Sell me on Branson

[Diggin It]

I have a truck, why wouldn't I just take it there? You're making something out of nothing. I also shouldn't be making 2 trips a year with it, unless it's a pile of junk.

He always does. Most of us just skip over his encyclopedias.


My dealer is about 80 miles. They delivered for a small charge and did pickup and redelivery free for a minor warranty issue. If I ever need to get it back to them, I have a neighbor I can pay.

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

I don't have one of the models you are looking at, but I'm very happy with my 3725. Close to 3 years and 300 hrs and I've never broken anything on it.

Try to go sit on and test drive as many models as you can.

 

[EddieWalker]

When I bought my Century, which is the same thing as Branson with interchangeable parts. From the very beginning, dealer support has been poor because corporate took months to send parts to my dealer. Online dealers have come and gone, and as of right now, I'm not even sure where I can go to get parts, or if they even exist. I've relied on Napa and Amazon to get the basic things like filters for it, along with switching to aftermarket parts to replace things like the fuel filter. The price of the factory fuel filter was obscene, so I bought an electric diesel fuel pump for a quarter the price.

Branson seems to be consistently claiming to be improving, but as soon as you have a problem and go to the latest dealership that pops up, it's the same issue of not being able to find the part, or waiting months for it to arrive. They do not support their products after a certain amount of time. Ten years flies by faster then you can imagine, and dealerships come and go very quickly with Branson.

My loyalty to Branson has disappeared a long time ago. There are some great, even fantastic, deals for used Branson tractors with just a few years on them all the time in my area. I wont touch them because I've already lost months of not being able to use my tractor while waiting on parts.

 

[LouNY]

I'm around 800 hrs on mine.
Had to warrenty a power steering line, when it was quite new.
Took some pictures of the leakage, sent them to the dealer,
he got the hose in and sent a man up to change it out.
I did have to provide some tools and assistance as he didn't have enough with him.
The fuel shutoff solenoid boot tore up, took a picture my dealer sent me a new solenoid.
Broke a loader control cable sent me a whole new joystick assembly, then we decided it was the
fel valve itself that was the culprit, sent me a new one.
So it has had a few minor issues, my dealer has taken good care of me.
It's an hour each way to him especially if the tractor were in tow,
also it's easier for me to replace those components then to haul or have it hauled in to be worked on.
Mine is the larger Branson the 8050 with wheel weights I'm over 10,000#.

The above issues were all warrantied, no cost to me.

 

[K5lwq]

Eddie, BigTex in Caddo Mills probably would be able to help you. They seem to be in for the long haul.

I was concerned about the lack of dealers as well but after looking closely at Branson and the simplicity of their design, I am confident I should be able to keep it running regardless.

I especially like that Branson does not use a ECM. Every other brand I looked at used a ECM of some type. Most have documented issues with them as well.

 

[fried1765]

90 miles away?

Tractor dealers often charge $2.00 per mile for tractor transport in Florida.

90 miles X 4 segments (one round trip to pick up, one round trip to return) = 360 miles X $2.00 = $720 just for transportation by dealer.

Yup!

But .......cost for a new trailer is $3,000.
New trailer cost equals 4.16 trips at $720 each.
New trailer would certainly have resale value in excess of $2,280 ($3,000- $720) after only one trip.
Dealer transport receipts have zero value!
Trailer will always be available for future needs.

 

[jeff9366]

FRIED1765: I highly value your posts, less this one.

For a <2,000 pound tractor, a $3,000 trailer may suffice but the OP is now considering heavier.

I have owned trailers but never a trailer suitable for a tractor. Reading T-B-N, it seems selecting a trailer suitable for a compact tractor is as complex as selecting a tractor.

What about trailer brake controller on the truck? What about truck fuel and truck depreciation? What about trailer and trailer-load supplementary insurance? What about trailer tags? What about opportunity cost of OP's time?

