Comparison Buying Advice

[draw54]

I went 2420D. Came with a FEL then I added a BH attachment that can dig 6'. I got tired of hand digging and wheelbarrels, sure have enjoyed using this tractor.

 

[careyo63]

Yup!! The Kubota I was referring to had a Back Hoe. But the owner wasn't including it. He had a cable company and was keeping it. That was the deal breaker. And the only way I could use the tractor. The Hyd. Sys. had a problem also so that when you had anything under pressure it would squirt Hyd. fluid in your lap through the steering column. Finally had to put a freeze plug bushing in the steering shaft to even turn the Steering wheel. And on top of that when I called and told him of the problem he said it was just at the dealer for Serv..? I believe it was a B 2800 with 4wd and Fel. also... the bushing worked but with no Back Hoe it wasn't much good to me.

 

[matchbx]

Thanks for the responses, I'm definitely leaning toward the Power Shift and Power Steering. I'd love to get a loader, but at the moment I can't swing it, but I'm looking into the rear scoop. That looks like a very handy implement.

 

[GirlWhoWantsTractor]

What do you mean by a "gray market tractor" ?

 

[California]

Gray market = a model intended for one region imported used into another region. Particularly with Yanmars and Kubotas, those manufacturers refuse all support for tractors that arrived in the US used without passing through the corporation's authorized importers. Kubota went a step farther, they got a US Customs order to confiscate any Kubota on the docks that they didn't ship. Yanmar went after most US importers for trademark infringement after they lost an injury lawsuit over a tractor they thought was still in Japan.

Gray-market Kubotas are pretty much unsupportable. Yanmars have good support from Fredricks, the one US importer who has cooperation from Yanmar-Japan, and from Hoye Tractor which stocks a broad line of NAPA-quality replica parts - so maintaining an old Yanmar is about the same as supporting an old VW, Jeep, 60's Mustang etc.

 

[GirlWhoWantsTractor]

Thank you for the explanation.

 

[California]

And you didn't ask, but a little more Yanmar history: Kubota and Yanmar set up dealerships in the US in the 70's. Then Kubota continued to grow here, but Yanmar contracted to build all the under 50hp models for John Deere, and ended direct export to the US. (My old Yanmars are legitimate Yanmar-USA models from back then). Around 10 years ago the Deere contract ended and a new Yanmar-USA corporation was formed. The new US Yanmars are excellent but those dealers don't know anything about the orphan 70's-80's US Yanmars. Or about gray market imports.

The older ones were designed to be owner-maintained and are still easy to support 30-40 years later. Maybe a VW or Jeep is the closest similar example.

 

[rScotty]

Thanks for the responses, I'm definitely leaning toward the Power Shift and Power Steering. I'd love to get a loader, but at the moment I can't swing it, but I'm looking into the rear scoop. That looks like a very handy implement.

I would certainly agree with Power Steering. That keeps your options open if you ever want to add a loader....and you will.

After that I would add 4WD,.... not so much for the straight-forward traction it gives you as for the advantage that 4wd gives you when steering on slopes or slippery surfaces. You probably won't use 4WD even 10% of the time, but it is sure nice when you do.

Power Shift is pure fun and a wonderful enjoyable convenience - especially appreciated if you have grown up with straight gear shift transmissions.
Don't underestimate the fun factor. Tractors make work fun. Thats a lot of why we are all on this forum. But I wouldn't let gear vs powershift be the deciding factor myself.

California has done an excellent job of explaining why us old mechanical guys just naturally gravitate towards old Yanmars. He hit it right on the bullseye when he wrote that a lot of the popularity is because they were deliberately designed to be owner-maintained..

I would add that Yanmars were also built to the highest mechanical standards of their time. Yanmar simply didn't ever sacrifice quality for profit. At the time that they were imported into the USA, it was their quality that made them popular with mechanical type guys.... but like old Snap-on tools they were also very expensive compared to their competition.

I like to think that when a company combines top quality with owner-maintained, they can create a mechanical icon. But they have to combine both qualities. When they do, we have those old VWs, certain Jeeps & old Chevy pickups, Bridgeport milling machines, South Bend Lathes, Rockwell tools, some Frigidaire appliances, Piper Cubs, old US farm tractors... the list of icons goes on a ways. But what's surprising is how short the list of icons is compared to how many things have been manufactured worldwide. The USA did particularly well in the production of mechanical icons.

Tractors really haven't changed that much in the last 50 years. That was about how long ago that we got dependable 4WD, power steering as standard, powershifting of various types, modern hydraulics, a comfortable operating station, modern electronics, today's front end loaders, and a perfected 3pt hitch. Even so, I don't know of any tractor being manufactured today that combines owner-maintainability with top quality manufacture.

So a 40 year old Yanmar really doesn't give away much of anything to any brand new modern tractor. That means that right now good old Yanmars are a deal - but only IF you are the kind of person who enjoys being able to do simple owner maintenance as a hobby.

rScotty

 

[rScotty]

I'd love to get a loader, but at the moment I can't swing it, but I'm looking into the rear scoop. That looks like a very handy implement.

I know something about scoops vs loaders because back in the 1970s when I bought a used Yanmar with a loader my good buddy bought a nice nearly new IH with a scoop.

We did a lot of the same work and spent a lot of happy days comparing our tractors. Both of us could see the advantage in the other's choice. He got no loader, but with the same money he got enough tractor that it would plow and hay 40 acres of sticky soil - which the lighter Yanmar simply didn't have the power or weight to do.

On the other hand, the scoop is a great wheelbarrow, but it isn't a crane or a bulldozer like a front loader is. He had to wrestly every bale. A scoop can't lift things into the air - which means you can't stack much or load/unload a truck. Not even a pickup truck. Or pick up an old engine block with a chain. A scoop doesn't need chain hooks. But it needs an active owner with a strong back.
And although the scoop will move a surprising amount of dirt from one place to another and even dig a few inches, but it won't push dirt around into new shaped and compacted landscaping like a loader will. Landscapers use loaders, not scoops. And scoops don't do much at all to snow or mud except to drive around in it real well.

Good 3pt scoops are reversible like the one in the photo posted. And VERY heavily built. The best I saw was probably made by Massey. It had that signature round tubular frame and was reversible. Good ones are hard to find but are rarely expensive. If you find one, grab it. They tend to go for less than the cost of the steel they are made from. A scoop is pure magic to the guy without a loader, and handy even if you do have a front loader.

And BTW, that's exactly the problem with the 3pt scoop....that they are just good enough that they will keep a guy from buying a front loader. And the loader can do so much more.

rScotty

 

[clemsonfor]

I have a old Massey scoop. Least that's what I remember it as. I painted it, was super rusty. I painted it Massey red and sprayed clear on it. I have never used it. Not cause I didn't want to but cause I never found something I could use it for. But if I needed to move dirt I would not hesitate to use it. It is probably from the 60s or 70s at the latest I would guess. I only paid $50 for it though. I need to put the hardware back on it and take it to the farm for if I want to move dirt. It does not have a tube frame though it's flat stock steel. I guess it weighs 250 pounds or so.