Garden Tractor

[PeteD]

Thanks Chad,


I'm not looking to spend much more unless I'm getting into some heavy machinery. Which, to your point, I should know what I'm getting into. I don't know anything about tractors. I can turn a wrench, but frankly given space and time constraints I have less of an appetite for tinkering with machines I expect to work when I need them to. I think that is the reason I have not jumped on an older machine and another reason why I'd like to sell my e36 daily driver and move on to something newer...but I digress.

Also, a zero-turn will most likely not make it up my hill. The GX255 has a locking diff; frankly that was one of the main reasons I even considered putting an offer on it, of course being useful in all seasons seems nice too.

[flyboyx]

put light knobby tires on the zero and i promise you it will make it up any hill you would reasonably mow with a tractor sitting under your butt.

[PeteD]

All great points. Any input on the JD GX255 with all those attachments? I offered $3,000, He wants $3,500. Frankly, I think it is probably worth that. The tractor is well maintained and in great condition. The owner is selling it out of his front yard on a road that no one goes down.

My reason for not going to $3,500 is I think at that price point I am in entry level 4x4 Kubota (based on months of researching local tractor listings). However, a good Kubota in that price range is also tough to come by.

[flyboyx]

ive seen 17hp kubota's in the price range you are talking but anything bigger should be around 6k in good shape plus another 2 if it includes a loader. over the years there have been a few other threads about tractors and such. do a search for "kubota".

as i have stated previously, if you have work that a garden tractor won't handle, i suggest you wait until you can afford or find a good deal on a real tractor.

if you are a handy guy, there isn't any reason not to buy a tractor in distressed condition. they are very simple to fix. you can always find the service and parts manuals on ebay.

the kubota i pictured on page two probably cost me nothing in actual money by the time i was finished with it. i originally bought an L275 off of craigslist for 700.00. it was a 2wd tractor with turf tires and a broken steering box. after doing some searching on a national craigs search engine,i found a 4wd tractor with the bf400 loader. the ad included no photos but said the machine was in "puzzle condion". the owner sent me a few cell phone pics and i agreed to buy the entire mess for 1700.00. i spent about 2 weeks looking for a cheap shipper. that aspect ended up costing another 6 hondo. once i had both tractors, i took everything apart, replaced all the seals, and made one good 4wd tractor/loader combination. i would say i spent well under 4k. all the extra parts were sold on craigslist and orange tractor talks. i figure i made pretty close to all my money back with a little sweat equity.

[M-technik-3]

There is also Yanmar...they are affordable as well, I was considering picking up one just recently but misses said no and I don't blame her since I did not want to sell My JD318

[flyboyx]

i don't know a lot about that brand, but i agree they can be pretty awesome depending on the model you choose. actually, most smaller john deere models use yanmar engines.

you do have to do some research to make a good choice on whichever model you choose. some of those little grey market 4wd tractors are really cheap(mitsubishi's for example), but they have some fundamental design flaws that don't make for a very good tractor. off the top of my head, i know that some of them don't have a built in pressure relief in the hydraulic system. so...if you overload the hydraulics, they simply shear off the drive shaft for the hydraulic pump. not so bueno.

some of the reasons i really like kubota is that they make all of the parts that go into the tractor, they are indeed well made, there are plenty of dealers around and most parts are still availible, the price is a lot cheaper than a similiar john deere but they still have a good resale value when you go to sell it.

older kubotas have some innate issues too. for example, if the tractor has set outside most of its life, the steering box is probably shot because the top seal goes bad and water sits in there. some early models like the L245 don't use a spin on filter for the hydraulics but rather a little screen in the bottom of the transmission. if the tractor sits outside, the trans will be full of water and crap. it will be almost impossible to keep the screen clean and the hydraulics working.

[PeteD]

My hunt for a tractor continues. At one point last year, I thought I was inheriting a nice 3 Cyl Diesel Kubota from the 80's. It was my girlfriend's grandfather's and it was initially offered to us because the family knows we garden and have yard projects etc. Unfortunately, as I anticipated and tried to prevent, the farm equipment was sold with the farm.

Now I have focused in on Kubota B series stuff (not BX). However, there is a B4200 (mini tractor from 1994) for sale somewhat locally. I am intrigued by it's size and what appears to be a robust capability for a 12hp tractor. I have heard the rule: buy the biggest tractor you can afford, and I totally get that, but any input on this little guy? It has a bucket, snowblower and snow plow, looks to be in great shape, Ag wheels and is gear driven - which seems to be a negative according to previous posts.

