Buying Advice Cab or no cab?

[arrow]

Heck, I was quite surprised this thread was still ongoing.

Anyway, the wife told me this morning (08/03) she wanted to take me to the TYM dealer to look at tractors. She was feeling better, and was even willing to brave the heat. So that is what we did.

Seems like there is really only the one guy there that handles everything to do with the TYM tractors, and we got to talk with him quite a bit. I have been tossing him questions via email all along, and he has been changing the estimate as needed to go along with any changes I could come up with.

We got a real good feel talking with the guy. Seemed very down home, and obviously a tractor guy who knew his product. I wanted to make sure that the TYM T474 wasn't just TOO big for me. I had been watching a lot of videos, and some of those guys in them, if they were quite beefy, would have meant that the tractor was also quite large. But after climbing up into the seat and taking a look around from that perch, it's not TOO big at all.

So I believe I am going to be buying that TYM T474 HST CAB after all. Just need to get some details ironed out first. For instance, what options I have for tires.

Options I want to get, both factory installed and dealer installed are:

• 3rd function up front.
• second hydraulics (already has one) in back.
• hydraulic top link

Comes with loader and bucket, of course.

Attachments I want to get immediately, or at least pretty soon are:
[/list]
[*] pallet forks
[*] root grapple
[*] front mounted stump or root bucket
[*] hammer style flail mower
[/list]

This TYM dealer is about 20 minutes from me. He says he will deliver the tractor to me when it comes in. And when I need periodic maintenance or repair service, he will pick up the tractor, do the work, then deliver it to me when finished. All at no charge for the pickup and return. Now if he isn't lying his ass off to get the sale, that seems like a pretty good deal. I sure didn't get my spider sense tingling talking to him, though, so I feel he is on the up and up.

Been looking for reviews, both text posts and videos about this tractor, and so far haven't found much in the way of a discouraging word about the brand and model. It is 48.3 horsepower with a 4 cylinder engine. He mentioned the manufacture name of the engine, which I think is Kukje. Has bells and whistles like tilt steering wheel, seat arm rests, etc. But I guess the cab with heat and AC is a big enough bell and whistle as it is.

Not that I know all that much about tractors, but it seems to have nearly everything I have heard people say a *good* tractor should have. Things like a remote control arm in the back to work the elevation of the 3 point lift.

So perhaps I will be placing the order today (Friday, 08/04). The guy's name is Will and he says he just wants a $1,500 deposit to place the order. I will use a credit card for the deposit, but get a cashier's check for the balance upon delivery in 2 to 3 weeks.

Now I have to figure out the logistics of keeping a supply of needed fluids handy. My wife is already talking about putting up another building to keep all of the tractor stuff in.

Great!
Tell the dealer where you're taking the tractor (terrain) and he'll make the necessary re-routing of hoses. wiring, etc.
Also, if you get a stump bucket or "ditch" bucket, try to find one with straight sides as opposed to ones whose sides flare outward.

 

[kthompson]

I have looked at this thread off and on and most likely will not share anything not already said.
I just turned 70 myself. I have three Kubota's, mostly by default. Have owned Case and JD, my favorite tractor even owned or driven was my JD. The first cab tractor ever and first ever with front end loader. I live about 20 miles from the Atlantic Ocean and our temps and weather run similar to yours.
I like an open cab and prefer it depending on the job and the weather. If hot, like the A/C, if cold like the heat, if raining, if real windy, if spraying, if running mower in dusty conditions, when I don't want to wear earmuffs to cut tractor noise, when I wanted my youngest grandson to ride with me. Almost forget when working where wasp and such insects have nest also had a field with woods on most sides, dark as it could be and felt safer in the cab when disk and such there at night. The cab does provide some protection when doing rough cutting mowing, look at this forum and will find stories of operator and child riding with them killed by rough cut mower throwing debris. Maybe just maybe the cab glass could have stopped it.

