We buy our tractirs used from MN for hay use. We dont need new or the size they use for the heavy lifting. The owners use these once or twice a year for plowing under old crops. They are cheap (gotta watch shipping charges) but they are 20 years old. Low hours and great for Texas hay season.

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Anyone know about JD or kubota rebates or incentives on new equipment and when those come up?

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I don't know about now, but both JD and Kubota had some really good financing deals as incentives when I looked at new tractors. This has been about a year ago though.

I want to say if you financed through JD's preferred financer, you were either at 0% interest or less than 1%. They also offered a pretty comprehensive insurance program for about $5 a month that was a bumper to bumper coverage with almost no questions asked.

Can't remember if Kubota had anything spectacular going outside of pretty much the same low/no interest rate through their financing department.

Interestingly enough, the comparable JD was about $1500 cheaper than the Kubota at the local dealerships for me. I would have thought it was the other way around.

And the poster above brings up a very solid point concerning power steering - make sure you get power steering.

Pretty sure that power steering has been around for a while. That wouldn't even cross my mind to look for because of how long its been available. Then again, most of my tractor knowledge is with John Deere row crop tractors.

For a John Deere tractor, they made a little 4000 series for a while that was hydrostatic. I'm not sure if the 700 or 900 series were ever hydrostatic, but John Deere does have their new 1 series that I've seen advertised on TV.

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Pretty sure that power steering has been around for a while.

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We have a 1954 JD 520 LP with power steering in our sale. Was driving it just the other day, and taking video for the sale. The PS is so boosted that you can literally turn the wheel with one finger.


Troy's Tractors dot com

Power steering has been around for a while, but it is still considered an option on some models of the compact tractors, which is what the OP is looking for.

A JD 2240 has similar power steering features to what CanyonAg described. You can spin the wheel from far left to far right with one flick of a finger and minimal effort.

If getting a FEL, make sure to test out the model before buying. JD made a junky 726 series loader that leaves much to be desired when mounted on a 4440. Slow and unresponsive when compared to an old 158 loader.

My dad has a 50 John Deere on LP that has power steering and you can turn it with a finger too. Hell, the power steering in my 2010 F-150 is harder to turn than any John Deere tractor that we have.

A lawn tractor might have power steering as an option, but a compact utility tractor better have power steering as standard equipment, especially if it has a FEL.

Our old 318 John Deere lawn tractor has power steering, but it also had front hydraulics, rear 3 pt and rear PTO.

Multiply the hours by 34 ( some say 33, some say 35). This will convert it into miles. So a tractor with 1500 hrs is close to a car with 51,000 miles. Helps most laypeople to put it into perspective.

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My dad has a 50 John Deere on LP

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Less than 5% of JD tractors of the era were factory LP. Of the 12,970 model 520 John Deere's made, only 655 were factory LP and power steering.

Bottom line, if yours is a factory LP, it's quite collectible. One reference I've found says that Deere made 32,574 model 50 tractors, and only 731 (2.2%) were factory LP.

Troy's Tractors dot com

[This message has been edited by CanyonAg77 (edited 4/4/2013 10:42a).]

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A lawn tractor might have power steering as an option, but a compact utility tractor better have power steering as standard equipment, especially if it has a FEL.

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Most of the new production models from JD, Kubota, Case, Cub Cadet, Yanmar or NorTrac have power steering, but it is still not a standard option on every model made, and models from 5 years ago are hit and miss - even with a FEL.

When I was shopping for my little compact tractor I looked at a lot of models. Deere, Kubota, and New Holland were the main lines I looked at. Most of the used Mahindras, Kioti's, and other off brands seemed to have more obvious problems. Tractordata.com was also very useful in looking up all the various info you want to know about specific models.

After checking prices on equipment for those little tractors and teh cost of new ones, there is NO savings in getting something that big since I already have a big tractor.

Dad also has a 620 that has a factory FEL, power steering and is LP. Now that is a rare bird.

The old LP tractors are kind of neat, they can sit for a really long time, flip the switch and hit the starter and they will fire right up.

What person in their right mind would buy a tractor that has a FEL, but didn't come with power steering? Better yet, which idiot company has made such a tractor in the last 10 years? Either of which, I would stay away from.

Welp, after much agony and consideration, i decided a small tractor would be a waste of money since it would cost about 15,000. Equipment for that size tractor isnt all that much cheaper than for my real tractor, so, I just have a mini version of my big tractor, except it has a belly mower. So, I went back to the X700 series, which are almost 10k already and won't have any equipment with any sort of serious durability for what I would use it for, which put me back down to eh X320 tractor. It has no capability at all for implements, which means its JUST a lawn mower. From there, I figured, well, if Im getting something that only mows lawns, why not get something that does it the best...which landed me at the zero turns. I left the dealership with a 2012 commercial Z720A that they were closing out to make room for the Z900 series that replaced it. 1000 bucks off original asking price.

