Compact 4x4 tractor advice?

[woody1]

And you prob'ly believe that a 21 year old tractor only has a thousand hours on it. Right? Mebe so but I'd look hard at it.

Not knowing how hard you plan to work it and what you plan to do, it's hard to know what to recommend and I won't. I do however hear good things about Kubota and would likely have bought one but.........I kept procrastinating, did I really need a new tractor. Well yeah 'cause I really, really needed a front loader and the ancient Ford 8N I've been drivin' forever doesn't even have live hydraulics. I liked John Deere (mostly the prices) so well I never visited them even though I can see the local dealership from my house. I did do a lot of internet research and you should too. I used this site a lot. http://www.tractordata.com

And this one www.tractorhouse.com. I joined a bunch of tractor forums and searched 'em all.

In the end I bought a 2013 New Holland T1510 4WD with a NH front loader and a rear tiller that was being repossessed. It had about 700 hours on it and I know what kind of hours most of 'em were. I paid exactly $10,000 for it. The New Holland dealer where the tractor was originally purchased is only about 15 miles down the highway from me. Look around, don't get in a hurry, do your research, and ask questions as you are. There's a deal out there waiting for you.

[Houndog]

I've had a New Holland TC30 for over 15 years and outside of normal maintenance it's been bullet proof. I've used a 6' finish mower, a 5' bush hog, a 6 foot scraper blade, 6 foot disc mower, pickup hay rake, 6 foot rotary tiller as well as the front loader and hitch mounted hoe you asked about. One plus over a Kubota and a small Deere is it has a standard size cat 1 3 point hitch so any equipment you may buy is easier to find and MUCH cheaper than cat 0 or some other hybrid equipment you may want to buy. Mine has just over 2000 hours on it now and is showing no signs of trouble yet.

[jmort]

"The JD small tractors are rebadged Indian or Korean imports"

No, they are Yanmars or at the very least powered by Yanmar engines which are superb
I have a 2017 2032

"Assembled in the US from globally sourced components and sub-assemblies. Engine is obviously Yanmar, which is a great thing because they are bulletproof engines."

[buckwheatpaul]

Got a Kubota L3400 (34 hp) 4 wd with loader and shuttle shift with a whopping 98 hours for $15,000.00 two years ago....been tough and good!

[Ickisrulz]

"The JD small tractors are rebadged Indian or Korean imports"

No, they are Yanmars or at the very least powered by Yanmar engines which are superb
I have a 2017 2032

"Assembled in the US from globally sourced components and sub-assemblies. Engine is obviously Yanmar, which is a great thing because they are bulletproof engines."

There is a billboard directly across from the local John Deere dealer asking people to take a look under that green hood where they will find a Yanmar engine. The Yanmar dealer is a little farther up the road. This is potentially the most effective sign I've seen.

[Petrol & Powder]

Well the Op really opened a can of worms.

Might as well asked which truck is better - Ford or Chevy

I had a Kubota 22hp and killed it after about 15 years. I will say that I wasn't particularly good to it. The hydraulic pump eventually went and it just wasn't worth repairing. It also developed a cooling problem that seemed to be related to the hydraulic problem. I can't say it was a bad tractor because it took a lot of abuse.

Replaced it with a 26 hp Mahindra. The jury is still out on that one.

A friend had an old grey market Yanmar that was as tough as any small tractor I've ever seen. In fact, it was tougher than a lot of American tractors that were larger.

My biggest complaint is you can't get a gear drive with a true shuttle shift and live PTO's until you get way above 30 hp in most models.
Hydrostatic drive is convenient but has some limitations.

The engines on most of the compact tractors are 3 cylinder diesels and they have proven to be rather durable. Cast iron blocks & heads, forged cranks, mechanical injection pumps; not much to go wrong.

I looked at compact John Deere (Yanmar powered for the most part) and you pay a lot for the name and the green paint.

The Kubota's are good but not as competitive price wise as they once were. The old gear drive Kubota's seem to go forever.

Mahindra cuts some corners but appears to be about on par with the Kubota but a little cheaper and not as refined.

There are other makes but none of them really stand out.

[Blanket]

interesting thread but will say a Kabota won't pull or pick up what it says it will

[samari46]

I HAD a John Deere years ago and it was nothing but a money pit. Sold it and bought a Kubota L3800 with bushog and front end loader. And I also got the insurance which is a good thing. Frank

[Blanket]

I have had JD tractors since the 60's all older ones but would go with an import now unless you are tilling

[Blanket]

And you prob'ly believe that a 21 year old tractor only has a thousand hours on it. Right? Mebe so but I'd look hard at it.

