTO issue.

So, any recommendations and is the pto on the yanmars, even with the overrun device, a big deal on that small a tractor? Especially using say a rotary cutter or say an auger? My goal is to stay under 7k. Also, for a small tractor as this what type of trailer would i need? It has been over 20 years since i spent any time on a tractor so at this point know enough to be dangerous.

thanks for any advice

 

[flusher]

I need advice please. I have 10 acres. About 2.5 of horse pasture the rest barn/house/garden/woods. So, after years of manual labor taking up the entire weekend and still not done as good as it should, i have decided to breakdown and get a small tractor. My favorite saying of late is that it is not a lot to maintain but takes a lot to maintain it. My needs are a small tractor, with a loader. I will use a small rotary cutter to maintain fence lines, a box blade for the gravel driveway to the barn and fertilizer spreader. I was thinking of around 20 hp. Was strongly considering a yanmar grey refurb. I live about 1.5 hours southwest of atlanta and there is a dealer that does refurbs in North alabama that seems to have a good rep. Began to waver from that when i understand the PTO issue.

So, any recommendations and is the pto on the yanmars, even with the overrun device, a big deal on that small a tractor? Especially using say a rotary cutter or say an auger? My goal is to stay under 7k. Also, for a small tractor as this what type of trailer would i need? It has been over 20 years since i spent any time on a tractor so at this point know enough to be dangerous.

thanks for any advice

Yanmars are good tractors.
I'd check out year old Kubota tractors like the B7510HST.
I had a new 2005 B7510HST with the LA302 FEL (4-ft bucket, about 800 lb lift). Nice machine.

 

[Mark_G]

If you want a 20HP tractor its hard to beat a Kioti CK20. It is far more substantial than most in that range. KIoti's give a lot of bang for the buck.

Mark

 

[greenmule]

Yeah guess if you get a good really conditioned yanmar,than you get your moneys worth.Trouble with that is the word if.

With 7 grand being your limit,thats about your best choice,unless you know somebody and trust him and he has a used tractor for sale.

Chinese tractors are another thought for you,you should be able to buy a new 20-25 hp one for 7-8 grand. Go down to the chinese section and check it out.

 

[foggy1111]

First off....welcome to TBN! I think you can find a pretty nice 20 HP tractor and loader for your target price....if you go back a few years...and do some shopping. Are you hoping to find a hydro or is a gear tranny ok with you? To run a rotary cutter you will likely need 20 PTO horsepower and a 4 foot cutter on a tractor that size. I'd start looking for something like a JD750 or a JD870 or as you stated one of those yanmar's. But there is something to be said for that green paint......bought right and taken good care of....a tractor in this price range could still be worth what you paid some years down the road.

I would spend some time on in the lookup section of likely tractor models....and on tractor house to get some "round-about" prices on various models. Then narrow my search from there.

 

[greenmule]

Didn't yanmar make those ones with green paint for years and years?

 

[foggy1111]

Didn't yanmar make those ones with green paint for years and years?

Yep, still do. But buying a Yanmar with a Deere name on it means you will be able to find parts, get repairs, and find a buyer for it when it comes time to sell it. IMHO.

 

[greenmule]

I thought yamar now makes cubs.

 

[GreenWannabe]

I thought yamar now makes cubs.

That too, Yanmar Cub Cadets. But the still make some of the JD compacts and supply engines. transmissions, and axles for other JD compacts.

 

[FarmNut]

With $7K as your budget limit for a tractor with FEL, a refurbed Yanmar may be a good option if you can find one that is almost the same as a model that they made for Deere. You might want to check out the Yanmar forum for those models.

Several of the other grey market tractors are also of very high quality. I especially like the Iseki tractors, but parts are a little more difficult to get for them than a Yanmar. I once had an Iseki TL1900F with an Accutech FEL and I ran a 5ft light duty bush hog with it with very good success mowing grass and brush that was higher than me while sitting on the tractor. Granted, you had to take it slow while mowing stuff that thick, but it really did the job. My BIL has it now and it continues to be worked like a dog (especially for Katrina clean up) and it still keeps on going.

You may want to look at an older Kubota B2150. A quick look on TractorHouse found several with loaders in your price range. You may also find an older model Deere or Ford/NH. All of these would give you a dealer network for service and parts. You may also want to look at new with the great financing terms available.

