Hey guys, first post. I've been googling and searching this for months and I'm still at a loss, so finally decided to just pose the question outright and see what folks more knowledgeable/experienced than me have for suggestions. Basically I have the two tractors mentioned, and need to get rid of one. They are very similar, and I think each would do what I need. So this is a question of nitpicking which is "best" between the two. I guess part of this is that I'm wondering if there's some factor I'm completely overlooking that makes this a not-so-nuanced comparison. Here we go:
For background, I recently moved to a 5 acre wooded property and I've always wanted a tractor, so I bought a Ford 1700 a year ago. I am totally new to tractors but I work with wrenches and other mechanical things for a living so I'm sure I can figure out how to do any "home-mechanic" type work eventually. The 1700 has a loader and loaded R1 tires and everything seems to work and it only has 200hrs on the meter (which actually seems probably accurate from what I can tell). I kind of love it. Before long I started looking for implements and came across a deal I couldn't pass up, a Ford 1510 with a handful of implements I wanted at a great price. So I picked that up too thinking I would do some easy cosmetic stuff and just resell the tractor to basically pay for the implements. The 1510 has around 1200 hrs, seems to have been gently used, turf tires in good condition. Along the way I got to thinking maybe the 1510 is actually the better tractor for me, and that's where the indecision sets in. I have reasonable-but-not-infinite amounts of money and time to put into this whole venture, trying to do things with some degree of moderation although that means different things to different people.
What I foresee as my tractor "needs"
1. Having fun/playing.
2. Firewood on my own property - Skidding trees out of the woods, moving sawlogs around, brush/toppings cleanup, towing an ATV-style log trailer around.
3. Snow removal - probably plowing a 1/2mile of straight, level dirt road at most, maybe stacking snow in my 400ft driveway if we really get dumped on and my smaller stuff cant handle it. Maybe add a 3PH snowblower if I ever find a smoking deal on a mechanic's special I want to tackle. I should also mention I have garden tractor plows and walk behind snowblower for light snowfalls.
4. Tilling a small vegetable garden
5. Moving pallets around.
6. Light dirt moving and general utility loader work.
7. Occasional trailering to other locations.
Similarities between tractors
1. Similar HP, 22 (1510) vs 24ish (1700)
2. Similar age and condition (1700 is a few years older, but 1000less hours and slightly better condition overall)
3. Both 4WD 12-speed gear drive with diff lock
4. Both Shibaura-built
5. Neither have ROPS
6. Identical FEL weight capacities (when equipped)
Significant(?) differences
1. 2cyl (1700) vs 3cyl (1510). The
2. Rear lift 3800lbs at pins (1700) vs 1400lbs (1510). I'm not sure I believe this but I've seen the numbers listed several places
3. Operating weight unballasted ~2400lbs (1510) vs ~2600lbs (1700). As currently set up I think 1700 is well over 1500lbs heavier with wheel weights, filled tires, FEL.
4. Controls layout. 1700 has range and gear levers on the transmission hump, 1510 has the same range selector but gear selector is on the steering column.
5. Front end design. I can't figure out if this matters, but they are completely different-looking designs.
6. Accessories. 1700 has Ford 770 loader, double 100(?)lb wheel weights on each wheel. 1510 has a cool suspension seat. I'm mostly sure all of these are just bolt-on swappable as is.
7. Wheels/Tires. The 1700 rear wheels are corroded and have weld repairs, and the R1 tires dig up everything they drive over unless it is paved or frozen. 1500 has wide turf tires that are easier on my lawn than almost everything else I own, including my 600lb ATV. Obviously the much lower weight of the 1500 has something to do with this too. In the woods the R1s dig through the loamy soil until they hook up and I go where I'm pointed. The turf tires kind of mold around/over rocks and roots and whatever I'm on and I go where I'm pointed. Afterwards a blind man could follow the ruts left by the R1s while the turfs just sort of compress the leaves a little.
8. 1510 has 1.1gal more fuel capacity (5.8 vs 6.9gal). With my usage patterns I have to refuel about 1 time per season.
9. 1510 runs noticeably smoother and quieter, especially noticeable at idle. As the operator I wear hearing protection and don't care about noise, but I do have neigbors and they might. I do often "work" late into the night or early in the morning.
