Large Chinese Made Tractors User Experience

[n4807g]

I believe it's worthwhile to have a thread devoted to the larger Chinese tractors. Should anyone feel like posting their experience with a smaller (less than 50hp) please do. I've read quite a # of threads where advice is requested prior to purchasing a tractor. Whenever the topic of Chinese tractors comes up, the trashing and derogatory comments aren't far behind. The one common denominator I've found is that those who speak out against Chinese tractors don't know much about them.

Hopefully some reasonable comments and observations will be posted.

Thanks!

 

[n4807g]

My experience (so far).....I was replacing a Belarus 572 bought in 1992 and was looking for a similar sized machine with cab & AC. Since I had already purchased a no name brand tractor (at least on this side of the Atlantic) I didn't have any bias against tractors that didn't run in the main stream. The popular ones. However since I don't farm and the tractor wasn't bought by a business (depreciation allowance) it is my post tax $'s that I'm spending. The 1st criteria was buy the machine that fit the need and the 2nd was: don't spend more than necessary.

Shopping - I looked at tractors in the 70-90 hp range that had a cab. I needed the weight and HP for hauling logs with a Farmi Winch and plowing snow in the winter. My shopping list didn't include Kubota, Deere or New Holland because conversations with local owners and some past experience told me that they were good machines, but in this size tractor they were a lot of money. I eventually narrowed it down to MF, IH Case, Mahindra, Belarus and Kioti. As I began to price tractors I realized that I wouldn't be able to get a loader and tractor for less than $35K and that included accepting a tractor of less than 80hp. After further investigation I narrowed my choice to MF471 and the Mahindra 7010 Cab. I look over both tractors and was able to get the MF dealer to agree to $34K. I was willing to spend that much but I recalled seeing the Farm Pro 7020 and 8020 tractors and decided to do more research. I varified that the engine was a Perkins (design) model 1004-4T and that the machine woould meet my requirements. So I started looking for a tractor. After about 4 quotes I found a dealer that gave me a delivered price of $26,000 with a Koyker 310 loader. I bought the tractor.

When it arrived I went over every inch of the machine and have to say that it is much more refined than I had anticipated. After 3 hours of use I can say that it is everything I expected and more. Everything worked (accept the detent on the hi/lo beam switch for the headlights) and the tractor preformed better than expected. The warranty on the tractor is 2 years (for me, I'll never meet the hours limit) and I'll keep posting my experience.

One last comment....the turbo diesel in this tractor is a great engine, responsive, and powerful. One thing I did notice, many of the "name brand" manufacturers get their HP ratings at up to 2700 rpm. This tractor output is rated at 2200...a plus?

 

[rdbigfarmboy]

I have similiar experience to yours. I recently replaced 2 Belarus tractors and a Ford with 2 Fotons (Tractor King from Rural King) I have nearly 200 hours on each machine. They are very good well built tractors. I run the 40 Hp on Grease, but not the 70 due to my supply of grease. I am very happy with both of these. I paid $7000 for the FT404 and $15300 for the FT704.

 

[Soundguy]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( My shopping list didn't include Kubota, Deere or New Holland ...., IH Case, .... As I began to price tractors I realized that I wouldn't be able to get a loader and tractor for less than $35K and that included accepting a tractor of less than 80hp )</font>

I'm not going to hijack your thread with a big message.. nor am I gonna bash chinese tractors.. I will point out that your statement about not finding a 'big 3' model in the stated range is a bit off though...

As I pointed out in the other sub/thread.. you can get a larger, NH tractor ( 80 pto.. ?? engine), with options mentioned ( loader / cab / ac ) for 35K...

Took me all of 3 minutes to find that one. 2 more minutes found a JD of similar features ( plus more ) for 39k ).

Also.. just for info.. Case.. and NH.... same company.. that's why it's called CNH ( Case new holland.. ).

Soundguy

 

[n4807g]

Thanks for the input....I just sold my Belarus 572 for $6,500. I was going to keep it but after putting some time on the 8240 I'm quite certain it will be a reliable tractor. I bought Belarus 572 in 1992 with the Belarus loader for $12,500. Not bad resale price. I was pleasantly surprised when the Farm Pro 8240 arrived. I was expecting a much rougher machine. Quite well finished. I crawled all over a MF471 and frankly the quality is about the same. All the machines (Foton, Euroleopard, Farm Pro) are made by the same manufacturer: www.fotonhi.com. I don't know if the Kama's and Jinma's are made by Foton.

