help me buy a shitbox tractor

[oldcars]

I am not rich or old, but I don't like working on stuff just to make it run when I need it. Every old tractor I have owned had something constantly wrong with it. If you like that sort of thing, go for it ! I have old car projects, gun projects, bike projects, house projects, I didn't need another project. I was 32 years old when I bought my Kubota, but I didn't have car payments or a mortgage. The $312 a month was totally worth it. I like owning stuff free and clear, but 0% on an asset that doesn't depreciate much (or at all in some cases) isn't a bad thing. I keep my machines inside, keep them greased, and take care of them. I plan on them working for as long as I need them.


My L3200 was $18,690 brand new with a quick detach loader that takes skid-steer buckets, 4wd, power steering, hydro trans, etc. I could 100% sell it for 20k now, 9 years later.

 

[rockdog57]

That 2240 that 2big listed would pretty much check all the boxes for you. Big and heavy enough to pull hard and run all day with a brush hog and not even break a sweat.

 

[arse_sidewards]

My problem with these compact tractors is so many people misunderstand their capabilities. There’s no magic to a kubota or any of the Japanese imports. They took a tractor that weighs like an H farmall or 800 series ford, added about the same HP as a modern garden tractor and ate up half that power with a good hydraulic system. They are not a skid steer. They aren’t a proper tractor with the weight and wheelbase. They usually come with enough gear reduction and hydraulics to do many things a skid steer and full size tractor can do occasionally. In improper hands they ALL turn into a piece of junk before the 1000hr mark. They are a glorified lawn tractor which is all many people who’ve never been on anything bigger need and are awesome for the person with 5 acres and 2 horses.

You mean the dumbass yuppies and brain dead orange paint fanboys don't know shit about fuck? I'm shocked. Shocked.

jjust reading the first page
I don't really like loaders on farm tractors, they're pretty much for shovelling shit, not any sorta actual digging, the frames and hydraulics and buckets are just weak looking.
They're meant to pull shit, so if you're looking to move dirt around go with a combo of a chisel plow and a box blade or an old scraper pan.

Do your lifting off the back with poles or a set of bale forks or whatever, better geometry and a stronger axle.
2wd gas motor tractors in the 30-50hp range are sub-1k around here, should be able to get a good diesel with some implements included for your 7k

You're not wrong. But they're a hell of a lot better than no loader. You won't be doing dirt work with it but for picking things up and putting them down they work ok.

I'm surprised you haven't dragged home some old 2wd row crop POS that's going for pennies to build an old style off road fork lift out of yet.

 

[[486]]

Idk the loader is like the only reason I use my tractor. The 3 point forks don't lift as high and I don't want to deal with strapping stuff for a gun pole.
I have a ssqa with forks. I almost never use the bucket, always the forks.

I'm sure other machines will do it better, but it can do a little bit everything just good enough.

I can see it on an old commercial tractor where they mighta took the time to make something decently stout, but everything on cheap farm tractors looks like total shit with retarded frame attachments and such

backhoe/commercial tractor or a wheel loader (or an old track loader) if you're hot on the bucket
cheap farm tractor for cheap farm tractor shit

 

[[486]]

I'm surprised you haven't dragged home some old 2wd row crop POS that's going for pennies to build an old style off road fork lift out of yet.

It is in the plans, not the off road forklift thing, but mostly to drag around a disk and maybe a planter if I can borrow one

 

[45acp]

Perhaps it's regional. You aren't going to take just a 2k hit on your compact tractor at 3 years old here.

It very well could be regional.

And keep in mind, I'm talking about a certain size. Sub-30 horse, 4x4, FEL. This is the stereotypical "deer lease tractor" of the south. It is far and away the biggest seller of this part of the US. Finding a used one is more often than not a complete waste of time. I looked for over a year before I finally said fuck it, walked into kubota with my good credit and got 0%interest on a brand new ride that was only $1500 over the used one my neighbor was selling.

Once you get up into "real tractor" territory it all changes completely. Need a 45 horse? There's good deals everywhere. No way I'd buy new with all the emissions bs.