FML.

Thanks for the info...it was not wasted, it helped me pick something that is more practical for its intended purpose.

BTW. 1500 hours is end of life for that tractor. The tractor is considered worn out. That is equivelent to 10 years life of an 80th percentile user.

150 hours a year? Really?

Have a friend that also just got the z720. 60 in deck. His only complaint so far is that his arms get tired steering it, but he is also 70 years old, and that was the first time to drive it.

You won't regret a zt.

Which dealer did you use?

150 a year for this size tractor is normal. Different sizes and different applications have different duty cycles and are designed appropriately.

What world do you live in where 1500 hours over a 10 year period constitutes "end of life"?

Sorry, don't believe you. 150 hours a year is barely warmed up. 1500 hours should only be 15-30% of the service life of any tractor made out of anything other than tin foil and chewing gum.

I used brookside. I shopped the dealers in my area. Plus, they are close and on the way to work if I need parts or accessories.

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Sorry, don't believe you. 150 hours a year is barely warmed up. 1500 hours should only be 15-30% of the service life of any tractor made out of anything other than tin foil and chewing gum.

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This.

A quick search and perusal of various websites leads me to believe that with decent maintenance, 10k hours is about the time you need to think about either an overhaul on your Kubota or looking at a new tractor.

As long as you do your job and maintain the tractor and not try to use it for things it was not designed for, it pretty much should last a lifetime.

I'm a tractor engineer for john Deere in Augusta ga. Part of my job description is reliability and life analysis. My tractor program is this size tractor. Dependin on how well you take care of the tractor certainly lengthens the life and these machines are over designed. but I would not buy that tractor described above. I would expect aajor overhall soon.

What universe do you live in?

You are placing your limited experience with larger tractors onto a machine unrelated to your experience. The life changes for each machine.

We're putting together a sale of my Dad's antique tractor collection. Includes Deeres that are from 55 to 75 years old. They run. They could be worked 1000 hours a year for the next 10 years if someone were tough enough to ride them.

I'm glad Deere hasn't always had the attitude that 1500 hours is maximum life.


Troy's Tractors dot com

[This message has been edited by CanyonAg77 (edited 4/5/2013 10:29a).]

ShootBoyDang


That Kubota is a Diesel.

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What universe do you live in?

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I live in the universe of real world experience with umpteen different makes and models of diesel engines, ranging in maintenance programs from "holy crap, that is awesome" to "maintenance? what is this 'maintenance' you speak of".

I also put more faith in what those that use the equipment in a real world scenario say about them versus somebody that is not interested in longevity of the equipment because that is not conducive to sales.

Glad to know that JD thinks their compact tractors need to be trashed at 1500 hours though. Makes me much happier I opted for Kubota, and I'm sure I'll be passing that tidbit along (hey, it came from the mouth of a JD design engineer to boot) in conversations here and there.

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I'm a tractor engineer for john Deere in Augusta ga.

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So you're the guy that tells Yanmar which tractor to build?

You guys can't read. For that tractor, in the op, 1500 is a lot of hours. If you think Kubota is better than jd, you deserve it.

I have more operational experience than any of you with tractors. I have more design experience. Feel free to ignore my advice. I'm sure umpteen hours of experience will allow you to make a quantifiable educated decision.

I agree its a fair amount of hours, but I don't believe its anywhere near its 'end of life' if it has been even half ass maintained. Honestly, your comment makes me a little nervous about JD equipment if their Yanmar Diesels cannot handle much more than 1500 hours. Nevermind the fact I just bought a JD. I thought the whole point of the diesel is power and longevity? Those tractors are used by landscapers and small farm/ranch operations that use them 8 hours a day or more, every day....for a living.

So, what's the operational longevity for an old JD 8400?

*********I hate JD salesmen. No delivery until Monday. PWN3D.

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I agree its a fair amount of hours, but I don't believe its anywhere near its 'end of life' if it has been even half ass maintained.

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1500 hours over a 10 year period comes out to less than 3 hours per week use.

Honestly, if an engine cannot handle 3 hours of use per week with reasonable maintenance, it is a piece of junk.

As another poster pointed out, hours x 34 gives a rough equivalent to mileage, and 1500 hours equates to 51000 mils (give or take). 51000 miles over 10 years is absolutely nothing on any engine.

The zero turn mower is replacing a briggs and stratton riding lawnmower from home depot that was built and used from 1991. Its got WAY MORE than 1500 hours on it...and it still fires right up with no smoke. So what the JD dude is saying is that Kubota and John Deere have diesels that cost thousands of dollars but cannot hang with a homeowner grade Briggs and stratton that costs about 300 dollars.