whats a good compact tractor?

[Reddog]

Anyone that you have a good dealer for. 

[DouginUtah]

As long as we are talking about different brands where does Mahindra fit in? Is it like Kioti--non-standard?

[mikerat]

the kioti is the tractor that Bobcat is now selling with their white color sceem. I might buy a koiti knowing I can take it to my local Bobcat dealer for service.

Mike

[shelbycharger400]

older machines work good.
i bought my case dc 3 and 4, well only get to keep the dc4 in the deal,      for a 60 year old tractor, it works nice, it is probably a bit on the heavy side at 5100 lbs,  i have yet to get the loader on  it but it definately will out pull what i need. i pulled a 80's chebby 1/2 ton sideways...  
most of case dc's straight from the farm running run around 1500 with a loader on it .

[thecfarm]

I have a 30hp,just for mowing and a 40hp that in the woods just about every day. BIG difference on what the small tractor can do compared to the 40hp. Whatever size you get,load the rear tires.No turf tires either. Makes a big difference on what you can do with it in the woods. I myself learn towards NH. Just like the way they are set up compared to others. Get parts in 3 days too at my door step by the guy I bought it from.

[Taylortractornut]

Actually Kioti isnt grey market.  Some of the  parent company Daedongs  greys did come over here.   Daedong  did sell a few standardized here but Daedong name didnt sell well.  Put the more western sounding name to it and they sell.    Bobcat wont service a  Kioti.   I have a friend that  bought his Kioti  and moved away from the dealer.     Other than  driving 150 miles to the dealer for service he tried taking it to the BC dealer and no dice. 

I go to an auction  that the  owners  sell  Kioti tractors.     They  are good tractors and I think made some models for Kubota a few years back to meet supply.     A few years back Kubota and Kioti  locked horns over the orange similarity.    A big seller with me is that the hoods and fenders are metal.   

Mahindra is a good tractor  even made some of the IHC models.  I have a friend that had a 454 IH  clone that was a Mahindra and its a tough tractor.    My friend with a seed store and a fellow at work have 60 hp tractors and they like them.     THe smalled ones are made in Korea by  LS.         Mahindra bought out a plant in CHina that made Farmpro tractors to make an economy  Mahindra,   I cant reacall the model at the moment.

LS makes a  good tractor but they are sorta light with a high HP engine.  Dad bought one  2 years ago.   It came standard with  a quicktach  loader with a quick hitch, and  seperate dual remotes and a shuttle shift.    It was a little tippy then we loaded the tires.   Made a different tractor out of it.      Im not a fan of the loader contro its a little  jerky to me. 

LS makes other tractor models rebranded   Mahindra, the Former Montana tractor line, and some of the Mcormicks and Landini tractors and  the  newer  New Hollands are LS made. 

Branson tractors are pretty good though Im not fond of their hydrostat tractors because the 2 I ve been around have pedal sticking issues.   

Branson is a  Kukje tractor thats  rebranded als was sold as Century.   

THe big 4  from Korea  as mentioned are Daedong  Kukje and LS.   TYM

I cant give any say on TYM Ive never been around them but they seem to be doing well a friends dad has one in TN and seems to like it.   

Im a big fan of Kubota.   Dad had an  L3130 HST and  i really liked the loader controls were smooth and the HST treadle was more than comfortable to run.   THe Axle on the front i alot beefier than the LS dad currently has.

Dad also had a newer JD but it didnt compare to the Kubota or the older  970 2wd dad had at the time.    We had some trouble with the  chinese casted loader subframe,  and transmission casting troubles, ALso the tires ere chinese and   supper thin walled.    Not knocking Deere  weve had 6 of them   650, 3   750's and an 870 and 970.

I also like the older TC serries of  New holland tractors. They were made in Italy and very tough rigs.  I ave a friend and I service it often.

Id recomend a tracotr of a skid steer loader for woods work.   I have 2 skid steers and I dont use them in the woods much if its any kind of damp or sticky out.    A tracto puts down more surface area with the tires and  has more clearence.    I like a SSL for what  I do with them but Im more comfortable on the tractor.













 

[Norm]

John Deere! 

