What is your favorite tractor and why?

[wolc123]

My favorite happens to be the first tractor I ever bought, a 1951 Ford 8N. To this day, there are still a few tasks that I would rather use it for than any other. I appreciate it's compact size, good power/weight ratio and fuel economy, smooth & quiet gasoline power, ease of putting implements on and off, ease of mounting and dismounting the operator platform, rugged simplicity, and unmatched parts availability. As long as you use it for jobs that are in it's wheelhouse, it is a tough tractor to beat. Certainly there are many superior tractors for PTO and front loader work. There are no others that I would rather have on my two-row corn planter. It also does a heck of a job on a 2 x 12" plow, the implement that it was designed around.

This design was way ahead of its time. Almost 80 years after the N-series was introduced in 1939, there are some tasks where I prefer it over many of the tractors being produced today. The 1951 - 1952's were the most refined form of the N-series. I pick the 1951 as my favorite, rather than the 1952, because some of those may have used reworked parts to clear out inventory prior to the totally redesigned 1953 Jubilee model. To me that 1953 redesign was a brief step backward with less fuel economy and a less reliable hydraulic system. Ford did get most of the bugs worked with the 600 series.

I don't think you could have asked an easier question and this one is a slam dunk if there ever was one.

 

[ctrider]

That's a toss-up. I really like the new one I have, a 2012 2320. But I also really like using the 1952 JD MC dozer. It's just such a simple, beastly machine. And I can't stop there. The IH784 is a beast in the woods.

Sooooo, I guess I don't know which is my favorite. :confused3:

EDIT:

Yeah, I know, I left out the 318. Ha!

 

[Egon]

Talking about Prime Movers for farm work I'd guess my favorite would be four Belgians!

 

[wolc123]

Talking about Prime Movers for farm work I'd guess my favorite would be four Belgians!

Yes, there is nothing quite like the old Hay Burning S__t makers. I prefer Percherons, at least they have a bit better power to weight ratio and make a little less of it.

 

[BrokeFarmerJohn]

My grandpa has a 1929 John Deere General Purpose that I fell in love with, tried to buy it from him but he wanted a bit too much for it lol. I will buy one, one day even if it’s not his. Pic isn’t his but same one.

The two I own that I like are my JD 4320 and JD 455 with Ruegg 3pt. 4320 has done everything I have needed and some, A/C, heat, air seat and comfortable ergonomics, my 455 is great for mowing and lighter duty work.

My buddy is into war time Ford tractors N series. We just picked a 2n that was 5 hours one way away lol. It’s got a Sherman step up trans and a 8n engine. He also loves his mahindra 28 Max XL TLB because it’s able to do all his projects, he uses the backhoe more than the loader.

 

[wolc123]

I have a soft spot for the green ones also. The first tractor on our farm (that replaced a team of percherons in 1950) was a John Deere M. My dad still uses that to plow his garden and cultivate. it is not quite as smooth as my 4 cylinder Ford 8n, but I liked cultivating a lot better with that than the "cultivision" Farmall cub I used for a while.

Currently, I have an open-station John Deere 4120, which is also a fine tractor. The 4wd makes it a great loader, and disk tractor, and the live pto is great for that work. I added a home-made canopy to it for comfort mowing hay under the hot sun. It is not as good on the plow in good soil conditions as my old 8n, due to a lack of draft control on the hydraulics. I only plow with it when the soil is too wet for the 2wd 8N.

I mow the lawn with a very high-hour John Deere LT 150. I just completed a lot of work on it to get it ready for spring, and I am thankful that it has been delayed this year with the cold and snow. That gave me time to make weld repairs on the mower deck and exhaust, sharpen the blades, change the oil, and to replace the motor mounts which had been "band-aid" fixed all last summer. I love the hydrostatic transmission on that one for mowing the lawn, but I much prefer the Power-reverser gear job on the 4120 for field work.

 

[Sonny580]

These!











have more!!! thanks; sonny580

 

[orangeandgreen]

Another vote for JD 4020. Ours is a 1968 "dash" model with a little over 7000 hours on the clock. It has seen duties from gardening to pulling 5-16's through heavy clay soil. I grew up on the tractor and it is my go-to tractor for anything that the Kubota can't handle.

 

[Jstpssng]

Hopefully it will melt soon! Are you planing to restore it?

It still runs good, which is one reason I'm bringing it home. It will go good with my Ford plow and Dearborn harrow.
This weekend I'm going down to pull the water pump off and change the fluids, the only maintenance it seems to need right now. I had planned to pick up a trailer to bring it home; instead I will probably have the same guy go get it who bought my Kubota and backhoe home.
Next winter I will clean up the tin and paint it.

 

[K5lwq]

Your Dad would be proud that you will continue using the Ferguson. I have often wanted to find my Dads old Cessna Ag Truck crop duster to restore. Most likely, I will scratch build a large scale model of it instead. I have a few pictures to go off of but finding the plans will be the most challenging. The plan is to have a hopper and functional spray system designed exactly like the original. I also would like to use a four cylinder model engine as well. Somewhere around 210cc. The only thing I really need is the time to build again. Congrats on getting such a special tractor!

