Korean tractors

Whiskey · Jan 7, 2003

ok tractor folk
I need a little help here, it's time to up grade the old YM187 to something bigger and I've done some shopping but I'm not finnished looking yet.

I'm sticking to the 30 hp range with loader and 4wd this should last the rest of my life being I'm not not going to buy anymore property than I own or am taking care of now (own 3 acres and mow 5 all together)

Tractors job will require mowing 5 acres about every two weeks loader work on and around the horse farm (shavings, manure, fencing, hay moving bla, bla, bla) what I call light work for a tractor. I'm more than handy with a wrench in my hand and have plenty of good old country boys around that will help in fixing or advising on tractors repair.

Looked at J.D. about puked on his shoes when I got a quote, needless to say I can't afford them, Botta I liked and there still in the running, N.H. I havn't been to yet but will before I lay my money out on the table.

Guess what I'm getting at is I am thinking hard about Korean tractors I only have two dealers in my area Longtrac and Mahindra, two dealers for Longtrac and one for Mahindra. Resale vaule means nada to me I'm not buying it to sell down the road but what I am affraid of is having a tractor 5-10 years from now that I can't find basic parts for. From what I've read and inturpeted is that in about 5 years Korean tractors are going to be giving the U.S.A. market a good run for there money.

If you have any insite you want to share, good, bad or ugly I'll be glade to read it.

the two are longtrac 300 and the mahindra 2810 or 3510

Thanks
Whiskey

EdKing · Jan 7, 2003

Hey Whiskey,
I have a Landtrac 360, and I am very pleased with it. I have had no major problems with it. I had 2 minor problems, one was a broken return spring on the clutch pedal, which the dealer promptly replaced, and a spot weld on the platform broke, which I repaired myself. I have a loader and a backhoe for it, both work very well. I use a 5ft brushhog with it and it handles it well, even in the thick stuff. I use it to maintain my 93 acre farm. I priced JD's and found I could get a much smaller tractor with smaller backhoe and loader for around $4000 more. What a bargain.

Let me know if you have any specific questions and I will try to answer them for you.

Anonymous Poster · Jan 7, 2003

You sound like me about keeping it forever. I would not recomend a hydro. It will go out eventually. I know I can't fix one and the parts are higher. I would recomend a synchro-shuttle shift. Very handy and nice. I can't really comment on either brand you mentioned, I have heard mostly good about both of them. A dealer that stocks parts and you like to deal with could be a deciding factor for you.

Good luck and enjoy.

DavesTractor · Jan 8, 2003

Take a look at the Branson 2810 and 3510 while your shopping. There should be some dealers in your area.

Anonymous Poster · Jan 8, 2003

Whiskey (or, will Scotch do?): Since you've been running a Yanmar, you might want to consider a JD 990 made by Yanmar. It is very solid and ALL metal, even the gas tank. I got a price around here (St Louis region) of $25,025 including BH & FEL. It doesn't have shuttle shift, but 1st & rev are straight back and forth in the pattern. You will certainly be able to get parts for years. Another, long term option with almost certain parts availability, is the NH (although the TC35/40/45 are a bit bigger than you said you wanted). The TC40 uses the same Shibaura engine that was in the 1920, the 12x12 shuttle trans is straight out of the 2120 series. These have been around for years and years. Also, the TCs are very easy to access for repair/service. I bought a TC40 as replacement for my old Farmall. For me, it was the closest thing to a "basic", "easy to repair" tractor available today yet would handle BH & FEL (which the farmall would not). You should be able to pick up a TC40 w-LA16 loader (if that would not be too big for you) for around $19k. If you are concerned about "lifetime" use your choices are much more limited since parts availability, ease of service, etc come into play. See you use AutoCad-I've been using that since the 1980s. Very good program, my problem is I don't use it that much, and everytime they bring out an upgrade I've got another learning curve to climb. Take care, good luck. John

Whiskey · Jan 8, 2003

Thanks guy's for the response, hydro is nothing I want to deal with so everthing I have looked at is synchro-shuttle.

Dave I would love to look at Branson tractors but the only dealer I can find is over 100 miles away and I can't see myself loading up the beast every time I have a warranty issue and having to blow most of my weekend driving my tractor back to the dealer, then back again to pick it up but I have herd nothing but good things about Branson.

EdKing, I will be shipping you off an E-mail in the future when I get closer to laying my cash out on the table and asking you some questions. (the wifey really likes the purple tractor) I do have one question for you now, one deater told me that going from forward to reverse you don't need the clutch and one told me you do????

Mahindra would get a closer look if the dealer would have one of the models on the lot that I was interseted in. He seems to think that testing one of the bigger units is the same as testing the one's I'm looking at, and I don't see it that way. I can understand that putting one on the lot just to see if I will buy is probley not cost efective but that is how it goes in the tractor biz.

Whiskey

Whiskey · Jan 8, 2003

Grimreaper:

Thanks for the insite on the J.D. 990, I don't recall what model the dealer showed me but I do know it wasn't that tractor and the all metal is a big perk I don't care for plastic tractors. N.H. will get a closer look but I havn't been to a dealer yet but I will be sure to stop by and talk and kick some tires before I do.

Whiskey

JohnMiller3 · Jan 8, 2003

Hi Whiskey/Dave...