If a dealer will transport for $2.00 per mile, only trying to cover cost of HD truck, HD trailer, ample insurance and full cost of driver/mechanics time, I doubt a tractor owner with a suitable truck and suitable trailer and liability insurance can SAFELY haul for less than $2.00 per mile, valuing tractor owner's self-transport time at "0". Each round trip (180 miles) will consume most of a day, with loading, tying down, driving 180 miles, unloading, waiting for service, communicating tractor problem(s), fueling truck, a meal, etc.

A dealer has to size truck, size trailer and size insurance for the heaviest, most expensive tractor dealer is liable to haul during the year. An owner with lesser needs will not, but all the same expense categories are there.

I have owned three tractors. I am pretty good at numbers. I have never been able to figure how I could trailer a tractor as cheap as my dealer, who has the advantage of spreading depreciation, tags and insurance costs over 300 excursions per year.


I am six miles from my tractor dealer. I am charged $50.00 for each transport.

6 miles X 4 segments = 24 miles $50.00/24 miles = $2.08 per mile.

THE DIVERSITY OF OPINIONS POSTED ON T-B-N IS ITS STRENGTH.​

New trailer would certainly have resale value in excess of $2,280 ($3,000- $720) after only one trip.

Trailer will always be available for future needs.

You cannot sell trailer after one trip AND have trailer available for future needs.

 

[ericm979]

My dealer (Daves Tractors in Red Bluff) is 250 miles away. They charged me something like $500 to deliver. They deliver free within a certain radius but of course I'm well outside that. It's been three years and 210 hours and all it's needed is fluid and filter changes which I do myself. Dave's will ship me filters or whatever I need. They have customers in Alaska and Hawaii. They're a really good dealer and they are a good part of why I went with Branson.

With the exception of a few models that have had real problems, or operator error, the emissions problems with CUTS are overblown. Tractors under 75hp don't use DEF or EGR which have caused problems on diesel pickups. The emissions system on the Bransons is pretty simple. The injection is mechanical (a Bosch copy pump) and the DPF/DOC is passive with no regens. A few people who live in cold climates and don't run their tractor hard have had problems with the DPF/DOC clogging. It needs to get hot enough often enough to stay clean. You can replace it with a muffler if you have to. The only computer is a data logger that monitors the DPF/DOC and it'll run fine with that unplugged. For me the emissions system has worked fine. I've got 60 hours on the PTO chipper and that works the tractor pretty hard.

 

[K5lwq]

$3000 will get a 10,000lb 20' trailer around here. Will haul 8,000lb tractor all day. I don't understand the issue about a trailer. I would not have a tractor without a good way of transporting it when needed. :confused3:

 

[oldnslo]

I have the 2400H with MMM & 1200X FEL

Only major problem I have experienced was the front axle was assembled incorrectly with caused the drive shaft input bearings to fail at around 30 hours. Dealer replaced the complete front axle and now at 500 hrs.

MMM: The mower weighs around 400 lbs so is a heavy beast to move. On mine the Front wheels swivel but the rears do not. I modified my rear wheels so they could be turned 90 degrees to aide in rolling the mower out. I looked a 2510 this fall at that mower had this option. To install and remove the mower on mine you must raise the front of the tractor to roll the mower out. Not sure if the new models are the same or not. I believe this mower cuts better than my X540 Deere. Not sure if it is tip speed or deck design.

2510 vs 2400H: I think these are the same tractors with 2510 having three range gear box and 2400H two range. I think the three range would be very nice for doing loader work since low range transport speed is slow and high range you are limited on ability to push into a pile.

I believe the current 00 loader has very similar specs to the 1200X. I filled my tires with Rim Guard and can carry a full bucket of dirt with out extra ballast but have very little rear tire traction. I believe the newer 00 loader also has the option of being quick tach. This was not an option when I purchased mine 5 or 6 years ago.

For dirt engagement work I use high range and still spin before stalling the tranny this is with R1 ag tires..

Would not hesitate to buy another Branson

If looking 2400 gear drive it does NOT have live PTO so any time you push in the clutch the mower would stop. 2400H Has the mechanical clutch that engages the PTO and HST. Now you can use the HST and mower does not shut off unless you push the clutch.