What are the most reliable tractors to own?

[Reddogs]

Any piece of equipment is prone to breakdowns, repairs, etc. my personal experience with tractors (just 20 to 40 hp "homeowner" tractors) over the past 20 years is that I did not have any "brand" related issues. Just normal repairs (hoses, alternators, etc - wear items, I guess you could say).

Very true, but just to make a example, I owned every kind of car in my youth, but when I bought certain brands, I quickly found out that not all are the same. Some cannot get a part shipped to the mechanic for months (Fiat took 3 months), others try to make more money when you bring it in for regular service (Nissan dealer, however they didnt know I had just replaced it and the part was new) or it just turns off and the dealer cant diagnose it (Ford coil for some reason would quit when you ran it), and so on...But when I got Toyota pickups and Hondas, they rarely broke down or even worse, left me stranded, and the dealers were upfront and honest as a norm. So I checked and CR had them at the top year after year, and I changed my buying habits and recommended them to all my friends and family, and rarely where they disappointed. So reliability is measurable and seen in its consistency, so tractors should be on the same playing field standard which can measured on some level which people can discern, to say the least.

 

[jigs_n_fixtures]

Generally nearly all of th‘em are pretty reliable if you do the maintenance and lube all the grease points at least once when you run them. Most diesel tractors should be warmed up before you start runnning them around, and cycling the hydraulics. I was taught to keep a grease gun on the tractor, and grease things while you let it warm up a bit. Most of the older tractors had factory tool boxes sized for the grease gun, a few wrenches and screwdrivers, and a couple of rags.

Where the brand starts to matter most is ten years down the road when you start needing repair parts, and have to work with the dealer.

Or, early on when you are accessorizing it. The Green and Orange guys have a lot more choices of things which bolt on. From auxiliary hydraulics, beverage holders, aftermarket cabs, turbo charger kits, upsized hydraulic pumps, etc. the Green and Orange guys have far more choices, readily available for their tractors.

Aftermarket implement manufacturers design things for the Green and Orange, which also work with the others. But if I ask a manufacturer or vendor of a 3-point implement if it will work with my TYM T233, they don’t have a clue unless I tell the how much my 3-point can lift, the PTO horsepower, and the hydraulic flow they definitely won’t know, and even if you tell the all the specs many of them still won’t know. Tell them it is a Green or Orange and which model, and they can give you an answer immediately.

If you can weld you can, and will, make a tooth bar, or grab handles, or whatever else you might need, to get your tractor optimized for you. If you can’t fabricate, and fix things yourself, you are better off with Green or Orange.

 

[setxjeff]

This is even better than the Ford,Dodge Chevy debate because most of the smaller tractors are made by someone else and rebadged.
My International was made by Mitsubishi and my Mahindra 1538 is a Mitsubishi also. Yanmar has made Green Tractors for over 30 years. I agree with buy what fits you, size,mechanical ability and wallet. IH still has parts for my 254 IH/Mitsubishi that’s 40 years old and the alt/starter/voltage regulator is rebuildable or available any alternator shop. I think the problem is going to be 10 years or so from now what happens to the computer controls with the legal battles going on now about the OBD-II codes the tractor companies are not releasing. Even kubota and daedong built a tractor Kubota and Kioti's parent company, Daedong, worked together to build Kubota's 02 tractor series.

Time will tell how long they last and will we be able to repair the normal wear and tear items in the future.

I don’t think There is very few pure bred tractors probably under 150hp

As always this is just my personal opinion

 

[WranglerX]

Actually the best tractor you ever owned was the one you traded in or sold to get the new bright shiny one...

 

[Tx Jim]

Actually the best tractor you ever owned was the one you traded in or sold to get the new bright shiny one...

I'll stay with my '91 JD 4255 that has over 11,600 hrs on the speed/hr meter or my '11 Kubota M7040 with 1800 hrs on speed/hr meter. I've read too many threads about nearly new bright/shiny tractors that engine won't start or tractor won't move or stops moving after being put in gear or problems with regen cycle

 

[Jstpssng]

I'll stay with my '91 JD 4255 that has over 11,600 hrs on the speed/hr meter or my '11 Kubota M7040 with 1800 hrs on speed/hr meter. I've read too many threads about nearly new bright/shiny tractors that engine won't start or tractor won't move or stops moving after being put in gear or problems with regen cycle

I'll bet there are a lot more stories though, about older tractors which don't start, won't move, the 3pth won't work,...
There are only so many older used tractors out there, and every one of them is getting even older, most are getting more used.

 

[Sportsman762]

Reddogs, all the brands you list make good machines for the most part. They have all made duds as well. The dealer is the deciding factor. For example I know Challenger is a good brand, however my coworker has terrible issues with his, but most is due to an incompetent dealer. With that being said this topic is going to be no better than a Ford vs Chevy vs Dodge debate. Start a new thread with details, or watch this one spiral out of control.

 

[Buggs67]

 

[Torvy]

They dont say, but here is another one with John Deere on top, that seems to be consistent across the board... https://www.cropsreview.com/best-tractor-brand/

May as well use a random list of the favorites of anyone here. This article is literally one guy's personal opinion. Without statistically relevant data, this any all like it are just hot air. Best-selling is about good marketing, not necessarily good quality.

