NGC New Compact Utility Tractor Day!

[80CX100]

      I was going to just add this onto Dusty's "How was your day" thread but I realize that there are many among us into the tractor game and a separate thread might be useful.

     Over the years, I've gotten rid of lots of equipment and the associated headaches that come along with ownership, but when I blew a brake line last winter on my '98 Chev 3/4 ton plow truck and had to do the repair outside in the cold and snow, I started shopping very hard for a cabbed tractor to make my life a little easier, not just in snow removal, but general maintenance and work that needs doing. I'm at an age, where a shovel and wheel barrow isn't as fun as it used to be.

     The pitfalls of modern motorcycle design, digital dash bs/headaches, emissions problems, lack of parts support, are present in this segment of tractors tenfold. It's extremely challenging to buy a decent tractor without the potential for huge headaches in the future, when the sensors and digital circuits start to age/wear, and parts support disappears.

     The 30-40 hp size compact utility tractor with cab is the most in demand segment of the market, so the prices are high, good deals go fast, and the fraudsters are very active. In this long frustrating search since March, I was personally involved with 3 different fraud groups, it's a sad reality when you're looking for a bargain in a hot market on Kijiji. At one point I even had a fraudster take over control over my android cell phone, I didn't even know that was a possibility.

     As I researched the pros and cons of these style tractors, I came to understand that the biggest risk in this segment of machinery is to buy an "orphan" tractor, where the parent companies that got together to make a tractor go their separate ways, and you end up with a machine without proper service/parts support. It was shocking to learn that Kubota is the only company that actually makes their own engines/tractors, mostly on American soil.

     No matter what brand tractor, Blue, Green or Red, if you really dig into them, they are almost ALL manufactured in South Korea and it's a constantly changing landscape with corporate takeovers as they jockey for market share and new business models.

     A common refrain in the tractor world, is don't buy a brand, buy a dealer, because without a good dealer you're in trouble. Out of the dozens of dealers that I spoke with, M&P Tractor & Farm Equipment close to me in Almonte was the only one that impressed me, they carry McCormick & Branson in this size of machinery, he'll be getting my business for parts and implements as I go forward.

     My patience and due diligence paid off this week, and I bought a "mint" 2012 McCormick 1.40H & 74" Woods blower, only 100 hrs, the protective paper from the dealer was still on the floor mats and the plastic wrapper was still on the seat. It is an orphan tractor, but a relatively safe one, this model was made by Daedong of South Korea, and is commonly known in the world as the Kioti DK40, so parts and service shouldn't be an issue(fingers crossed). This tractor is pre emission bs, with minimal digital dash & sensors, I like that a lot. You'll note that it comes in the faster color, lol.


     I wish the tractor was completely mechanical, just about impossible to find now; it does have an electric PTO and electric 4WD engagement, hopefully they continue to work until I'm off the earth,lol.

     I've arranged transport and this bad boy is due to be delivered to me in a couple of days, I hope it's as solid and trouble free as my guzzis have been.

     Kelly

     



     

[fotoguzzi]

My snow remover is great, they come in the middle of the night if that's when the snow stops falling. They use Kubota.
Get this I pay just $300 for the whole winter season of snow blowing!

[Deno]

An impressive piece of machinery. I have an old Deer 955. Unfortunately it does not have a snow thrower. I use it to bucket out the larger piles and drifts. Then again I do not live in an area that gets huge snowfalls other than once every few years.
The right dealer that can pick up and repair is the best answer.
Good luck. Will you be adding racing stripes?

[80CX100]

My snow remover is great, they come in the middle of the night if that's when the snow stops falling. They use Kubota.
Get this I pay just $300 for the whole winter season of snow blowing!

      Wow, $300 for the season is a smoking bargain, I know my fuel,oil & filter costs alone will probably be higher than that.

      Kubotas definitely seem to be the best machine out there in the smaller tractors, but it was impossible to find one I could afford that wasn't beat to death.

      I would've loved to pick up a Kubota Grand L size, but when you add cab & implements, cost was an issue.

      Kelly 

[80CX100]

An impressive piece of machinery. I have an old Deer 955. Unfortunately it does not have a snow thrower. I use it to bucket out the larger piles and drifts. Then again I do not live in an area that gets huge snowfalls other than once every few years.
The right dealer that can pick up and repair is the best answer.
Good luck. Will you be adding racing stripes?

      No racing stripes,lol

      Some of the older JD's seem to last forever; I can't keep all the model #'s straight, but I'm pretty sure my neighbor has a 30-35 yr old 955 with a Yanmar diesel engine in it that has been as reliable as a stone axe, very simple solid machine, they don't make em like that anymore.