Good to hear your pleased....lot of $ saved.

 

[n4807g]

Oh...didn't know that about NH and Case are the machines made in Turkey? When I looked at the MF471 the dealer also sold Case. It looked like a good machine, he said they were made in Turkey.

What I've found about tractors is everyone does have a favorite. I suppose there are a lot of people that know a lot more about tractors than I do. I don't remember when Kubota was first introduced to the USA but I'm sure the intial reaction was not much different to the reaction many have over the Foton series. I have dealt with the Chinese in my business since 1987, it would be a serious mistake for anyone to assume they won't continue to improve the quality of their tractors. People often assume they make inferior products because they're somehow backward. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact most of their factories are modernized and updated, they have state of the art tooling. I guess only time will tell how well they'll do.

Thanks for correcting my error on the NH and Deere pricing.

 

[Dargo]

I think you'll be very happy with your purchase. About 4 months ago I was very seriously considering moving up to a slightly larger tractor. I did test drive for nearly an hour a Foton (Tractor King) 70 hp tractor with the Perkins engine. On that same day, I test drove a 65hp tractor from another smaller manufacturer that is very highly spoken about on this website. There was nearly $7000 difference in the price between the two!! /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

As far as the feel, overall quality, weight, and apparent strength, I'd call the two a toss up. Saving $7000 dollars made it a "no contest" if I was going to make the move. I ended up staying with my current tractor, but if I hadn't, I would have definitely have gone with the Tractor King. Good luck to you with it!! Be sure to give updates on how your new beast performs. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

 

[JINMA224XR]

<font color="blue"> As I began to price tractors I realized that I wouldn't be able to get a loader and tractor for less than $35K and that included accepting a tractor of less than 80hp. I narrowed my choice to MF471 and the Mahindra 7010 Cab. I was able to get the MF dealer to agree to $34K. I was willing to spend that much but I recalled seeing the Farm Pro 7020 and 8020 tractors and decided to do more research. I varified that the engine was a Perkins (design) model 1004-4T and that the machine woould meet my requirements. So I started looking for a tractor. After about 4 quotes I found a dealer that gave me a delivered price of $26,000 with a Koyker 310 loader. I bought the tractor. </font>

Hey N4807G,

Now that's what I'm talking about: Spend less and get More!

Everybody should be congratulating you on the approximately 10 thousand dollars, that you saved.

But I can understand that the one's that "Paid More and Got Less", are irritated about your purchase of such a fine powerful Machine.

Heck, for that matter, I would be irritated and jealous as well, if I had paid more and got less.

But in my purchase as well as yours, I looked at all of them, and I figure that I saved about 5 thousand on my little Jinma224 tractor.

Just make sure that you check all of your fluid levels, to make sure that you have lubrication for the gears and bearings. Don't trust anybody else, when it comes to this, especially in the beginning.

The Phylosophy: Spend More and Get More, works great, if you have lots of excess money. My Phylosophy has and still is, " Spend Less and Get More", still works well for this poor country boy.

Now you can put the 10 thousand dollars, that you saved, into the saving's account, use it for equipment purchases, or that Boat that you have had your eyes on. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Get your tractors running &
Have a nice day,
Joe /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

 

[Soundguy]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( But I can understand that the one's that "Paid More and Got Less", are irritated about your purchase of such a fine powerful Machine )</font>

Hmm.. I re-read the 8 messages in this post.. and couldn't find one that stated /implied they were iritated about the posters money savings.. perhaps you could point out which message in question that you are refering to??

thanks

soundguy

 

[n4807g]

This is true. Actually I'm two tractors to the good. When I bought the Belarus I went nuts trying to find a tractor of that size with a cab for less than $25K. So I saved about 12K on the 1st purchase add the 10K and I'm up about 22K.

The turbo Perkins on this tractors is a great engine. I wasn't concerned about maintenance on the Belarus and this tractor is far and away more refined. Thanks for the input and advice.

