New(er) vs Old(er) tractor for me and petite wife?

[mundamanu]

In the next year or so, I will be purchasing a tractor to be used at a small horse stable.

We have not yet purchased the property, so it's not time to get into size and implements yet, but there is one question that can be addressed now. Although, so that we have something to work on, let's say the place could be about 10 mostly flat acres (6 pasture) with maybe 8 horses on it (although I'd prefer to have more like 20 acres).

My wife is tiny. She's 5'4" and weighs about 105 lbs. Whatever tractor we get, she needs to be able to drive it. We are currently managing a property that has a Ford 1600 on it. I don't consider the clutch on the 1600 to be particularly difficult to push in, yet she needs to stand up and put some extra weight on it in order to push it in. The seat on the 1600 is right up there (too close if you ask me; I couldn't quickly get out of that thing to save my life and I'm only 6'; luckily the property we're working on is flat), so it's not a matter of her legs being too short. Also, with the FEL fully loaded with manure/sawdust/gravel, etc. I don't think she'd be able to turn the steering wheel. Anyway, she doesn't drive the 1600. The Ford 1600 seems like a pretty small tractor to me, so I'm a little concerned about our older tractor options, especially if we need to go bigger.

So, the question is, does anybody know of any older tractors (any reliable brand will due) that a small woman could drive (an ag-utility, or an older compact)? I like the idea of saving money by buying an older tractor, but if my wife can't drive it, we can't own it. Or, are we going to have to go with a new(er) tractor with a HST and powersteering? Could we get a shuttle shift; does that have an easier clutch?


If older "iron" (as I've read them called here) is out of the question, I'd like to forget about those nice smaller price tags and start getting comfortable with spending in the teens or higher.

I hope I've provided enough information for people to go on.

Thanks.

Bob

 

[jinman]

Mundamanu, I think you need a family outing with your wife to test drive tractors. I'd try orange, green, blue, and red and see which ones rate a second look. I'll bet you'll have lots of fun and find just what you need. Most importantly, your wife will be pleased with your purchase. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

 

[RonR]

Agree!

My wife has a right leg that only works about 80% and she wears an ankle brace.

Our test drive of a Kubota prior to purchase consisted of her moving the HST forward about a foot and back about 2 feet.
She loved it and drives it. Not 100% confident yet, but amazing how much you can get done if you put her in the seat and you do the grunt work like looking stuff up, etc.

Good thing I can out run her--I win the foot race to see who gets to drive first! /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

Make the test drives your fun outtings.

And when you get it, (this is something I learned from sailing with family--the hard way) DON'T YELL unless life threatening injury is about to occur!

Last time I had the wife driving, simple hand signals (not that kind!) had her driving forward, raising the loader, lowering the loader, etc while I hooked chain up to an old underground sprinkler system we were ripping out.
Worked GREAT and if one would have seen us, we would have looked SO PROFESSIONAL. She couldn't have heard my voice over the motor anyway, so simple hand signals for up/down/forward/back/stop (the fist) worked great.

Best wishes to you both!
Ron

 

[BillG_in_TX]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( you do the grunt work like looking stuff up, etc )</font>

Ron, do you really sit around "looking stuff up" (on TBN presumably /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif), or did you mean "hooking stuff up"? /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[EquipmentJunkie]

You need to take a short drive to beautiful, Lancaster County! Lancaster County will be your nearest, most comprehensive, time-efficient way to discover your options. Chester County has a few dealers, but not like Lancaster County.
Stop at ABC Groff, Inc. in New Holland, a New Holland/Deere dealer. Or at Hoober, Inc. in Intercourse, a Case/Kubota dealer. Both of these dealers have great personnel that are very familiar with customers with operations similar to yours.
These dealers are just five miles apart. A quick visit to each can quickly give you most of your old and new tractor options.

 

[autotech]

I don't know if this is going to be much help to you (depends on what you need from a tractor) but I recently went through the new/old tractor process myself. Last year my family and I aquired about 18 acres in Bucks County, so I found myself in the market for a tractor with no experience to rely on. Fortunately I was given a lead to this website and along with other information that helped me make an informed decision.

For us the pertinent factors were these:

I need to be able to operate common 3 point acessories (mower, post hole digger, plow, etc)
I need a loader with reasonable capacity
I need a backhoe large enough to readily handle stumps, drainage, and pond renovations
We wanted an agricultural tractor with "old-time" appeal
Our property is generally flat
I am not put-off by maintaining/repairing older equipment

Originally these needs had me looking at newer compact tractors, but with a sufficient loader and backhoe prices were way out of my budget.

After asking lots of questions and doing lots of reading, I decided to consider an older ag tractor, something 1950 to 1960 or so, which would be new enough to have most of the modern abilities I would need, but still look "old". I figured to spend 4k to 5k.
In addition, I plan to aquire an older Loader/Backhoe, something late 60's to early 70's, either Cat or Ford.
By having two pieces of equipment, I can remove the loader requirement from the ag tractor, allowing a tricycle type for better appearance and manouverability in the field. Also, a small TLB will have more power than a newer compact, particularly at the backhoe end, and I don't have to constantly install/remove the backhoe - and I'm sure there will be times I'll need both together....!

To that end I recently purchased a 1958 John Deere 720 in excellent condition for about 5k. Equipped with power steering and a HAND clutch, this tractor is very low effort to operate, although it takes some getting used to the hand clutch. With independent PTO, and acessory hydraulics, this tractor will handle everything I need it to do.
Other than being a bit tall (steps can be added) your wife might well find an old Deere a good alternative.
For you, a wide or standard front end would allow fitment of a loader, I've seen many this way.
Parts are available, and if you buy right it will never be worth less than you paid for it.

I have a line on a nice Case 530 for about 5k which will be available this spring.

So for about 10k I'll be set.

PM me if you have any questions.

Gregg

 

[aloha]

Re: New(er) vs Old(er) tractor for me and petite w

I don't know the market for used tractors in your part of the world, but where I am (currently Oregon) they depreciate only little. When I started shopping, I expected to buy used, but found I could get new for not much more than I would have paid for something used in good condition. My Kubota B7800 will be delivered in 2 weeks.

Where I think I might have found a good deal would have been on a rental return. The dealer I'm buying from sold off its rental fleet of near-current models at very good prices. However, all but one were gone by the time I was ready to buy, and their last one was way too big a machine for me. If you can time your purchase to be in the fall, you might save a bundle and get one that is easy to handle and has the safety features that will both of you alive. A good ROPS and seat belt your wife can keep strapped will say "I love you" to her.

 

[RonR]

Got me! And I even proof read the note. I'm out of practice.

TWICE today I've sent notes from work to people I thought worked at our site. Typos in their names sent them elsewhere: One was at our site, but not the right person. The other was again wrong, and in St Louis..........

Doooohhhh, better pay more attention.

And besides, if wife's on the Bota, and I'm inside surfing, she'd be using the loader to bonk me on the head!

Take Care,
Ron

 

[rockyridgefarm]

Not only do the newer machines fit better, but the safety features are better. I am much more comfortable with our various operators, knowing the safety features are there. I had an older machine, and we had several close calls.

 

[farmerdick]

Reminds me of our experience when looking / testing tractors. The wife is shorter than me and on most tractors when she reached for the clutch pedal she would unweight the seat enough to cause the safety sensor to cut off the engine. She has to lower as well as slide forward the seat and still has to be careful. We don't have an HST tractor but that might better for her. Make sure she tries the tractors with the engine running, not just sitting.