Again, all of this is wasted conversation... we're talking way out of OP's price range.

 

[lagunaMS]

Again, all of this is wasted conversation... we're talking way out of OP's price range.

yea just looking for something old and cheap, i won't be plowing 200 acres with it. just small time stuff so no need for a huge one or a new one

can anyone get phone numbers on these 2 CL ads? I'm only seeing email as an option

Ford 3000 tractor with front loader - farm & garden - by owner - sale

Ford 3000 Diesel tractor runs great hydraulics work as they should tires are good comes with front bucket a set of forks and a 5 ft weighted box blade 6000 for all

mobile.craigslist.org

ford tractor - farm & garden - by owner - sale

ford 3910 tractor good condition new seat 42hp at the pto 50 engine hp $5500

dothan.craigslist.org

also here are some other fords i've seen on marketplace IowaOffRoad

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and also gonna see if my grandmother still wants to sell her older JD but not likely, I think she decided to keep it

 

[lagunaMS]

and a case 585 but looks like it has never once been parked inside

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[[486]]

can anyone get phone numbers on these 2 CL ads? I'm only seeing email as an option

so you email them and then they'll get back to you with a phone number

 

[lagunaMS]

so you email them and then they'll get back to you with a phone number

thank you for that lol i already emailed them, half the time i don't get a response so was just making sure it wasn't just me who couldn't see a number

 

[clodhopper]

My problem with these compact tractors is so many people misunderstand their capabilities. There’s no magic to a kubota or any of the Japanese imports. They took a tractor that weighs like an H farmall or 800 series ford, added about the same HP as a modern garden tractor and ate up half that power with a good hydraulic system. They are not a skid steer. They aren’t a proper tractor with the weight and wheelbase. They usually come with enough gear reduction and hydraulics to do many things a skid steer and full size tractor can do occasionally. In improper hands they ALL turn into a piece of junk before the 1000hr

I agree on this completely. The buffed up lawn tractors look great until they get used. Maybe good for the guy with 2 acres and likes to do landscaping. I have seen a number of people, recently moved to acreage, buy a compact and a short time later are turning it in at the dealer for a larger one, then eventually getting a full size. The compacts look cool, but are generally too small for "farm work" stuff that most property owners end up doing. Just too small and tippy.


18k on just one tractor? You do you. I couldnt choke that down. I spent 18k on 3 tractors, a backhoe, a baler and a swather. Each took a few days of going through them and now all start up and run when I need them. That and I fukkin HATE troubleshooting electrical gremlins on field equipment. Stuff that stores outside is tough on wiring and components. Less wires is better. The harness on my 600 is two wires. Two.

 

[arse_sidewards]

I can see it on an old commercial tractor where they mighta took the time to make something decently stout, but everything on cheap farm tractors looks like total shit with retarded frame attachments and such

backhoe/commercial tractor or a wheel loader (or an old track loader) if you're hot on the bucket
cheap farm tractor for cheap farm tractor shit

Track loader with backhoe, hard tire forklift and 15hp riding mower would be a pretty good bang for your buck combo for the kind of person looking to develop their own property as long as implement pulling isn't a requirement.

It is in the plans, not the off road forklift thing, but mostly to drag around a disk and maybe a planter if I can borrow one

Let me guess, there's a tax exemption for agriculture where you live.

 

[woods]

How often you think you'll actually need something? Perhaps rent for a week a year when you need to get a bunch of shit done?

