Ok, so whats the deal with the NorTrac tractors?

[sd455dan]

Got a hold of someone from nortrac this morning. From 2000-2010 the tractors were Jimna. The tractors past 2010 are foton. Northern tool website doesnt list the repair centers for these tractors but according to the guy I talked to there was a couple repair centers in the nearest big city to me which is surprising. He said it comes with a detailed repair manual that lists every part and how it goes on. When i asked why nortracs tractors are so inexpensive compared to other brands he said because the other brands use a lot of fancy stuff like hydrostatic transmissions and electronics. He said these tractors are very basic and designed to be easy to work on and use similar designs from back in the 60's and 70's. Also said the 55xt and 70xt are new tractors that just came in and they dont have loaders yet because they're currently being designed by a company called koyker. He said all the parts for repairs are readily available from northern tool.

Koykers are built in South Dakota and have a good reputation , I did see (one) thread for a very small tractor where the owner bent the lift cylinders.

I have used and overworked the K2 Koyker loader on my Rhino- and it has been a tough and capable unit for 20+ years already.

 

[zonta223]

Well I have both a Foton and Kubota tractors. The Kubota has had a bad front diff and now has chipped a tooth in first gear. (to costly to repair) so have to work around it by selecting other gears.
The Foton has had one O ring on the four wheel drive selector replaced.
The Foton came with DVD's showing how to do the basic service work also shows indepth how to repair the clutch/gearbox etc.
I grow grapes commercially and could not be without my Foton and it has never let me down.
I think people should look at the pedigree of the Foton Lovel group. They are not just some backyard company that uses scrap parts and builds its tractors in an old shed with dirt floors.
Look at this link..............Inside Cummins: This Is Beijing Foton Cummins Engine Company - YouTube that shows what this company is doing.
And should I be worried about low second prices.Never I keep my tractor for a long time and work them hard its not like a car you upgrade every 3 years.
So I am happy with my tractor and laugh ever time I see the prices on the green and gold iron.

 

[sd455dan]

Hope the OP enjoys the new Kubota L4701, or whatever he ends up with.

Although the Nortrac may have worked OK to,

Nortrac does need to get their web pages info straightened out on the tractors they offer for sale.


I do think if the track width was actually as narrow as the site showed for the 50 hp model that it would have been a bit tippy on side hills.

 

[kenmac]

Quality tractors built in a state of the art factory with quality control cost more .

Cheap tractors built in a less than state of the art factory with little quality control cost less

 

[northernsierras]

OP here...ended up buying a kubota L4701. Main reason for this over the nortracs was the new model in the 45-55hp range wouldnt have loaders available until late this summer. If they had offered them now i would have bought one.

 

[kenmac]

IMO AS far as quality .You bought a much better tractor

 

[Sawyer Rob]

IMO AS far as quality .You bought a much better tractor

NO question about that! At all!

SR

 

[sd455dan]

OP here...ended up buying a kubota L4701. Main reason for this over the nortracs was the new model in the 45-55hp range wouldn't have loaders available until late this summer. If they had offered them now i would have bought one.

Congrats on the New Kubota , they are pretty much considered the best (overall) CUT tractor brand on TBN no argument from me there.
My only minor complaint from looking at (some) Bota's is they seem to be a bit light in weight compared to (some competitors), Light is great if you do a lot of mowing/ brush cutting. Not so much if lifting max weight with your FEL and transporting that weight over uneven ground.

Another great thing is you will have much of the resale down the road to- if you decide to sell or trade a Kubota in several years, Not sure that is totally true in the 1st couple years?


Now concerning the Nortrac

I have never seen (in person) a Foton ,

My concern after looking at a couple vids of the earlier 50? HP cabbed model was It did appear to be equipped with a VERY narrow front axle, the 45 inch quoted in the ad may be correct.

Personally would not want a tractor with that HP and a cab with that narrow of a front axle.

i checked out a vid of that size of Foton and it sure looked to be built with a very narrow front track width.

If you have hills on the property that you would be operating it on, safety would be a concern. That is jmo though

I can understand Koyker taking time making sure they get it right the 1st time. Moved some 1200+ square hay bales with mine just yesterday

Anyway Congrats again on your new tractor and Welcome to TBN and Tractor ownership,

Soon you will wonder how you Ever got by without one. and if I can make another recommendation or 2 -

Get the Kubota with remotes a SS quick attach bucket and also a Grapple


ps.. also put as heavy weight on the 3 point as you can find- my favorite is an 1100lb. ancient Gannon box blade. implements don't have to be new to work great and money can be saved there.:thumbsup:

 

[kenmac]

he can always load the tires and most likely have enough weight to match the loaders lift capacity.If not, I think he also bought a cutter or a box blade he can hang behind it

 

[Oldpath05]

Kubota's still made in Japan aren't they? I was hoping the OP would of bought the Nortrac tractor so there would be a first on hands quality review. Someone here needs to man up and buy one, I would but I have milk in the refrigerator.

 

[s219]

Kubota's still made in Japan aren't they? I was hoping the OP would of bought the Nortrac tractor so there would be a first on hands quality review. Someone here needs to man up and buy one, I would but I have milk in the refrigerator.

