Looking for Advice

Guys,

I am in the process of purchasing about 40 acres in North central Missouri. Its mostly woods, but has 2 irregular shaped very flat bottom land fields of a good soil series normally in grain production, currently mostly in red clover. I want to obtain a little tractor that will allow me to plow disc and brush hog. Would like to get a two row planter and grow some corn milo soybeans and sunflowers. Will probably not harvest except for a little sweet corn. Will be mostly for wildlife and to improve hunting. I will stay off the surrounding hills with it, at least until I retrofit some ROPS and then would only do it with an abundance of caution. Basically its a hobby farm/food plot tractor. I dont have much money left to spend, maybe 2,500. Hope to get implements off craigs list for cheap. I am not a great mechanic, probably limited to points, carb adjusting, plugs, etc. but certainly no major overhaul. Not sure there are any diesel tractors in my price range, but the fuel economy is appealing as well as the steady power at lower rpms. What should I be looking for? Advice on what to look for when looking at the tractors is appreciated as well.

Whatever old tractor you buy will need maintenance and repairs. Introduce yourself to your future neighbors and see what brand they use. They'll know about local dealers, mechanics, etc.

A WD or WD-45 Allis can be had for sometimes under $1000 and in quite good shape to boot. Easy and cheap to overhaul over and over again. Requires either Allis mounted equipment or can easily be converted to 3 point. No problem, of course, for pull behind stuff.

I just purused the first few photo ads. There's a D14 Allis in Kansas for $2500. Just as an example of what's out there and price. D14 is a great tractor and about half the price of a Ford.

go to ebay and put in each type of tractor and see how many parts come up.. by each model and make..

you will see why some tractors bring much more than others...

ford 9n, 2n, and 8n fords were sold in the millions so there are tons of parts availible but they are very very very dated and lack power and in case of the 2n and 9n, can be dangerous with no running boards and brakes on both sides, making it dangerous to hit the clutch and brakes together... 8ns are safer but limited in hp and still have flat head engines,,but for a couple of acres are good. I've driven them all.

jubilee series fords are dirt cheap and parts are cheap.. good buy for money.. higher hp and live hydralics, can have live pto and were built from 1953 to 1964.. and can be up to 48 hp, 5 speed and power steering They sell very cheap for the performance..

try to get 3 point lift for best selection of equipment including modern day equipment.

NO 3 point lift and your extreamly limited to what you can buy, what you can do, and what you can find.. and you will have to pay any price for the specialized 2 point or get all drag equip or special belly mount or front mount.

Lots of good farmalls with 3 point and newer, lots of massy fergesons with 3 point and newer. even some deer in small tractors around that are pretty good buys..

again,, go to ebay and put in each model and see which ones have lots of parts and you cant go wrong.. the parts show the tractors that were most popular and sold in highest numbers in most cases.

then you will see why some models are worth more and sell for more. your call either way.

I would go with a Farmall, preferably a 200 or newer. They have live hydraulics and independant PTO. The two-point hitch is great and they make adapters that will work with 3-point implements.

Thanks folks, sound advice

It doesn't matter what brand or color you buy as long as it has Factory 3 point. Anything else is just a drawbar tractor.

[i:654c4848f0]You want something with live pto, live hydraulics, hydraulic remote scv's, 3 point hitch, power steering or loader work will be miserable. Diff lock is good too. You want a factory or approved,tested aftermarket rops. Home made rops are only good for mounting umbrellas.[/i:654c4848f0]

You are describing a $5-$6000+ tractor.
He said he has $2500.

I do not agree that you "must" have a 3 point hitch. There are many implements that you can use to farm the little bit of ground you have without one. We farm around 1,000 acres and milk 100 cows and the only thing we use the 3 point for is for a cultivator and a semi mount plow. It is a really nice option but on a limited budget you can make it work without one in my opinion.

If you can find a decent tractor with one within your budget go for it though.

Find a AC WD 45 wide front and some snap coupler tools and go to work. Your budget should not be strained if you are a smart shopper.

