TreeDreamer
New member
I grew up around a small sawmill in the south. We skidded with horses, then a 3200# 28HP John Deere 420, then a MF65. Dad had a G John Deere. Worked for a farmer with a Ford 841 Powermaster and a MF1085. Then life and kids and work happened for 35 years and I bought 40 acres and a '70s Case 990 about 8 years ago.
The Case has a 12F-4R transmission, a good draft hitch, power steering, the softest clutch I've ever used, foot throttle, diff lock, but most of all a Case 65 oversized loader with about 3000# lift. But it also has a loose front end, leaks everywhere, electrical issues, the seat is just foam with a loose flap of a cover and the lift is weak when hot. I could spend maybe $4000 or $5000 dollars on it and it would still have 2 wheel drive. It would then be worth about $3500.
Over the last eight years, I've acquired a good bushhog, a beat up Woods C80 bushhog, 2-14 plow, 8' disk, 6' box blade, 8' landscape rake, 8' hydraulic angle grader blade, ATI preseeder, 5' aerator, cone spreader, a Fransgard 10,500# logging winch, and my favorite by far, a Woods ATI 6' root grapple (~800# and unbendable).
I looked at Kubotas, New Holland, and John Deere (and briefly at Mahindra and Rural King). I started with an direct replacement 60-75HP (5-series and M-series) tractor to replace the Case. But I am constantly frustrated when in the woods with turning that thing around and my aversion to barking anything. So I stepped back and looked at the 4R series and the MX series (only comparable in size, not features). Finally said screw it, I'll try it and see, and bought a 3046R, used, 150 hours, at a bargain near where I grew up in Jackson, TN.
The stepdown is a long one, from the Case at about 7000# with 900# of CaCl in each tire and that huge loader to the (as yet unloaded) 3046R that probably doesn't weigh 3000# without the loader on it. I'll load the tires and that'll help, get it to just past 1/2 the weight.
It spun its tires with my box blade just lightly pulling the center out of the driveway, 4wd helped. When I used the mid-duty 6' bush hog on the back 6 acres the front wheels were light enough to skid instead of turn without the brakes. I moved some dirt from a pile of gravel mixed in clay to fill some low spots in a road and it was painful to dig it out (no traction) and slow to move it with that little 5' bucket on the H165. It has plenty of power for my implements, just not the weight. Loading the tires, maybe some wheel weight, and then appropriate a ballast box will fix most of that.
On the other hand, I love the hydrostatic transmission, the cruise control pad(!!!), the four wheel drive, the compact size, the looks, and the fact it doesn't drip or require constant topping off of literally everything, powersteering, loader hydraulics, transaxle, engine oil...
If I can get over the size, I've got a great tractor.
Mark
The Case has a 12F-4R transmission, a good draft hitch, power steering, the softest clutch I've ever used, foot throttle, diff lock, but most of all a Case 65 oversized loader with about 3000# lift. But it also has a loose front end, leaks everywhere, electrical issues, the seat is just foam with a loose flap of a cover and the lift is weak when hot. I could spend maybe $4000 or $5000 dollars on it and it would still have 2 wheel drive. It would then be worth about $3500.
Over the last eight years, I've acquired a good bushhog, a beat up Woods C80 bushhog, 2-14 plow, 8' disk, 6' box blade, 8' landscape rake, 8' hydraulic angle grader blade, ATI preseeder, 5' aerator, cone spreader, a Fransgard 10,500# logging winch, and my favorite by far, a Woods ATI 6' root grapple (~800# and unbendable).
I looked at Kubotas, New Holland, and John Deere (and briefly at Mahindra and Rural King). I started with an direct replacement 60-75HP (5-series and M-series) tractor to replace the Case. But I am constantly frustrated when in the woods with turning that thing around and my aversion to barking anything. So I stepped back and looked at the 4R series and the MX series (only comparable in size, not features). Finally said screw it, I'll try it and see, and bought a 3046R, used, 150 hours, at a bargain near where I grew up in Jackson, TN.
The stepdown is a long one, from the Case at about 7000# with 900# of CaCl in each tire and that huge loader to the (as yet unloaded) 3046R that probably doesn't weigh 3000# without the loader on it. I'll load the tires and that'll help, get it to just past 1/2 the weight.
It spun its tires with my box blade just lightly pulling the center out of the driveway, 4wd helped. When I used the mid-duty 6' bush hog on the back 6 acres the front wheels were light enough to skid instead of turn without the brakes. I moved some dirt from a pile of gravel mixed in clay to fill some low spots in a road and it was painful to dig it out (no traction) and slow to move it with that little 5' bucket on the H165. It has plenty of power for my implements, just not the weight. Loading the tires, maybe some wheel weight, and then appropriate a ballast box will fix most of that.
On the other hand, I love the hydrostatic transmission, the cruise control pad(!!!), the four wheel drive, the compact size, the looks, and the fact it doesn't drip or require constant topping off of literally everything, powersteering, loader hydraulics, transaxle, engine oil...
If I can get over the size, I've got a great tractor.
Mark