I had hose blow off of sprayer pump when putting out nitrogen pushing about 50 gallons a minute at maybe 50 psi, had it not been for my back glass it would have soaked me. Had the wasp and such flying around my cab often when cutting brush and tall grass, especially around water.

Negative to the cab, not as easy to get in and out of as open station, not as easy to hear the machine sounds change given you help on say failing bearing or something wrong is going on such as wire wrapped around rough cut mower. Yes, you could break a door off driving with it open (I totally think if tractor is moving AT ALL close the doors first) and an object could break a glass.

I have two open station tractors, the smallest is used rather often, due to it's size. My other is my largest and for grunt work the tractor. Since have stopped farming it gets a lot of rest, but I agree in spring weather an open station tractor is great. Fresh air, smells great, hear the machine so well.

Don't overlook the danger of spraying with open cab tractor. Hoses come loose, they burst, a sudden wind blast blows the spray onto the operator with open station tractor. The open station also cost less and depending on your want and needs the cost just may not be worth the cab.

Will leave you with this: my primary business is insurance. There was the arrogant agent who thought he was the smartest person at major company meetings. During a break about 8 agents and maybe one or two company employees were just small talk. He felt he needed to explain how dumb I was for also farming. He went on to say Ken rather work in hay all hot and sweaty than be in an office selling insurance. (Really, I had) It just so happened the next day we were baling square hay bales which does require fail amount of handing and yes it was Dog Days of August, hot and humid. To which my reply was very simple, "Hal, I am having a hard time understanding what you are saying. However, tomorrow as I am in my Air-Conditioned JD tractor will think on it and try to understand what you said." You could see the deflating of his ego as he walked away.

 

[Mister3]

After i moved from the west coast to midwest i wanted to buy another tractor for my place here.... had several yanmar tractors and really liked them. So was pondering tractor plus a SxS and possibly a small skid loader.

Instead of all that ended up buying a good used bobcat toolcat 5600 and literally couldn't be much happier

 

[Torvy]

We got a real good feel talking with the guy. Seemed very down home, and obviously a tractor guy who knew his product. I wanted to make sure that the TYM T474 wasn't just TOO big for me.

So I believe I am going to be buying that TYM T474 HST CAB after all. Just need to get some details ironed out first. For instance, what options I have for tires.

Options I want to get, both factory installed and dealer installed are:

• 3rd function up front.
• second hydraulics (already has one) in back.
• hydraulic top link

Comes with loader and bucket, of course.

Attachments I want to get immediately, or at least pretty soon are:
[/list]
[*] pallet forks
[*] root grapple
[*] front mounted stump or root bucket
[*] hammer style flail mower
[/list]

This TYM dealer is about 20 minutes from me.

It is 48.3 horsepower with a 4 cylinder engine. He mentioned the manufacture name of the engine, which I think is Kukje.

Welcome to the TYM family! My dealer is 80 miles away. Delivery cost a bit, but the two closer dealers were just not good enough.

I got the bigger brother of the 474. I have a turbo version of the same engine (TYM bought Kukje, so now it is just a TYM engine). I also have a frame size bigger. If anything, you are going too small. Mine is open station because it is mostly loblolly pine.

I got forks and box blade with it (mostly because I was not too particular about the make of those). Got the 3rd function. The 574 comes standard with 2 sets on rear, so I didn't need to add one. Hydraulic top and tilt is on my short list. Currently sourcing a flail ditch mower and grapple. I don't know about a stump bucket. Even as strong as the tractor is, those can lead to damage. I'll more likely get a grinder.

Tire options are R1 (Ag) tires. Best traction, but tend to be more prone to damage from puncture.
R3 (Turf) tires. Best for 'float' so as not to damage lawns and such.
R4 (Industrial) default tires at my dealer (maybe all TYM?) Stronger tires that are better for lifting and hard surfaces. Also slightly wider which improves lateral stability. Less traction than R1.

Check with people nearby to see what tires work best in your soil/weather/working conditions. My soil is mostly sandy loam and I will be doing mostly loader/grapple work, so I stuck with R4.

