The time has came to replace a tractor.

The 1974 Massey 285 95hp has finally entered its last 10-12 hours of operation before death. The tranny started throwing teeth off of the high side gears this morning and I still have low reverse, first and second gears. I just can justify putting anymore money into a 48 year old tractor that I have hated since the day I bought it That being said it got the job done for the 12 years I have owned it...... just a fight getting it to do the job

I still have the 1976 Oliver 1755 96hp but no bucket on it for the heavy pulling and bigger implements. And it is just back from the shop getting some majors done that I just don't have the time or tools to do myself. Had the mechanic go over everything while he had it tore apart and replaced everything overly worn or that might break in the next 20 years.

What I can't do is in anyway justify buying a new 100hp bucket tractor for $85,000-$110,000 and TBH I really don't need a bucket tractor that big in the scaled back Kamp Krap formerly known as the T5R

I saw this day coming a few months ago and started shopping for used 40-50hp tractors and found that there is next to nothing decent out there at any kind of reasonable price. And the used ones in good condition pretty much cost as much as the new ones. So today I went to my goto Kubota Dealer to see what they had in the new realm that would meet my current and future needs.

Here is what I decided on just not exactly which of these two I am going to get. Will decide that when I run up to Fairfield Saturday morning to get better educated on the differences between them and run them around the dealer lot. I like Carter and their package deals. I really do need to replace my old Rice Trailer with a new one, I also really have needed to break down and buy a box blade for a long while now. The Bush Hog I can take or leave it would be nice but I don't really need another mower. LOL two disc mowers, a discbine, a haybine and a 52" belly mower on the little kubota bx25 D pretty much cover all of my mowing needs. So I Might see about swapping the bush hog out for a chipper shredder or a 8' or 10' disc. Or a bigger tiller or a bigger backhoe. or or or.

Sadly this coming up is going to get one of the other big projects put on hold for a year or two. I gave myself a FIRM $150,000 Budget to work with in 2022 and this tractor package will put me right up against the budget limit. In weighing things out, I just will not give up the big lake I have spent next to no money over the last 25 years for something purely for my own pleasure and enjoyment. The Lake is that and I just will not cut it out and work begins on it on July 5th. I won't give up the New Pole House and I have already paid the contractor to do their part in the conversion and bought almost everything for my part of the conversion. So that leaves the solar system, I really don't want to cut it out of this years budget but I am going to. Way to many things will come to a grinding halt here without a bigger bucket tractor, just manure relocation alone would become a major problem trying to use the little Bx25. Of course one of these Kubotas won't scoop up a ton of manure at a time in the bucket, but it will move a lot more than the little Kubata will. But the 39 hp will serve well for where I am at this point in personal and business life. If I didn't have Oliver I would be looking at 60-80hp Kubotas. I am a Kubota fan You could give me a brand new Deere and I would take it and sell it the next day and buy a Kubota or New Holland with the money.



I will never own a Massey anything again LOL just too many great memories with me and the Old MF'R! LOL I can't even count the hours I have spent of the last 12 years out in the burning ass sun on a 100 degree day cutting and welding broken stuff back together on it! and that break put the axle right through a Brand New steer tire I had just put on a week earlier. And it was the axle that broke........ not just a simple tie rod or ball joint...... nooooooooooo could never be anything easy with the old MF'r!!!

 

I have just two words of advice for you...JOHN DEERE! Actually, make that three words, older JOHN DEERE tractors...ok, that makes four words, but you get the idea! You were right in saying that you made a mistake buying a Massy, although I'm sure it seemed like a good idea at the time. Every farmer hereabouts uses John Deere tractors, although we will use other equipment...I, myself, have a Woods bush hog, a Ford 201 Flex disk, and a field cultivator that still had some red paint on it. The bush hog is still original, but the disk and cultivator have been restored and painted JD green (with just a little yellow). Tractors are one thing, and good well-made equipment is something else entirely different. The latter can be fixed with a suitable application of JD paint and a few decals.
The reasons that I suggested older John Deere tractors are (1) Purchase price is lower than new; (2) Quality is better than new JD tractors (just a green Yannmar with a jacked-up price tag); (3) You can work on them yourself; (4) Parts are available, including engine rebuild kits; and (5) Many of the older tractors can be easily modified to run on ethanol/shine or straight vegetable oil, rather than gas or diesel.
PS I'm on the hunt for a gasoline powered tractor, and while I'm a JD man I can't help looking at some of the Ford tractors, like the 8N. It's hard to beat a 4-cylinder flat-head Ford!
PSS There are a number of farmers that don't use John Deere tractors, some are just isolated weirdos sprinkled about, but many live about 60-70 miles to the north...they are Amish and Mennonites!

