1 tractor rest of forever -- what brand?

[Coffee drinker]

Ignorance is bliss, so they say.

It is indeed.

 

[Paystar]

I've always thought of Kubota as the gold standard for small tractors, and people with small pieces of land. But every time I go to the Kubota Dealer to buy something from them, I walk away disappointed. I did this both times I bought new tractors, when I bought my zero turn, and when I bought my UTV. Even when I was looking at used tractors, I couldn't bring myself to buy a used Kubota because of how poorly they looked for the number of hours on them. I still believe that they are one of the top brands out there, but just not for me.

Deere is the brand I always wanted to hate. I don't know why, I just had something against them. Then I inherited my brothers 2012 5065E, and I've been impressed by it. Simple, easy to work on, easy to operate, great on fuel, plenty of power. I hate the 3 speed transmission, but I love the gear that is the parking brake. I would of never looked at it on the lot, but now that I use it all the time, I can see that I was wrong about Deere. I still don't want a brand new Deere, but the older stuff has is worth looking at.

And I love Kubota and they have been problem free and I still want your Massey! LOL

 

[BackRoad]

This one is a little closer with better parts availability due to higher production numbers:
View attachment 863150

That Ford is a clone of the real thing...kind of like Mahindra and Kioti

(Now that I've upset everybody, the devil made me do it...don't y'all dog pile on me, I'm just teasing!)

 

[wolc123]

That Ford is a clone of the real thing...kind of like a Mahindra and Kioti

(Now that I've upset everybody, the devil made me do it...don't y'all dog pile on me, I'm just teasing!)

It’s mostly real. It still has most of the original parts on it too, including all (4) tires and paint. I have had to change out a few though, over the last 800 hours that I’ve put in it (it had 1200 on it when I got it, back around 1990).

I bought it from the widow of the original owner. He hadn’t used it much, only on his garden that was less than an acre in size.

The first thing it needed was valves. The original’s were not hardened, and I burned them out digging my pond (with a 3-point pond scoop), using unleaded gas. Next to go was the radiator, after I punched an apple tree branch thru the original one winter while snowplowing. I was plowing with a rear blade, and not concentrating on what was in front of the tractor.

It got a new exhaust manifold, back around the turn of the century (muffler is still original), and a new carburetor and sediment bulb a few years later. They had all that stuff on the shelf down at our local TSC.

I had to put a new distributor on it about (4) years ago (I had mostly neglected to lubricate the original every 10 hours like it says in the owners manual so no surprise there after 70 years of operation).

One of the rear rims finally rusted through from the calcium solution 3 years ago. That turned out to be an advantage because it plows better than it ever did (with the original 2x12 Ford/Ferguson 3 point plow) with just the sod side rear tire loaded with calcium solution.

That tractor was made 13 years before I was, and it’s so damned overbuilt that it will likely outlast my grandkids (if our daughters ever have any). I don’t imagine that there will ever be a model that is easier to find parts for.

 

[Mej13579]

I have a Branson (now TYM) 3515h. I find it gets around the woods really well. The 15 series TYM for me is plenty strong yet nimble. Plus the engine is easy to delete the dpf if you choose to do so. It’s more of a mechanical engine with almost no electronics.

 

[tradosaurus]

Scooter you may need glasses. There are a lot of 6' + men here with Kubota's and have no problems or complaints

I'm 6 ft tall and I don't have any issues with my MX5400.

 

[scootr]

I'm 6 ft tall and I don't have any issues with my MX5400.

This is the smallest tractor I've had - hence my remarks. Could I use it ? Yes. Was it comfortable to operate, not really. But know I was comparing to some bigger industrial machines.

 

[Ricn]

When looking at new tractors in the compact size, I found the Kubota L series to be very comfortable for my big frame. After 8 years I still feel the same, very happy. The ergonomics are very good as well and if looking for new compact the L series meets most anyone's needs. I added rear remotes, also top and tilt so about anything I do is pretty easy at my old age. Have say, I would love to have the MX series just for it's weight and HP.

 

[rScotty]

Tough pill to swallow Kubota over JD.

I hear you. After 16 years on the Kubota & using it hard for everything, I still wish find myself wishing it were painted green.
In that 16 years I've worn out 3 JD caps, but the Kubota cap I got with the M59 doesn't get worn at all. It's still like brandnew.

But the tractor itself is impossible to fault. Gotta be one of the best tools we ever bought.
Way beyond good.

 

[jyoutz]

The best forever tractor is one that is right sized, weight, and hp to handle current and expected future needs. And a brand that has good local dealer support and expectations of future parts availability. Somewhat of needing a crystal ball to see into the future.