 

[jyoutz]

May as well use a random list of the favorites of anyone here. This article is literally one guy's personal opinion. Without statistically relevant data, this any all like it are just hot air. Best-selling is about good marketing, not necessarily good quality.

Not to mention that none of these articles and surveys focus on CUTs or UTs. They are focused on large agricultural row crop tractors.

 

[Reddogs]

Reddogs, all the brands you list make good machines for the most part. They have all made duds as well. The dealer is the deciding factor. For example I know Challenger is a good brand, however my coworker has terrible issues with his, but most is due to an incompetent dealer. With that being said this topic is going to be no better than a Ford vs Chevy vs Dodge debate. Start a new thread with details, or watch this one spiral out of control.

I would like agree except I have seen the YUGO and owned a VEGA, and driven a PINTO, so it leaves some serious doubts as to what the manufactures motives are in marketing to the average buyer to say the least.....

 

[Reddogs]

May as well use a random list of the favorites of anyone here. This article is literally one guy's personal opinion. Without statistically relevant data, this any all like it are just hot air. Best-selling is about good marketing, not necessarily good quality.

Here is such a list I would think... Chart: Which tractor brands are ranked the best...and worst? - Agriland.ie

With some interesting comment... "The big change – between 2016 and 2017 – was in Kubota’s ranking; it climbed significantly. Fendt showed the biggest decline – almost a reverse of Kubota’s rising fortunes in this category."

 

[Menagerie-Manor]

I would like agree except I have seen the YUGO and owned a VEGA, and driven a PINTO, so it leaves some serious doubts as to what the manufactures motives are in marketing to the average buyer to say the least.....

First new car, 1973 Vega GT Hatchback. $2,964.00 out the door and buddy had a 72' Pinto Wagon.

 

[Reddogs]

First new car, 1973 Vega GT Hatchback. $2,964.00 out the door and buddy had a 72' Pinto Wagon.

I assume you still have it with a 'classic' designation tag, I think that and a dollar may get you a cup of coffee at Starbucks, if they decide to be gracious....lol

 

[mapper]

I think they started out making engines for another small time manufacturer.

Yanmar has been making small water cooled diesel engines for a long time. First I heard of them was when a friend of mine put one in his sailboat about 45 years ago.

 

[mapper]

Then you have my brother in law, a 3rd generation farmer and very successful at it. He says the best kind of tractor and implements are APF (Already Paid For).
He does favor older machines that he can work on himself ( he is a trained diesel mechanic). Fairly savy individual, he also is a board member of the farm credit bank.

 

[eagle628]

The "most dependable" tractors are any make or model, as long as they were made before about 1980. They were so simple there was nothing to go wrong with them. All the bells and whistles - especially all the electronics - that have been added since then have been the main repair problems.

Why you still see all those old 8Ns, old Farmalls, old Deeres, etc. still running today.

The only reason machines of that vintage are so desirable these days is because all the ones that were going to blow up already did. What we're left with are the designs that proved themselves over the years. The ones that didn't have winnowed themselves out. The Allis Chalmers engines that ate crankshafts because they tried to squeeze too much power from them. The Case powershifts that couldn't lube themselves if you left the range lever in the wrong position when in neutral. You can barely give away a V8 powered tractor these days because everyone found out that the design just wasn't suited for tractor application regardless of make.

I always like this picture when people extol the virtues of old iron. A lot of equipment needed serious work early in life.

 

[jyoutz]

I would like agree except I have seen the YUGO and owned a VEGA, and driven a PINTO, so it leaves some serious doubts as to what the manufactures motives are in marketing to the average buyer to say the least.....

Those were sold 50 years ago. There are no cars that bad today.

 

[jyoutz]

All of the modern tractor brands make tough reliable machines. But everything breaks eventually. The most reliable brands are those with good local parts availability so that down time is minimized.

 

[MHarryE]

Time enters in. I have a copy of a VHS tape, internal to JD, in which the CEO was communicating to upper management the cost of quality - warranty due to design and manufacturing errors was eating their profits. This topic starts with JD as best. At that time, I was in management at Case-IH. Our marketing group dis extensive research comparing our quality vs Deere, component subsection by subsection (engine vs engine, transmission vs transmission and so on). Very large expenditures visiting farmers, paying farmers to keep records. Info of course never leaked. We’d get a chuckle out of word through grapevine contradicting what we really knew from behind the scenes. Prior to that, I worked for Allis-Chalmers. Every year a group met with customers who agreed to keep detailed info of every part replaced during the year, downtime hours, etc. they would get paid with incentives - trips to farm shows, etc. Before Internet and some of the customers lauding the reliability of xxx combine was so great when we knew we screwed up. Farm mag articles, always opinions, were often laughable to us when they bragged of something where we knew we screwed up. Then on to Caterpillar when developing our skid steer, we bought multiple samples of competitors and ran them for thousands of hours under our guidance finding reliability that was horrifying compared to anything Cat produced at the time - low bar to meet putting our skid steer into production but also finding that low bar not so easy to achieve at the price. Manufacturers have a much better picture of where they sit in comparison, and we count on brand loyalty to boost our quality level. Unless we really screw up, customers don’t like to brag to their neighbors how much they’ve spent on repairs, or why they suddenly traded a piece of equipment. Worst is getting neighbors tractor at their retirement auction knowing how good it was, as talked about at the coffee shop, only to find it’s a disaster. Now retired, I’ve got a couple of those shining stars in my fleet.