That country was farmed with 50hp and less tractors for years. H,M farmalls A,B,H JDs WC,WD, WD45 CA C D15,D17 Allis, and many more brands.

If that's the case, the $2500 dreamer is also looking for 25cent a bottle Coca-Cola.
If the bucks are that tight.He's going into something serious without enough $$$ to stay afloat when the unexpected occurs.

Shoot north Missouri doesn't have any real hills. If you want to find hills come down to my area of Missouri and you will see real hills all you have up there are ant hills. Now as for a tractor I own 44 acres and have around 25 of so tractors to many really but I do use most of them and I have pretty much all colors. Drop me an e-mail and I'll fill in the blanks better and may be able to help you out some

I would look at a massey 135 or a ford 3000. Both have a good bit of power 40HP PTO. I have seen them around your price range. I would strongly recommend something with a 3pt hitch so you can connect up to your standard implements such as a shredder, disc, plow, etc. Normally the tractors with loaders have a ROPS system installed, but that adds to the price a good bit.

I'm a farmall guy but sounds like a Ford 8N will fit your price range and plow disc bush hog plant or whatever you need. It also has 3 point which might help when buying the disc or plow.

I agree, but I think he's talking brand new. If you don't have a loader, you don't need power steering. Unless you're buying a fairly new tractor, it will be hard to find a smaller tractor with a rops. With the millions and millions of older tractors out there, you don't hear of many rollovers. You do need common sense though. A 3 pt. hitch allows for a wider range of implements for a smaller tractor and unless you have an implement with a hyd. cylinder, why would you need aux. hydraulics? A live pto is good to have if you want a mower or rototiller. Contrary to what some people think, there are lots of good used tractors that don't need any fixing to last for quite a few years. The key is to check them over really well with someone qualified. A good used tractor can be just as, if not more, reliable as a brand new one and it doesn't have to have expensive green paint on it either. An MF 35, 135 or a Ford of the same era would be a good starting point but likely a little more than $2500 for a real good one. There are deals to be found, just be patient and you should be able to find a good tractor. Dave

Old if you think those little lumps are hills. Take a little trip about 600 miles east to West Virginia. I have a brother-n-law that lives in Texas CO. MO and I wouldn't be afraid to run a tractor on any part of his land he has 154 acres.

Old if you think those little lumps are hills. Take a little trip about 600 miles east to West Virginia. I have a brother-n-law that lives in Texas CO. MO and I wouldn't be afraid to run a tractor on any part of his land he has 154 acres.

I have been out that way and have lived in those areas before as I also did out west and what you have are still small compared to the ones say 500 miles or so was of me. Oh by the way W.V is more like 1000 miles from me. I drove through there when I came home when I was stationed in Norfolk VA

I grew up in Texas County, Missouri and much of it is rolling hills, with a little of it fairly rugged with pine and hardwood forests.
But other counties surrounding it are much more rugged, including where Old lives. We used horses on our farm and eventually got a Farmall, but there were many places that were much too steep for our tractor.
Of course the Ozarks don't compare in size with the Appalachian Mountains of W. Virginia, but never-the-less they are very scenic.

As for tractors, I had a Ford Jubilee several years back. It was a great tractor, and was very reliable. I couldn't afford much at the time, and after looking around, found it for under $2000 and sold it about 4 years ago with several implements, for $2900.

So good deals are out there, just be patient.

Ronnie

Thanks again guys for sharing your experiences. This place is south of Fulton northeast of Jeff City. I hope to find a good old tractor and will probably invest in an aftermarket ROPs kit before I take on any hills. I rolled small AC tractor as a teenager mowing along a road ditch. Now that was in Illinois where there isn"t two foot elevation change across Kanakee county. I was quick enough to jump free and survive it. This place has a couple of pretty good bluffs it would be nice to get on top of as there is a 4 acre patch of eastern red cedar I would like to thin out and its a lifetime supply of fence posts and raw material for a couple of buildings.