To buy or not to buy TU225F

Treemonkey1000 · Jan 31, 2008

I am looking for a 4WD tractor so that I can pull small logs out of the woods. Then maybe do other small jobs around here in Washington. Is anyone familiar with the TU225F? There is one here for about $6500 with 1064 hours on it. I won't be putting a lot of hours on it. For another $1800 I could get a new Jinma. Or just keep shopping for a tractor. I did look at many of the postings on here to see if Iseki is still supported which would be another factor in buying and getting it serviced here in the Seattle area.. Words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated to this newbie.
Jim

lens12 · Feb 1, 2008

I'd buy the Iseki over a Chinese tractor. Much better quality. I can supply parts , but power train parts other than seals & bearings I would probably have to get from Japan.

svcguy · Feb 1, 2008

I own a TU205F and have been very happy with it. The Iseki is a well made tractor and as Len mentions, all Japanese tractors have closer tolerances and certainly better finish than the present Chinese tractors. Although China is really making headway, they are a long way behind Japan with consistency. That being said, you have to have patience with Iseki's, as many parts coming from Japan can take some time.

The TU series was not designed with a loader in mind, so if a loader is important to you, I would wait and find a more suitable platform. My 205 has a loader, but it was also broken in half directly behind the rear of the engine when I received it. I remanufactured a frame for it and it has been fine, but the original frame has some inherent weaknesses for loader use.

I also have a Yanmar YM240D and finding parts is much easier for it. The Yanmar is another solid tractor. Again, the Iseki is a high quality, excellent tractor, but I also have my own machine shop and have had to manufacture some of my own parts because of the wait involved from Japan. If you have the time and abilities though, they are good tractors.

Kays Supply · Feb 1, 2008

If you could find the same tractor in the TA series you would be able to get parts easier and a loader to fit. I have had several TA models. They are like the Yanmar / Deere connection only with Massey. I have fit loaders from Massey tractors to a couple of the TA Isekis. I now have a TA207 that is possibly the nicest tractor I have had.

Treemonkey1000 · Feb 4, 2008

Hey thanks for the feedback. I appreciate the input. Based on your replies I passed on that Iseki. So in my further searching I found a Kubota L3750 for just a little more money. It has about 4000 hours on it which does concern me after seeing some of the tractors being rebuilt with 1000+ hours on them. From what I understand the Kubota's have a good reputation. I ended up getting this from a Kubota dealer which should help in getting parts. Now it would be nice to have a machine shop to build my own parts!
If you have any advice on the Kubota L3750's that would be great. And I do recognize the fact that this is the Iseki forum.
Thank you again for your advice. It helped me make a wise decision (I hope)
Jim

svcguy · Feb 4, 2008

Kubota makes a great tractor. I have owned domestics, Yanmar, Iseki and Kubota, and while I have my preferences as to certain design and functional features of each - all of them have been excellent as a whole. I wouldn't be overly concerned with 4000 hrs on the meter if it runs strong and has been cared for, it's the one with 12 hrs on the meter that you need to question. You at least know what you are working with and any tractor that has been cared for properly will easily handle 4000 hrs.

Good luck with the new unit!

EFC · Feb 7, 2008

Treemonkey1000 said:
Hey thanks for the feedback. I appreciate the input. Based on your replies I passed on that Iseki. So in my further searching I found a Kubota L3750 for just a little more money. It has about 4000 hours on it which does concern me after seeing some of the tractors being rebuilt with 1000+ hours on them. From what I understand the Kubota's have a good reputation. I ended up getting this from a Kubota dealer which should help in getting parts. Now it would be nice to have a machine shop to build my own parts!
If you have any advice on the Kubota L3750's that would be great. And I do recognize the fact that this is the Iseki forum.
Thank you again for your advice. It helped me make a wise decision (I hope)
Jim

As long as you have a good dealer the Kubota was a better choice. I really like Iseki but I am not fond of the TUxxx models and stopped selling them completely years ago.

Buck