Agri Vehicles Insurance from Greenlands

Author Topic: second hand small tractor - makes to consider?  (Read 11217 times)

trefnantbach

  • Joined Feb 2010
  • Anglesey
second hand small tractor - makes to consider?
« on: May 17, 2010, 01:54:56 pm »
I'm thinking about buying a small second hand tractor something more versatile than a ride-on mower but not a full sized farm tractor - the kubota caught my eye as being suitable. With proper tractor tyres, 3point linkage and pto it seems more useful all year round than a ride-on with a tow bar. I need it to be able to harrow, roll, tow trailer, topping rejected tall grass after ponies and mow lawned areas and possibly in future spread fertiliser and muck. Seen advert in one of the smallholder mags from a company in lincs i think that sells reconditioned kubotas and puts tother packages for smallholder including some cmmonly used implements.

Are there any other makes I should consider?
There its a siromer dealer near us but i've heard that oil leaks is a common faults for these self-build tractors.

Fergie

  • Joined Oct 2009
Re: second hand small tractor - makes to consider?
« Reply #1 on: May 17, 2010, 07:56:28 pm »
I would recommend an older small tractor such as a Massey Ferguson 35 or 135, or a David Brown (a bit cheaper).  In good condition (some are) they will cost about the same as a newish Siromer or slightly older Kubota.

A decent Kubota is fine, but parts & fittings are not cheap.  I wouldn't recommend a Chinese tractor for longevity, and an advantage of a smaller European tractor is that fittings are consistent (some Kubota PTO shafts rotate the opposite direction so only Kubota implements can be fitted - but not a problem if aimed at the UK market)

Just my thoughts,

John

Daveravey

  • Joined Jul 2009
  • Fife
Re: second hand small tractor - makes to consider?
« Reply #2 on: May 18, 2010, 09:13:26 am »
I would recommend an older small tractor such as a Massey Ferguson 35 or 135, or a David Brown (a bit cheaper).  In good condition (some are) they will cost about the same as a newish Siromer or slightly older Kubota.




I agree, plus any implements you need are normally picked up at auctions/farm sales a lot cheaper

bamford6

  • Guest
Re: second hand small tractor - makes to consider?
« Reply #3 on: May 18, 2010, 09:50:26 am »
wev found that the old ford and david brown is best .we have 3 the david brown £1000 and the ford £1200 work with them everey day the newish 1 was £7000 for all the bits they are no problem i have big fields so i had to get the new 1 .iff you look in some off the tractoe marts youl find 1 .at newak in october the have a vintage tractor and they was still the same price  tractor

Norfolk Newby

  • Joined Aug 2009
  • West Norfolk, UK
Re: second hand small tractor - makes to consider?
« Reply #4 on: May 19, 2010, 05:50:16 pm »
I have a little tractor from these people:-

http://ww.bsgtractorsandmachinery.co.uk/epages/es109747.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/es109747_shop/Categories/%22Quad%20Tractor%20Range%22

It's called an 'Alpine Tractor' and its made by an Italian company called Goldoni. I bought it rather than a Kubota or similar because I wanted low pressure tyres to avoid making tracks across my field. The alpine tractor design is very stable on slopes and rough ground so it is less likely to turn over. Also, the design is very manoeuvrable. I wanted something I could transport to and from my land (whihc is 15 miles from home) and the Goldoni weighs about 600 kg so I can carry it in a relatively small trailer behind my car. The Siromer and similar machines weigh over 1 tonne.

It may not be of any interest but if you are concerned about any of these points, you might want to consider something similar rather than a standard design of tractor.

The Goldoni has an air cooled 2 cylinder diesel engine (22hp),  category 1 three point hitch with a hydraulic lift for equipment and a power take-off. I use mine with a transporter box, chain and disk harrows and a topper (to keep the weeds down).

So far, it's been reliable and easy to use - hence the recommendation

NN
Novice - growing fruit, trees and weeds

agrifabs

  • Joined Jan 2010
    • Agri-Fabs
Re: second hand small tractor - makes to consider?
« Reply #5 on: June 06, 2010, 03:19:12 pm »
i have a little iseki tx1300, i bought it for my partner, its a great little tractor, she didnt use it so i am selling it on ebay

have a look
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220616545532&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT

i also supply spares

im not even sure if im allowed to put the link on here, but if im not it'l soon get removed!, so here goes..........

starcana

  • Joined Nov 2008
Re: second hand small tractor - makes to consider?
« Reply #6 on: June 06, 2010, 09:59:21 pm »
And here's mine but you'll have to hurry, it ends on Tuesday and there's already a bid. More expensive but it does have an almost new finishing mower with it!
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200478769619&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT

pasture eyes

  • Joined Jul 2010
Re: second hand small tractor - makes to consider?
« Reply #7 on: July 27, 2010, 08:02:44 pm »
Hi Tref . . . .
I have a Mahindra254 4WD, 8 forward/8 reverse shuttle gearbox, cat-1 linkage, 540 PTO (output 21hp), links lift 750kgs, and so does front loader, it'll drag a ton and a bit at least - cos I winched a big oak butt out of woodland that weighed in at 1220kgs, and it'll pull 5000kgs on the flat on a trailer(included in the weight) it's about the size of the old Fergie, look on website of Compact tractors & Machinery LTd., speak to Roger and he will point you in the right direction if he can.     Good Luck.
        :farmer:

DandG

  • Joined Dec 2008
Re: second hand small tractor - makes to consider?
« Reply #8 on: July 29, 2010, 09:51:40 am »
We looked in depth when we thought we had bought a 4 acre smallholding in Anglesey until we got gazumped, but thats another story. There is a good American site dedicated to Chinese Compact Tractors check out http://ctoa.net/modules/newbb/

Siromer and Landlegend seem to be the most popular in the UK, we contacted a lot of Siromer owners and they tell us of lots of electrical problems, oil leaks and even losing 4 wd. I did test drive a Siromer at my local dealer and I was very pleased with the build quality, but the reliability issues put us off.

We then looked at Landlegend, these are made by Dong Feng Industries and the UK dealer is www.cowlingagri.co.uk . We have learned from reading various forums and emailing owners, they say the hydraulics are better and they are very reliable and a good tip is cowlinggri also sell on Ebay, there prices on there are  little cheaper than on their official site.

Another plus point if you dont have a good workshop is the Siromer is flat pack, so you have to assemble it yourself, the Landlegend is already built and ready for work.

Cowling agri also sell other Tractors for all budgets.

Please note we have no connection to either company, just thought we would share our findings to help others as this would be a major purchase, so you have got to get it right. We also cannot confirm if any of the statements about reliability are true or false, just what we was told.

 

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