10. 1700 is oil bath air filter, 1510 is conventional filter element.
11. The 1510 has a marginally nicer hood latching and opening system to my preference.
Potential courses of action I'm considering:
1. Sell the 1510 after maybe taking the nice suspension seat bracket off it and doing some cleaning, lubricating, replacing adjustment springs, etc.
2. Swap the 770 loader onto the 1510 and sell the 1700. The 1510 lists 770A and 770B (NOT 770) as compatible loaders but from what I can tell the only important differences are holes in different places on the rear mounting bracket.
3. Go with 1 or 2, after swapping the wheels and tires. The rears seem interchangeable, the fronts have a different bolt pattern so I'd have to probably buy 4 new front wheels at a minimum to go this route.
4. Sell the 1700 as equipped, buy and/or buy+modify a loader to fit the 1510. Ideally I'd like a removable loader and I'd also like the convenience of more modern joystick hydraulic controls and some extra quick-connect hydraulic circuits for a grapple, tilt+ pivot plow, hydraulic top link, or whatever other cool stuff I don't even know about yet.
5. Give up on this whole old tractor thing and just buy a newish used 1025R or whatever similar Kubota.
6. Something else I haven't considered yet.
So that's about everything I can think of. Any thoughts/opinions? Is one tractor significantly "better" in any real objective way? Better for the use case I'm proposing? I read that the 1510 control layout was supposedly a major ergonomic improvement but had mixed reviews and some people hate it. Honestly the ergonomics don't seem any better or worse or anything, just different - reach over here to shift vs reach over there. And I can't figure out why anyone would hate it. Also I read that some front ends were notoriously weak, but don't know if I should worry about that (since I have options). The rear lift capacity of 3x more on the 1700 seems noteworthy but with essentially identical frames I can't find a reason it should be so much higher. Maybe it's a misprint or maybe the Shibaura engineers caught on and reigned in the marketing literature people somewhere between those two model years? There's a 200lb weight difference between the two tractors so something must be beefier somewhere on the 1700 but nothing stands out to me. What do you guys think? What am I missing or not thinking about? All thoughtful opinions welcome. Any differences between the engines I should be thinking about? Slightly more power and torque is always nice but I might never have opportunity to use that last few percent while on the other hand a quieter tractor is probably a nice thing every minute that it's running. Would I ever regret giving up those last 2 HP?
For background, I recently moved to a 5 acre wooded property and I've always wanted a tractor, so I bought a Ford 1700 a year ago. I am totally new to tractors but I work with wrenches and other mechanical things for a living so I'm sure I can figure out how to do any "home-mechanic" type work eventually. The 1700 has a loader and loaded R1 tires and everything seems to work and it only has 200hrs on the meter (which actually seems probably accurate from what I can tell). I kind of love it. Before long I started looking for implements and came across a deal I couldn't pass up, a Ford 1510 with a handful of implements I wanted at a great price. So I picked that up too thinking I would do some easy cosmetic stuff and just resell the tractor to basically pay for the implements. The 1510 has around 1200 hrs, seems to have been gently used, turf tires in good condition. Along the way I got to thinking maybe the 1510 is actually the better tractor for me, and that's where the indecision sets in. I have reasonable-but-not-infinite amounts of money and time to put into this whole venture, trying to do things with some degree of moderation although that means different things to different people.
What I foresee as my tractor "needs"
1. Having fun/playing.
2. Firewood on my own property - Skidding trees out of the woods, moving sawlogs around, brush/toppings cleanup, towing an ATV-style log trailer around.
3. Snow removal - probably plowing a 1/2mile of straight, level dirt road at most, maybe stacking snow in my 400ft driveway if we really get dumped on and my smaller stuff cant handle it. Maybe add a 3PH snowblower if I ever find a smoking deal on a mechanic's special I want to tackle. I should also mention I have garden tractor plows and walk behind snowblower for light snowfalls.
