Do you have small run about or compact tractor?I

[Devil's advocate]

I suppose the quad bike & mule type atv's have taken the place of the small "knocking" about tractor.

Do any of you have a small tractor perhaps with transport box loaded with fencing material or compact tractor mowing the lawn. If so what do you have & what do you use it for?

I feel a bit nostalgic for the David Brown 780 my family had, bought new 1970 when I was six & sold 25 years later to be restored for match ploughing. I used to spread the fertiliser with it no fancy controls just pull a lever & hardly left a mark spreading early top dressing. Dad used to spray with it, until he had a lift rod break. Delivered hay all over with & very cheap to run. However it was no where near as well built as tractors of 10 years ago, the linkage wore, the draw bar wore, the seat fell off, diseal tank leaked & when the gear stick gaskets leaked the oil went a bit cloudy.

Sometimes think a little TAFE would be a useful runabout.

 

[Hesstondriver]

We used to have a compact John Deere , 35 hp with a little loader . It was fantastic for round the yard , would pick up bales and could get to places so easily. But it was a very expensive luxury (wheelbarrow)

 

[daveydiesel1]

Have a mf 240 that is used for scraping and brother sometimes uses it to bring in the cows from the field

 

[Devil's advocate]

We used to have a compact John Deere , 35 hp with a little loader . It was fantastic for round the yard , would pick up bales and could get to places so easily. But it was a very expensive luxury (wheelbarrow)

So a compact tractor rather than a small field tractor if that makes sense.

My view of compact tractors & may be false that they are not as well built as the small field tractors like MF 135, DB 780 or Ford 3000.

 

[Devil's advocate]

Of course for some like glasshouse producers, compact tractors are real tools of work not a toy for the filthy rich. Skid steers of course will have taken that segment of the market for garden centres & pig units etc.

 

[nick...]

I’ve got a 2 wheel drive kubota 2201 which is around 50 years old and lives with a finishing mower on it to cut footpaths.the other a 2210 gets used for spraying round yard,running a wood splitter and transport box for occasional fencing.neither do much but both very handy to have
nick...

 

[Henarar]

We have a MF 35 which we still use a fair bit, A MF 65 for scraping and a Ford 5000

 

[Campbell]

Occasionally use a friends 35hp TYM on some building work. Excellent package of a machine, quiet engine, power loader, shuttle, four wheel drive, light power steering etc etc. Makes a 135 seem prehistoric to use.

 

[Kidds]

My MF35 is still an important bit of kit.

 

[DrWazzock]

We still use our MF135. Small enough to be handy for small jobs yet big enough to do a fair range of agricultural jobs at a reasonable speed. It used to the main spraying and fertiliser spreading tractor when we were on 12m. As with your 780 it hardly left a mark. Does haymaking work including small baling, mowing with 165 drum mower. Used with transport box and saw bench. A very handy trsctor. A smaller compact wouldn’t be that useful here.

 

[DrWazzock]

I find grey fergies though nice enough, just aren’t quite big enough and the single not dual clutch makes PTO work a pain.

 

[Hesstondriver]

So a compact tractor rather than a small field tractor if that makes sense.

My view of compact tractors & may be false that they are not as well built as the small field tractors like MF 135, DB 780 or Ford 3000.

Yes it was a jd 3520 . But I’d say it was a half way house between compact and small tractor. But it had all the toys etc . I’d put votex topper , hay bob or bale wrapper on it too

 

[puppet]

We have a leyland 154 but it is no substitute for a quad which is 10 times more versatile

 

[steveR]

I am a bore and an enthusuast regarding small and compact tractors, and would not be without one. I love my Kioti 50hp and have done stupid work with it over the past 10 years.

Avoid the chinese tat and go for Korean or Japanese* and you will not go far wrong. Just negotiating for a repacement for my sub compact, and going for another Korean 25hp sub compact. However, when looking around, there is a distinct difference between oversize lawn tractors, and a proper sub compact or compact tractor.

I grew up on MF 35/135 and Dexta type tractors and will acknowledge their robustness, but 50 years of progress make a modern compact machine a much more usable proposition. Less attractive than a quad to pikey types too...



* Kioti, Branson or Kubota. Not so sure on the Indian Solis, but will do a job I am sure.

 

[Devil's advocate]

I am a bore and an enthusuast regarding small and compact tractors, and would not be without one. I love my Kioti 50hp and have done stupid work with it over the past 10 years.

Avoid the chinese tat and go for Korean or Japanese* and you will not go far wrong. Just negotiating for a repacement for my sub compact, and going for another Korean 25hp sub compact. However, when looking around, there is a distinct difference between oversize lawn tractors, and a proper sub compact or compact tractor.

I grew up on MF 35/135 and Dexta type tractors and will acknowledge their robustness, but 50 years of progress make a modern compact machine a much more usable proposition. Less attractive than a quad to pikey types too...



* Kioti, Branson or Kubota. Not so sure on the Indian Solis, but will do a job I am sure.

Yes the pikey thing is a big consideration.

 

[renewablejohn]

Of course for some like glasshouse producers, compact tractors are real tools of work not a toy for the filthy rich. Skid steers of course will have taken that segment of the market for garden centres & pig units etc.

I have a holder C500 for work in polytunnel as its so compact. 3 point and pto front and back with trailer deck that takes standard IBC container. Total workhorse even use it for mowing with Claas front mounted mower. My mobility scooter is a Holder A15 4wd used with flail for woodland path maintenance, with box for tools, mountainpress round baler for very steep slopes and saw bench.

 

[rob h]

Still Using a grey fergy and a 35x. Handy with a small trailer for just shifting stuff

 

[Suffolk Serf]

I’ve got a TE20 for mowing the lawn with a Wessex finishing mower.
Who wants a robot for that job when you can whizz round on that for about a half hour a week.
Also has a bit of sentimental value as i borrowed it from my father for about 18 months when I started out.
I’m still after the Ford 4000 that I upgraded to in 1990. I know where it is!

 

[7610 super q]

Nope. Not even when we were farming more land. Never owned a quad bike, but no livestock so....
I've always viewed these things as toys ( tin hat time ). Did have a £400 Disco when we did free range eggs. Often wondered till about the mid 80's hardly any farms had a quad, nor an excavator, nor dump trailer........

 

[George from SJM Planning]

To go to the really small end my Dad has a 25 year old Wheel Horse 416-8 ride on mower on his 10ac small holding
Being American it is made for all eventualities, it has a belt driven 42" cutting deck which can be removed in 5 mins, auxillary belt PTO for snow blowers, rotorvators etc and a standard ball hitch for towing.
We use it to tow a 750kg trailer, moving sheep feeders, towing a flail mower (ATV type) as well as lawn mowing.