[tcsmpsi]

I'm seeing your interest in size, negligible footprint and overall capability for general woodlot use, and obviously price.  Currently, I am working a Kubota 7510DT. 
I bought my first compact Kubota in the mid 80's for the building and remodeling business (moving dirt in forms, handling/digging/setting pilings, building roads/driveways, clearing, handling material...with negligible footprint).  What it saved in hired hands alone far more than paid for it.  The 7510 ( 4 wheel drive/manual transmission) I have now, with FEL and boxblade cost around $13,000 in early 2006.   To be able to purchase it, I got financing through Kubota at %0.5.  The only problems I have ever encountered with the Kubota compacts I've had, have been self-inflicted.  Other than that, they've just been regular maintenance machines.  As small tractors (as with all things), they have their limitations, but nothing I've found that couldn't be worked with.

From pond building, to log handling... 
 
 



 



 

[John Mc]

Kioti is referred to as a 'grey market' tractor, they are low cost clones of the major manufacturers. They have quirks such as odd size pto shafts which run in tin the opposite direction to north American units. Standard implements therefore will not work. They also use odd size fittings so hydraulics are difficult to hook up. Nice looking unit but it drove us nuts.

That might have been true of Kioti at one time, but it is no longer the case. "Gray market" tractors are ones that are not made to US standards - particularly safety standards (for example, they may not have a rollbar, which is required on US tractors. Or they may have non-standard PTO speed or direction). Gray market refers to not intended for sale in the US. Some folks do import and resell them.

Kioti is now a fairly mainstream option in the US. The ones which are intended for sale here meet US requirements. I would not have any hesitations in buying one if I had good dealer support in my area.

[sandhills]

I'm just a small, poor, broke farmer , I really am  .  What's wrong with an old JD 4010 with a JD148 loader, doesn't have fwa but if you spend a little time shopping around you could get the whole unit for under 10k, and that should be a good one if you know what you're looking at, and at 46 plus or minus years old it will still outlast a lot of what is being made today, plus you have a 8000#+ tractor very capable of 100hp.  May not have all the creature comforts but a very good dependable tractor.   

[D._Frederick]

If you are going to put a loader on a small tractor, look at the front axle to see how "beefy" it is. Most of the failures I see around here is the front drive of the 4wheel tractors won't stand the strain the loader puts on them. When a heavy load is put on the loader, the back wheels become light and the traction is shifted to the front. This results in the front drive shaft and the differential failing.

These tractors are not designed to put a 6 + foot wide bucket on them and fill it up with rock.

[tcsmpsi]

One of the notable differences in the older Kubota, was that the FEL built for it, would lift considerably more than either of the FEL's available for the current tractor.  I imagine safety was the primary reason for this, but it is also plauisible that keeping front end weight more in line with design components was a factor, as well.  Even though I never had any failures of the mechanics,  I have used everything to its limit mostly.

[Hilltop366]

I have a 2000 Branson f3550 the same tractor came with a 35 or 43 hp engine, mine has the 35hp which I kind of like because it is built to handle more power. With no mechanical problems so far it has been very reliable but in my area of salt air and lots of road salt the fenders and other sheet metal are getting very rusty(large holes).

Things that I would look for are 4x4s that have the bevel gears on the outer part of axle over the u-joint type, also when choosing a tractor size keep in mind that the attachments for a larger tractor usually should be matched to the size of the tractor and the larger ones will cost more.

[Raider Bill]

I bought a used 90 something 42 HP 4wd Kubota with FEL 5 years ago in Tenn. I have beat and mistreated that thing yet it continues to start every time and does mostly everything I've asked for with no problems that I didn't cause. I do wish I had some more HP but that goes with most everything I own.

[Lambee10]

I have a Massey 1533 with a loader.  If you go new or new like try to get the skid steer quick connects (or what ever they are called) so you can drop the bucket and add the forks quickly.  My father in law sure wishes he had got that option after seeing mine.

I also welded some chain hooks on the side of the bucket so I can throw a chain on there to lift things off trailers and such.

Look at lift capacities of the 3 point hitch and the bucket.  Some 3 point hitches could not raise 1000 lbs where others would do over 2000-2500 lbs. 

