Dealer Fayette Tractors

[branman1971]

Me and Dad took a ride today and stopped in Fayette tractors in Schulenburg Tx. Really nice guys in there and boy they had some nice rigs for sale. I was snappin pics left and right. Really helped me visualize when you guys are talking about models I never seen. They had a 1700 just like mine but all purdy'd up. Made me anxious.

 

[clemsonfor]

Those are pretty tractors, those are the dreaded vietnam recons that you hear folks talk about. The v2 loaders give them away. That said there are some of us once the initial bugs are sorted out of some of them they seem to be fine.

 

[branman1971]

Those are pretty tractors, those are the dreaded vietnam recons that you hear folks talk about. The v2 loaders give them away. That said there are some of us once the initial bugs are sorted out of some of them they seem to be fine.

So did my tractor come over from VN originally or do they just come out of there nowadays when reconditioned?

 

[deepNdirt]

So did my tractor come over from VN originally or do they just come out of there nowadays when reconditioned?

Not sure if anyone can positively answer your question, as to if it came from VN?
Most from what I have gathered the VN tractors are patched up re-painted all to look like new again, and considered to be "refurbished/reconditioned" tractors, if I were guessing about the one you own I would say that because it had been repainted the JD color this might would indicate that it had bad paint and someone try to give it their personal touch if it had been re-con?, then one would have no need to re-paint it
I believe there are other indications and signs of VN recon tractors, but personally I haven't seen them up close so I cannot point them out, I would be like you in thinking what nice looking tractor they are.....:thumbsup:
but in the back of my mind I also know the VN's are out there

 

[California]

Tractors that have simply been in continuous use for 30 years without 'refurbishing' should look about like my US Yanmars, below. If always parked indoors, maybe a little prettier.

But when you find a whole dealer lot of tractors with museum-quality paint, then obviously they aren't original.

There aren't any hard facts. One story is that the Yanmars in good condition are sold to US importers, these are the ones suitable to polish up and put right in service. They shouldn't need more than a new seat, probably tires, and maybe a muffler.

But the ones not good enough for this go to VN where they are run for another generation in the rice paddies - with no access to genuine Yanmar parts. Some are still good after this, some really need refurbishing. One poster here buys tractors in Japan and he says tractors going to VN today are simply poured into a container standing on end. The parts get cobbled onto the worn out tractors there, or used to build frankenstein 'Yanmars' that might consist of several models cobbled together. Of course that is the worst case, some of the VN rebuilts are simply good old tractors with nice paint. But there's no way to tell what you have until you get some hours on it and see how it turns out.

So its a gamble. A lot of good rebuilts, maybe not as nice as the paint suggests but still good value for the money. And then there's the occasional poster here who got the short end of the stick. Worst I read was the tractor bought sight unseen from a larger VN retailer. It took an hour to get it started to get it off the trailer when it arrived at his house. He soon measured very low compression and put substantial money into an overhaul - then immediately sold it. These stories aren't too common but they do appear here from time to time. (I won't bore you with similar stories I've read here - this one can stand for all of them).

Whatever you buy - go into it with your eyes wide open. Under all that pretty paint, it probably looked about like these two elderly Yanmars before the paint went on.

 

[branman1971]

Tractors that have simply been in continuous use for 30 years without 'refurbishing' should look about like my US Yanmars, below. If always parked indoors, maybe a little prettier.

But when you find a whole dealer lot of tractors with museum-quality paint, then obviously they aren't original.

There aren't any hard facts. One story is that the Yanmars in good condition are sold to US importers, these are the ones suitable to polish up and put right in service. They shouldn't need more than a new seat, probably tires, and maybe a muffler.

But the ones not good enough for this go to VN where they are run for another generation in the rice paddies - with no access to genuine Yanmar parts. Some are still good after this, some really need refurbishing. One poster here buys tractors in Japan and he says tractors going to VN today are simply poured into a container standing on end. The parts get cobbled onto the worn out tractors there, or used to build frankenstein 'Yanmars' that might consist of several models cobbled together. Of course that is the worst case, some of the VN rebuilts are simply good old tractors with nice paint. But there's no way to tell what you have until you get some hours on it and see how it turns out.

So its a gamble. A lot of good rebuilts, maybe not as nice as the paint suggests but still good value for the money. And then there's the occasional poster here who got the short end of the stick. Worst I read was the tractor bought sight unseen from a larger VN retailer. It took an hour to get it started to get it off the trailer when it arrived at his house. He soon measured very low compression and put substantial money into an overhaul - then immediately sold it. These stories aren't too common but they do appear here from time to time. (I won't bore you with similar stories I've read here - this one can stand for all of them).