4. Tilling a small vegetable garden
5. Moving pallets around.
6. Light dirt moving and general utility loader work.
7. Occasional trailering to other locations.
Similarities between tractors
1. Similar HP, 22 (1510) vs 24ish (1700)
2. Similar age and condition (1700 is a few years older, but 1000less hours and slightly better condition overall)
3. Both 4WD 12-speed gear drive with diff lock
4. Both Shibaura-built
5. Neither have ROPS
6. Identical FEL weight capacities (when equipped)
Significant(?) differences
1. 2cyl (1700) vs 3cyl (1510). The
2. Rear lift 3800lbs at pins (1700) vs 1400lbs (1510). I'm not sure I believe this but I've seen the numbers listed several places
3. Operating weight unballasted ~2400lbs (1510) vs ~2600lbs (1700). As currently set up I think 1700 is well over 1500lbs heavier with wheel weights, filled tires, FEL.
4. Controls layout. 1700 has range and gear levers on the transmission hump, 1510 has the same range selector but gear selector is on the steering column.
5. Front end design. I can't figure out if this matters, but they are completely different-looking designs.
6. Accessories. 1700 has Ford 770 loader, double 100(?)lb wheel weights on each wheel. 1510 has a cool suspension seat. I'm mostly sure all of these are just bolt-on swappable as is.
7. Wheels/Tires. The 1700 rear wheels are corroded and have weld repairs, and the R1 tires dig up everything they drive over unless it is paved or frozen. 1500 has wide turf tires that are easier on my lawn than almost everything else I own, including my 600lb ATV. Obviously the much lower weight of the 1500 has something to do with this too. In the woods the R1s dig through the loamy soil until they hook up and I go where I'm pointed. The turf tires kind of mold around/over rocks and roots and whatever I'm on and I go where I'm pointed. Afterwards a blind man could follow the ruts left by the R1s while the turfs just sort of compress the leaves a little.
8. 1510 has 1.1gal more fuel capacity (5.8 vs 6.9gal). With my usage patterns I have to refuel about 1 time per season.
9. 1510 runs noticeably smoother and quieter, especially noticeable at idle. As the operator I wear hearing protection and don't care about noise, but I do have neigbors and they might. I do often "work" late into the night or early in the morning.
10. 1700 is oil bath air filter, 1510 is conventional filter element.
11. The 1510 has a marginally nicer hood latching and opening system to my preference.
Potential courses of action I'm considering:
1. Sell the 1510 after maybe taking the nice suspension seat bracket off it and doing some cleaning, lubricating, replacing adjustment springs, etc.
2. Swap the 770 loader onto the 1510 and sell the 1700. The 1510 lists 770A and 770B (NOT 770) as compatible loaders but from what I can tell the only important differences are holes in different places on the rear mounting bracket.
3. Go with 1 or 2, after swapping the wheels and tires. The rears seem interchangeable, the fronts have a different bolt pattern so I'd have to probably buy 4 new front wheels at a minimum to go this route.
4. Sell the 1700 as equipped, buy and/or buy+modify a loader to fit the 1510. Ideally I'd like a removable loader and I'd also like the convenience of more modern joystick hydraulic controls and some extra quick-connect hydraulic circuits for a grapple, tilt+ pivot plow, hydraulic top link, or whatever other cool stuff I don't even know about yet.
5. Give up on this whole old tractor thing and just buy a newish used 1025R or whatever similar Kubota.
6. Something else I haven't considered yet.
So that's about everything I can think of. Any thoughts/opinions? Is one tractor significantly "better" in any real objective way? Better for the use case I'm proposing? I read that the 1510 control layout was supposedly a major ergonomic improvement but had mixed reviews and some people hate it. Honestly the ergonomics don't seem any better or worse or anything, just different - reach over here to shift vs reach over there. And I can't figure out why anyone would hate it. Also I read that some front ends were notoriously weak, but don't know if I should worry about that (since I have options). The rear lift capacity of 3x more on the 1700 seems noteworthy but with essentially identical frames I can't find a reason it should be so much higher. Maybe it's a misprint or maybe the Shibaura engineers caught on and reigned in the marketing literature people somewhere between those two model years? There's a 200lb weight difference between the two tractors so something must be beefier somewhere on the 1700 but nothing stands out to me. What do you guys think? What am I missing or not thinking about? All thoughtful opinions welcome. Any differences between the engines I should be thinking about? Slightly more power and torque is always nice but I might never have opportunity to use that last few percent while on the other hand a quieter tractor is probably a nice thing every minute that it's running. Would I ever regret giving up those last 2 HP?
