Tractors with no FEL

cchoate · Jul 1, 2005

I bought a tractor without a fel for the same reasons you list. Don't want to spend the money, not much use for one, no room, etc.. I then proceeded to kick myself for the next three years. Get the fel and use it to clean the garage to make room.
I now have a bigger tractor and the fel. A tractor without a fel is like a tractor without a fel. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

rtimgray · Jul 1, 2005

DrRod- I agree with the folks that say if you don't want a FEL, don't get a FEL. I grew up on a farm without front end loaders, and while there were certainly times that they would have been handy, we got by okay without them. I've farmed my own place for about 9 years and I've had a tractor with a loader for most of the time and I love it - but it sounds like you can get by fine without it (and pocket the extra money).

Most of the folks on this board will recommend a FEL because most of them have them. Most of them will recommend 4wd because most of them have it. A lot of them will recommend hydrostatic transmissions because that's what a lot of them have. (I bet you pick up on the pattern). This site contains an enormous amount of information, but it also suffers from a tremendous amount of "bandwagonner" mentality. Of course I'm quite the hypocrit since I have a 4wd tractor with a loader (no slushamatic for me, though).

In the end, it is your money and your stuff. If it turns out to be the wrong decision, you can always add a loader later, and maybe it'll cost a little more than if you buy it as a package. I would get the tractor without the loader, do what I need to do, and add the loader later - it's a lot easier to add a loader than to try to get your money back after buying one.

Good luck.

MikePA · Jul 1, 2005

Most of the folks on this board will recommend a FEL because most of them have them. Most of them will recommend 4wd because most of them have it. A lot of them will recommend hydrostatic transmissions because that's what a lot of them have. (I bet you pick up on the pattern). 
You're stating the only reason people recommend a FEL is because they have one, regardless of its value. Hardly fair and hardly true.

I recommend a FEL because I use it every time I have the tractor out.

Most compact tractors come standard with 4wd to improve traction (compensation for relatively light weight when compared to larger tractors). Since it's standard equipment, there's nothing to recommend.

I recommend hydro, not simply because I have one but because I've used both and I prefer hydro.

I wont presume to speak for most of the folks on this board.

tough451 · Jul 1, 2005

A ice storm taught me that I needed a new tractor. I couldnt afford the loader as I had to beg borrow steal and and have a very creative salesman help me find a way to afford the tractor. But as soon as the tractor is paid off I will have one, luckily I can borrow my brothers 5420 JD when I do need the loader but I will have my own.
If you can afford it please give it some serious consideration.

Varmintmist · Jul 2, 2005

If you are thinking the Branson, I would skip the turf tires. You have 42hp that you will never be able to use because you wont be able to get it to the ground.

42hp is more than you need, but isnt out of line.

If you dont want to get a loader, dont get one. Just make sure that it has all of the stuff to add one when you do want one, about 2 months after you get the tractor /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

rtimgray · Jul 2, 2005

I'm not saying it's the ONLY reason people recommend a FEL -folks recommend what they like. I never said it was a bad recommendation. It's just that a lot of folks beg people to fill out their profiles and explain their situation, which DrBob did; doesn't look like his place requires a FEL, but people recommend it anyway. I can't recall seeing anybody post that they didn't like their loader (every now and then you see one with folks having problems with a loader, but not that they don't like them at all). I think a loader is a great investment for most tractors, but there are way more tractors, compact and utility, running around my area that don't have loaders.

There are still several compact tractors that have the option of 2wd or 4wd. If they didn't, then why would there be lengthy threads, discussions and arguments about it, as there have been in the past? And it does seem to be the overwhelming recommendation - which doesn't make it wrong or right, it just depends on the users needs. Of course, I would recommend 4wd with every tractor, but that's cause I'm biased.

I wasn't really trying to speak for all posters on the board, but if it came across like that - sorry. But for whatever reason, those are the top three recommendations that you will see for new buyers - an they certainly are not unfounded. They usually tend to be the blanket recommendations no matter what the user's questions are because that's kind of the culture of this board. It's not right or wrong - that's just what it is.

Sorry if my post or posts were offensive or presuming to speak for others, just my observations from hanging out for a few years.

KenVT · Jul 3, 2005

Hey DrRod!

If you not expecting to do any finish mowing, Just hogging/Harrowing/dragging, you might want to consider getting Ag tires, sure, the R4 (ind) look nice, but load up easily in the mud, slip lots in the wet grass, even when loaded.

If you really don't need an FEL, the least expensive set up would have to be 2WD/AG tires, with the Ag tires you wouldn't need 4wd, Then get a bigger tractor....The price difference isn't much, and the increased power will get the Chore list done that much faster.

The New Holland Tn series looks like it would work good for you.

Just my 2cents,

Ken

flusher · Jul 3, 2005

RE: "I don't need/want an FEL".

Here's a very recent real life example of the usefulness of an FEL.

Last Wednesday my Kubota dealer delivered my new B7510HST with a model LA302 FEL and the 3 chain hooks that I had him weld to the top of the bucket.

Thursday I visited my local TSC store and bought a 4' KK brush hog and a 4' box blade. Had the hog loaded into my F150. Drove home. Hooked up three chains to the hog and FEL bucket and unloaded. Took about 10 minutes total to get the hog out of the pickup and in the garage where I wanted it. Didn't break a sweat in 98F heat. Did the same the next day with the BB.

Just a simple example of what can be done with an FEL without any muss or fuss /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

GeneD14 · Jul 5, 2005

( I am buying my first tractor -- plan to use it for brush hogging, pulling a few logs, and pulling a disk harrow --
)
When I brush hog a field with unknown obsticles in it I set the FEL bucket cutting edge at 3-4" and the brush hog cutting height at 5-6" and it prevents rocks, logs, etc... from getting hit by the mower.
When using a harrow or tiller the FEL bucket is a handy place to throw the rocks in that crop up.
( I don't need/want an FEL. )

I have a neighbor that can afford the best tractor on the market but uses a beat up, poorly maintained, old Ford 8n to take care of his property. It over heats when he mows, when he plows snow it slides around because of no chains or weight, and the list goes on. Every task is a struggle. He says that he can't justify a newer tractor because the old one "gets the job done." He is apparently satisfied with his choice.
If you still feel that you absolutely don't need/want a FEL then by all means do not get one. The only person that you have to satisfy is yourself.

DrRod · Jul 6, 2005

Well GeneD14 -- that is a clever piece of original thinking, one that would be most useful when going through a field like mine which hasn't been mowed for a few years. Sounds like a real blade saver.

By way of an update on my search for the perfect tractor, I stopped by my local JD dealer yesterday. I had just finished mowing out my rows of Christmas trees in 97% humidity (using a walk-behind DR Field and Brush mower) and was thinking of changing my priorities from mowing my big open fields to easing the mowing work on the tree fields.

The trees are on six-foot centers but have grown out some so a four-foot mower would be about right. I thought a belly mower might work but they emphasized that they are really for lawns and they really don't have one that will hold up in field conditions. So we looked at some compacts with a four-foot brush mower. Given the tightness of my tree field a loader would definitely by a hinderance but I am thinking of all the other places I might use it around the property.

What I found interesting (and was actually the original subject of my post) was that the dealer could sell me a tractor without the valves and controls for the FEL set-up. He could order it or take them off one in stock and this would reduce the cost by $500. He did caution that it would hurt resale and make a later addition prohibitively expensive but it was food for thought.

He also pointed out that ag tires were narrower than turf or industrial tires which would help keep the track well withing four feet. I hadn't considered this before so I have give credit to the salesman for putting a little thought into it.

Thanks again for your thoughts.

Rod