 

[Jstpssng]

Crop dusters are a special breed; it takes cat-like reflexes and nerves of steel. I remember watching the spray plane at the orchard where I worked; he would come in low, shut off the booms at the edge of the trees while putting the flaps up, and raise the tail to clear the apple storage building. Supposedly he miscalculated while spraying potato fields and lifted several telephone poles when he caught the wires with his tail wheel.

 

[deserteagle71]

Ran several tractors in my youth, growing up on a Pennsylvania dairy farm. Oliver 70, Farmall H, David Brown 1200...but my all-time favorite had to be the Ford 861 my dad bought in 1960. Seems like I spent most of my teenage years on that Ford, right up until I got drafted by Uncle Sam. Handiest tool on that farm - seems like it was used for something every day. All winter long it kept the roads plowed free of snow so the school bus could make its rounds. Trouble free tractor - sold when my dad finally retired and left the farm.

My dad with his grandson, tedding hay:

Here's the original invoice...not bad for a tractor and snowplow. That's about what you'd pay for a snowplow these days.

 

[TheMan419]

Whichever one I am on at the time is my fave.

 

[K5lwq]

Crop dusters are a special breed; it takes cat-like reflexes and nerves of steel. I remember watching the spray plane at the orchard where I worked; he would come in low, shut off the booms at the edge of the trees while putting the flaps up, and raise the tail to clear the apple storage building. Supposedly he miscalculated while spraying potato fields and lifted several telephone poles when he caught the wires with his tail wheel.

Power lines are no joke. A lot of crop dusters ended their career on a power line. You are correct about the nerves of still. Dad taught himself how to fly and crop dusted several years before he took lessons and got his ticket. When he was 14 his dad bought a J3 cub with the intention of getting his pilots licenses. They had a friend that came down one day and took my dad and grandfather up in the cub. He showed dad how to start the plane and taxi. Everyday dad would go out and taxi the plane up and down the dirt strip my grandfather put in on the farm. As dad got braver, he would pick up speed and let the tail wheel clear the ground then cut power and let it settle back down. Well one day he was doing just that when a gust of wind caused him to balloon up and he had no room left to set it back down, so he maxed power. He flew around for a little bit getting the feel for the plane and trying to figure out how he was going to get back on the ground. In the meantime my grandfather heard his plane flying and headed down to see who was in his plane. Dad sees my grandfather coming down the dirt road and really got scared. So he decided he had better try to land before his Dad killed him. It took three attempts to get it on the runway and then he ground looped it out into the cotton. Dad knew he was done for as my grandfather pulled up to the plane. He figured he was going to take a beating for flying the plane and a worse one for tearing up some cotton. He did not want to get out of that plane. Pops, as I called my grandfather, opened the door up on the plane and said you flew it didn't you boy! Dad said "yes sir". Pops said "Can you do it again?" Dad said "yes sir." So pops said let's get this thing back on the runway and they did. Then pops climbed into the plane and told my dad let's go. By the end of the day dad had taken everyone in the family for a ride. Things sure were different back then.
I was scared to death my first solo flight and I had lessons and a instructor sign off on it.

 

[Turbys_1700]

Our workhorse tractors were WD 45's and later D17 Allis Chalmers. My personal favorite was the 180 diesel rebuilt to 185 specs. IMHO the perfect size.

 

[MossRoad]

Here's a nice crop duster with a radial engine.
Airplane "Crop Duster" - YouTube

And here's a really good ride-along with a crop duster. He shows you what he's thinking, why he's doing it, how the GPS is mapping his passes and lining him up, how he makes a grid, and fills it in.

Trivia... when you watch crop dusters, did you ever notice they almost always turn to their left. Ever wonder why? The guy answers the question.

Crop Duster Full Field Ride-Along - YouTube

 

[BrokeFarmerJohn]

Nice videos Moss.

I think I would prefer to stay on the ground lol.

I wonder if crop dusting is cheaper than ground sprayers, I would think they wouldn’t drop enough product, tanks on the ground sprayers look huge.

 

[goeduck]

Yep, I grounded myself.

 

[check]

Well, if we are considering price, maneuverability in small places, and power for it's size as well as TLB utility, in my opinion you can't beat the Kubota BX 25.





Here is mine, all set up for winter snow blowing last fall. (Waiting for snow!)

Headed for nine years now, and did consider upgrading to the B2650 with backhoe attachment, but it just was not worth all the extra money for the additional power and what not.

 

[Jstpssng]

Nice videos Moss.

I think I would prefer to stay on the ground lol.

I wonder if crop dusting is cheaper than ground sprayers, I would think they wouldn’t drop enough product, tanks on the ground sprayers look huge.

I can't speak for the majority of a CD's clients, but the farmer I mentioned earlier hired the plane in springtime when it was too wet to get the tractors into the orchard.