Buying Advice The best Yanmar made?

[sweettractors]

I had a 1610D with bush hog FEL and I dug a goldfish pond with it in addition to countless honey do projects and gardens. Backfilled a new house after construction and maintained 1/4 mile of steep river road for many years. Never let me down. Paid $2100 for the tractor and $2300 for the new loader when I bought it. Ken Sweet

 

[deepNdirt]

Well I'm sure many of the Yanmar Tractors are good to fit the bill for many purposes, I've only had this one, It being the YM1700 and so far has done most anything I expect of it, even more as I push on testing its capabilities, however from some others point of views Like using a FEL I might be pushing it too hard, Most folks here would say No! No! to a FEL on such of a tractor, Although this is proof that one can be used on even such small of tractor not being designed for a FEL, it was a risk I had to take so I must give my tractor the thumbs up:thumbsup: a good point has been brought up about sizing yourself up to the appropriate size tractor when seeking out a CUT, sure! anyone can get a large full size tractor and sure to have what they need for any task and have plenty of room while in the seat...although for the average use a large tractor would be overkill for me, however with having a CUT I did realize soon after purchasing my 1700 I was a bit uncomfortable and felt awkward on it, the feet rest boards were to small, the seat was too close, the steering wheel was not in a comfortable user position being it was flat,the toolbox was in the way,the tractor was difficult to get on-off from, this tractors was certainly design for the smaller of men from Japan but rather than for me to trade up to a larger size tractor I did the modifications necessary to fit my size/needs:thumbsup: several months ago I post about some of the changes I made on my 1700, some changes were very simple, anyway! I have it now to a comfort level I can tolerate and can stay on it for hours at a time with no problem, The only thing I have to deal with now is the ROPS being in my way when turning to look to the rear I hit my elbows on it, but I fix that, I simply wrapped it with foam padding

 

[Mickey_Fx]

My Yanmar is the only one I've had so I'm no where near an expert on model selection.

My tractor has been great to me and trouble free for the 4-5 yrs I've had it. I like the newer F series as they offer a step-thru design, no shift lever between the legs. I'll second the powershift. The F series come in many model sizes up to the F42 model. The model up through the F24 are 3-cyl engines and larger model are 4-cyl. The smaller models offer a 3-speed range shift with 3-speed powershift. Larger model offer a 4-speed powershift.

There are so many options it's hard to quantify what you'll find on any particular model. Mine has a 4-speed PTO, creep range that affectively doubles the number of gear ranges. There is a qick-steer option that operates in front wheel drive only and turning radius is reduces substantially. Great for those tight space situations.

Another feature is the UFO controls. It automates some of the 3-pt controls. As far as I'm aware I'm the only person that has made use of the auto implement depth and tilt control for the tiller. Have to give thanks to Ernie for suppling the necessary parts to make that happen. The UFO control on newer models offer auto up/down controls. Set hight and depth and a button press and 3-pt moves to the preset position.

But everything is not perfect. The F series are too close coupled for me. Somewhat tight fit getting in/out of the seat. The short wheel base leave a lot to be desired when it comes to the FEL. The short WB results in a very high weight transfer for using the FEL. Every lb in the bucket shows up as 2 lb on the front axle. I've had my my tractor on the scales and with only me in the seat it tips the scales at almost 4k lbs. With nothing in the bucket, the front tires are at max rated capacity. With that said I've picked up 600-700 lbs without any failure but the tires were way over loaded. Maybe the weight transfer issue isn't as big a deal with the larger models.

Hard to go wrong qlty and reliability wise with a Yanmar.

 

[Johndeere3720]

i have had a great experience with my yanmar. Even with only 6 forward and 2 reverse, it does what i need it to do and often more. I got to try out an F215 at Ernies and that was one nice yanmar.:thumbsup: I really liked the tight turning radius and the power it produces. The FEL was of top quality and i found the operator station rather comfortable. I havent tried the UFO tilling but after ernie talked about it, i decided that i want one. :thumbsup: My yanmar has only needed some bolts tightend and a seal fixed but i have had some trouble with the electrical. In fact, the tractor wouldnt start last night because the electrical was acting up again. i may just rewire it if it keeps this up.

 

[rScotty]

The topic will be subjective of course, but I'd like your opinions on the best Yanmar made.

After some careful shopping I have decided the Yanmar may be the tractor for me. Price point, available features, and classic styling have led me to this conclusion. I'm shopping in the 25 to 30 hp range and realize Yanmar has several models in this category and beat the competitors prices quite a bit. I have need for 4wd and an FEL also.

Your thoughts and dealer suggestions please...

Shucks, I don't think it all that subjective at all. You've been pretty definite about what you want, and finding an honest 25 to 30 hp really narrows it down. I'd say that you are pointing squarely at the YM336D. It was Yanmar's flagship model back when they made US models and has the advantage of parts still readily available. As well as having all the factory manuals are in English - including owner's manual, workshop, parts, and electrical manuals. The tractor itself was a squat heavy powerhouse available with advanced features including: internal power steering, draft control, power shift, creeper gears!!, two sizes of turf wheels&tires, live double clutchable PTO... and we could go on and on. Options include a rugged quick attach industrial quality loader (most had that), plus things like a heavy front axle, a transmission heater as well as an engine block heater, and some included Yanmar's hydraulic three point tilt and tops links. Loaded up, it was surprisingly expensive even back in the 80s, and that limited the sales, but it's one fine tractor with no known problem areas. The same model was made for the international market and many were sold all over the world. The YM336d was popular in the US - particularly in the mountain west and west coast states. I'm sure you can find one. Or come drive ours to see what they are like.
rScotty

 

[Car Doc]

About 6' 3", 280 lbs

I gotta admit, never thought of that question....

I am 6' and 235ish and fit better in a 3810 than a 2820 mainly because of the extra sheet metal around the dash on a 20 series ymmv as always that and its a bigger tractor that helps too.

Thats the only 2 Yanmars I have been around and I bought the 3810D based on what I saw in the very capable 2820D being a little tight for my frame on ingress and egress.

 

[Neat 1500]

dont know about which is best but they made piles of 1500s amongst others. should see if chassis numbers of individual models can be found and compile them to see what model had the most and then assemble them from most to least. that would be a good project for someone:thumbsup:

 

[kenmac]

3110D is the best yanmar made:thumbsup:

 

[rScotty]

3110D is the best yanmar made:thumbsup:

I wonder just how close the 3110D is to my favorite US model....the YM336D? Do the same models go by different model names in different countries?
rScotty

 

[clemsonfor]

I wonder just how close the 3110D is to my favorite US model....the YM336D? Do the same models go by different model names in different countries?
rScotty

yep, the US YM models use engine HP as the model number and the overseas version uses the pto HP.

Example is my grey market (overseas) Yanmar YM2000, its US sold twin is the YM240.

My tractor is a 20 hp PTO and 24 engine HP.

Once you go to the power shifts and 10 series and 20 series and 01 series in not as sure what they are.