At 82, I am at last being dragged into the 21 st century, I bought a 52 horsepower 2005 or so new tractor to help out my 1941 Ford 9N. Why that one, well it has 52 hp, not 20 hp like most of the toys you see parked along side people's houses rusting away. Weighs about 2 tons, has 4 wheel drive, and a cab with heat and a radio no less. It has a Japanese diesel rather than Chinese like the newer ones, the injectors are mechanical rack ones, not computer controlled single rail, I can repair them, it has almost none of the power robbing modern emission controls, does not need special additives to use the low sulfur fuels, and does not require some magic potion be added to meet the new requirements for diesel engines. It cost about 1/3 rd the price of a new one, and in a single box for about $1,000 I think I can get all the replacements to totally rebuild the electrical system if I wish to protect against EMF. In addition in New Hampshire 90 % of my neighbors use dyed diesel for their home heating and if the balloon ever does go up, it would be not only the fuel of choice for my tractor, it was designed to burn fuel with sulfur, but be useless to them as their furnaces require electricity to operate. Today I was using it, learning how to use joy stick bucket controls, always had 2 levers before, and just getting to know it. Building a new garage, back wall had 6 foot drop off, and with a good rain, temp about 45, wind blowing, I sat in the heated cab with the wind shield wiper on, and using 4 wheel drive as the ground was soft, put 36 yards of fill behind the garage and leveled it off, took about 8 gallons of diesel fuel. I am highly influenced by the wisdom often found in Jerry Young's stories, it makes a lot of sense to me to go back a generation or so to tools that are not overly complicated, not totally dependent on computer chips, and that although 15 years or so old, have many more years of life left in them at the level most of us will use them. I also find that the heavier more commercial designed tools are both capable of doing many more things and are designed for a longer life. The bucket in this unit is designed for 1800 pounds, can be removed in a minute to replace it with forks, and has a lift height of about 10 feet. The 3 point hitch is rated at 3500 pounds at the pins and a backhoe is available for the unit. The Mahindra E Max 20 hp is a popular one in this area. It is made in India, has 20 hp and will lift 600 lbs with the bucket to about 8 feet, weighs half as much, is troublesome for parts and repairs even at present, the 3 point hitch will lift 1300 pounds at the attach point on the hitch, and a new one with cab was priced at about 2 times what I paid for the used MF.
+1 for the older diesels. I have a mid-80s ford 8210 4x4 with a bucket and a cab that I bought for $17k. I love it, and you cannot hurt it.
A friend's neighbor down the lane restores old tractors. He drove a mint MF over one day when I was visiting. It was a real treat going over it. I drove it around the farm for about 30 mins. I only stopped because I thought he might have plans for the afternoon.
Hmmm, been searching half heartedly for a tractor that can handle a FEL, backhoe and is 4x4. Had been looking at ones that were just a few years old. Maybe need to gaze and dream at an older one. You have a lot of good points. Ground around here is similar to concrete and with rocks. So it can't be too wimpy.
