Buying Advice John Deere compared to Kubota

[Agvg]

Yes, a lot of one cylinder, very different from ferguson and Fordson at the time.

 

[rScotty]

Germany had a different tractor tradition Vs England, here in Norway in the fifties and early sixties there was several German brands but mostly low hp and few cylinders. Does anybody know if there was a reason for this? Here I live there are a few M.A.N 4WD tractors from the fifties but the price was very high. Quite a few Porsche was sold to but mostly low hp versions.
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Front wheel drive (4wd) didn't really become popular in the US until Yanmar's design of a front axle with the tower/bevel gear type of drive came onto the scene. That Yanmar front drive was a marvel because it cured the mechanical problems from having front wheels simultaneously steer and drive. The downside was that it was an expensive front axle to make. Lots of precision parts and required tight tolerances in manufacturing. That didn't bother Yanmar so much because they were such an expensive tractor with exacting tolerances anyway. The dealers were quick to point out that Yanmar had made the decision not to compete based on low price.

Most of the other front wheel drives at the time used either U joints or Rzeppa CV joints out at the ends of the front axle. That kind of joint design always had problems with torque transmission when turning.... angulation was limited and wear was high - but we put up with it because there were no options until the tower/bevel drive came along. Some tractors still use that old U-joint type of front wheel drive.
rScotty

 

[Bavarian]

Here in the mountains it was a lot of single axle tractors, Aebi, bucher, Motostandard, agria and many more, suppose it was very common in your contry to.

.. Irus, Holder.
I had a 10 HP Holder diesel. 2 cycle engine, built in 1957. Had to sell it when we moved to Canada.

 

[ovrszd]

First FWA tractor I saw was an Oliver, model 2150 or maybe 1850 I think, in 1966 or 67.

 

[ultrarunner]

My dealer sells both green and orange, as you can see from my picture went green. I just liked the pedal configuration and loader stick set up better. Am very happy with my choice, so alot of your choice goes back to what feels right for you.test drive them all..I think the major colors green, orange, red and blue all make good tractors...good luck with your search

We had several that did the same... mostly small dealers up in the foothills and such.

The last time I visited one I had asked what happen to Deere... was told they had to make a choice and Kubota better served their customer base...

The San Jose Dealer was forever New Holland and took on Kubota... same thing there... they dropped New Holland and kept Kubota... not saying one is better than the other as I own both... but the BX 23 really got it right and filled a niche of a usable, affordable TLB

Here we have Ford as in Jubilee, CAT, Deere, Farmall, Kubota, etc... the Kubota BX and L3800 are the working tractors...

 

[ultrarunner]

Germany had a different tractor tradition Vs England, here in Norway in the fifties and early sixties there was several German brands but mostly low hp and few cylinders. Does anybody know if there was a reason for this? Here I live there are a few M.A.N 4WD tractors from the fifties but the price was very high. Quite a few Porsche was sold to but mostly low hp versions.

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1947 is when Steyr Tractors rolled out chassis 1001

It was quite a step up replacing manual labor on small mountain family farms... it allowed one to do the work of many... remember many of the high mountain farms had no electricity at the time... think Heidi.

The single cylinder crank start with 13 hp. replaced mowing with a scythe, hauling with draft animals and the PTO was used for all manor of work... the blower to move the hay to the loft and field power for things such as buzz saws and pumps.

In winter... I remember unscrewing a bunt or glow plug... lighting it and screwing it in the cylinder head and crank starting...

There was no electrical system, no battery to worry about...

By 1950 the hydraulic 3 point was in production...over 45,000 were produced during the run with later models producing 15hp... many remained in service for decades with daily use... summer and winter.

Attached is a picture of one in daily service for 15 years... for many it was the only transportation for people and goods to the city... most will have aux fender seats...

Someone drove one around the world a few years ago...

I have looked for one in North America but so far no luck and they are prized now in Europe as functional collector items.

 

[Bavarian]

And one winter, I think it was 79, we had a major power outage for several days due to a heavy snowstorm. The farmers had to milk their cows by hand.
Someone figured out to connect the suction side of the engine to the milking machine to produce the required vacuum to milk the cows. The tractors smoked like **** but got the milk off the cows.

 

[ultrarunner]

Farmers can be very enterprising... I wonder if they were using Westphalia Separators?

Automation such as tractors and the Steyr Hamster for gathering and the milking machine made if possible for a few to do the work of many...

I tried to buy the tractor in my post but no luck...

 

[Bavarian]

Westphalia I think was the most common one.

 

[ultrarunner]

Westphalia I think was the most common one.

My cousin's father in law was the local rep... for nearly 50 years... it was a great business and he was a great guy... generous and gregarious…

He also knew EVERY ONE even in the most remote mountain tops... and they knew him... I think he was 1955 to 2005 with the company?

If and when I ever get back I expect to see more Kubota tractors... not so much for farming but I have seen local municipalities use the smallest cab Kubota set up for snow removal and such... some places the big snow throwers just can't go and being in an open cab in January isn't a lot of fun...

Even the small farms all seem to have big tractors... sometimes only the farm tractor A/C and the family car not...