Do a search -- there have been a few threads on this. Most owners seem pretty happy upon purchase. Trouble is, none of them stuck around long here on TBN, so we have no idea how things worked out in the long term.

 

[kenmac]

Kubota's still made in Japan aren't they? I was hoping the OP would of bought the Nortrac tractor so there would be a first on hands quality review. Someone here needs to man up and buy one, I would but I have milk in the refrigerator.

send me some $$ I'll try one out and review it. I don't want to take the gamble.
I looked at jinma B-4 I purchased a 30+ yr old yanmar dealer use to sell both.

 

[Oldpath05]

Do a search -- there have been a few threads on this. Most owners seem pretty happy upon purchase. Trouble is, none of them stuck around long here on TBN, so we have no idea how things worked out in the long term.

I notice that alot when I do a thread search on something that's a few years old or more, offline offline offline..... from TBN subscribers I never heard of before.

I'm thinking tractor manufacturers improve their machines every 3 years so uptodate reviews should be ongoing or atleast until all tractors never break down and at the current rate of improvements might take another 100 years, give or take.

 

[Oldpath05]

send me some $$ I'll try one out and review it. I don't want to take the gamble.
I looked at jinma B-4 I purchased a 30+ yr old yanmar dealer use to sell both.

I would but I have to buy more milk to put in the fridge. You saying Jinma tractor is the same as a Nortrac and why doesn't your local dealer sell them anymore? You still have a 30 year old Yanmar?

When I was growing up always use to be if made in Japan= Japanese junk, now it's if you want quality buy something made in Japan. Maybe in a few years China will be the same way and everyone here will trade their Kubota's and Yanmar's in for the new state of the art high quality super strong never break down Nortec tractors for half the price

 

[kenmac]

I would but I have to buy more milk to put in the fridge. You saying Jinma tractor is the same as a Nortrac and why doesn't your local dealer sell them anymore? You still have a 30 year old Yanmar?

When I was growing up always use to be if made in Japan= Japanese junk, now it's if you want quality buy something made in Japan. Maybe in a few years China will be the same way and everyone here will trade their Kubota's and Yanmar's in for the new state of the art high quality super strong never break down Nortec tractors for half the price

Don't know about now, but when I was looking Northern sold Jinma under their name (nortrac)

Yes, I still have my yanmar. About 10 yrs now I guess. Only issues I have had is my front hub seals started leaking a little oil. The leak isn't that bad, and I have been too lazy to make the repair

The dealer I bought my yanmar from is the Largest importer of yanmar tractors (Fredricks equipment) He engineered/developed and had Osha certify the safety equipment for these tractors. He sold Jinma as a second line of tractors.Said they quit selling them due to customer complaints and too many warranty repairs. He even bought some of the jinma tractors back from customers due to too many break downs.

Here's a pic of the 30+ year old yanmar at work

 

[kenmac]

There's no doubt you can have quality products produced in China. Properly hardened gears, closer tolerances, better castings, etc, But there is a price to pay for that quality.

China is manufacturing quality A/C equipment that is being sold and installed here in the U.S.

 

[Oldpath05]

("Said they quit selling them due to customer complaints and too many warranty repairs. He even bought some of the jinma tractors back from customers due to too many break downs.")

That sounds like a good dealer when they sell tractors that dont pan out and buy them back, maybe Jinma improved by now.
Nice set of pictures of your tractor, what's the hours on it now? When my front end seals was leaking, I put a bottle of ATP AT-205 Re-Seal , been two years sofar, thought it would only last 6 months, if your hubs are tight I try that.

 

[kenmac]

("Said they quit selling them due to customer complaints and too many warranty repairs. He even bought some of the jinma tractors back from customers due to too many break downs.")

That sounds like a good dealer when they sell tractors that dont pan out and buy them back, maybe Jinma improved by now.
Nice set of pictures of your tractor, what's the hours on it now? When my front end seals was leaking, I put a bottle of ATP AT-205 Re-Seal , been two years sofar, thought it would only last 6 months, if your hubs are tight I try that.

My front hub seals don't leak that bad. I'll give the stuff a try. He brings these yanmars over from japan and refurbs them. It believe mine had 1200 hrs on it.
Not long after I bought it , they tac stopped working. The dealer provided me a new tac hour meter starting with 00000

 

[CincyFlyer]

Nortrac, Jinma, Agri Pro, Farm Pro, Foton, plus a half a dozen more are manufactured by the same coumpany who also makes Mahindra, the parts are very available through a dozen places in the states and easy to work on if needed. I would say if you ask around you will find more than one place in your area who works on them if your not mechanicaly inclinded. As for my self I work on my own for the same reason I did not spend 25 thousand on a Kabota or Deere I can not afford being retired to spend that much on a tractor or give someone 25 or 30 dollars an hour for something as a mechanic I can do my self. Tractors I have found out are like trucks if you talk to one person it has to be a Dodge but the other guy won't have anything but a chevy and you will never sell a ford man on anything but a ford, you have to judge your own situation and do whats best for you.

There isn't onecompany that makes Mahindra tractors, there are several, including, oddly, Mahindra. Some are Mitsubishi tractors! Some are made in Korea, but have Mahindra engines.

 

[whizdbiz2]

My Mahindra is made in Korea by TYM with a Daedong (Kioti in the U.S.) engine. Good little unit.