Three types of backhoes, one is permanently attached to the tractor and does not have a 3 point hitch or pto on tractor, best made unit for backhoe work, Ford 555 etc, but it is only a backhoe, not a gp farm tractor. The second type uses the 3 point hitch and will fit any tractor of the right weight class, limited dig depth, slower, and never feels right to me, but it is a backhoe and can be of a lot of use. The third type is designed for your brand and weight class of tractor, has a sub frame that attaches to the tractor frame and is not easily removed. They usually dig deeper, feel much more stable, and last a lot longer than the lightly built 3 point hitch types. Guess you know my choice. Here in New England there are a lot of old leaky backhoes from 60's thru 2000, that are bought to be used to clear out a house lot and build in a road, take out stumps etc, people buy them with idea of using them to do the job and resell them. Usually to old, to leaky, to slow, to hard to turn etc, and the commercial people don't want them. If you are willing to put up with their age, are willing to wait, etc, at certain times of the year you can pick them up cheap and get a lot of work out of them and then resell for basically what you paid for them. A older farm tractor, FEL. 3 point hitch, dirt and snow bucket, logging grapple on 3 point hitch, forks, I also love the genset that runs off PTO and is mounted on tractor. I like about 50 hp and 2 tons weight, handy to back tractor up to building and have 10,000 watt stable genset running on diesel engine available, being able to spread 15 yards of stone on driveway, lift roofing up to roof, use a gambrel and lift animals to butcher, use forks to move skids of fire wood, etc. While they may be limited in TEOTWAWKI, they are invaluable in setting up a retreat and a 50 hp one can by using fairly inexpensive used farm equipment, mower, plow, harrow, scraper blade, etc, let you farm about 50 or so acres of crop land and 100 or so woodland. Minor thing like using 3 point hitch to lift butt end of log off ground and snake it out to where you want to cut it up will both save hours of time and keep most of the log dirt free. I am sure that there are many others reading this who have very similar feelings. I prefer older diesels, run at 2500 rpm as high, seem to run for ever, and if in the sweet spot around 2000 to 2010, have a minimum of electronics. Older are in one sense better, have even less frills, but have to be careful about low sulfur fuel as parts of fuel system use fuel as a lube and extreme low sulfur fuels can damage them. There are fuel additives that handle the problem, but you have to be sure the previous owner used them and did not damage the engine and decide to get rid of it instead of spending $3,000 to fix it.
We have had a Massey since 2010 and love it. Talk about a work saver . Here is a grand taking a ride to the barn.
After a 22hp, then a 33hp, I 'think' I found my last tractor in 2011. 41hp Yanmar 4x4, pre-Tier4, FE w/quik attach....good solid machine.
Sarawolf, looking back thru your blog, red tractor keeps popping up, putting stuff on roof, hauling away brush, etc. I have had some sort of tractor for 50 years and the ones like you have, gitting old so I got a cab this time, but they are such an improvement. Fence posts rotted out, dig down, put on chain, and lift out, moving wood from splitter to skid, moving skids of firewood, never seems to quit. The use of the brush hog to clear and maintain pastures alone almost makes it necessary to have a tractor. Almost looks like we need a thread for tractor porn like the gun and knife porn. Love looking at the pet tractors people have, God knows mine has become a part of the family.
Yeah if I get serious about one, I'll PM you for advice. I have little experience with tractors. I only know that I could really use one. Eyeing a 2011 MF 1652 on a thread with only 140 hours on it. Has several attachments related to snow removal which would be of little use where I live. But it does have a bucket. I want a backhoe as well. The rest of it not needed, maybe sell or trade that snow removal stuff for a backhoe. Just random thoughts right now. But it sure looks sweet. No cab.
I bought a Bush Hog brand backhoe to use on my previous 33hp New Holland tractor. Complete waste of $4500 was my determination after owning it several years. Sold it with the tractor and was glad to see it go. Underpowered, too little reach (constantly having to get out of the BH seat, into the tractor seat, move it a couple feet, then switch seats again) if digging a ditch.....just generally NOT worth the money. My suggestion is RENT a full sized backhoe when you need to do something (or save up several somethings to help justify the rent). At the very least, find a rental place that rents the size tractor/backhoe combination you're considering buying and rent it for a few days to see how little they will actually do before you shell out the money for one. I now own an OLD (mid 90's, lot of hours) IHI 35J mini-excavator (8,000lb, 40hp Izuzu diesel) that I picked up for less than the cost of a mid-upper range tractor backhoe attachment, and have a machine that is many times better than any tractor backhoe combination.
TnAndy, that is probably the best survival prep comment I have ever read. If you are going to get something that is vital for you survival or to at least make your life comfortable, if at all possible rent or try it out first. Know too many people with X thousand dollar small tractors that will not do job, 3 years food supply that is so salty and they don't like the taste and won't eat it, very expensive water filters that they hate and that will not remove some virus , over priced "survival" homesteads in areas where the neighbors and the local government prevent any real self sufficient lifestyle, and the game goes on. Thanks for a very good point in the real world of survival and an even better reminder that in the present real world a lot of the products being offered to the prepper community are designed to maximise profits rather than deliver the best product.
I was told some years ago that any tractor below about 40 Horse was too small and light for a backhoe. Good suggestion on the rental.
