Recently acquired my first tractor! What's she capable of? (MF 135)

Daelric · May 22, 2015

My fiancee and I just bought our dream property in northwest BC... a nice little house with about 2 acres cleared on a total of 80 acres of flat, treed land.

The best part? The property comes with a well-maintained working Massey Ferguson 135 tractor! Implements that also came with it include a 2 bladed plow and a large disc harrow. I also bought and got shipped to me a Norwood skidding attachment for the 3-pt hitch with the intention of being able to use it to clear some of the land.

My biggest question for those with experience, though, is just what is this tractor capable of? I have big dreams of clearing a large amount of the land to establish a nice field/pasture where we can have some livestock grazing. I'm hoping to be able to use the tractor for a good amount of this land-clearing operation as I don't have the resources to get any big, heavy equipment in like Cats or excavators after the purchase of the land. At the same time, however, I don't want to put too much strain on the poor tractor and try to get her to do anything she's just not capable of.

Any advice for a tractor novice?

Thanks!

gmikem206 · May 22, 2015

Hi, just wondering if you got the manuals for the tractor? If not TractorData.com is a good place to start for specs.
TractorData.com Massey Ferguson 135 tractor information
Beyond that I'll let the more knowledgeable comment. Good Luck. Congrats on the engagement and the property.

Daelric · May 22, 2015

Yes, I have seen that page, but thanks for the link! I'm not much of a mechanic or engineer though, so a lot of the terms and numbers (including horsepower) don't really mean anything to me. That's why I'm hoping for some input from folks with knowledge as to what it can do. Just as an example, if I was to cut down trees and skid them out, could I attempt to use this tractor to pull out stumps? Or is that just a completely out to lunch idea? I have no clue! But at least I'm asking before I go ahead and try it... I don't want to break my tractor!

Bird · May 22, 2015

I have no clue! But at least I'm asking before I go ahead and try it... I don't want to break my tractor!

I doubt that you can pull a very big stump, but you won't hurt the tractor to try. Just go easy and if it stops, spins the wheels, have your foot on the clutch pedal and be ready to depress it. You're not likely to hurt the tractor by trying something it can't do. But also remember that it CAN rear up and go over backwards in some situations. In other words, as far as what it can do, IT CAN kill you. Just go at it slow and easy until you learn what it can do and not do.

Daelric · May 22, 2015

Hi Bird, thanks for the input.Thankfully, the previous owner already made me aware of the potential for rearing up and flipping backwards! If I do try to pull a stump that isn't coming right away, "slow and steady" will definitely be the motto rather than gunning it.

murphy1244 · May 22, 2015

What year and style is it? Gas or Diesel? What is the serial #?

Daelric · May 22, 2015

Not sure on the serial, and don't know about the year or style either. unfortunately we haven't moved out to the new property yet so it's a bit of a drive away.

What I can tell you is that it's a 4-cyl gas engine.

murphy1244 · May 22, 2015

See this link and find your year. TractorData.com Massey Ferguson 135 tractor information

Also see our vintage forum http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/massey-ferguson-classic-vintage/

mddorange · May 22, 2015

:welcome:
To TBN Daelric and congrats on the new property and tractor. Like Bird said, you can do most anything with your tractor without hurting it, but get plenty of experience using it in normal situations before trying anything hard.

FentonFarmer · May 22, 2015

Hello Daeric,
Good luck with your project in a beautiful part of the world. We have a very old, early model 35 petrol Massey, it is a wonderful thing. The steering is light given its non power, the turning circle is fantastic and all the structures/mechanicals can be understood my most mechanically minded (or inept in my case). Ours will happily pull a slasher (bush hog I think up North) and the water trailer in summer. We have used it for scarifying and scratching the soil prior to seeding. A flat bar fixed to the scarifier has allowed some gentle grading and smoothing of soil like a smudge bar I guess.

We have a 2 disk plough that we have used to form swales and turn a bit of soil over. In the dry times we have dropped a disk off to reduce the drag and strain on the old girl. We have used it for stick raking and pulling some loads around.

The only issues we have are the radiator is showing it's age and means work on a hot day is limited. This could just be our vehicles age and not a reflection of the model in general. I think the design stems from an Era when efficiency in fuel usage was not a priority either, ours loves a drink. 20lts of fuel probably only gets a few hours work. On ours the fuel tank almost requires a certain 1/3 full level to maintain fuel pressure to the carby, again might be a vehicle specific issue but think this one is a bit more widespread.

Having seen how quick really dark comes to B.C. you might have to find out from some TBN experts about upgrading lights. Ours throw about 6 windblown candles worth of light.

Roll bars are mandatory here in Australia, ours was a very simple retrofit and thoroughly recommend one if it does not already have one.

Even with the purchase of a new tractor ours will be staying on the farm. There will be days when yours does more than you thought it could and days when it doesn't do as much as you wish it could. Stay safe on those wish it could days. Be steady as you learn your machine and skills.

Good luck up there,
B.R.