 

My dad referred to the Masseys with the same love and affection you have T5R

 

I am in the middle of the midwest corn/soybean belt. The countless number of older John Deers, Ford 8n/9n, Alis Chamler tractors for sale a run about a few thousand each. I have a third cousin that now uses a Ford 8n that has been in the family since it was bought new in 1949. It still runs strong with two engine rebuilds for its 63 year life.

 

Don't forget to check out a Mahindra tractor. My neighbor bought a 40hp diesel 3 years ago and it seems bullet proof with a 7 year warranty. He has a 72" brush hog mower and it's a loader tractor 4 wheel drive.

 

If you do go Mahindra ,,, find an older 4 cylinder model ,, a few years ago they were changing over to 3 cyl. models ,,, the 4 cyl. didn't have to work as hard as the 3cyl.

 

Might wanna look for a used Case Back Hoe, or older John Deere, I find the back hoe better for most work, unless your dragging a bunch of implements around and then, an old Crawler might serve you better! You can usually find them reasonably priced, and if you stick to the known brands, your golden!
Now, I don't have a back hoe, don't really need one but the Caterpillar Crawler is independable we literally use it for everything except checking the mail or runs to town, we got a log skidder for that, LOL!

 

Not sure where you're at, but there seems to always be an 8n for sale around here. Don't pay much attention because I'm not in the market, but I can check around if you'd like. I'm roughly half way between B-Ham and Tuscaloosa.

 

I usually try to check TractorHouse.com at least once a week, but while many are for sale there are few that I would have! I'm not looking for a "project tractor". Many of the older tractors that you see for sale are hedgerow finds that someone has cleaned up and put a cheap paint job on. I've learned to look at the engine compartment and rear-end to gauge the true condition of the tractor. Don't pay any attention to the newly painted hood or fenders, nor the new tires! I would rather have a tractor that is ugly as sin, but in good running condition, rather than the reverse. Hell, if it looks too bad, I'll just keep it under a tarp and only use it at night.

 

I had already committed to buying one of these and chose the DT Package Transferred the money to Carter this afternoon and go pick it up mid morning tomorrow. My days of playing mechanic and keeping old junk running are over........ except for Oliver but I actually enjoy keeping Oliver Maintained and blowing fire on demand out of the straight pipe Nope..... warranties, and the Kubota Orange Protection Plan extended warranty is my future. I have done A LOT of business with Carter over the last 25 years and they have earned my respect and trust. Only green paint on this farm will be Oliver Green

 

I run 3 Kubotas
all B4 the BS electronics and regens shit
New Holland is the big HP one '''' pure diesel
Sloth

 

New Holland blue clashes with my clashing outfits too much

 

I hear ya!
It's why most everything is Cat Yellow!
Still rock the little Kubota front end loader, it's just too damn slick and handy, but for the real work, it's gotta be Caterpillar for me, all these years and they have always stood by me, always found me parts if they didn't have them, didn't charge me extra to ship anything from out of town/State, and back every part and service with a serious warranty. Sure, you pay a little more, but it's CAT, it works out in the end being cheaper! I'm not switching, Period!
I have three Caterpillar Engines, a 3126 (C-7), a 3406 (C-16) and a 3408 twin turbo hotrod from hell. On top of that, the Crawler is a 1950s D-2 and the Skidder is a late 90's 545 double arch grapple. We also have a mid 90's D-4 Clamshell bucket dozer, no need for anything else! Our operation dosnt see us running drag equipement very much, other then the big gardens, so a wheeled tractor isn't of much use, we do a lot of tree clearing and maintenance, and we do road maintenance quite a lot. As far as "Tractor Work" the D-2 is the best, though slowest!

 

I've had the Kubota BX for 7 years now. Yes, it's basically an oversized lawn mower, but with the FEL, mid mount mower, box blade, bush hog and tiller it has been a back saver.
With less than 400 hours on it, it's barely broken in.
When I bought it I wish I had the money to get the TLB (Tractor/Loader/Backhoe) and a zero-turn, but we did not have the funds at the time.

 

It's a sad day when a tractor dies.

 

Well changed my mind at the last minute when I went up to Fairfield to pick up the one I was committed to......... Started looking at a
M5660SU and then driving it around, and then lifting rocks and buckets of dirt with it, then giving the sales man $10,000 more money and arranging for them to deliver the 60hp tractor tomorrow morning. 60hp will work with most of my existing implements and the ones that require 80-90hp to pull I was going to downsize anyway. Really don't need the big new holland 72"X72" round baler anymore so downsizing it to a Vermeer 5520 and downsize the disc from the 24' wings to a single 10'. Pretty much everything else will run with 60hp

 

Ohhhh C'mon @Thunder5Ranch
Go for the BIG stuff!

