Need older tractor recommendations for round baling.

[Tx Jim]

I believe that you can get more value for your dollar on most any compared to Deere.
Myself I never felt operator inconvenience while running an IH.

Lou
Have you ever operated a JD 30 through 55 series JD rowcrop tractor?

 

[HayFarmer]

Ford 7710 or 9700. Have the newer cabs; I have a 9600 with the old cab (and broken AC - run with no doors all summer).

 

[Tx Jim]

How about this? Not too far from you...

https://www.tractorhouse.com/listing/for-sale/213283955/1976-john-deere-4030-40-hp-to-99-hp-tractors

Or this:

https://www.tractorhouse.com/listing/for-sale/210652609/john-deere-4230-100-hp-to-174-hp-tractors

I'll bet both those tractors have over 10,000 hrs of use. My 4255 that I've owned since Feb. '93 that use to rd bale has 11,600+ hrs showing on speed/hr meter

 

[EddinKY]

One of my neighbors retired and sold his very nice White 2-105 with cab for $10,000.
It sure was a lot of tractor for that money.

 

[LouNY]

Lou
Have you ever operated a JD 30 through 55 series JD rowcrop tractor?

Yes, we have a 4020, and two 4430's on the farm now. Also had a 125HP one for a loader tractor 12-14 years ago,
replaced that with a PUMA 125.

 

[RancherGuy]

... most of them were overpowered for my needs and cost a lot more. The ones that seemed within my budget were a LONG ways from Oklahoma. Family issues and ranch demands make travel like that unfeasible.

Overpowered? LOL. Seems that I can confirm the following: it would be rare to find someone who says he has too much land, his barn is too big, or his tractor is overpowered. For my first tractor, I passed up a 130hp tractor I found in the classified. I was convinced I only wanted 100 for my needs. A month later I bought a used tractor from my local dealer. The tractor was not on the lot for viewing or driving - we drove to a farm with the 130hp tractor that I bought. That tractor was my 'everything'. It was a 2wd row-crop IH. Added a loader for hay. Ran two years doing my own 35 acres of hay. With the weight, 4WD was not necessary for hay, especially when hay conditions are supposed to be dry ground. I hated switching implements with only one tractor available, so bought a second.

You say you need to stack hay - what do you mean? Inside a barn, or outside covered with a big tarp?

Personally, it sounds like you get along with your neighbor(s) and state that you are afraid of breakdowns you may experience with their tractor. Instead of buying your own and incurring maintenance or breakdown issues, have you considered an agreed payment system - say by the tractor hour? Unless you have bigger or varied needs beyond hay, your needs are known and can be forecasted. This way, you don't have to invest capital in an old tractor, you have no maintenance, and breakdowns should be covered by the owner. In my mind, it definitely makes sense and if the rate is high enough, the owner may be agreeable because the usage is known and limited, the activity type is little risk, and he gets paid.

 

[dieselscout80]

An IH hydro 70/86/100/186/3488 would be a great hay baling tractor due to no gear spacing/steps issues.

The 186/3488 had better cabs, but the others has cabs too.

 

[Hay Dude]

One of my neighbors retired and sold his very nice White 2-105 with cab for $10,000.
It sure was a lot of tractor for that money.

Another very good, older tractor.
The older Ford 77xx were good, too.

 

[Lineman North Florida]

Lou
Have you ever operated a JD 30 through 55 series JD rowcrop tractor?

I don't know how many hours I logged on a JD 4040 ,row crop farming as a boy, definitely the best tractor we ever had on our place, I think they called them the Iron Horse series.

 

[Lineman North Florida]

Another very good, older tractor.
The older Ford 77xx were good, too.

We had a neighbor that I worked for some during the summer in tobacco and he had Ford tractors, open station 7600 and 7700 he rarely did maintenance on them and he didn't know what a grease gun was but those 2 tractors were tough and suprisingly pretty easy on fuel.