      I know this style blower works well, I'm hoping that I can twist around sideways to drive backwards without causing too much neck strain, time will tell. We get too much snow in our area to handle it easily with just a ft loader bucket; the hot set up for the commercial operators here, seems to be a large snow pusher on the front, looks like an upside down box blade on the front and a blower in the back. fwiw

      Kelly

[John A]

I bought an International 234H a few years ago.  It was made by Mitsubishi , about ‘85.  It has a three cylinder K3B diesel.  Parts are rare, neither International or Mitsubishi support it.  Engine parts can be had,  that engine was used in other stuff but anything else has to be made.  Last winter the front PTO driveshaft coupling shat the bed and I learned about Rotoflex couplings.  This one was an odd size of course but with the help of a master machinist we made a new driveshaft coupling.  The splines had stripped so we made a square drive instead.  It worked out very well. The front pto drives the snowblower or a mower .  I used an industry standard electric clutch that bolted right on.  If you buy a tractor, make sure you get one with as many attachments as possible.  This one had a mower and snowblower as well as a canvas three sided cab and tire chains.  Look carefully at the wheels for corrosion, especially if the tires are fluid filled as it is super corrosive.  This one had wheels that were ready to fail and flip me over.  I got new rims and cut the centers out of the old ones and welded them into the new rims,  first time for me and turned out very true.  The attachments are not made anymore so I’ve had to make parts for them as well.  That 300 bones for a season is very attractive but I sure can’t find someone to do it around here for that

[guzzisteve]

Farmall an American Icon is Italian made here in Lawanceville, GA, not part of International/Case but Made in USA

https://www.mccormick.it/us/

[John A]

Old tractors are worth what the wheels and tires are worth as a general rule.

[GearheadGrrrl]

If the photo comes through, that's my Deere 1 series tractor. After a couple years of auctions and Craigs List I figured out that beat out three decades old tractors sell for darn near as much as new ones, so I bought this new for $15000 including mower and loader. The small Deeres are assembled by union workers in Georgia, the engine and transmission are supplied by Yanmar which has an excellent rep. Despite it's small size it's quite the workhorse, I've plowed city streets with it and the mower is actually a bit too big for my almost an acre lot.

[frozengoose]

Old tractors are worth what the wheels and tires are worth as a general rule.

Well I don't know about that, my '91 JD 870 plows snow, digs holes, splits wood, grinds stumps, cuts grass and rototills the garden. Not sure you could get all that for the cost of a set of tires, even as expensive as I expect they are now.

[LowRyter]

Compact Utility?  Heck, it's an enclosed cab.

When I was plowin' wheat fields, there was no such thing

[Sheepdog]

My Ag tractor (as opposed to my mower) is a 22hp JD 4100 from the late nineties. It's all mechanical, diesel, has 4WD and a locking rear diff, and a shade top on the ROPS bar. I run a forestry chipper (w/hydraulic feed), a cultivator, a rake, a box blade, harrows, a bush hog, and a finishing mower off the 3-point. It is definitely a force multiplier...I've given all my wheelbarrows away and become good at cleaning and dressing PTO splines. I also have a JD X740 belly mower. It's also a diesel and has the hydrostatic transmission. We keep about 7 acres mowed here. It keeps going with minimal and very simple maintenance...just like the 4100. We have a decent dealer right in our community. Despite the high purchase price, I continue to believe John Deere to be a good value (excluding the big-box offerings).

[80CX100]

I bought an International 234H a few years ago.  It was made by Mitsubishi , about ‘85.  It has a three cylinder K3B diesel.  Parts are rare, neither International or Mitsubishi support it.  Engine parts can be had,  that engine was used in other stuff but anything else has to be made.  Last winter the front PTO driveshaft coupling shat the bed and I learned about Rotoflex couplings.  This one was an odd size of course but with the help of a master machinist we made a new driveshaft coupling.  The splines had stripped so we made a square drive instead.  It worked out very well. The front pto drives the snowblower or a mower .  I used an industry standard electric clutch that bolted right on.  If you buy a tractor, make sure you get one with as many attachments as possible.  This one had a mower and snowblower as well as a canvas three sided cab and tire chains.  Look carefully at the wheels for corrosion, especially if the tires are fluid filled as it is super corrosive.  This one had wheels that were ready to fail and flip me over.  I got new rims and cut the centers out of the old ones and welded them into the new rims,  first time for me and turned out very true.  The attachments are not made anymore so I’ve had to make parts for them as well.  That 300 bones for a season is very attractive but I sure can’t find someone to do it around here for that

      I read lots of good about the Mitsubishis and as you say the challenges getting parts; but as you've demonstrated most of the peripheral parts can be fixed by someone with know how & skill.