 

[Williy]

Here's something that you can take a look at:

6 Common Problems with Tym Tractor and Troubleshooting - PlantNative.org

Tym is a South Korea based manufacturer of automobile parts. They are one of the mostly used heavy-duty tractors. They are quite reliable and widely used.

plantnative.org

willy

 

[Rich_Z]

Here's something that you can take a look at:

6 Common Problems with Tym Tractor and Troubleshooting - PlantNative.org

Tym is a South Korea based manufacturer of automobile parts. They are one of the mostly used heavy-duty tractors. They are quite reliable and widely used.

plantnative.org

willy

Wow.... Seems to be written in Chinglish by a defunctional AUI (artificial unintelligence). I read it, and thank you for that link, but it really doesn't appear to be a credible source of information either pro or con.

 

[yooperdave]

Here's something that you can take a look at:

6 Common Problems with Tym Tractor and Troubleshooting - PlantNative.org

Tym is a South Korea based manufacturer of automobile parts. They are one of the mostly used heavy-duty tractors. They are quite reliable and widely used.

plantnative.org

willy

My Branson has the same transmission noise as noted for the TYM.

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

Here's something that you can take a look at:

6 Common Problems with Tym Tractor and Troubleshooting - PlantNative.org

Tym is a South Korea based manufacturer of automobile parts. They are one of the mostly used heavy-duty tractors. They are quite reliable and widely used.

plantnative.org

willy

That was hilarious to read.

Thank you.

Love the parts about the engine having a "bad smell".

Let's not forget the part where they claim the more expensive John Deere are equipped with powerful engines that can run for up to 70 hours.

Hilarious.

Not sure what kinds of plants they're growing over there? Mushrooms?

 

[LouNY]

That was hilarious to read.

Thank you.

Love the parts about the engine having a "bad smell".

Let's not forget the part where they claim the more expensive John Deere are equipped with powerful engines that can run for up to 70 hours.

Hilarious.

Not sure what kinds of plants they're growing over there? Mushrooms?

Myself I'd say they have been chewing or smoking those mushrooms

 

[Williy]

Bad smell?? maybe somebody rubbed some Limburger cheesee
on the exhaust manifold??? I can remember somebody did this
to a girls car in high school was she pissed!!!!!!! You can't wash it
off you have to burn it off!

Maybe some more humor????

LANGKAH4D > Link Daftar Bandar Slot Gacor 4d Yang Menghadirkan Berbagai Macam Fitur Game Slot Gacor

LANGKAH4D adalah link resmi daftar bandar slot gacor 4d yang sudah mendapatkan reputasi sangat baik sebagai penyedia fitur game slot gacor yang paling banyak diminati oleh para player slot.

lawnmowerandtractors.com

willy

 

[rScotty]

Bad smell?? maybe somebody rubbed some Limburger cheesee
on the exhaust manifold??? I can remember somebody did this
to a girls car in high school was she pissed!!!!!!! You can't wash it
off you have to burn it off!

Maybe some more humor????

LANGKAH4D > Link Daftar Bandar Slot Gacor 4d Yang Menghadirkan Berbagai Macam Fitur Game Slot Gacor

LANGKAH4D adalah link resmi daftar bandar slot gacor 4d yang sudah mendapatkan reputasi sangat baik sebagai penyedia fitur game slot gacor yang paling banyak diminati oleh para player slot.

lawnmowerandtractors.com

willy

Come off it, Willy. Quit with the chinglish links. I know you do it because it seems funny. I agree, it IS sort of funny to experienced tractor owners.
But if you keep posting that nonsense, someone somewhere is going to start believing it.

 

[JethroB]

Wow.... Seems to be written in Chinglish by a defunctional AUI (artificial unintelligence). I read it, and thank you for that link, but it really doesn't appear to be a credible source of information either pro or con

Rich, I sent you a private message.

