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Old 01-22-2009, 12:42 AM
 
Location: sowf jawja
1,941 posts, read 9,227,310 times
Reputation: 1069

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Quote:
Originally Posted by RuralCoastalGuy View Post
The JD dealers were too busy????? Wow, can anyone's business be that good so as to make them that independent?
he said it was harvest time;


would you rather spend time trying to help the homeowner buy a $20k tractor, or work with the farmer who is going to spend $300k on a new combine (more than once)?
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Old 01-22-2009, 03:36 PM
 
Location: Eastern Washington
17,158 posts, read 56,898,950 times
Reputation: 18462
I guess a "new-tech" tractor, even one bought new, makes sense if you are really hard-core and have considerable acreage, maybe you are putting in an orchard, grapes, etc, or even trying to farm for 10, 20, or more % of your income.

But for my $ the old 1954 International Harvester Super-C really does it for me. When I first got the tractor, I put a set of sparkplugs in, I guess as much to welcome it to the fleet as anything. Since then an annual oil change, and to top off the fuel from time to time, a couple of batteries, and, hey, that's it for maintenance. The old rigs like this were specifically designed to be easily fixed, in the field, by the farmer himself, most jobs not requiring more than a couple of thumb wrenches, a pair of pliers, and a screwdriver, maybe some sockets. I have not tried it but wonder if you can't even change the sparkplugs with a thumb wrench.

The newer Diesel tractors certainly have better safety features and provide more work for a dollar's worth of fuel.

But the old tractors can counter with extreme ease of service, simplicity, and nostalgic appeal.

If you get tired of your old tractor, you may find a collector who will pay more than you paid for it.

That's not likely with a new tractor.

As usual, your mileage may vary.
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Old 01-29-2009, 02:37 PM
 
23 posts, read 108,233 times
Reputation: 20
We just bought a JD 3520-37 hp from Columbia in Sandpoint and so far it's great. We did a lot of comparisons not only with all the bells and whistles you can get but with financing. We went with JD because they are local, has pretty good warranty and had the best financing around...not to mention the prices were always a few thousand bucks less. Our neighbor is an engineer for JD back east and he has a 40+ hp JD which he said was a bit overkill... so after picking his brain we decided on the 3520.

I just happen to like JD's, too. My Dad still uses his 1936 OA on the ranch in California.
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Old 02-07-2009, 08:13 AM
 
8,228 posts, read 14,185,562 times
Reputation: 11233
Is there no way to retrofit an older tractor with ROPS?

Glad to see someone report on the Massey Ferguson -

I bought the smallest JD snowblower and traded it in for a similar Honda which I liked much better. I wish Honda made a small tractor. JD may be as good as its rep, but I had a regional rep in my Guard unit that was fast tracking in the company and he was a total snake. I know its not reasonable but that makes me not want to support his paycheck.
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Old 02-09-2009, 03:17 PM
 
Location: Eastern Washington
17,158 posts, read 56,898,950 times
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Well, yeah, you can more or less build your own ROPS for an older tractor, my own approach is to avoid doing anything that would roll the tractor - I don't think anyone else would touch building a ROPS due to liability. And I'm not certain how much good ROPS would do without a seatbelt, which means a completely different type of seat from what old-time tractors came with. If you succeeded in putting ROPS on an old tractor, hard to say how well it would work, and it would be UGLY most likely.

If you really want ROPS, probably better to sell your tractor to someone like me who considers it as much a collectible as a tool, and is willing to operate it within it's limitations.
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Old 02-10-2009, 08:38 PM
 
1,291 posts, read 2,889,395 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by M3 Mitch View Post
Well, yeah, you can more or less build your own ROPS for an older tractor, my own approach is to avoid doing anything that would roll the tractor - I don't think anyone else would touch building a ROPS due to liability. And I'm not certain how much good ROPS would do without a seatbelt, which means a completely different type of seat from what old-time tractors came with. If you succeeded in putting ROPS on an old tractor, hard to say how well it would work, and it would be UGLY most likely.

If you really want ROPS, probably better to sell your tractor to someone like me who considers it as much a collectible as a tool, and is willing to operate within it's limitations.
You should check out a website called Tractorbynet, every week or so there will be a story posted in the safety section detailing the latest rollover death. It is almost always a guy in his 60's, 70's and occasionally his 80's who is killed. It almost always happens on an older tractor (no ROPS) that the operator had ran for years and was at the time operating it within it's limits.

