Final Decisions - Ford 8n with ZTR or Kioti CK20

[bigtractor]

Consider a CK25 shuttle with loader not much more than the CK20 hydro.
Then you are done.
For a garden go ahead and get a tiller you will love it.
You can run a 6' finish mower.
You have a safe unit for your hills, comfort, and a warranty with cheeep financing avail.

The 8n's are almost a labor of love as unless you yourself spend many thousands on it to "restore" her mechanically.
We sell plenty of old ford parts and do maint. the issues are Hyd., elec., brakes, clutch, seals ohhh heck everything.

I get lots of work from folks that buy what seems as a sound unit then all the uglies pop up.

Just my observation.

 

[KiotiJohn]

You really NEED a FEL for all the work you'll be doing, and you need 4WD to use the FEL well. A full load in a FEL is hard with no FWD as the tires tend to sink in, and without some pull you'd have a hard time. That would make a CK the choice. I agree with Dave, the CK25 isn't that much more, and it's a good deal stronger than the CK20. You can use larger implements which will speed you work up on all that property. The CK20, however, will do what you'd need, and the warranty is a plus. The price quote you have is pretty good for what you posted. Check to see what you can get the 25 for, I think you'll be better off. I love the old 8ns, had one years ago, but they ALWAYS have need of some little something. The CK20 would outwork it most ways around, and would be up and running instead of waiting for repairs. John

 

[Dargo]

My wife has an 8N she inherited. It was "fully restored" by her late father about a decade ago as his "labor of love". He passed away shortly afterwards. Anyway, it is a great old tractor but is honestly dated for every day use. There has just been so many changes and improvements in the last 50 years in both productivity and safety areas.

As some have said, and I believe, a 8N would likely be a good investment. The new Kioti would be money better spent for productive reasons and certainly would be safer.

Although a ZTR is no tractor, I don't know what models are not good on slopes. I have a Grasshopper and it is like a mountain goat. I can comfortably mow with it where I wouldn't dare take my tractor.

 

[dmp437]

Thoughts/comments?

What about snow removal? A truck mounted plow or will you be doing it with the tractor?
With only those two options I would go for the Ford 8N or a Ford 600/800.

 

[frank_f15]

I will also recomend the kioti, i had a old ford 2n and although it was a great tractor, i find my new 4wd, powersteering, hydo tractor much easier to work with. also if you go for the new tractor, do youself a favor and get a FEL when you purchase it.

 

[1savoy]

Dargo,

I think I read some of your posts last year about the Grasshopper. I told my father about the Grasshopper, but as far as I know, there are no dealers close by. There is pretty much every other brand within a 30 mile radius. The ZTR's they demo'ed were Scagg, Gravely, Husqvarna, and I think Dixie Chopper. My friend ended up buying a Cub Cadet garden tractor that works decent for him. My uncle bought the Gravely and struggles a little with it on his hills. My father has been hemming and hawing for over a year now and just ordered a John Deere X595 Special Edition. John Deere would not let him demo the tractor, so he got mad last year and did nothing. They have a 30 day no questions asked return. He is old school and did not think that was the way to do business. Him and his brother both worked for this dealership back in the 50's and both have bought machines from them over the years. He got over the fact of no demo and went ahead and ordered. He is hoping with the HDAP tires, 4WD, and Diff Lock he can manage on his slopes. If not it will be going back to JD within the 30 days. I really thought he should try the Ventrac and the dealer was willing to leave one for a couple of weeks. He just really did not like the looks of the Ventrac. He has been mowing this place for quite a fews years with a John Deere 332. The tires are loaded and you have to hang as far as possible off the side of the tractor to keep from sliding down the hill. I haved mowed for him when he is on vacation and it is a little hairy. He is on clay, so it never seems to be dry and with the wet summer last year there were always mud tracks left when possible to mow it. You have to sidehill almost all of it, as there is a ditch next to the road at the bottom. His better half tells him to plant something like wildflowers on the hillside, but I guess he likes his grass. The ZTR's they tried out would all slide sideways bad. There was no way to "hang" off the side and still control the levers. He has no experience with the ZTR's and maybe there is a way to do this, but he did not like it. Whew, I guess I got long winded.

Thanks,
Russ

 

[Bob_Young]

Sounds like you've got enough projects already, jp, why take on another before you get your plate cleaned up a bit?

I gotta agree with bigtractor on this. Old tractors are ongoing projects. There's always something cropping up that needs attention. Often you can work around it, but that only works for awhile. It finally catches up with you when you just can't do something that needs done NOW. What'll happen to your work plans for the season if right in the middle of it the 8N up and dies for want of a clutch or brakes?

If the 8N was to be a second tractor and you already had a good Kioti, 'bota or boomer; I'd say go for it. As it is, you NEED something that's gonna be there ready to go when you're ready to work. Even minor problems will send you out on a parts run...and you know how stuff like that can kill a day.

Though I know little about Kiotis, I'd also agree with bigt' on the model. The CK25 looks real good in the specs. It's got some extra ponies to handle those grades you mention. Buying too small can be an expensive mistake to fix.

The power steering on the Kioti means alot. Your productivity will go up, your handling will be more precise, and long hours in the seat will be alot less tiring. Once I had a tractor with PS, I hated going back to the old non-PS Ford 2000.

Old tractors are good and good to own. (If you look at my bio, you'll see I've got more than one) But they're at their best when you're not depending on them.
Bob

 

[DmansPadge]

1savoy, I hate to get off topic of the original thread, but I thought I would tell you that at work we have about 7 Dixie Choppers. The guys that use them mow highway overpass embankments with no trouble. I personally wouldn't won't to! /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif But they have had really good luck with the Dixie Choppers.

 

[Lucky1]

I have a kubota ZD-28, I would not recommend this machine to anyone with any hillside, just like being on roller skates.

 

[Bird]

I imagine there's one thing your Kubota ZTR has in common with my cheap Toro ZTR; plenty of power to turn the wheels, but very poor traction. Very easy to get stuck in any little low spot when it's wet or to slide on a hill.