      You're right about getting as many attachments as possible, they could be as much as the tractor; I kept finding tractors with the wrong implements (backhoes, roto tillers, front plows etc) or none at all, but the biggest option that was challenging to find is the cab. In Canada to install a cab, even non factory, like a Simms or Curtis generic cab, is in the area of 8K, add that on, and it becomes stupid money real quick.

      Kelly

[80CX100]

Farmall an American Icon is Italian made here in Lawanceville, GA, not part of International/Case but Made in USA

https://www.mccormick.it/us/

     That link for McCormick for the parent company for my tractor, I believe is actually owned by the Agco corp, they've bought up a few of the older recognizable Legacy tractor name brands, I know they also own Landini, I looked at one Landini that was a twin for mine, both made by Daedong. The newer McCormicks (2014+?) are made by Kujke S.Korea (owned by TYM tractor company S.Korea) not sure about the new Landinis.

      I don't know what line of Farmall comes out of that plant in GA, the few Farmalls I saw in the size I was looking at, were being sold as Case Farmall's, most of them were twins with New Holland models, and were LS Tractors S.Korea and possibly Isekis Japan? if memory serves me correct. Inspected, assembled, manufactured, made in USA, it's all a matter of semantics as long as they end up being good tractors. One thing I did learn was that one of the main reasons so many tractor factories are based down in that area of the world is due to the close proximity of one of the top ft end loader manufacturers in the world, which a lot of the companies like to use, I think it was the Quickie? loader company.

      Kelly

[80CX100]

 After a couple years of auctions and Craigs List I figured out that beat out three decades old tractors sell for darn near as much as new ones,  quite the workhorse, I've plowed city streets

     Absolutely, I looked at lots of beat up old Kubotas selling for big money; some of the worn out 30-35 yr old Ford tractors I looked at, are selling now, for twice what they were brand new 30+ yrs ago.

     Kelly

[80CX100]

Compact Utility?  Heck, it's an enclosed cab.

When I was plowin' wheat fields, there was no such thing

     Most of the year, I'd prefer an open station tractor, easy up/down/in/out over hanging branches etc; but I've been plowing my lane way from the heated cab of my pick up truck for 8 yrs, hard to give that up.

    Due to the close by Ottawa River & the lay of the land, the winds here are switching all the time, blowing the snow on my T/Y shaped lane way without a cab almost guarantees the odd face full of snow, no matter how careful you are.

     Kelly

[John A]

Well I don't know about that, my '91 JD 870 plows snow, digs holes, splits wood, grinds stumps, cuts grass and rototills the garden. Not sure you could get all that for the cost of a set of tires, even as expensive as I expect they are now.

I meant old tractors 

[80CX100]

My Ag tractor (as opposed to my mower) is a 22hp JD 4100 from the late nineties. It's all mechanical, diesel, has 4WD and a locking rear diff, and a shade top on the ROPS bar. I run a forestry chipper (w/hydraulic feed), a cultivator, a rake, a box blade, harrows, a bush hog, and a finishing mower off the 3-point. It is definitely a force multiplier...I've given all my wheelbarrows away and become good at cleaning and dressing PTO splines. I also have a JD X740 belly mower. It's also a diesel and has the hydrostatic transmission. We keep about 7 acres mowed here. It keeps going with minimal and very simple maintenance...just like the 4100. We have a decent dealer right in our community. Despite the high purchase price, I continue to believe John Deere to be a good value (excluding the big-box offerings).

     You've got the right machines, very well set up with attachments, you got all the bases covered; I need a box blade and if I saw a smoking deal on a chipper or stump grinder, I'd pick them up.

      I've only got 2 acres, but it's a very rough, tedious obstacle course of a cut; one of the reasons for the tractor is to get rid of and smooth out some of the obstacles so I can reduce my time on the lawn cutting. I'm using a 38" JD mower now, but I'm thinking of resurrecting my old Craftsman 46" machine, I'd love to have your JD belly mower, I've heard they are a real time saver.

     Kelly
     

[LowRyter]

Reading this makes me glad I can do with a push mower once a week   

[frozengoose]

I meant old tractors 

Yeah, I figured that's what you meant. I was just jiving back. I had an old crawler, '58 JD 420C. Had a great motor and fun to drive, but the running gear was worn out, was constantly working on it, so sold it to a friend of a friend. Looks great parked in his yard!

[80CX100]

Reading this makes me glad I can do with a push mower once a week   

     I like the neighbors, with good fences and goats 

[s1120]

Nice tractor there! 

I have a few...  been into the tractor hobby for many years. Most all of mine are old, and beat u though..  Case/Ingersoll GT's, a late
50's Homelite, old JD112, early Ford 8N and a big old Case 580CK Loader/backhoe..  All beat u old junk... But its been a fun hobby..  Ive helped run a web forum for tractors since the start.. Mytractorforum.com.   

