Made in Finland - Avant Tractor or Skid Steer

[rox]

A couple people mentioned Avant Tractors, here was one post

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=powertrac&Number=780724

By Ducati on 12/1/05

They are made in Finland and since I am living in France I thought I would check them out. Here-
http://www.avanttecno.com/web/engtuotteet/avant216eng.htm

I e-mailed them and asked them to jsut give me a ballpark figure on what these cost. I understood that it is dependent on the dealer but if they could give me ballpark that is what I would be interested in. Surprisingly they replied and said that ballpark the 200 & 300 series are around 10,000 Euro which is not bad in price. I guess US Dollars that is around $12,000 depending on the exchange rate.

I like this little guy Avant, I think that in 2006 I just might get one of these.

I loved watching the videos. Oh and a rotoray hoe is a rototiller. I asked them about that.

 

[BrianSouthernMD]

Many USA Gehl dealers market an Avantage 700 lb. ROC articulated mini loader made in Finland by Avant. However Gehl in USA doesn't sell the entire product line made by Avant.

I wonder... is Avant Tecno now owned by Gehl Europe or does Avant just supply Gehl? Avant's web site says their factory in Finland has produced over 15,000 mini loader units.

Rox, are there Avant dealers in France or would you buy from a Gehl Europe dealer? The Avants are smaller and less expensive than my Bobcat Toolcat, but will they handle your slopes, olive tree spraying needs, etc.?

 

[Mith]

Rox - did you get any information on getting a Power-trac to Europe. I quite fancy one myself, they seem quite cheap, cheaper than the Avant and I prefer the look of them.
How far did you look into it? Thanks

 

[rox]

Mith,
I jsut moved to France in 2004 and I shipped two big US cars from Wisconsin (jsut north of Chicago) to the Marseille area of France and door to door the shipping was only $1,500 so I am not to worried about the cost of shipping. I have also shipped pallets of our olive oil to the USA and the shipping isn't all that much. I would imagine that you can ship the Power Trac to the UK I would bet for about $1,000. You can get a quotation on line from cargo companies, actually best would be to check with one that specializes in cars. Surprisingly the actual shipping isn't that bad. Don't know what customs duty would be, for me being a farmer I know I would get any duty paid returned to me.

Because of my recent move I have a gut feeling what shipping would be so I didn't really search that far into the matter.

I think the Avant is less costly than the Power Tracs though. To be honest I have not done a side by side comparison, I jsut got the ball park pricing on Avant via e-mail today. Have to get to a dealer and look at one and see the pricing. Wont be able to do that for a bit as we are still working all day every day non stop for over a month on the olive harvest. Thankfully we finish the harvest tomorrow, God willing, and it doesn't rain.

I have my dad and aunt here helping with the harvest, they leave the 10th and then we leave to go back for Christmas on the 15th so I know I won't get to an Avant dealer until January. I know we need to get another something that I can feel comfortable running. 2006 should be the year we pull the trigger.

 

[rox]

Brian,

Avants are sold by a dealer that is all over France. I defanately have to get a demo to see how it will handle the slopes. If you go to theri website and watch the videos, especially look at the video for the 200 model I think it is called "Mud Video" they show it going through some really gnarly terrain.

I am so torn. Nothing is perfect for this property. We have terraces that go up steep hillsides and I know the Toolcat wont fit on the terraces which have trees. The avant will and probably a Power Trac will. However most of the property has tractor paths that are jsut really steep and then you get to fields that are planted as an orchard with normal orchard spacing and a Toolcat would be perfect for that. Which is why I flip back and forth and research so much, there really is not oe machine that will do it all. I do live the Toolcat, holds 2 people and my husband and I work together most of the time so being able to ride together to the fields would be awesome.

You would probably think me slightly deranged if you knew how many different pieces of equipment I thought would be jsut the perfect answer for our needs, only to read and research other equipment and change my mind and say, "No this one is IT." The words amature are written all over me that is for sure.

One good thing I found out is that some equipment that we have that I would like to sell is worth some pretty good money and would offset the purchase of something new. This is a pretty cool website for used equipment in Europe http://www.agriaffaires.co.uk/

I am very interested to see what the Toolcat low cost model will have and what the price will be. In the meantime I do like this Avant.

 

[toolz_not_toyz]

Okay. I looked at one of those videos and posted about it in the PowerTrac forum. But I'll also say the same thing here. I looked at the forest video and I have to say this: it looks tippy. They conveniently cut away whenever the stability of the tractor is challenged. Just fast forward to the end of that video to see what I mean...the driver is in a bit of a pickle when that ends.

I'm familiar with the landscape you are describing and stability will be everything. You want something with a low center of gravity and some weight. The PT would be good in that it has both. HOWEVER, you need to look into whether or not there are emissions issues that you need to be aware of when importing this type of equipment.

A lot of that type of land hasn't been traditionally farmed with machinery. Keep that in mind.

What is the list of things you need to do?