Whatever you buy - go into it with your eyes wide open. Under all that pretty paint, it probably looked about like these two elderly Yanmars before the paint went on.

Good info there thanks. I knew they weren't original but I thought for some reason that they were gussied up here in the states and was wondering what it would cost to have them paint mine when the owner told me thats how they come in from VN. They told me that the quality they are getting in has been great and that business has been good. My 1700 has had problems but I am working through them one at a time, ok maybe 3 at a time, but I know it has been in the states for over 10 years and I can't tell if the problems are from US abuse or VN crappy refurbish.

 

[Neat 1500]

Mmmm might be Vn recon's but i sure wouldnt mind that 4300D anyways:drool:

 

[clemsonfor]

Good info there thanks. I knew they weren't original but I thought for some reason that they were gussied up here in the states and was wondering what it would cost to have them paint mine when the owner told me thats how they come in from VN. They told me that the quality they are getting in has been great and that business has been good. My 1700 has had problems but I am working through them one at a time, ok maybe 3 at a time, but I know it has been in the states for over 10 years and I can't tell if the problems are from US abuse or VN crappy refurbish.

I would bet money you do not have a vn recon. They turn the hour meters back to around 20 hours. Yours showing 690 is probably how it came from japan and is really probably 1690 as it proably came here with around 600-800 hours on it maybe 1000 and the rest are from us use. If yours was a recon someone has run the dog ***** out of it and then slapped the crappiest paint job on it. I dont think you have a vn recon.

That is one of the most honest salesmen if he tells you its from vn most will say a refurb plant or asia, or korea or something as vn has a bad tast from the internet. There are american refurbishers that put out ones just as pretty. Fredricks tractors in AL is one, they sell to several guys some post here and then still more small guys buy there own container and may or may not paint up the tractors before selling and put on new decals. The teltale sign it the roll bar are different on the vn tractors but more importantly the hour meter on vn will read usually somewhere between 15-25 hours on the lot.So the ones for sale used will usually still look brand new (from a 2nd party) but only have a few hundred hours on them. A US refurb will look new but read several hundred hours could be 129 or something which will mean 1129 hours or they usually are around 600-900 hours or something, the exception will be if the meter quit and they installed a new one then it should read 000 or 001 for testing purposes..

A huge dead giveaway of the vn tractors is the V2 loaders or a Bulldog loader, no american company uses those as they are strictly an asian market item. NOt really a problem with them, they work and if i find a deal i would buy one for my tractor, but i dont think they may be as stout as a koyker but i have not heard of any bending but the main problem is there is zero parts support for them, so you have to go to the hydraulic place and get custom hoses and of course they can rebuild the cylinder on anything so that is not a problem. But any big items if ever needed will have to be fabbed. But my guess is that california will have a hard time finding parts for his 35yr old loader that is no longer made. He has had to pack cyls before and buy new hoses, but these are generic items.

 

[California]

.... my guess is that california will have a hard time finding parts for his 35yr old loader that is no longer made. He has had to pack cyls before and buy new hoses, but these are generic items.

But the whole thing is all standard SAE-spec tubing, hoses, fittings, pins, bushings, even nuts and bolts. My small town hydraulic shop has had everything I've needed for the Great Bend (later bought by BushHog) loader because it was built from all generic US-spec components. Only the big structural parts are unique and a welding shop could repair that. If I want a joystick - the only complex part - Northern Tool stocks several.

I don't know if the plumbing on the VN loaders is generic SAE stuff too. I thought they were China-spec. The tales from those who bought Chinese backhoes are discouraging. Apparently no hydraulic shop in the US carried China-spec hoses/fittings/seals until a few specialists appeared recently. Good luck getting the thing back in service the same afternoon that you tear off a hose. (BTDT several times).

Fredricks tractors in AL [is one of the good importers]

My impression is that they are a top-tier outfit. They are the ones who went to Custom Products (apparently the mfr of ROPS for the US Yanmars long ago) and contracted them to build certified ROPS for everything they import. That must have been expensive considering the testing. I think all the folding ROPS sold here came from Fredricks. I wish there were some retailers on the west coast selling Fredricks tractors.

 

[dtherrien]

I have a VN reconditioned 1500d tractor with a V1 loader. Had it for two years now with zero problems. I use the tractor pretty hard and have had to do only maintinance on it. I did have one of the hydraulic cylinders leaking alittle.......replaced it with one from Bailey Hydraulic out of Tenn. It was $90 with the shipping.