 

[dolfisherman]

Go with cab and you'll never look back. Even without the cab you still be ducking tree limbs. Cab will let you work in the heat, cold, or rain (assuming no lighting). Sure will be nice to climb out.of the cab clean and ready for dinner.

Also consider going with a higher horsepower. A wise man once told me you really can't by a tractor that is to large, but can by one that is to small.

 

[prairiegirl]

OK, so this will be my first tractor, IF I do buy one. Maybe my last one, too, as I turned 73 recently and don't imagine this will be a periodic thing for me to do over my remaining years.

BTW, my apologies if this is posted in the wrong place. I looked for a section for newbie style questions, but didn't find one.

I am located in north Florida. 50 acres of mostly heavily wooded land. Getting to where doing minor clearing manually is no longer as much fun as it used to be. I had a heart attack last year. Wife has diagnosed with stage 4 ovarian cancer last year. Yeah 2022 REALLY sucked. So, things are stacking against us to be doing a lot of (any?) heavy lifting. I don't know how much and for how long I will have my wife's help when I just need an extra pair of hands. And the hands and arms I have just ain't what they used to be, neither. A couple of weeks ago when I wanted to move a concrete bird bath across the yard, that got me to REALLY thinking that something to help me with the lifting would have been nice to have. Something like an engine hoist on wheels, even.

So I believe I need motorized help. Friend of mine has a tractor and has come over several times to help me with some things. He would just shake his head and tell me he doesn't understand why I haven't bought a tractor a long time ago. "Good exercise" I would tell him, doing this all manually. But things have changed. Of course he says he will always be here to help me, but he has his own medical problems and I can't expect to keep leaning on him for tractor help.

Here in north Florida, we have a few seasons where riding an open tractor into the woods might not be a pleasant experience. Yellow fly season, mosquito season, hot and humid season, and the fall ground nesting habits of yellow jackets are always an unpleasant surprise. Oh yeah, and those large spiders forming webs at unexpected places between the trees. Not keen on getting those webs wrapped around my face. All seem to point to having a cab on a tractor so I could keep on tractoring, regardless of those environmental hurtles and unpleasant surprises.

But I have some doubts. I want a smaller tractor, likely one of the less than 25 horsepower models. My plan is to clear AROUND most of the trees, not try to knock them over or dig them up. So small size would help with that. Now, I know air conditioning robs horsepower from any engine it is attached to. How much would the air conditioning in a cab on a 25 horsepower tractor impact the usefulness of the thing? Wouldn't make much sense to have to choose between using the AC or running a flail mower when needed, if the tractor didn't have the power to run both simultaneously, now would it? So is there a MINIMUM horsepower rating for a tractor engine below which having a cab with AC is just pure folly?

And there is the issue of driving through woods with the cab. Are they designed to take some arguments with tree branches and not get damaged excessively? The way I am thinking about it, I WILL have tree branches to contend with. But it is not too bad. Mostly small saplings that I would want to take out anyway. Pine trees tend to put their branches up high around here. I guess I would rather have those branches scraping and slapping at the cab rather than my head and upper body. And I suppose the ROP guard would likely catch many of them anyway, just hopefully not bending them forward and down to knock my hat off. I guess I could take the time with a polesaw to take out many of the lower branches, but that puts me back in the environmental concerns that had me thinking about getting the cab in the first place. Walking through the woods with a pole saw would not be any more fun than driving through the woods at those above mentioned challenging seasons.

Are the doors and windows of these cabs field replaceable repairs? And are they made of actual glass (perhaps impact resistant?) or just some plastic that would get scratched all to hell from the branches?

Just a silly idea wanting to get a small tractor with a cab anyway? Suck it up, buttercup, face the elements and take the scars? Or just sell the place and go live in a condo on the beach and forget about the whole thing?

Yeah, I know. Expecting answers mostly beginning with "Well, it depends......."