[SIR REAL ED]

Guzzi riders are into old tractors too?  Who would have thunk it?  Might be some common ground there somewhere......

I always wanted to build one of those 1/4 pulling tractors with a motorcycle engine.  Big v-twin would sound good.

Thanks for the memories reading this thread.  My Dad was a tractor hobbiest.  Probably owned at least 50 over the years when I was a kid.  Did a lot of wire brushing, grinding, sanding, straightening, and painting back then.

I've always been attracted the to Minneapolis Molines myself......

[jkguzzi]

+1 on the JD 1023e. I bought one a few years ago to replace my 32 yo garden tractor. Got it with a front mount snow blower and a box blade for the gravel driveway in summer. Then added a FEL, forks, landscape rake and a trailer hitch for moving the log splitter. Hardly a summer doesn't go by that I can't come up with an implement that I got to have.

[Ncdan]

After tons of research on mid size tractors,when choosing mine, I bought the Mahindra 4250, 42HP, in 4 wheel drive and front bucket. It’s the heaviest and highest lift rate of any tractor in its HP class. The final cost, with 4by4 and front end loader was thousands less than the other four popular brands. Nothing fancy, boxie looking and no shuffle shift, just old school work horse. That being said I love all the brands noted here, just my choice.

[80CX100]

Nice tractor there! 

I have a few...  been into the tractor hobby for many years. Most all of mine are old, and beat u though..  Case/Ingersoll GT's, a late
50's Homelite, old JD112, early Ford 8N and a big old Case 580CK Loader/backhoe..  All beat u old junk... But its been a fun hobby..  Ive helped run a web forum for tractors since the start.. Mytractorforum.com.

     Tks, there is nothing like old iron.

     I used to own a 1952 Fergusson TEA 2085, which was very close to being a twin for your old Ford 8N; it was indestructible, I think it only had 20 hp, but each one of them was a huge Clydesdale! 

     Kelly

[80CX100]

I always wanted to build one of those 1/4 pulling tractors with a motorcycle engine.  Big v-twin would sound good.

     One of my highlights this summer was taking my grandkids to the modified lawn tractor pull at the Richmond Fair.

     Most of the tractors were relatively low key, a few with mild motorcycle engines, 500 cc twins etc; but there was one lawn tractor there, with an awesome sounding 700 cc 2 stroke triple snowmobile engine in it; when he pegged the throttle, it was like hell fury unleashed! nothing but pure mechanical power, smoke and dust! 

     If you had unlimited funds, time and energy, I think it could be a hoot, they looked to be having a blast out there.

     Kelly

[John A]

I’ve been looking for a https://youtu.be/IF_fR5v2byw

[80CX100]

After tons of research on mid size tractors,when choosing mine, I bought the Mahindra 4250, 42HP, in 4 wheel drive and front bucket. It’s the heaviest and highest lift rate of any tractor in its HP class. The final cost, with 4by4 and front end loader was thousands less than the other four popular brands. Nothing fancy, boxie looking and no shuffle shift, just old school work horse. That being said I love all the brands noted here, just my choice.

      They are nice machines, I came very close to buying a few Mahindras, but none of them came with attachments.

      I had a smoking long distance deal lined up, on a mint, cabbed 3616?, but by the time I figured in transport, attachments and plumbing in hydraulic lines to the back, it wasn't the tractor deal for me.

      Kelly

     

[80CX100]

I’ve been looking for a https://youtu.be/IF_fR5v2byw

     That is impressive.

     I gained an understanding of that low speed, torque power that he's describing in the video, with an old Landini with a 68 hp Perkins in it, that I used to own.

     I was a tractor newbie, every time I fired up that Landini, guaranteed I was going to cause some damage somewhere,lol.

     I had a big old 6' Waco brush hog on the back of it, it was so powerful, it would idle along and cut anything in it's path,,, until I broke the shear pin, which happened on a regular basis, I was getting tired of always having to shut the machine down, to put a new shear pin in the PTO shaft.

     When I described the problem I was having, to a good old tractor guy at Bromley's in Douglas, he told me my problem was my low throttle speed. Get the speed up high so the blade spins through the cut fast. If the speed was low, the toque would just break stuff.

     He was right, nothing like the voice of experience.

    Just in case anyone happens to be reading this, and they own a Hydrostatic Drive tractor, one thing I did learn in my research, was that for best longevity in a Hydrostatic Drive Tractor, was to keep the operating throttle speed high. Apparently a common issue, is that users idle their tractors along at low speed thinking they are being kind to their machine, the reduced fluid flow is poison to the Hydro system and they can suffer major damage as a result.

    My understanding is that keep the throttle speed up, high rate of fluid flow, and modulate your speed with the valve(pedal) for the longest service life for your machine,fwiw.

    Kelly