"Made in the USA"

[GaryG]

Re: \"Made in the USA\"

White's are also the boot of choice for linemen. I wear Danner's made in USA. I think they are owned by someone else now. My three pair will have to last till I retire in a couple years. There are also some cowboy boots that are handmade here in the USA. Not cheap though... You have to pay for the Made in USA emblem. I think it is worth it...

 

[JATO_RaT]

Re: \"Made in the USA\"

"I'm with you Rat, Companies are so interdependant these days, Keeping up with exactly where every piece is made would be very hard. "

and <font color="blue"> </font> pointless as well. J

<font color="blue"> </font>

I agree.

 

[RobertN]

Re: \"Made in the USA\"

You wil find with tractors what I have found with tractors and pickups and motorcycles.

My '01 Dodge Ram 2500 is assembled in Mexico. My Harley FXRS would be a pile of parts in the garage if you took the Japanese and other multinational parts off; shocks, carb, starter, complete electical system, ect(I know, because I did, and replaced with S&S ect...).

Although I am very pro-American, and will look for things made here, it is very hard. We are in a global economy now, for better or for worse. If you took imports out of Walmart, Kmart, Target and similar stores, the shelves would be bare. Look at Harbor Frieght when you get back...

Some tractors, as noted in this thread are assembled here. Small John Deeres have Japanese parts, US parts, and others, and are partially assembled here. Kubota seems to use loaders and mowers and stuff that are made here.

To give you an idea, even for my '41 Farmall-A, many reproduction items are made outside of the US. That Farmall is a symbol of US made stoutness and longevity.

Even, as Trescrows noted, Toyota's are made here(Honda too). The Tundra is as much a US truck as a Ford F150. The Kawasaki Vulcan and large touring bikes are made here too, with as many if not more US made parts than my Harley. Of course, it is not noted that Honda, Toyota, and others make things here to beat import tarriff's and shipping costs. The bulk of the money still goes to the corporate office overseas.

So, good luck. I try to find "Made in USA" too, but it is hard to do these days.

 

[markie61]

Re: \"Made in the USA\"

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I hate to burst anyone's bubble but I would bet $$ that most of the parts to "assemble" the boomers here are from Asia/Japan/Italy and not the USA. The sheet metal is probably stamped here but that is about it. )</font>

SHEETMETAL!!!!? What sheetmetal!!!??? /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

90% of my Boomer's panels are plastic! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Mark

 

[Chipperman]

Re: \"Made in the USA\"

markie61
Your right, I rest my case.
Chipperman

 

[r0GuE]

Re: \"Made in the USA\"

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( My fellow TBNers, please remember that;

1. TBN is a site on the World Wide Web
2. TBN is a site devoted to the discussion of all things tractor related.

There are plenty of sites where discussions of geo-political topics are appropriate. TBN is not one of them. It's threads like this that can turn, shall we say, ugly, very quickly. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

Specifically, the Buying/Pricing forum is for discussing;

General compact tractor buying and pricing discussions, excluding brand-specific questions.

Therefore, replies about where tractors are assembled, where the various and sundry parts come from are examples of appropriate responses. Responses that include opinions about countries, opinions about other TBNers opinions, etc. are not. )</font>

True enough it's the World Wide Web alright, but just the same, we know who we are, who were talking to, and I think leeway from the recommend topic line is not to come as a great surprise to anyone. As conversations progress, secondary lines of interest develop. It happens all the time (hundreds of times a day on TBN alone) and it is perfectly acceptable. The Internet is meant for the FREE communication of ideas and opinions. And I for one will express mine wherever and whenever I please.
I do not mean this to be insulting to you personally or TBN as an institution, nor do I intend to instigate any further uprising or fervor. However; I cannot abide a hushing of good honest thoughts and communication. We have not strayed beyond acceptable adult conversation. Nobody is reading this thread that does not have an interest, one way or another, in the Made in America topic line.
I do not think that anyone is being at all vicious or condescending here. If someone is offended by the conversation, let them speak up.
I could go on, but I really don’t think a rant on my part is merited. However; some response was, and this, my friend, is that.