Not knowing how hard you plan to work it and what you plan to do, it's hard to know what to recommend and I won't. I do however hear good things about Kubota and would likely have bought one but.........I kept procrastinating, did I really need a new tractor. Well yeah 'cause I really, really needed a front loader and the ancient Ford 8N I've been drivin' forever doesn't even have live hydraulics. I liked John Deere (mostly the prices) so well I never visited them even though I can see the local dealership from my house. I did do a lot of internet research and you should too. I used this site a lot. http://www.tractordata.com

And this one www.tractorhouse.com. I joined a bunch of tractor forums and searched 'em all.

In the end I bought a 2013 New Holland T1510 4WD with a NH front loader and a rear tiller that was being repossessed. It had about 700 hours on it and I know what kind of hours most of 'em were. I paid exactly $10,000 for it. The New Holland dealer where the tractor was originally purchased is only about 15 miles down the highway from me. Look around, don't get in a hurry, do your research, and ask questions as you are. There's a deal out there waiting for you.

That would be an LS

[Thundarstick]

Once again, what's the tractors main job? If in mainly going to run a mower, I'm going hydrostatic, if it's main purpose is ground engaging plows, disk, tiller, it's going to be geared. How many hours/ year are you really going to put on it. I probably put 20-25 hours on my old tractor. A 3000lb 25hp tractor will out work a 32hp 1950lb tractor. When it comes to the small Deeres, I'd look at the new 100% Japanese Yanmars for the same reason I'd
I'll buy Kubota over a Deere. The diesel emissions over 25hp should also be a serious consideration, unless you really really need the extra hp. Don't discount Mahindra out of hand either. Just because they are fairly new to the North American market don't make them some johnny come lately tractor co. We had an old IH growing up that was just a Mahindra in IH paint, and it was tough as they come.

[William Yanda]

Either jd ir kubota is fine , the one you listed seems a bit high to me for its age. Go to tractor by net for discussions on various brands and models . One decision maker for me as far as brand, where is the dealer for parts and service? If one is 20 mins away and the other an hour or two I know which brand id buy.

I am not a tractor owner, but I worked with dairy farmers for 20 years. Whether milking systems or tractors, the dealer in question is a real deal maker/breaker.

[Plate plinker]

All the kubotas I have run were excellent machines. And the backhoe attachment is super handy.

[rockrat]

Nephew bought a new Mahindra. Around 60hp. Fuel tank rusted out after two years and after months of waiting for a new tank from the dealer, traded it back in and bought a used JD.

21 year tractor with 1000 hours??? My 950 has just around 1000 hours and I believe its 30 years old. to beat that , a MF 135 , I inherited from my Grandfather is a 73 model with the perkins diesel. It has around 600 hours and still runs great.

[buckwheatpaul]

interesting thread but will say a Kabota won't pull or pick up what it says it will

Not trying to pick a fight but I have 3 different sizes of Kubota tractors, and after countless research they fit the bill and they all pick up what they are rated for....however, if you are doing heavy plowing they are light in the back end and not as strong as a Case or John Deere. In my end of the world if you own green you play h#$$ getting it worked on. But for ranch work....hay bailing, moving brush, discing and such they are great simple machines.

[seaboltm]

After a lot of research I settled on a mahindra last month. So far I like it.

[BD]

My primary initial use for this small tractor will be burying the power line to my house, burying a waterline to the garden and digging out the back side of the foundation of my shop for some remedial waterproofing and drainage work. I'd also like to widen the circle at the driveway to the shop and do a little clean up around the place. And, till the garden twice a year, (something I currently pay to have done). At some point, given a good cold winter, I'd like to drive it across the ice to our island camp to put in a little better bases for the posts and add a small gray water drainage field. So I'd say I want it mostly to move dirt. A snowblower and wood splitter would be nice if I ever came across the implements at a good price.
]

[Plate plinker]

For wood splitting you now have a hydraulic pump so you find a splitter with a bad motor just modify it or weld up your own.

[rancher1913]

a friend has a massy with the backhoe attachment, I had to show him how to drop it and reattach it. it had surprisingly good digging power and was easy to operate. another friend has a coyote tractor with a similar backhoe attachment that won't hardly do nothing.

I gave up on one size fits all a long time ago, run mostly ford/new holland tractors and have from a 30 horse all the way to a 150 horse so the one that gets used depends on the job. have some john deeres including a newer skidder but they are harder to work on than the fords. have some caterpillars as well including a smaller track hoe and its a bear to get parts because the local dealer is a 2 hour drive.

[Thundarstick]

For what you have listed as the tractors job, I'd keep my eyes open for a used rig of the brand that has support near you. Looks to me like you'll be like me and put very few hours a year on it, but need it when you need it! Tractors aren't like automobiles, 20 years ain't nothing for a good tractor. Do as much research as you can on the model you are considering to see if there are known bugs. Some do have them!
I grew up on a big farm and my folks still have and use regularly tractors I drove as a teen nearly 40 years ago!