Need Advice on What Tractor/brand to Purchase????

Thanks for the guidance,
Dennis

What about a JD 2240 1980 model? Seems to be in great shape? @ $7800?

3010's, 4010's, D-19's and that size range are way more than you need. I really think that for what you have in mind, a 20-40 hp tractor with 3 pt. hitch and maybe some good remote hydraulics will do you just fine. I do agree that getting something a little bigger is better than having a tractor that doesn't have enough power.

Knowing what I know now and if I were in your situation, I would get a Farmall H or M and buy a Saginaw 3 pt. hitch kit for it. Loaders are easy to come by for these tractors and they are more than enough for what you want. Parts are reaily available and they are great machines.

Question: On most tractors JD, Oliver, etc...are the fronts interchangeable? for instance, narrow front swapped with a wide front, or vice versa? Is there kits available to do this? expensive? or not possible?

Thanks,
Dennis

I did a search, the 3020's ranged from $5k-$12k.
Found some 4020's ranging from $7k-$12k.

At least for JD (dunno about other makes), the fronts are interchangeable. Our 4010 has a wide front that was donated from a 3020 (was originally a tricycle). They do have power steering.

If you decide to try and get one, either would be a super tractor and have more capability than you'd ever need for such a small area. Most likely you'll find them with a Synchro-Range transmission. The shift pattern takes some getting used to, but it's a nice unit. You may come across a Powershift. From what I've heard, that early Powershift was good but not great.

Good hunting. You're on the right track by asking lots of questions before buying.

They will turn on a sixpence so will be fine in half an acre, but then its still 47hp so will by fine if you expand, dpeending on what you do should be fine on up to about 20 acres.

If you do, try for the 3cyl Perkins diesel. The 4 cylinders are ok, but the 3 cylinders start much better.

Parts are easy to get hold of in most cases, and, unless you get a rubbish one, you probably wont need to work on it much, except all the usual maintenance fule filters etc.

IMHO you want to stay away from the TO unless it is very nice and cheap. They arent very powerul, probably too high geared, and dont have a live PTO. Steer clear of the John Deere as well. Ive heard bad things about that machine.

Ben

Regards,
David

So, for fine mowing, and for tilling, I want a tractor that has low gears correct? What would be the correct terminology? ie..the more gears = having a very low gear (12 gears, etc...)

If you do tilling or snow blowing or fine mowing, you want a real slow set of gears.

For snow blowing or baling you want a live pto - this makes most any pto job more fun, but for some operations it's really important.

For a loader, power steering really helps. Look for a tractor with a beefy front axle. You need live hydraulics - can fit a front pump on the motor in many cases.

If you look at small compact diesel engine tractors, you want front wheel assist. For older heavier tractors, they work fine with rear wheel only drive. The compacts are almost all to small to bale with, and they run out of traction & weight before they run out of hp for most bigger tasks.

So many implements are 3pt these days, sure is nice to have a standard cat1 3pt hitch.

For really small plots of land, 1/2 acre, a tiller works better than a plow. For larger plots, 5 acres or more, a plow & a disk work better. Generally.

Just kinda the features that I see as importabnt for different jobs.

For your current 1/2 acre needs the small Yanmar might be a better choice than a big 70hp monster, but not sure what your future plans are, you quickly run out of capibility with the little guy if you expand or wish to do more challenging operations. Log dragging is a particularly dangerous one in your list, a small tractor will quickly flip over if the log becomes caught on something. One person's log is another person's twig, so not sure what you need for that.

--->Paul