Be careful what you pick up in the front- weird feeling when the back comes off the ground

[Qweaver]

The only problem with buying an old tractor is that you often have to work on them.  My first tractor was a 1980 Ford 1910 with loader and back hoe.  Had to replace the clutches, rebuild one F/wheel drive gears, replace many hoses, replace two hydraulic cylinders and other small items. By the end of 18 months my $7000 ford had cost me another $1500.  But it was running perfect.  But I was going saw lumber to build a house and did not want to have to spend time working on equiment.  So I sold it for $8000 and bought a new 3130 Kubota with loader and backhoe for $24500.  0 down, 0 % interest and 3 years to pay.  It was a great tractor, handled the logs well and 0 problems during the 4 years I owned it.  I replace it with a JD 110 TLB and now I wish everyday that I had not sold it. I also love my JD but I miss the fine work that I could better do with the 3130.
Quinton

[sparky1]

Sandhills.. I would love to have an older Jd tractor and loader like you describe. but my problem with a larger tractor is Id like to store it in my garage (a car garage, not a shed)  Thats the only reason im leaning towards a compact tractor. If i had my shed built ( a couple years down the road) i would buy a larger bulkier tractor

[shelbycharger400]

buy the biggest you can... you wont regret it,  nothin worse than havin just a toy to work .
i bought my case for 500 from a friend,  i have seen some for $600 with a loader..   it might be 60 years old, some stuff will have to be replaced..      but i could completely rebuild this case if i had to, and still be money ahead than buyin a compact tractor.   biggest thing with a tractor is you have to know how to fix it yourself, otherwise your going to be gouged to fix it.
so with my farm tractor, i have a 1 acre yard, lots of trees, and i drive it around the yard, the roads ect.   
i plan on movin 1000+ lb to 2000 lb logs,   not shure if id want to with a small tractor.    last time i looked at a Orange compact, the bucket looked frail and thin.

[Piston]

Also don't discount the economy models that Kubota and Deere (and I'm sure others) are making now.  You get a good basic tractor for the price, without all the bells and whistles.  I know some manufacturers are offering 0% financing if that is a possibility.  (although 0% never truly means 0% )

If your use of the tractor will be like mine, I think you'd be happy with the midsize compact like the Kubota L series, JD 4x20 series and so on.  They are not big workaholics like the old farm tractors but they can get a lot of work done, with little fuel, and a lot of fun. 

Don't underestimate the smaller tractors.  Mine is a 46hp L series Kubota and admittedly, I would like a stronger lift capacity, but 95% of the time it does everything I need. 

The nice thing about the compacts is they are still easily towable, don't ruin your lawn or make ruts under normal circumstances, and are easy to run and maintain.  Also, the bigger the tractor, the more expensive the implements. A tractor is almost useless without implements, so that is what to consider.  Aside from towing/pulling, there isn't much use for a tractor with no implements or front end loader.


Whatever you end up buying, think seriously about a FEL grapple, I did and I will never be without one again, by far it is the most useful attachment I have/use.  Unless I'm moving dirt or snow (maybe some crushed stone or mulch once a year) I don't even have the bucket on.  In fact, I think the last time I had it on was June of this year. 
I also added 4 rear remotes to the back which is very handy. 

For any of you guys that frequent tractorbynet.com you know how insanely important they consider the dealer network.  Honestly I don't agree, if you can do basic maintenance to your tractor and have basic mechanical skills, I really don't think it's that important.  I've only had my tractor one year, but my father has had them since I was a kid.  We've never once brought any of them to a dealer. 
You can get a lot of parts you will need at an autoparts store, and for the dealer items you can get them online, sure it's not as fast as driving downtown but how often do you really need parts? 

If you don't plan on maintaining whatever you buy, then manufacturers and dealers may be more important.  I'm not partial to Kubota or any, and if I was buying new I would seriously look at Kioti, although they're prices are approaching the big 3 when you compare apples to apples. 

Look out for a used mid sized tractor like most people mentioned.  You can get a lot of work done with them, not everything, but pretty *DanG close.

I have my rears filled with 1200lbs and use a 1,000 lb box blade on the back.

Please Please Please consider a grapple if you'll be doing ANYTHING in the woods.  Sorry for the caps but I can't stress that enough. 

http://www.forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,50047.0.html


TBN will have you buying a brand new 60hp 50k dollar tractor, but that is a great site for info on them 

[Piston]

I just re-read my post and I'm sorry to say I lied to you 

I did take my tractor to the dealer one time, to have the rear tires filled, but it doesn't matter the make of the tractor for that 
 

So maybe dealer network is more important than I thought 
 

Keep us posted!