Are these Eurotrac any good ?

[Renze]

Hello folks,

It seems that the compact utility tractor has catched on in NA way better than in Europe, so i'd thought to ask here.
anyways, here's the background story, than the question: My neighbor has a son, who has a mental handicap. He cannot read so a car license is no option for him. His father bought him a Kubota B7000 when he was 16, and now he is 24. That tractor is used every day to go see the neighbors, move a little hay for the sheep etcetera. And every spring it tills a small garden.
That tractor clocks up more hours than any other farm tractor in the area, so it is up for retirement. The piston rings are worn an the 3pt lift valve leaks.

So my neighbor asked me if i knew anything about these Europard tractors being advertised, for the price of a 3 year old, smaller frame Kubota. I said i recall some stories about leaking transmission castings due to cracks, and breaking frontaxles.

Can anyone shine some light on this matter ? This tractor wont have to work hard in its entire life, but it will clock up a lot of hours idling along the roads.
What are particular weaknesses of this tractor, and is it correct that it has a Yanmar engine ?

http://www.eurotrac.nl/
They are looking at the new F25 up for launch in the Netherlands in the end of August. http://www.eurotrac.nl/eurotrac_f25.htm

Thanks

 

[shvl73]

It's hard for me to tell but, they look like a Chinese Foton. I doubt they have a Yanmar engine but, maybe a copy of a Yanmar design.

 

[Renze]

Yes that was what i assumed... How's the thought on Foton ?

 

[Ranch_Hand_Supp]

I can not speak from experiance but, I have been hearing a lot of good things about them... 40 hp and up.

Tommy at www.affordabletractorsalesco.com just received a shipment of the 40 hp Fotons that I am going to go see this coming weekend if the plane does not get blown up?? .. da*n terrorist

I am considering bringing in some 40hp and up ..... still keeping the Jinma line.

Replacement parts are looking good also.


Ronald
Ranch Hand Supply

 

[kyspartan]

Why not get the Kubota rebuilt that is what I would do, or get a 3 year old Kubota. I love my china tractor, becuase of the money i saved, but I can't whole heartedly recommend one in this situation, because it just needs to run period

 

[Renze]

Yes, the boy really drives his father nuts when there is somethign wrong with the tractor, he keeps talking night and day about the problem...

Anyways, the main reason for going up one tractor frame size bigger, is because it looks quite silly, a tall boy on a small kubota, with his knees under his chin allmost...
Also the narrow B7000 really wobbles on the street, it isnt really healthy for your back either.
He decided he wants a taller tractor. period.

He says Kubota has no bigger frame tractors available in the netherlands, at least not used. The used kubota for the price of a new Foton, is also a small frame tractor.

So, is a Foton value for money ? and how reliable are they ?

 

[kyspartan]

i have no idea about the reliablity of a foton, but i have had only one issue with my jinma becuase of a casting void

i had picked a foton before i bought the jinma, but i got worried about getting parts for the foton here in the us. so i decided on the jinma becuase of parts availability, but that is not a problem for him if he has a local dealer

but my jinma has only had minor issues and i am pleased with it so far, just make sure he gets a good warranty and everything should be fine

 

[crazymike]

Yes those are foton tractors.

And yes, I can't say enough good things about them.

Reliable, decent fit and finish, simple functional design. Powerful engines and a good price.

They also range from 25hp all the way to 125hp. The bigger tractors are extremely nice. But I would avoid the cab on the 30-40 series. It's a minimist cab and not very well sealed. 60+ have a sealed finished cab with A/C, etc...

These tractors are definitaley comparible to most North American tractors. They may be lacking such things as hydrostatic, power shift, etc... They are proving to be reliable machines that can be easily field serviced.

 

[3RRL]

Renze,
Like Jimnalover I too looked hard a a Foton (Euroleapard) before I bought my Kama. The ONLY reason I did not buy it was because at the time the Euroleopard was not offered in the states. Who knows, if it was... I might have owned a Foton for the last year instead of the KAMA.
The ones that are being brought into the States look very much like the Euroleapards I looked at last year. They are really neat, clean and ruggedly good looking tractors.

 

[n4807g]

Yes Euroleopard are Foton which are also sold as Farm Pro in the USA. I own a Farm Pro 8240 (82 turbo). I think it has already been said that Foton has 3 or 4 divisions. The farm equipment division is the smallest. It's obvious when you look at the tractor that the automotive division provided a lot of components. The electrical system is setup just like an automobile electrical system. The Perkins engine is a copy of the popular 4 cylinder turbo that Perkins licensed to be made in China. Much has been made about the unhappy parting of ways but to date I'm not aware of any failures in the Chinese made engines. For the money I'm hard pressed to find much wrong with the tractor. The two year or 2000 hour warranty that Farm Pro provides goes a long way towards assuring the tractor will be well broken in before the warranty ends.