 

[lagunaMS]

I agree on this completely. The buffed up lawn tractors look great until they get used. Maybe good for the guy with 2 acres and likes to do landscaping. I have seen a number of people, recently moved to acreage, buy a compact and a short time later are turning it in at the dealer for a larger one, then eventually getting a full size. The compacts look cool, but are generally too small for "farm work" stuff that most property owners end up doing. Just too small and tippy.

my dad bought his kubota L-series new maybe 5 years ago. the most use he gets out of it is pulling a finishing mower for about an acre or 2 maybe twice a summer. or i'll use it to drag off a tree after he gets me to cut one down for him. otherwise it just sits in the barn, majority of its use is from me trying to lift axles and truck junk on/off my trailer, which is how i know it's way too small for what i want to use it for

to give it some credit though it's very nimble and i like the 4wd on it when dragging stuff, but it's real easy to get the front wheels off the ground

How often you think you'll actually need something? Perhaps rent for a week a year when you need to get a bunch of shit done?

fairly often i'm thinking. if i wind up not using it much i can always sell it, but i'm always needing to lift something for a stupid truck project i'm doing or dragging logs and shit. now that i have my own land by myself i don't care about having a nicely groomed yard, bush hog and done. except for right around the house

 

[[486]]

How often you think you'll actually need something? Perhaps rent for a week a year when you need to get a bunch of shit done?

welcome back

don't forget, we're all here forever

 

[aczlan]

I can see it on an old commercial tractor where they mighta took the time to make something decently stout, but everything on cheap farm tractors looks like total shit with retarded frame attachments and such

backhoe/commercial tractor or a wheel loader (or an old track loader) if you're hot on the bucket
cheap farm tractor for cheap farm tractor shit

We had a Case 480F (with the 3 point vs the backhoe) and it was heavier for sure, but compared to a farm tractor for doing "farm stuff" (making and moving round hay bales) vs moving dirt all day it was too heavy and felt ungainly.
Trying to stack hay bales in the barn was always a struggle to sneak them in without hitting anything in the process.
The Case always felt like driving a medium duty truck vs a pickup, big, ungainly and didn't have enough power (for it's size) to hurt itself.

Aaron Z

 

[lagunaMS]

We had a Case 480F (with the 3 point vs the backhoe) and it was heavier for sure, but compared to a farm tractor for doing "farm stuff" (making and moving round hay bales) vs moving dirt all day it was too heavy and felt ungainly.
Trying to stack hay bales in the barn was always a struggle to sneak them in without hitting anything in the process.
The Case always felt like driving a medium duty truck vs a pickup, big, ungainly and didn't have enough power (for it's size) to hurt itself.

Aaron Z

I'm not too worried about some surface rust on the sheetmetal but the old fuck first said he doesn't know the hours, then when i asked him to look at the hour meter he said it was broken, and only then began telling me how good it ran. so i guess that one is out

 

[[486]]

I'm not too worried about some surface rust on the sheetmetal but the old fuck first said he doesn't know the hours, then when i asked him to look at the hour meter he said it was broken, and only then began telling me how good it ran. so i guess that one is out

hour meter is kinda meaningless once equipment has a decade on it

We had a Case 480F (with the 3 point vs the backhoe) and it was heavier for sure, but compared to a farm tractor for doing "farm stuff" (making and moving round hay bales) vs moving dirt all day it was too heavy and felt ungainly.
Trying to stack hay bales in the barn was always a struggle to sneak them in without hitting anything in the process.
The Case always felt like driving a medium duty truck vs a pickup, big, ungainly and didn't have enough power (for it's size) to hurt itself.

exactly, levelling a hillside isn't something you'd want to do with a farm tractor loader

 

[EHeye]

Deere 3020 or 3010, if you need some more weight 4020 or 4010. Lots of parts still, plenty made so can find scrap stuff. Lots of aftermarket support. Easy to work on.

 

[87manche]

hour meter is kinda meaningless once equipment has a decade on it

this.

see if it smokes on a cold start, see if it works as it should.
Lot's of stuff out there with inop hour meters running just fine.
You can't trust it anyway, it's real easy to swap an hour meter. judge the condition of the machine.

 

[Spiritof76]

I agree with a lot of the comments. Perfect world, a diesel 4x4. If you're doing a lot of loader work, HST is great. If you're doing ground engaging work, powershift or even a standard transmission.

There was a note above about buying a 454 series IH. I had a 464 that I grew up with. 4 cylinder gas. It ran (and still runs) great. With chains and some weight on the rear, it did a passable job doing just about anything. It was run short on coolant and cracked the block between two pistons when being used to mow ditches. We ground it out, put some JB Weld on it, surfaced it, and it continues to run. Great little tractor; very sturdy, easy to run, not super heavy to trailer. Highly recommended.

