New Tractors Versus Old Tractors--Who has the most fun?

npalen · Dec 1, 2016

I enjoy working on my 1987 Kubota B9200 tractor. I'm not sure that I would enjoy a new tractor as much since there would be fewer things to fix and upgrade. Yes, I'm a bit of a gearhead, but wondering how you folks look at the old versus new scenario.

Oaktree · Dec 1, 2016

Not sure how to answer this. While my LK3054 is technically an '04, it's an old-school design, not much different than the 80s vintage JD750 I had before it. While I certainly ogle the new tractors, I don't think I'd have any more "fun" using one of them vs my current one.
New ones seem a lot more complicated, especially from a service standpoint.

jimjumper · Dec 1, 2016

npalen said:
I enjoy working on my 1987 Kubota B9200 tractor. I'm not sure that I would enjoy a new tractor as much since there would be fewer things to fix and upgrade. Yes, I'm a bit of a gearhead, but wondering how you folks look at the old versus new scenario.

1987 is a new tractor! I just went from a '48 8N Ford to an '80 Yanmar. Live PTO and 3 point hitch, I'm moving up in class...

SteveM70 · Dec 1, 2016

Dependable for me. New or old doesn't matter but I don't keep anything around once the time spent working on it begins to equal the time spent working with it.

ovrszd · Dec 1, 2016

Totally dependent on the desired result.

I enjoy running my 1984 Ford. It's productive, well equipped and simple.

I enjoy running my 2012 Kubota. It's very productive, very well equipped, very comfortable, very dependable and amazingly nimble for it's size.

coolreinfarm · Dec 1, 2016

I have more fun running my 70 year old Farmall H, but the L3240 is more convenient. I think it's because the lawyers didn't take the fun out of the old tractors, seat belts, roll bars, pto interlocks, clutch switches, you get on an old tractor and drive.

4570Man · Dec 1, 2016

I hate working on stuff. I like fabrication stuff, but working on stiff sucks. Btw my old tractors took all the beatings I could dish out. It's mostly the newer stuff I have to work on.

gladehound · Dec 1, 2016

Old or new I like them both as long as they are the right tool for the job. One thing I really do prefer with older tractors is the weight at a given hp level. In general (I'm sure there are exceptions), old iron of any given hp level will out pull the new same hp tractors easily! I also like that the old ones don't have any electronics.

On the flip side, sure seems like the hydraulics on tractors keep getting better and better. Lots more lift (at both ends) on a small tractor these days compared to an equal weight tractor that is older.

Cougsfan · Dec 2, 2016

It is really a mixed bag. I have a Ferguson TO35 that was made in about 1957. It is an excellent and reliable old tractor that has ran countless hours. I also have a brand new Branson. It is a wonderful machine too. The old tractor is superior in some ways; easier to work on, simpler, easier to understand, bulletproof design intended to last for years and years. The new tractor is much more convenient, has more comfort features, much more refined design. They are like apples and oranges. I like them both. Will a new tractor last for as many hours and years as an old tractor? Probably not, but the new ones do work better while they are alive. As Gladehound inferred, the complicated electronics on new tractors will likely cause them to have a shorter life expectancy.

square1 · Dec 2, 2016

If it's not an emergency repair I enjoy fixing mechanical things, but if a task needs doing, and the machine needed to do it needs to be repaired before the job can be done, the struggle between doing the repair correctly or quickly takes away from the satisfaction of doing mechanic work.