FEL for tn75 vs. 3010

[ironpen]

I have an interesting dilemna. I went to price a FEL for my TN75D and it was about 8 grand. The difficulty was that I have turf tires and the tractor sits VERY low to the ground and the dealer wasn't sure how it would work. They have a 3010 with a very heavy Woods FEL with a little larger bucket than the one I was looking at. Used very little (tractor only has 121 hours on it) and I can buy the tractor and FEL for about $11,500. I was thinking I could just leave it with the loader attached and use it as a spare tractor if I needed to. Somebody give me some advice. I drove the 3010 around and it cranked and ran fine. Loader seemed to have plenty of power and was easy to use. Some of you gurus tell me what to do. I would hate to have to get another set of tires and rims for an occasional FEL job. The turf tires have done fine even for disc work on rough ground, but mostly I use the tn75 for bush hog and finishing mower work (cut about 40 acres regularly). Thanks for the advice. BTW, I love my tractor!

 

[Doc_Bob]

Would love two tractors, but 11.5k?
Too much hassle to have two tractors. more repairs. More everything.
One good tractor is better than two tractors.
Bob

 

[ironpen]

Bob, maybe my thinking is wrong, but I was thinking that I was getting the second tractor for $3500, since the FEL was about 8 grand. There was also the thought I might not be able to use the FEL because my tractor sits so low to the ground. I only have about a 1 foot clearance underneath the fuel tank, if that. Thanks for your thoughts....anybody else?

 

[Robert_in_NY]

The 3010 is a decent tractor and is fairly new. I would not think you would have very many problems with this tractor and two tractors would me less wear and tear on each of them. If anything, it would be best to have both. The only downside is you have two tractors to maintain but hey, you have two tractors

I do think eventually you will wish you had two loaders also

There are a lot of times two tractors come in handy. If you are doing something where you are using a couple implements it is nice not to have to keep changing implements. I have 4 main tractors I use all the time. If all I did was maintain my property I would want three at the minimum as I find myself wishing I had more tractors still.

Also, if you have to buy new tires/rims to make good use of the loader you will push your total cost for the loader, tire/rims to more then the 3010 would cost. Plus you would have to change tires if you wanted to do serious loader work then go back to working on your lawn.

 

[LoneCowboy]

I don't understand why the FEL wouldn't work ( I also don't understand why it's 2000 dollars overpriced)
I have R4's on my TN75, it's pretty close to the ground (the whole tractor fits thru an 8' garage door) and it has ZERO issues with a FEL

I paid like 6000 for the FEL (with the tractor) but the closer (more expensive dealer) priced a Rhino loader at about the same price.
Should be about 6000 bucks, not 8000.

But, you should buy the other tractor anyway
then you have a spare.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

If the tractor wasn't loader ready they would have to add the joystick and mid mounts which cost a couple dollars.

I would think the loader would work still you just would be able to lift the front off the ground further then if you had R-1's. The biggest problem would be making use of the loader with turfs on the tractor.

 

[D7E]

Would love two tractors, but 11.5k?
Too much hassle to have two tractors. more repairs. More everything.
One good tractor is better than two tractors.
Bob

Got to argue that one bob , You can never have too many ? Makes life a lot easier , Having particular tractors set up for individual machines saves a **** of a lot of time and hassle ,Plus the more tractors you have the less hours each one clocks up so repairs and services can be lower , We have 11 tractors right now and we do "ALL" our own work on them , That's what november-february is for .A big heated shop is one of the best investments on a farm ?

 

[ironpen]

Thanks to everyone. Leaning towards the second tractor, but I haven't taken the plunge yet.

 

[Soundguy]

I came this close ( holding fingers near together ) to getting a 3010s

The 10 series are good no frills spartan work tractors.. And a 2nd tractor is a great thing to have around...

Soundguy

 

[Robert_in_NY]

Chris, the 3010S was a Ford/NH tractor. The 3010 was a straight New Holland tractor. I don't think there is very much different between them but there is a designation change once New Holland took the Ford name off their products for good.