Ford 1620 5.00 star(s) (5)

Very Impressive
Model Year: 1992

I purchased this brand new in 1992 - a 4-wheel drive hydrostatic with turf tires. This unit has cut acres of lawns, fields, installed lawns, cleaned up 100s of sewer line projects, and plowed snow. It pulls a 5-foot pulverizer just fine. It also pulls a 6-foot York rake perfect. I use an old 6-foot rear blade with rubber edge and it cleans 24-inch heavy snowfalls perfectly. I just purchased a second used (1995) 1620 and it seems to have everything this does. It climbs slopes with a 5-foot rear rotary cutter every bit of 2/1 and never has any heating issues. The hydrostatic is the trick. It creeps right up on objects and is amazing on slopes. Like I said, I just bought a second one.

Pros: Hydrostatic and power to weight ratio
Cons: Rops configuration does not hinge

Ford 1620 Original Owner
Model Year: 1995

I bought this tractor and attachments new from the dealer in 1995. That was back in the day when the Ford employee 'A' plan applied to tractor purchases. The discount put this tractor on pricing par with competitors at the time. Otherwise, this was more expensive than a John Deere back then. I purchased all the Ford designed attachments available for this machine. That included the 930B mower, 7108 loader and 957B backhoe. As these were designed to work with the machine, they have worked flawlessly with easy installation and removal. This tractor has been near perfect for 20+ years and 1,900 hours. Of course, being the original and only user has helped tremendously. Scheduled maintenance also goes a long way. Most won't spend the money for the maintenance items like filters as they are not cheap. This detail to maintenance has insured a completely leak free and ultra-reliable machine. The machine has started every single time since new, hot or cold. When it started getting weak, I replaced the original battery with the largest automotive sealed battery that would fit in the space. I haven't touched that since. I am a very critical reviewer and expect a lot from equipment. This machine has more than exceeded even my expectations. The hydrostatic drive is awesome for creeping into small spaces. With a tractor this size one misstep around a house or deck can result in significant damage. The hydrostatic drive allows you to concentrate on your project and not the tractor. This tractor even has cruise control, which is very nice when moving acreage. Your feet can be flat and relaxed, not pushing pedals. I purchased this machine with the turf tires as I expected to be using it a lot for mowing. The 930B mower has an awesome cut rivaling even some of the mower only machines. I use a 6.5-foot front plow in the winter to clear 700 feet of driveway. With a landscape rake on the rear with additional weights and the 4-wheel drive, this machine does not slip or slide at all. What I see in this machine is 65 years of tractor building experience that got it right. Even the steering on this machine is completely hydraulic so if an obstacle like a tree stump is hit with the front wheels a relief valve lets go instead of breaking a steering gear. Although this was the most expensive tractor of comparable size in 1995, looking in hindsight it was worth the extra dollars. This was the Cadillac (sorry Ford) of tractors with every feature including operator comfort. It appears no expense was spared in making this machine. Even the oil can be checked without opening the hood or removing the side screens. If I had to search for a complaint, the only thing I could come up with is the height of the operator platform. It is high enough that an additional ladder step would have been nice. I have seen folks add this on and it would be nice as the height is too high to step off and I tend to jump off which is not the best for aging knees. Of course if users want ground clearance this is the compromise.

Pros: Does everything ever asked to do, never short power, features or capability.
Cons: Was very expensive new

The Little Tractor That Could
Model Year: 1995

I am actually mostly just a volunteer farm hand, working for a psychologist who keeps a couple of wild horses as pets on some very neglected cow pastures that we are trying to reclaim, and part of how I help out is by using and maintaining this tractor. A big part of why we got it is the hydrostatic drivetrain, which seems largely solid. The psychologist grew up on the farm and likes the "idea" of a tractor, but most of the tractor work was done by her older brothers, so there is a bit of intimidation factor that comes into play if she would need to be dealing with a manual transmission, that the they hydro takes care of admirably. She bought this at least third hand, with one of the previous owners having been an equipment rental business and another having been a State University farm program - both of which would very likely have given it copious amounts of abuse, but it seems very solid at this point, and starts easily, even in cold weather. This came to us with a 7108Q loader package, which helps tremendously. That said, I find it frustrating that it doesn't come with a more flexible hydraulics package, and why in this day and age anyone is still using a pin style bucket attachment system when they could be building with a skid loader style quick-attach standard is just silly. I also think it is a bit odd that they don't make both inner and outer stabilizer chains on the 3-point system, and as far as I can tell, there was no real provision at all for any rear hydraulic accessories at all (beyond the 3-point lift and optional draft of course) A quick attach frame takes care of the lack of inner chains... so long as all of your 3 point implements will actually work with a Q.A. frame. My biggest frustration comes with continuing support from FIAT/New Holland. While they often can sell you original replacement parts for the 1620, they pretty much have a 300% markup across the board on parts, and I have yet to be able to find any of the 7 or 8 New Holland dealers within 100 miles of me to respond to e-mail inquiries or phone requests when they find out that I am asking about an older tractor... they just don't want to bother, which seems odd because it would seem logical that an older tractor owner would be the guy who would be likely to be the one next in the market for a new tractor. At any rate, dealer stupidity aside, I am planning to add a pair of auxiliary hydraulic taps to the front of my loader so that I use a grapple bucket (or nearly any other kind skid loader attachment that uses hydraulics on the quick attach coupler I am installing) and am also looking to install a bypass switch so that I can lockout all four hydraulic systems to the back of the tractor if I need them as well. I have plans for a hydraulic top link as well as one of the side links, which leaves a pair of auxiliary taps for mower wings, or box blade rippers or angling rear blades or any of 100 other options, including a full backhoe package, should we ever need/want one. The reality however is that this stuff is so easy to do that it really should have been done AT THE FACTORY. I would also wish that there could be a better ag wheel configuration for this tractor that didn't rely on 24" rear discs. 24" discs just don't exist anywhere anymore, so if you ended up getting a tractor that someone put turf tires on, you are pretty much stuck with those, because unless you want to dump a grand on new wheels before you even get to tires, you are pretty much out of luck.

Pros: Good, solid workhorse and all-around performer.
Cons: Very poor support for legacy equipment from the local dealers. Very under-utilized hydraulic systems.

Extremely satisfied
Model Year: 1995

Owned my ford 1620 for 10 years. I work the tractor very hard and it has never disappointed me. Some times I work it too hard and have broken a few things, but the tractor owes me nothing. I have a bushhog loader on the tractor with a very old Woods mower in the back. The weight of the mower (weights a ton) is a great counter balance for the loader work that I do, and I do a lot. I mow my yard occasionally, but the tractor is used primary with the loader. I have had the loader off approximately 3-4 times in ten years. I do not know if this combination of bushhog loader, Ford 1620 with Ag tires, and old woods mower is the reason, but there is very little I can not do with this tractor (maybe why I have broken a few things). Boulders, trees trunks, gravel, dirt, and stones, etc. are the primary materials that I work with. I would highly recommend this combination.

Pros: Small enough to get in tight spots, large enough for tough jobs.
Cons: Taller people have some difficulty fitting on the 1620.

Ford (New Holland) 1620
Model Year: 1996

I have used my tractor to move and spread top soil, put driveways in ( gravel, crushed concrete, etc.), fixed up driveways. I have cleaned up underbrush, pushed out Christmas trees up to 9 inches in diameter. I also use it on my farm but most of my property is leased out. I have worked my tractor harder than 99% of all other owners.

Pros: good power to weight ratio, strongly built
Cons: not built any more (1996 last year)