 

I have had the big stuff the time for that has passed Although there are times I wish I still had the D-6 and the 60' Boom truck. Having or getting that stuff at this stage in life would only serve to play the keeping up with the Jones's whoever the Jones's are, and I never did get into playing that game. OK I admit building a 14 acre lake instead of a 3 acre pond is a bit of giving a few of the less desirable neighbors a big double barrel middle finger blast LOL I live a very modest life by choice and they have always made the general assumption that I am dirt floor poor. That perception has changed a lot in 2022 as I have done some big ticket things already that did not go without notice, in about 2 hours another $43,000 thing will come down the road and will be noticed, 5 days from now 2 BIG tractors, 4 pans, 2 bulldozers and 1 excavator will roll in on drop decks and be off loaded, 10 days from now those tools will go to work building a 1000' long dam...... that will not go without notice. About the same time as the dam work starts the concrete crew will roll and and the concrete spinners will start coming and going... yep they can't miss that activity. LOL already been getting back to me via the rumor mill that are noticing and trying to figure out how a guy that lives in a portable building converted to a cabin is paying for all of this. When the really expensive stuff starts like the lake... their little inbred heads are going to explode trying to figure it out. Running theory they have is that I have been running a big ole meth lab down here and that is how I am paying for everything. LOL Sheriff even dropped by and said he had some reports I was cooking meth and asked if I was....... Told him to feel free to go searching for a meth lab if he wanted to but he would be wasting his time. SO he poked around looking in barns, containers and did a lot sniffing for the tell tale odor of meth manufacturing and came up empty. Came back up to the Machine shed and said "I didn't figure you were but thanks for letting me check! So how are you paying for all of this stuff you are doing?" Pretty simple really...... I worked hard, sacrificed and saved and you know Mrs T5R earns a little better than average living at her job. Then he says "I am never going to understand you! Everyone thinks you guys are the poorest people in the county and then you whip out $100,000 and do a bunch of upgrades and still live in your shack! (What most people around here call my Cabin). Sigh I sleep and eat in my cabin and spend 95% of my waking time out in the woods, the fields, the machine shed, the wood shop, with the livestock or working in the garden, why in the hell would I waste the resources building a 4000 sq foot big house with a bunch of space that I neither want or need when my $25,000 Cabin meets all of my needs? Why would I spend $80,000 on a new truck when my 21 year old truck does the same job and probably better than the new junk they manufacture? and am just finishing up making that truck a new truck from engine to rear end and it only cost $18,000 vs the $80,000-$90,000 a new truck comparable to Red would cost, Plus after 21 years Reds driver seat fits my butt perfectly now! Mrs T5R bought a brand new truck and I have driven it a few times...... I am convinced that I will NEVER buy one of these new trucks! Plus Red gets about 5mpg better than the new trucks LOL tree guy was bragging his new super duty gets 19.5 MPG highway.... Red averages 24.3 highway.

Nope I really don't try to impress anyone, I do what I do and get what I get to impress myself and meet my needs. But am finding some amusement in the neighbors, the rumor mill and the wild speculation. LOL turning a pole barn into a 1200sq foot house seems like a waste to me but Mrs. T5R Demands more space than the 736 sq feet that the cabin has and Well I have been living in the camper for 2 years now since the office pushed me out....... So more space might not be so bad Cough and will ease the pain I would other wise feel in a couple of hours when the $43,000 tractor is delivered that Mrs. T5R still doesn't know about, I figure this one is better left as a surprise Her face will turn Red, she will walk/stomp into the Cabin and a bout a hour later emerge face still Red........ spend 30 minutes lecturing me, spend 3 days scowling at me and it will all be out of her system on the 4th day. LOL Pretty much the same as I did when she pulled in the drive in her new truck. Its an old ritual between us and very predictable. I think she already suspects I bought a new tractor, since Masseys tranny started sounding like a coffee can 1/3 full of nuts and bolts being shaken and then me mysteriously leaving for 4 hours yesterday afternoon. We have the Hers Money, We have the his Money and then we have the general pool of OUR money. Things like the lake and house come out of OUR Money and we have consensus on how that money is spent. Things like her truck or this tractor come out of the Her or His money and do not require the others consent or agreement but the Mad Ritual still must be applied LOL.

 

Dittos on the His, Hers, and Ours family finances spending / investing approach. That decades long system has worked smoothly for me and the Mrs.

 

Here as well.