What's your favorite small, vintage, practial tractor? (What to avoid too)

[murphy1244]

Oiveh!! Turns out there's a mew requirement...they need to be able to tow this to and from the farm...1500lb limit, they say. I think the options just got REALLY limited!

On a separate but related note...I found this today...
Ed Hanenburg Collector Tractor & Toy Auction - MiedemaAuctioneering.com
Small tractor auction in coopersville mich, 9/20/13

For the record, i'm not associated with any part of the auction.

Maybe a Shovel and a Wheelbarrow. 1500# a Ventrac is that small but costly.

 

[TomSeller]

At 1500 lb limit I would say an early model Kubota in the 15 HP range. 2 wd to save money.

 

[dave1949]

It would be difficult to make the right choice in equipment that small without knowing more details about the intended organic tillage methods.

For example, if a green manure cover crop was planted with the intention of following that with something else, would they want to turn it with a plow? How long does it take to rototill or plow two acres with a 15 hp Kubota, while keeping the 5-10 acre total requirement in mind?

When the equipment gets that small, it starts dictating the available methods to some extent, it seems to me.

 

[RoyJackson]

Oiveh!! Turns out there's a mew requirement...they need to be able to tow this to and from the farm...1500lb limit, they say. I think the options just got REALLY limited!

Kubota 175
Kubota 6100
Kubota 7100 (maybe)
I expect all of the tractors listed above will make the weight limitation and be under $5K (especially if they're 2WD machines).

I am NOT a fan of grey market machines, but some of the Yanmars...that can be risky, of course.

I've seen a number of older Deeres (1950's through 1960's) on Craigslist for under $5K, but these are full sized utility tractors...but that weight would be prohibitive.

BTW, why a 1500 lb weight limitation? Are they planning on towing this with a small car?

 

[OutbackL130]

Find an older John Deere 420. They are small, built like a tank and should handle the job at hand. 420's have a 20 hp Onan, power steering, diff lock, hi/low trans, and hydraulic hook ups. They can be outfitted with a 3 point hitch, rear PTO and handle a FEL.

 

[aczlan]

At 1500 lb limit I would say an early model Kubota in the 15 HP range. 2 wd to save money.

B7500 is ~1300# (plus a loader). Look on Craigslist and see whats around, then look them up on Tractordata.com to see the weight.

Aaron Z

 

[DJ54]

I'm think a couple of good candidates for truck patching, and limiting weight around 1500 lbs. would either be a Farmall Cub, or Allis-Chalmers G. The problem with the new CUT's is they are not width adjustable for row crops. Most like to plant either 30" or 36" rows. Impossible to do with most CUT's. Implements & parts would probably be more plentiful for the Cub. Neither overly blessed with power, but plenty for what they are going to be doing, and what the tractors were designed for. And way ahead of a walk behind tiller..!! A newer Cub with Fast Hitch would make changing implements a lot quicker also. Cultivators are still a PIA to mount & remove, but do a great job.

With the up and coming CSA's and organic farming, these smaller tractors are getting gobbled up. Some are even converting the Allis G's to electric.

If they could use something in the 3,000 lb class, a buddy of mine is doing 5 acres of veggies with a CA Allis. It is dedicated to cultivating, and pretty much it's job, plus switching out 4 shanks to use hillers on his potatoes. I'm not much of an Allis guy, but that little tractor is sweet..!!

You may also inform them about checking into using feed grade corn gluten as a weed preventitive. Use it as a post emergent organic herbicide. You can buy organic Preen, which is 100% corn gluten meal, @ around $15.00 for 5 lb., which cover 250 sq. ft. I think Ortho makes a similar product which costs around $28.50 for 50 lbs, which would cover 2500 sq. ft. OR..., do as I did this fall with a little experiment grinding corn gluten feed pellets into meal at a cost of $15.00 per 100#. So far the test plot is I'd say 98% weed free, since the 2nd week of August. Will definitely be using more next year in all of the garden..!!

 

[flusher]

Oiveh!! Turns out there's a mew requirement...they need to be able to tow this to and from the farm...1500lb limit, they say. I think the options just got REALLY limited!

On a separate but related note...I found this today...
Ed Hanenburg Collector Tractor & Toy Auction - MiedemaAuctioneering.com
Small tractor auction in coopersville mich, 9/20/13

For the record, i'm not associated with any part of the auction.

A Farmall Cub would meet that weight limit. You can find them on eBay in the $2-3K range.

 

[XSKIER]

Find an older John Deere 420. They are small, built like a tank and should handle the job at hand. 420's have a 20 hp Onan, power steering, diff lock, hi/low trans, and hydraulic hook ups. They can be outfitted with a 3 point hitch, rear PTO and handle a FEL.

Haha. Have you tilled and seeded an acre with one of those 420s? It's a lot different than a 20hp farm tractor from the 50s. I will agree that 1500 lbs, including the day's attachment, is a ridiculously low weight constraint. I guess maybe a two-wheel walk behind tractor, like in use in some third world countries. You'll probably be limited to what's available local, as you probably shouldn't tie up much of an already small budget in shipping costs.

 

[aczlan]

Here are some options on your Craigslist:
Allis CA, $1500 (over the weight limit): Allis-Chalmers CA Tractor
9N with loader, $3200 (probbaly over the weight limit): Ford 9N Tractor with Loader
Kubota B6100 with finish mower, $5000: KUBOTA 6100 4WD
Kubota B7200 with mid mount mower, $5000: B7200 HST Kubota
Kubota B5200, $3800: KUBOTA 4X4 COMPACT
Kubota B5100E 2wd with tiller, drag, back blade, box blade and tire chains, $2800: B5100E Kubota Tractor/ Tiller

Aaron Z