Buying Grey Advice

[Paddy]

I live in southern Indiana. I have twenty acres that my current home is on and 3 acers that I will be building my next home. I built the fist timber frame and the next will be concrete. Both land sites have long gravel drives and hilly. We get a fair amount of snow and the power loss is common. I have an old Harry Ferg, '47 and a small Kubota for cutting.

I will be going with Geo-thermal heat => lots of trenching.
Roads to care for and clear.
PTO gen would be nice
water lines to set
trenching septic line to mound. (Mound is built)
Endless land scaping
Japanes water gardens, have several that were doug by hand!

I'm interested in a grey market tractor. I like the compact size. I do have a few questions/concerns.

1 The hours listed often are low, can you trust then? My Kubota has 2300 hrs and runs great. can't even imagine someone trading one in with 800 or less!
2 Parts..Oh yes the parts question. I feel if I had a good "grey to US' cross reference guide I could determine how bad the parts situation would be for a certain model.
3 Know of any Indiana dealers, Southern part?
4 Kind of leaning to Yammar, any comments
5 I want FEL and finnish mower. I would like a BH if it is practical/justify for this upcoming home construction. See above trenching ect. What hp to run these toys?
6 Hills. Can you get spacers to 'widen' the wheel base?

New to this site but have enjoyed reading for hrs

Patrick

 

[kayssupply]

Little Miami Tractor is just East of you. He usually has tractors that are in very good condition. He can answer all the questions you have also. If you check a few of the posts here he uses LMT for his name on this board.

 

[Inspector507]

Here's Waynes website if you're interested

Little Miami

 

[Soundguy]

Everything you mentioned for use sounded good for a small grey tractor untill you said PTO gen.

I just got a 12kw pto gen myself, and it consumes 24pto hp for rated load.. and a tad more for surge load. That's getting pretty big for a grey model once you figure engine to pto loss.. you will be needing right at a 30hp tractor. If you went with a smaller gen, then of course those requirements drop.

I'm not knocking the idea... just pointing that out. A large yanamr may be just the ticket..

Soundguy

 

[CSH]

Paddy, if you're set on getting a grey market, the Yanmar probably has the best parts support. Kubota dealers are not very helpful if they know you have a grey unit. Since you list a BH as a possible requirement, have you looked into the Chinese units such as Farmpro and Jinma? A 28hp model w/ 4wd, fel, and backhoe can be had for about $12K, and parts support is excellent. I have a 2wd grey Kubota (24hp) that has been a good tractor, but I really needed 4wd for steep inclines and a loader for various projects. Their is no comparison in the working potential of the little bota vs. the Farmpro 2425 that I purchased. The Farmpro is a bigger, heavier, more powerful machine. Weight of the tractor is a major factor in the type of tasks that can be performed, and I think you'll find most greys are rather light for the amount of power produced by the engine. I'm not aware of BH units that attach to greys, but if you could find one, the trenching tasks that you list would be pretty tough on a machine weighing 2000 lbs or less. If you don't like the idea of buying a Chinese tractor, look into a heavier American unit. They are more expensive, but your "to do" list is asking a lot from the grey units that I've seen.

 

[dave_upstairs]

I'm not far from you. I visited an implement lot in Worthington, IN. I was looking for a 5ft grader blade. The owner called me back (he'd sold out of them) -- I mentioned that I usually saw some yanmar tractors there. He has imported them in the past, and figuring on getting out of that business.

I haven't read all the various posts in this forum, and this is 2nd hand info and may not match with everyone else's experience. But he liked the Yanmar and other Japanese tractors (he had good luck importing, selling and using them), but was getting out due to the Chinese (e.g. Farm Pro @ Rural King) influx of new tractors (he imported only used ones).

He didn't feel he could compete selling a used item for $3-5,000 when a new Farm Pro sold for the same.

I've been looking for a 25-30 HP compact tractor myself. I drove a Kioti this week (new, very nice), priced a John Deere, looked at Farm Pro and had this lengthy phone call.

Plus reading thru (some) of these forum posts.

I'm somewhat undecided on how much to invest on "one shot" implements (e.g. rototiller in my case) vs. renting or just hiring the work done by a pro (kerching). I currently own a little Ford 1000 Diesel and use it almost every week (mowing, firewood cutting, grading, etc...). But, I don't have a lot tied up. My tractor is light enough to not leave ruts in the yard, small enough to fit in a 7ft garage door. Yet, I had quite a time with the recent snowstorm we got. A FEL would have been very handy. So would a snowblower. But, we might not get another snow like that in 25 years.

In regard to your AC generator -- I'm amazed at the lack of low end PTO geneator units. Most that are listed are monsters.

My idea would be to find a small unit with a junker Briggs motor . I've often wondered why someone hasn't come up with a PTO-to-1in drive interface with a 1:6 speed up ratio (540 PTO turns 1in shaft @ 3600rpm). Then, a person could mount a generator, or a power washer or trash pump on the shaft.

Anyway -- its hard to know the right thing to do.

 

[Soundguy]

I have noticed that Northern sells the 7.k pto gens.. that's more evenly sized for smaller or SCUT tractors.

Soundguy

 

[Paddy]

I'm getting real close on my final choice, KAMA 454. Chip down in Arkansas can deliver to IN and his prices sound fair.

Between the BH and PTO Gen set, I want some Hp and weight. The KAMA 454 is at 45 Hp/4100 lb

Patrick

 

[LMTC]

Isn't the Kama Chinese, as opposed to grey market? Just be aware of what you are buying. The Chinese tractors aren't in the same ballpark with the Japanese grey market models when it comes to quality.

 

[Paddy]

I really did want to go with a Yanmar but, I started raising my Hp needs. Also, I'm in hilly country and with the narrow wheel base...

Priced at $8600 for a 45Hp 4x4 @ 4000lb+. I have met a few very happy owners. No doubt, the quality will not be as good but, a grey with 700 + hrs and 20+ years old can have some history you will never know.