need suggestions on a good all purpose tractor

hey guys. im in the market for a new old tractor. its duties would primarily include mowing a ditch. the deepest point in this ditch is only a foot deep. my grasshopper just cant handle it and im tired of getting stuck! i would also use it to plow the driveway in the winter and to combat potholes throughout the year. as an added bonus it might be capable to attach one of those nifty 3 point backhoes. what kind of tractor should i be looking for? im most familiar with international/ farmall tractors. thanks

It's a perfect situation for an IH 350 utility, so long as the backhoe is small enough to actually work on a three-point tractor mount. There are equivalent sized tractors from most brands, but I like the 350.

I have a JD 2440 that I really like and I think that would work good for your needs.

John Deere 950 tractor, or other compact utility tractor such as a 770, 870, or 970. If you want to go older, go for a 2040 or a 2150 utility tractor. These are heavier than compact utilities.

Or you could get a Ford 2000 or an IH 350, 424, 454, 404.

Either way you wanna go, but just remember Deeres will be more expensive - BUT at least parts are readily available.

wow thanks for all the quick replies! i am currently checking my local papers for whats available and there are a lot of ford 8n's with belly mowers and or blades for sale. are these too light of duty to consider using a backhoe on?

8N's are FAR too overrated in terms of what you get for the money. Not enough hydraulic capabilities to justify the cost of one.

defintly what i need to hear. i'll stop looking at them now. just as i am typing i see that they are only rated at 23 horsepower. the ih 350 has a 3 point, right?

FORGET THE LITTLE N SERIES FORDS FOR BACKHOE POSSIBILITIES .. my 2 cents , the 430 -630 Case,or the earlier 200,300,400b,500b series CASE ,.4000 ford,555 Oliver,265 Massey

To get a feel for real market for used equipment. Take a walk for free through some local dealer's lots.
Check the price for something without abuse, wear & tear. Consider the warranty. The the fact these tractors come standard with 12V , alternator, live pto, live hydraulics, high pressure hydraulics, hydraulic scv's with remotes. Rops, hydrostatic trans, three point hitch, 4WD and have mounting points for matching factory mowers, loaders, backhoes etc.
Then consider how much lower the used market has to be to make up for these missing safety and productivity features. Some old stuff out there is over priced.
If the tractor doesn't have live hydraulics, live pto and a three point hitch.Best to leave it alone.

Chris, these sometimes end up in tractor wars, usually with me getting with a fight and rolling around on the ground fighting with and beating my own self up. Then the neighbors get concerned, call the cops, then they come over and jump on me and stuff until the ambulance guys show up and wrap me up in a big white tarp and haul me off to the nuthouse again, and when I get there they always lock me up in a dark room for weeks at a time. As it is, I had to sneak out to the nurses station to log in for this. These potential tractor wars never work out good for me.

Oh oh, I hear someone coming down the hallway. I gotta go lock myself back up in my cell again before they catch me out and running around, cause if they do, it'll get me another week in the dark padded cell. It always does. You're on your own.

No, actually some good tractors have already been mentioned, and for what you intend to do with it and need it for, anyone of them already mentioned oughta do just fine. Buick mentioned going to a dealer and looking around. Another good thing to do is see what dealers you have in the area so even if you buy it from someone else, you may need to get parts and/or service. There's a lot of fine old iron out there in a wide variety of colors, but how often are you going to use it, and what will you do for parts and service? Thats important.

Shhhhhhh, someone's coming again, gotta go.

Mark

ha! here comes the nurse...

all some very good points you guys make. as far as how much it will be used, not much considering what it was built for. service and parts, i am decent at turning a wrench and have had luck finding parts for almost anything on this website. i am looking to stay with something older for sure. perhaps 1960's or older. mainly because of the price. also it seems like the older tractors dont loose any value as long as you dont chop them up. as i mentioned before, i am somewhat familiar with IH/Case so that is what im leaning twords at this point. most likely a 350 utility. thanks for all your input! -chris

I have JD4430, JD4320, IH M, IH H, MF85, MF175, MF265 many MH 44, 22, 30, Ford9n and the one I always jump on to do any kind of puttering job is the MF265.

here is a 59 ford 801 gasser a buddy of mine is selling, loader and ford flail mower, pretty decent tractor, he's asking 5500.00 emails open if interested
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Because of health I have a IH-424 diesel with power steering for sale. 34HP I think. Bad paint - alternator not charging - brakes need attention (I think just cleaned up and adjusted) - glow plugs, glow indicator, and push button switch need replaced. I believe all of above can be fixed for $400-500. Comes with 5' bushhog type mower (Rotary) and box blade. Everything else works perfect. No oil leaks (PTO shaft seal seeps just a little). Rear tires are 95% (almost new) - Price $3,000. Located in central Oklahoma. E-mail is open. bob farrell

It depends on what you can find in your area. So I would suggest looking at some tractors, wherever you can find them. You might want to look at the bulletin board at the local farm and feed store, and the various shoppers that are free in most places.

I have a couple of old Ford hundred series tractors and I like them, partly because I am fairly familiar with them. And one of them was my Dad's last tractor. They have been pretty good and they work fine with most 3 point implements.

However my neighbor has a Kubota 4 wheel drive that really impresses me. He has never bothered with chains, while my 2 wheel drive tractors are almost useless in snow and ice without them. The Kubota also will go extremely slow and has a live PTO, both of which make it work great to run a rear snowblower attachment. While I would not rule out any tractor, I would bet that the next one I buy will have 4 wheel drive, live PTO and will be able to go a lot slower than my Fords will.

The Ford N's are neat little tractors, but they are not nearly as powerful as the later models and do not have live hydraulics. On the other hand, I think they are supported by the aftermarket better than just about any old tractor. Virtually anything you need to fix one, or keep one running is available. They also are pretty simple and straight forward to work on. And there are still many thousands of them out there available. An N might work out just fine for you.

But there are lots of tractors to consider. For a working tractor, I would not consider a real orphan that would be hard to get parts for, but most any of the tractors from the 50's through 70's from the major manufacturers might be OK.

See what you can find, and then study up on that model. These boards have a ton of information. Good luck!

good point on the speed. i didnt think about having to mow a ditch or plow a driveway and not being able to go slow enough. these are all great replies and im considering every one of them. thanks a bunch!

Chris: Interesting question, but what is more interesting is the answers to solve your work needs. Personally if I were doing your chores it would be a utility type tractor with a semi-flotation tire, live hydraulics, PTO and a dual range transmission.

Then by the time you add the mower, loader, backhoe, etc. you may as well buy a track type skid steer with all those attachments. One thing I always found about a skid steer, lot of folks have to hire a loader to work in tight corners. That might not be as lucrative as it was 30 years ago, skid steers are more plentiful now. Back then skid steers were a great cash cow. I bought a new one in 72, and by 76 had to buy another one to do my onw work. I've had days when they were both out working.

hmm, that sounds interesting. expensive, but interesting. they make a mower attachment for a skid steer? what type/ brand of skidsteer would you suggest?