 

[lagunaMS]

hour meter is kinda meaningless once equipment has a decade on it

this.

see if it smokes on a cold start, see if it works as it should.
Lot's of stuff out there with inop hour meters running just fine.
You can't trust it anyway, it's real easy to swap an hour meter. judge the condition of the machine.

i did not know this, thank you. the tractor in question looks a little rough but mostly because it was likely stored outside

 

[87manche]

I don't see any massive wet spots from oil leaks. Tires look OK.
seat doesn't look ragged out, so somebody probably took care of it.
honestly I trust an old rusty looking good running pile of shit more than I trust something that age with fresh paint on it and a suspiciously low hour reading, ya know?

I'd go look at it. Make sure it's cold when you get there and see how well it starts, if it smokes, if all the functions work, normal used equipment shit.
If it's been listed for 4 weeks maybe you come out of it for half your budget because all the other people judged the book by it's cover.

 

[lagunaMS]

I agree with a lot of the comments. Perfect world, a diesel 4x4. If you're doing a lot of loader work, HST is great. If you're doing ground engaging work, powershift or even a standard transmission.

There was a note above about buying a 454 series IH. I had a 464 that I grew up with. 4 cylinder gas. It ran (and still runs) great. With chains and some weight on the rear, it did a passable job doing just about anything. It was run short on coolant and cracked the block between two pistons when being used to mow ditches. We ground it out, put some JB Weld on it, surfaced it, and it continues to run. Great little tractor; very sturdy, easy to run, not super heavy to trailer. Highly recommended.

dude with the 454 gasser hasn't messaged me back yet, but that one was on the cheaper side, 3k asking and could probably get it lower

 

[lagunaMS]

I don't see any massive wet spots from oil leaks. Tires look OK.
seat doesn't look ragged out, so somebody probably took care of it.
honestly I trust an old rusty looking good running pile of shit more than I trust something that age with fresh paint on it and a suspiciously low hour reading, ya know?

I'd go look at it. Make sure it's cold when you get there and see how well it starts, if it smokes, if all the functions work, normal used equipment shit.
If it's been listed for 4 weeks maybe you come out of it for half your budget because all the other people judged the book by it's cover.

thanks for this, very good perspective i hadn't considered

would i be a fuckwad to bring a gin pole with me to test the lift strength?

 

[87manche]

thanks for this, very good perspective i hadn't considered

would i be a fuckwad to bring a gin pole with me to test the lift strength?

It's a good test of the hydraulic system. Would you buy a backhoe without operating the boom under a load? Buy a car without a test drive? Maybe even ask the seller if you can hook up a brushhog or something he's got there and run it for 20 minutes under a load.
Tell him you'll toss him $20 for the diesel if you don't buy it.

 

[lagunaMS]

more pics of the case

 

[lagunaMS]

It's a good test of the hydraulic system. Would you buy a backhoe without operating the boom under a load? Buy a car without a test drive? Maybe even ask the seller if you can hook up a brushhog or something he's got there and run it for 20 minutes under a load.
Tell him you'll toss him $20 for the diesel if you don't buy it.

good thinking! i'm sure he'll be cool with that

 

[87manche]

starter looks new. Filter has surface rust. can't tell if it's just the photo, but that side of the motor looks darker, so it may have an oil leak over there.

I'd bet it sat for a time, somebody slapped a new starter on it and then used it for their project or is flipping it.

use your best judgement. it's just a machine, you know what to look for. And with all manual transmission tractors, check the shifter boots. If they're torn/missing the gearbox gets water in it.
Check for water in all the fluids.

 

[bgaidan]

Go look it over, check for obvious leaks and farm repairs and if it test rides ok, it's probably a decent deal. If it's been listed for a month, throw $3k at him and see if he bites.


Stop at TSC on the way home and pick up a gallon of IH Red. Painting the hood and fenders will make that think look 10x better.