Ford 1210 vs Ford 1700

[arto98607]

They did not look that much different when it comes to size but that could totally be just me. Here is a picture he sent me of the tractor recently. If this thing had a FEL on it I would be instantaneously interested. Another user (cannot remember id) recommended by a tractor with a FEL if I wanted one. I already pretty much knew that was good advice. They are hard to locate and seem to go for more than people want for the actual tractor when you find them.

I was looking around on this site and trying to find a compatibility chart here or elsewhere to see if I could find something to go on this tractor easily. This one also looks to be a 2WD but cannot tell from the picture myself.

Very nice size tractor for many homeowners, but it has a 2-cylinder Diesel engine (vs. 3 or 4-cylinder for smoother running), and based on your photo it looks like a 2-wheel drive model, but not 100% sure about that?

If it is 2-wheel drive not much point in adding a FEL in my opinion, but a 3-point boom would be fine if it suits your needs.

Much larger tractors are a little different story in that regard.

 

[square1]

The 1700 has a lot of grunt and enough weight to get it to the ground
Don't bother with a FEL on 2 WD though, unless your going to hang a lot of counterweight on the 3 PH (probably a good idea even on the 4 WD model).
The weak front spindles (4 WD) were corrected mid model year 1978.

 

[MTGreen]

A 3-point dump box complements the boom and between the two can do a good portion of what a loader can.

 

[Hexa Fox]

The two big things that I would like to do with a FEL

I was meaning a boom which is basically a small crane on your 3pt:

My mistake, I misread your post. The boom and the dump box you mention do look really cool. I really appreciate all the feedback!

1.) I do a lot of debris removal from peoples property. This is usually just a lot of sticks and landscape waste people have collected over the years. They are usually not fun jobs. Having that said, I thought if I had something like a Bucketeer on a FEL these jobs would turn into easy money. Have also thought about a grapple. Picture for illustration, not mine.

2.) I have 275 gallon IBC totes that I use to store firewood. I neatly stacked the wood into them so they have approximately one face cord or 1/3 of a cord of wood in them. That means that they could literally weigh thousands. So something I like about this idea already is that the Ford 1700 has a lift capacity of 3,800 pounds on the hitch. Even some mid sized tractors struggle to lift these totes but with the right counter weight the 1700 may be able to pull this off pretty effectively. So I am super interested. These are the IBC totes on my property, I have four of them so far.

 

[MTGreen]

3pt pallet forks are also available for those totes. Also keep in mind that 3800 lb may be the technical lift limit but as you mentioned ballast is going to be very important from a practical and a safety standpoint on a 2500lb tractor

 

[Hexa Fox]

3pt pallet forks are also available for those totes. Also keep in mind that 3800 lb may be the technical lift limit but as you mentioned ballast is going to be very important from a practical and a safety standpoint on a 2500lb tractor

Yeah definitely. You mean they make an attachment for the ICB totes? I must Google this at once! So these IBC totes full of firewood would be the heaviest that I ever lift. People of a less intelligent nature underestimate what a cord of firewood weighs all the time. Hence the geniuses that think because their bed is 8' long they can stack wood in it 8x4x4 and do not think about it weighing an easy two tons, especially if it is green.

Anyway, even when the wood is green, from my estimates it will never weigh even a single ton, a much better estimate is about 1,500lbs for even the greenest wood. Talking about a face cord that I may or may not be lifting with a tractor now, by the way. I have been recently collecting, splitting and stacking wood so I have become very interested in knowing what I am dealing with. I have a 1500 Sierra with a 8' bed. So even though I have plenty of space I need to be careful how much I put into it.

 

[arto98607]

Glad to hear you have it figured out....

 

[MTGreen]

Yeah definitely. You mean they make an attachment for the ICB totes? I must Google this at once! So these IBC totes full of firewood would be the heaviest that I ever lift. People of a less intelligent nature underestimate what a cord of firewood weighs all the time. Hence the geniuses that think because their bed is 8' long they can stack wood in it 8x4x4 and do not think about it weighing an easy two tons, especially if it is green.

Anyway, even when the wood is green, from my estimates it will never weigh even a single ton, a much better estimate is about 1,500lbs for even the greenest wood. Talking about a face cord that I may or may not be lifting with a tractor now, by the way. I have been recently collecting, splitting and stacking wood so I have become very interested in knowing what I am dealing with. I have a 1500 Sierra with a 8' bed. So even though I have plenty of space I need to be careful how much I put into it.

They make 3pt pallet fork attachments like the one below and those totes have spaces built in underneath specifically for picking up with pallet forks. There are cheaper kinds that don't allow pallet fork side to side adjustment and better ones that do.

Obviously your three-point has a practical maximum lift height here, but you can certainly move stuff around the yard. If you need to pick them up out of the back of a pickup truck you would need to arrange something like a loading dock to be able to drive the tractor up to a level even with the truck bed. A gantry crane might also come in handy here to unload out of a pickup bed.

All of this can be accomplished with a loader. However, tractors with loaders tend to be a lot more expensive due to high demand, and getting a tractor with a loader that will be able to safely pick up and manipulate 3000 lb or so requires a much larger/heavier tractor likely in the utility or ag/industrial sizes (not compact) which tends to = $$$$. So IMO for occasional or homeowner use one can do an awful lot with a $3,000 tractor and maybe $1,500 worth of ballast, 3-point pallet forks, dump bucket, and boom pole if you buy used or don't buy the professional/fancy brands.

 

[Hexa Fox]

So IMO for occasional or homeowner use one can do an awful lot with a $3,000 tractor and maybe $1,500 worth of ballast, 3-point pallet forks, dump bucket, and boom pole if you buy used or don't buy the professional/fancy brands.

Yeah my dream has always been to have one large tractor, something dedicated to mow with and then something medium sized like a Ventrac. So it would be nice if this tractor was a little larger. However, for $3,000 and implements included it may be worth getting for just that reason. I also thought about having a decent sized skid instead of a larger tractor.

 

[Hexa Fox]

Hey so I would like your guys' opinion. Is the Ford 1700 assuming it runs good and the many implements he has worth $3,000-4,000k? I know I have not given a lot to go on. I am hopefully going to look at the tractor and implements this or next week. Is there anything that you guys would tell me to specifically look out for? It seems like it is normal for a lot of these engines to start getting fuel into the engine as they age. Is there anyway to easily check for that without sending the oil in for analysis?

Like I said, I do not know a whole lot about tractors but it would seem that the price for a tractor like this is very reasonable with implements included.