If you are very mechanically inclined, then a chinese tractor gets you a lot of bang for the buck, but I've seen many "dealers" come and go. So, you might be on your own for service.

You should also look at the Kioti and Mahindra forums to see if there are any models that can be found with FEL in your price range. I just don't know those brands as well.

 

[TheDingy]

Stay as far away from Mahindra as you can. Stick to your larger name brands. They may be more expensive but will save you money in the long run. We made the mistake of going from a New Holland to a Mahindra last year and it now must be replaced. This is not due to the tractor, but the dealer network. The dealers of these smaller tractors just don't have the staff to keep up with what you will need.

 

[newbury]

And note that dinghy has posted about 13 times since March because he had a very bad experience.

 

[Diamondpilot]

I would second the Chinese route. I have a Ford 861 Power Master and needed something 4x4 and with a loader. Looked at all the name brands and for a 25-30 HP tractor I was near 18k. I bought a Jinma 254 28 HP tractor back in July 2003 brand new for $9500 and that included a 5' King Kutter Finish Mower all brand new from a dealer 45 minutes away. I have not used the Ford 5 times since getting the Jinma even though the Ford is about double the HP the Jinma just plain out works it. The King Kutter Mower was junk and replaced it with a 6' Caroni 3 years later but the tractor has been great.

To date the only thing on the tractor that has broke or needed replace that was not my fault was the Thermostat, Starter, a Hydraulic Line, and the Horn Button. It turned 570 hours yesterday. I take A+ care of the machine and it lives in the barn but work it very hard doing bush hogging, logging, snow plowing, ect. Its not a glorified lawn mower.

One thing about a tractor with a FEL. Make sure it has power steering. They drive fine with no load in the bucket but once loaded you will have to get arms like Popeye.

Another thing on HP rating. All are not on the same playing field. For example some rate on engine, some rate on draw bar, and other rate on pto. Most rate on peak HP. That means if it hits 28 HP for 1 second its a 28 HP tractor. The thing that turned me on to the Chinese tractors was they rate at a 12 hour minimum HP. So a 28 Hp tractor rates at 28 HP minimum over a 12 hour run. It may and many times does hit more. A dealer I know puts all the tractors on a PTO Dyno and says they average 31 HP on the PTO Peak which is much above the competition for a HP class.

Parts are easier to get than for my Ford. There are 4 very well stocked Chinese tractor dealers who have everything you need down to crate engines. They have web sites and always answer the phone. There are many fly by night operators which I would stay away from. When I need parts they are cheap and to me in 2-3 days via UPS. For example my starter was 1/4 the price of a friends John Deere's 30ish HP tractors Starter.

Sorry for being long winded.

Chris

 

[Mech]

My John Deere 790 is a Yanmar. I had a Yanmar 1610D before that for about 3 months. Remember these Yanmar's are around 30 years old and you can have no idea what they have been through or how they were maintained and hours on the meter is meaningless. Mine had 10. A good honest, and close dealer is key and safety equipment like a ROPS are a good idea. Refurbished in my opinion is many times bull. Often means new paint. Many of the dealers who post in the Yanmar forum have good reputations and you can post there to ask questions. Just be careful. See the tractor, if you don't know anything about engines and tractors take someone that does.

 

[BungeeII]

DP, I'll come pick up that hard-to-get-parts-for good-for-nothing 861 for you and get it out of your way. Wouldn't want you to be burdened with such a nuisance machine.

 

[Diamondpilot]

I could not sell the old girl. Something about old tractors and the guys that love them. I really do like it, just not the right machine for me. She lives a easy life now sitting in a 65 deg heated garage. Kind of a shame. Had to put all new wheels and rubber on it about 8 years ago due to rot from the calcium then just realized it was not the right machine for the job.

Chris

 

[BungeeII]

Not to hijack the thread, but I just put an electronic ignition on my 860 and am having the most fun I've had since owning it. I can't wait for the soil to dry a bit more, I have ton of box-blading to do. Mine has a 730 loader and power steering. I've had the loader off once and boy that thing felt like a Cadillac.

I'm hoping to fall into a good deal on a 661 to put landscape tires on.