Well, it depends
A no-cab tractor gives a much better view and your windows are always clean. Faster to get in and out too. I like that.
But a cab gives you protection from rain and mosquitoes and tree twigs (I would not worry do much about twigs hitting your window: if no window they would hit your face instead.
It really does not sound like you are ready for the beach but you should buy something with good resale vaalue because things can change quickly.
You do you. If you need 25 HP, buy a 30 HP with AC. Or bigger. But all the under 60 tractors nowadays seem to be of the lawn and garden variety. Not like our trusty old 60 hp JD. Should never have bought a new one

 

[rScotty]

So many first time tractor buyers want to make their first tractor their final tractor purchase. It just doesn't often work that way. Experience is everything. At least rent one for awhile. If it were possible to make that decision perfectly the first time we wouldn;t have so many different opinions here on TBN.

And if you do find one that seems right - even if it is a used one - consider keeping it awhile. Long enough to get to know it. Good tractors last a long time.

rScotty

 

[arrow]

Also consider going with a higher horsepower. A wise man once told me you really can't by a tractor that is to large, but can by one that is to small.

Not true in many cases.
When choosing tractors, one should not go by generalizations.
If selling tractors , one is doing a disservice to the customer by not going through a plethora of criteria pertinent to the BUYER and no one else.

 

[Kubota Dragon]

Wrestled with this question myself lately. According to my dealer's advertising, and not something I know myself, the dealer's ad claims the TYM T394C is the lowest priced cab tractor with HST in the 35-45HP range in the USA. It's powered by a 37 hp yanmar engine, and the lowest price I found on the HST in Middle TN was $29,000. The 48 hp T474 cab is powered by a Kukje all mechanical engine, and the price of that is running a few thousand more. There are those who prefer the all mechanical engine as being easier to repair and those that feel the extra HP is worth the extra price.

Running into tree branches with a cab is going to result in something broken on the cab and that's going to cost you money to repair.

If you are going to cut a bunch of tree branches or have downed limbs to deal with, then get the third function added to your tractor and buy a grapple so you can use your tractor to move the limbs and trees. This will be a great labor saver for you. You can buy a small grapple from MTL attachments for $1,400 or you can spend more and get a larger one.

 

[arrow]

So many first time tractor buyers want to make their first tractor their final tractor purchase. It just doesn't often work that way. Experience is everything. At least rent one for awhile. If it were possible to make that decision perfectly the first time we wouldn;t have so many different opinions here on TBN.

And if you do find one that seems right - even if it is a used one - consider keeping it awhile. Long enough to get to know it. Good tractors last a long time.

rScotty

And here 's where a knowledgeable sales staff comes to the fore.
One should not simply "sell" tractors if in sales.
One should have ample experience in "using" tractors within the region they are selling tractors or else one has no business in sales imo.
It is not enough to simply ask the customer how they will use their machine. At times, they don't even know what they'll get into.
If the customer states one of their criteria as "I want it to plow snow", then the next question is "what are you plowing"? That will make a difference as to suggesting a sub compact or an 8000Lb machine to say nothing of the terrain, type of snow removal equipment and importantly, the physical condition of the customer.

There should be a lot to it if selling tractors and lengthy conversations to uncover possible hidden agendas of the customer that they themselves may not be aware of.
Taking the time w the consumer allows the first choice more of a chance of being correct.

 

[Rich_Z]

Also consider going with a higher horsepower. A wise man once told me you really can't by a tractor that is to large, but can by one that is to small.

Well, it depends. If I get a tractor too large to get into areas I want it to get into, that could be a problem. I have already upped the ante quite a bit from what I was looking for originally, since a smaller tractor with a cab with AC seems to be a problem on several levels. So I have had to make compromises. Probably the best attachment I should be looking for is a tractor shoehorn so I can squeeze between trees and under some branches.

 

[TractorTYMe]

Congrats on the choice of a T474, I have had mine for 3 years now. I have 396h with no issues on mine, I do all the services on it myself and have made a few toobe videos on this. Right now my TYM is tucked away 35 miles from home due to threat of forest fire 4 miles from my house.