Also, thank you for the orange tractor talk link. That has been helpful. It appears most B4200 owners feel at some point it becomes short on power, but still manages to complete the majority of tasks thrown at it. I bet that is the case wherever one's tractor sits in the "food chain". This one just comes quicker perhaps.

[flyboyx]

My hunt for a tractor continues. At one point last year, I thought I was inheriting a nice 3 Cyl Diesel Kubota from the 80's. It was my girlfriend's grandfather's and it was initially offered to us because the family knows we garden and have yard projects etc. Unfortunately, as I anticipated and tried to prevent, the farm equipment was sold with the farm.

Now I have focused in on Kubota B series stuff (not BX). However, there is a B4200 (mini tractor from 1994) for sale somewhat locally. I am intrigued by it's size and what appears to be a robust capability for a 12hp tractor. I have heard the rule: buy the biggest tractor you can afford, and I totally get that, but any input on this little guy? It has a bucket, snowblower and snow plow, looks to be in great shape, Ag wheels and is gear driven - which seems to be a negative according to previous posts.

Also, thank you for the orange tractor talk link. That has been helpful. It appears most B4200 owners feel at some point it becomes short on power, but still manages to complete the majority of tasks thrown at it. I bet that is the case wherever one's tractor sits in the "food chain". This one just comes quicker perhaps.

It's an awfully small tractor. if the price is cheap,perhaps you can use it in the mean time while you search for one with an engine about 2x the size. You did not mention if it is 4wd? On a tractor that size, the loader will be close to worthless.

What is your price range/budget? Fyi: it probably only costs 600-1000 to ship a running machine a good dist across the country. You can expand your search area a good bit. I wouldn't buy anything sight unseen or without starting it, sittin on it, and trying out all the functions.

If you are handy, buy something that needs work and fix it. You could save 50%.

Hydraulic problems are great because usually a new fluid change, a new filter, perhaps a reservior cleaning, and possibly a new pump will cure the ills.....


I did a little search for you....

http://boston.craigslist.org/sob/grd/5588401521.html

http://boston.craigslist.org/bmw/grd/5549400011.html

http://boston.craigslist.org/nos/grd/5591929730.html

http://providence.craigslist.org/grd/5596848833.html

http://worcester.craigslist.org/grd/5573667880.html

http://newlondon.craigslist.org/grd/5588212398.html

[PeteD]

It is 4x4 This is it: http://worcester.craigslist.org/grd/5579012848.html Price seems a bit high - on Orange Tractor Talks, there is a local member trying to sell his 4200 and he feels he priced it too high at $5,000 hence the recent price drop. http://boston.craigslist.org/nos/grd/5590214423.html

I was thinking about taking the fix it approach. I am willing to spend some real money on it. It appears all good B line stuff is around $9,000 give or take (which seems high compared to my previous searches). I look at it as though I'll probably do much more than $9,000 worth of work and a good quality tractor should retain its value if well kept.

*Thank you for the search! Some of those seem worthy of looking into, like that gravely or international loader with tiller.

[flyboyx]

The gravely is pretty small and has the wrong tires. I would go with the international of those I found in that search. It looks like it's spent its life inside and has been well taken care of. Check to see if it has power steering.

[flyboyx]

By the way....the tiller hanging off the back of that international is probably valued around 800.00. That puts the tractor at 7700. Perhaps with negotiation, you could be at 7500 total which is a very attractive price for what he is selling.

[PeteD]

Flybox are parts available of the International 244? Is that a silly question?

Ownership views are mixed here: http://www.ssbtractor.com/wwwboard/v...rmall&msg=5427

[flyboyx]

Flybox are parts available of the International 244? Is that a silly question?

Ownership views are mixed here: http://www.ssbtractor.com/wwwboard/v...rmall&msg=5427

well, honestly....i really don't know much of anything about that tractor. i believe deutz, allis chalmers and others also bought mitsubishi tractors and just put their own sheetmetal on them. i just read through the link you posted above and it sounds like the tractor could be a headache. i will say that all the postings on that link are from people that obviously don't know shit about tractors. the one in the craigs ad appears to have been well taken care of though. do plenty of research. if you are still interested, go take a look at it and check everything out thoroughly. make an offer you are comfortable with if you like it. there will always be another one if this doesn't suit your needs. in my opinion, that is the minimum size tractor that i would recommend. anything smaller than that one will be pretty un useful.

as far as searching for others, i used boston craigslist. i typed in "loader" in the search box under farm and garden and i also selected all the nearby areas that it allowed.

[PeteD]

Thank You! "Loader" is probably better than "Kubota" in the search box. I agree about the people on that link. Haha

[M-technik-3]

https://westernmass.craigslist.org/grd/5582277894.html