 

[Gary_in_Indiana]

Re: \"Made in the USA\"

<font color="blue"> 90% of my Boomer's panels are plastic! </font>

I'm jealous! You mean you actually have 10% metal panels on your Boomer? I'm pretty sure all of my panels are plastic. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

As to the rest, we're definitely in a world economy. Like it or not, this is the way it is. I drive a Chevy truck that I'm sure has a fair number of foreign made parts on it. My John Deere is Japanese while my Honda Goldwing is assembled in OH. Go figure!

 

[BillyP]

Re: \"Made in the USA\"

Yep, world trade is here to stay. We depend on other countries to buy our stuff and they depend on us. We can't use everything we produce and we can't make everything we need. It's just not feasible, not in today's markets. This goes for other countries too.

You may not like it but you might as well get used to it. If you can buy something assembled in the US, you have done everything you can do to support your next door neighbor, yourself and generations to come.

 

[wasabi]

Re: \"Made in the USA\"

Welcome. You've brought up an interesting topic...

I too looked at "comparables", but, IMHO, none stood up to the "American Made" PT. Their line, instead of being a shadow brand, should be the standard for what to expect....

PT comes with hydrostatic drive, awesome power to weight ratios, nearly bulletproof plate steel construction, beefy hydraulics, simple design and maintenance features, intelligent safety features and renowned versatility.

The challenge is to think outside of the "traditional" tractor parameters that the big three, four, five or whatever adhere to and compete for. True, you may have to arrange or tackle your own maintenance issues (as PT sells direct, not thru dealers), it is no big thing.

If I can provide any info, I'd be happy to help. Enjoy your research....and try to check out a PT in person. As a friend of famed TBNer MChalkley's put it "the only thing that might hurt a PT is another bigger PT"

 

[BigDave]

Re: \"Made in the USA\"

Well, I took another look at my tractor without much luck. I still couldn't find any markings on the transmission, but I did find that the wheels & tires are American made. Yes, my panels aren't metal, I'm not sure where they are made or even what they are made out of for that matter. Personally I'm happy that I've found a decent amount of American content, I too thought all small tractors where made in Japan.

Like most other tractor buyers, I bought the tractor that I thought was the best to suit my needs. Now, if the CFO went temporaily insane & let me control the checkbook, I would trade in my TC33D/MMM/FEL for a TC40D/FEL and a Kubota ZTR with the 60" Pro deck.

 

[GaryG]

Re: \"Made in the USA\"

I agree the larger Power-Trac's look pretty good. But to order a tractor from 3000 miles away and expect any kind of service on warranty, is not too smart. It is difficult to even consider a tractor that you have to go 100 miles for service. The PT may be a great utility tool. Until they have a nationwide dealer network, they will not be able to reach their potential. I also don't think you can compare the gas versions with a diesel tractor. They are "Made in the USA" too bad they are not readily available all over the USA.

 

[cnoel]

Re: \"Made in the USA\"

Hate to be the one to have to say it, but the BX is probably more American made than most of the others. Kubota has a factory in Atlanta where all of their loaders, mower decks, etc are built. The T'seires lawn mowers and BX series also come out of this plant. Granted, the engine is still Japanese, but at least the same company is building the whole tractor. Off the subject, I just found out that Kubota rolled its 20, 000, 000th (thats 20 Million, if I counted my 0's right /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif) engine off the line in December. Now thats alot of practice!! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif.

 

[GaryG]

Re: \"Made in the USA\"

They should have that diesel engine business down to a science then. I know we have a Kubota gen set up here in Alaska, that runs like a top at 50 below zero. I hope the BX22 I bought is as dependable. The Japanese have come a long way since the watches I got as a kid that said Lucky Lager inside the back cover.

 

[Thunder25]

Re: \"Made in the USA\"

Wow, Thanks for all the replies!

My heart was set on a Kubota BX2200, and still is...

It makes me feel somewhat better knowing it is made in Atlanta, GA, and employing hometown people.

I'm not die-hard about "Made-in-the-USA", but I always try!

Again, Thanks for all the replies... Thunder25, Out.

 

[WVBill]

Re: \"Made in the USA\"

By the way, Captain; Thanks for what you do.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Re: \"Made in the USA\"

I'm not sure about comparisons but what about Stiener or Ventrac? I believe that both are built in Ohio all though the engines I believe are from over seas.

 

[nomad]

Re: \"Made in the USA\"

Trescrows, your multidimensional post. Well said.