The other most frequent "death by tractor" causes seem to be:

Started tractor while standing next to it, tractor jumped in gear or was in gear and lurched forward running over the operator.

Putting tractor on trailer and having it flip over backwards onto the operator or running off the side of the trailer and rolling it over onto the operator.

A operator by himself is running PHD (Post hole digger) and gets a sleeve caught in the auger or PTO shaft.

The last one amazes me the most, I have a Leinbach PHD with a 9" auger and I give it all due respect and stay away from it.

I know those old tractors are a hoot to operate but they can be dangerous

Last edited by Inoxkeeper; 02-10-2009 at 09:04 PM..
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Old 02-11-2009, 12:29 PM
 
1,297 posts, read 3,511,569 times
Reputation: 1524
I remember when I was 6 years old this soil sample guy came by while I was discing a field and was looking for my Dad. He was taking some soil samples and wanted my dad for something, but my father was gone off doing something else. This was a pretty big farm and he was beside himself that a 8 year old kid was out driving a tractor without adult supervision whatsoever. Myself...I thought it was cool my dad had faith in me that I could do the job.
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Old 02-11-2009, 12:40 PM
 
Location: Londonderry, NH
41,478 posts, read 59,660,138 times
Reputation: 24860
My wife's grandparents had an old Farmall that didn't even have a battery. You started it with a hand crank. Worked well enough for them even when grandad was in his 80's.
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Old 02-16-2009, 02:32 PM
 
Location: Eastern Washington
17,158 posts, read 56,898,950 times
Reputation: 18462
Quote:
Originally Posted by Inoxkeeper View Post
You should check out a website called Tractorbynet, every week or so there will be a story posted in the safety section detailing the latest rollover death. It is almost always a guy in his 60's, 70's and occasionally his 80's who is killed. It almost always happens on an older tractor (no ROPS) that the operator had ran for years and was at the time operating it within it's limits.

The other most frequent "death by tractor" causes seem to be:

Started tractor while standing next to it, tractor jumped in gear or was in gear and lurched forward running over the operator.

Putting tractor on trailer and having it flip over backwards onto the operator or running off the side of the trailer and rolling it over onto the operator.

A operator by himself is running PHD (Post hole digger) and gets a sleeve caught in the auger or PTO shaft.

The last one amazes me the most, I have a Leinbach PHD with a 9" auger and I give it all due respect and stay away from it.

I know those old tractors are a hoot to operate but they can be dangerous
Yeah, I hear you. Like a chainsaw, any tractor, particularly an old one without safety equipment, is unforgiving of error. Sometimes people are lulled by the fact that mostly, the tractor moves slowly. If you try to drag a log or pull a stuck car, and don't hitch up right, you can find out that tractor can flip pretty quickly.

You have to know what you are doing, it's beyond the scope of an internet forum to lay all that out.

Maybe someone can suggest a good book on operating older tractors?
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Old 02-23-2009, 11:03 AM
 
Location: Democratic Peoples Republic of Redneckistan
11,078 posts, read 15,053,243 times
Reputation: 3936
Quote:
Originally Posted by RuralCoastalGuy View Post
I own a John Deere tractor with a twin cylinder under 25 hp engine It will haul, cut, push and drag without even breathing hard.

Ya gotta buy the old green and yellow if you want quality and you want it to last.
I bought,sold and used about near every tractor brand out there and one time or another and we all have our favorites (Massey Ferguson happens to be mine...not the best,not the worst,but I know their quirks and can work on them pretty well when needed),but I can tell you right now,you pay 25% +- more for the green and yellow and you usually don't have as good of a tractor as a cheaper one.You also pay at the parts counter (Kubota is horrible for this gouging too....price a seat frame for an L35 TLB backhoe sometime just for fun,but take your oxygen mask and a crying towel with you when you do.).

All that crap being said....it depends on what you're going to with the tractor....light yard work?...bush hogging a small field(10 acres or less)?...gardening?....those things are best suited for a smaller tractor(and imo a Kubota is hard to beat for that,but the BX22 is a bit light for most jobs outside the yard)......

but if you are feeding cattle,moving round bales,baling,bush hogging bigger acreage etc etc you are going to need some more azz behind you.

Bigger tractors that will do the bigger jobs are actually much cheaper than the smaller "yard" type tractors to buy and in most cases parts prices are cheaper.

OP...If you get ready to upgrade your horsepower,DM me and I'll give you some links for HP info and used tractor pricing.
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