 

[n4807g]

As I build time I'll comment. Sounds like you got a great deal! Sometimes the price has less to do with the quality. Since I only put about 50-75 hours a year on the machine it's hard to justify the more expensive tractors. But this one is leaps and bounds ahead of my Belarus and I was happy with that tractors performance. I must admit though, the AC is worth buying for summer work.

 

[n4807g]

Update on engines. In 2006 the EPA has required strict compliance for off road diesel engines. There is a lot of uncertainty about Chinese tractors. After a little investigation here's the deal. The engines that go in the 70 and 80 series Foton/Farm Pro/Euroleopard tractors are made by an engine manufacturer in China. This is a separate company from Foton Heavy Industries that makes the tractor. Foton buys the engine. The distributor in Indiana said Farm Pro will get the certificate required to import the tractors in their line after Jan. 1st 2006. He didn't elaborate, but he was quite firm. I sent an email to the Chinese manufacturer of the Perkins Phaser 1004-4T that's used in the 70 and 80 series tractors. He sent back that they are certified for sale in 2006 and if I were to buy an engine, they'd ship it to me direct with the EPA certificate.

It would appear that for the 70 nand 80 series this is a moot point.

 

[n4807g]

Just added a Hawkline 96" HD rear blade ($575 delivered) to complete the snow plowing package. It came in handy as the torrential rains this month required several loads of gravel for the drive. What a beast! Set the depth on the blade and easily moved the gravel in two passes. The hawkline blade is excellent. Only change I made was replacing the angle adjust pin to a 1" grade 8 hex bolt. Now it's solid as a rock at the set angle. The high mold board will make quick work of even heavy deep snow....bring on winter.

 

[circleTfarm]

where did you find the fonton dealers I have been looking for one (824 or904) but the only dealer I can find in the states on web is in Iowa kinda far from Ohio. I was in the understanding that the eurolepard was sold only in europe due to copy right they look like the new holland..

 

[n4807g]

Euroleopard/FarmPro/Foton/ are all the same tractor. My FarmPro 8240 has a Foton decal on the back and a Euroleopard operaters manual. They're all made by Foton Heavy Industries www.fotonhi.com. I bought the tractor from http://www.m-mtractors.com/ owners name is Jeremy. He has the 8240's in stock. $19,000 for the tractor and with a Koyker 310 loader, delivered from Indiana to Hew Hampshire $26,000. He was no nonsense straight up. Very good to work with. Very nice machine by the way.

 

[circleTfarm]

does your tractor have same setup as fonton &euroleopard as in cab heat/ac, perkins diesel that was $19,000 with loader? can you pick up at his place or does he always deliver ..

 

[n4807g]

Tractor has the Perkins Phaser 1004-4T turbo diesel (great engine). Everyone knows most tractors blow a little smoke from the stack. This engine starts right up and you can't see any stack exhaust. Smells more like an over the road truck engine than a farm engine. No gagging from the foul smell of half burned fuel. The cab is heated and air conditioned and it works well. I ordered the tractor with the Koyker loader and 12 days later the tractor was sitting in it's heated bay at my property. I suppose you can pick it up, you aren't that far from him. Transportation to NH was $1,000.

Good luck...let us know how it goes.

 

[Soundguy]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Everyone knows most tractors blow a little smoke from the stack....No gagging from the foul smell of half burned fuel )</font>

Hmm... havn't seen this on any of my ford/NH diesels... ( Nh 97' 1920, 02' NH 7610s, and 75' 5000. Start up without any black smoke, and run without black smoke. I don't lugg my engines down.. so don't even get to see that momentary puff where the governor is pumping up the rpms.. etc.

On our fleet of off road and on road diesels, at work.. when we see a diesel smoke while running.. it almost always turns out to be a clogged air filter and / or bad fuel/filter.. or is slap worn out. I've also seen smoke on the hard starters ( wore out units ), or on the ones using a starting aid in colder weather.. etc.

Soundguy

 

[n4807g]

thouhgt it worthwhile to post this link http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/showflat.php/Cat/0/Board/parts/Number/764954/page/0/view/collapsed/sb/5/o//fpart/1 . Just goes to show all tractors can have mechanical problems. This one appears to be a design issue,

 

[bruce1966us]

Personally, I have never started a diesel tractor without a puff of smoke.