What kinda dollars are you setting aside for your new tractor? (help narrow down the field somewhat)

Hi Grimreaper,

I think that JD 990 is a solid unit... but without shuttle shift in that price range shouldn't be considered, especially with all the competition available now that has bells and whistles galore and many $$$ cheaper ends up making it a no-brainer... /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Whiskey · Jan 8, 2003

John:

I would like to pull this off with only $14-16 grand and the closer to $14 I keep it the more the little wifey will smile on the deal and god knows she is capable of pulling out the "power card" on me and crushing the deal (weird how women can do that huh???)

Whiskey

RanchMan · Jan 8, 2003

Whiskey -

He seems to think that testing one of the bigger units is the same as testing the one's I'm looking at...

What model Mahindra were you considering and what models did the dealer have on his lot?

Whiskey · Jan 8, 2003

Ranchman:
The models I wanted to see were the 2810 & 3510, If I remember right what he had lot was 6000 4wd / 5500 / 6000 and a bunch of the old IH models.

Whiskey

markie61 · Jan 8, 2003

<blockquote>In reply to:<hr>

[The dealer] seems to think that testing one of the bigger units is the same as testing the one's I'm looking at...the 2810 & 3510, If I remember right what he had lot was 6000 4wd / 5500 / 6000 and a bunch of the old IH models

<hr></blockquote>

IMHO - This dealer is off his nut: the xx10 series are TOTALLY different tractors that the xx00 and xx05 series. The 10's are made in Korean by TYM. The others are actually made by Mahindra in India. Other than the color and logo, they are apples and oranges.

Regardless: the DEALER is the big thing you should consider. Make sure you are comfortable with his ability to service the product under warranty. Ask to tour the shop and speak to the mechanics. Ask yourself: If the worst happens, does this dealer have the facilities and competence to troubleshoot and repairs the most serious of problems.

Just my two bits....

Mark

RanchMan · Jan 8, 2003

Whiskey -

I concur with Markie61....well....at least with regards to the dealer being a bit nuts to try and compare the models as you stated as they are indeed Korean/Indian - apples/oranges as Markie61 pointed out.

If you have any specific questions about the 4110 though(very similar to the 3510), feel free to ask. (i.e. that's<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.pbase.com/traxer128/tractor_pics> what I have.</A>)

Anonymous Poster · Jan 8, 2003

My wife suprised me with a Mahindra 2810 with a loader for xmas. I was shocked! So far so good. It stands up to and surpasses others I compared it to. Can't say I used it much other than cruising through 10" of snow. Pushed some manure around. Can't wait till spring - then I'll push it to it's limit. Let me know if there's anything specific you want to know.

markie61 · Jan 8, 2003

<blockquote>In reply to:<hr>

Pushed some manure around.

<hr></blockquote>


Looks like you got the right username /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif
Congratulations on your new toy. Most of us have to BEG our wives to get a tractor. Treat the "little lady" well - and your wife too!/w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif
Mark

EdKing · Jan 8, 2003

I do have one question for you now, one deater told me that going from forward to reverse you don't need the clutch and one told me you do????

I would have to ask my dealer to be certain, but I always clutch when changing directions, gear, or range.

Whiskey · Jan 8, 2003

ok....sh1tpusher (well, that was fun to type)

Does your wifey have a sister...come on man hook me up will ya!!!!!!!. thats what I wanted to see but the dealer didn't have one on the lot, maybe by the time I get around to buying he will.

EdKing:
That's what I was thinking but got two differant answers, kind of confused me to hear that from the dealers.

and for the comment about the Mahindra dealer I never said he was trying to blow smoke up my a-- on the differant size tractors or where they came from he just wanted me to climb abord one and give it a whirl see how it ran and so-forth but eveything was so big to what I was looking for I declined.

Anywho, I guess what I'm getting at is with what's going on in North Korea (don't know if this little tiff were about to have with them will effect South Korea in anyway) and the fact that these guy's are just somewhat getting there feet wet in the american market (even though some have been here awhile) sometimes you get a little gun shy when it comes to some of your hard earned cash layed out on table hopping it is going to be a good purchase.

Whiskey

Anonymous Poster · Jan 8, 2003

JohnMiller: You're right about the JD 990 as far as not being "modern", but it is a Yanmar and he said he'd been running a Yanmar and liked it. Also, he was concerned about parts, etc. and was planning to keep it forever. And it is all metal (except for a bezel around the dash). I think it is a very solid unit. But you're right-besides no shuttle, it's hard to set rear remotes, pump flow is a bit low, etc. It's just that he seemed to like his older Yanmar. The budget he mentioned elsewhere would let the 990 out anyway. Probably cost $18k or so w-FEL & some options. On the other hand, over 20 years the difference isn't much. Ah well, looking is such fun. JEH

Anonymous Poster · Jan 9, 2003

She does have a sister - and she's smokin' - not that I'm looking.
You do have to apply the clutch to go foward/reverse. They call it "shuttle" because they placed the shift lever in a very accessable location.
So , I'm a bit confused now. Is Mahindra an Indian made tractor or a Korean made tractor? I know the diesel engine is Korean.
I keep reading that Korean tractors are giving others a run for their money. I don't think Mahindra's going anywhere for a while - at least I hope not. My wife paid $14,750 with a loader and liquid filled tires. I would assume I paid a bit more for it in NJ, but everything else was at least $2-3000 more.

Does anyone think I'd be pushing it if I went to a 6' brush hog instead of 5'? (28hp). I'm just maintaing a pasture, not creating one.

Whiskey · Jan 9, 2003

Sh1tpusher:
Mahindra is made in to differant locations, the models #'s ending in 10 are Korean made by TYM all others are made in India. Yours is Korean made, and nice may I add.

Whiskey