Which Brand of Tractor is Best?

[Bird]

I happened to be driving by one of the bigger boat dealers on I-35 north of Dallas this afternoon and noticed that they have 3 little tractors for pulling those boats and trailers around; one John Deere, one Kubota, and one New Holland. I didn't stop to talk to anyone, but it made me wonder about the owner:
1. Is he truly color blind with no brand preference,
2. Did he buy on bids at different times,
3. Did he want all 3 major brands to keep all the local tractor dealers happy,
4. Did he want all 3 major brands to keep all the boat customers, who also own tractors, happy,
5. Or did he buy used tractors and just coincidence that he found better deals on different brands at different times? /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Bob_Skurka]

Did he buy each tractor to fullfill a specific need and picked the best machine for the task he intended the tractor to accomplish?



Seems to me that is the logical way to approach tractor buying. I want to move round bales so I get a heavy beast. Then I want to mow the lawn around the house so I get a tight turning lightweight with plenty of PTO hp. ETC ETC

 

[isucrazy]

/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif Thats a easy one. He traded a heckova boat for the DEERE, a pretty nice boat for the BOTA, and a fair traded in flatbottom for the FORD!

 

[Bird]

Joe, that's a possibility I didn't think of. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif I wasn't close enough to see model numbers, but just from what I saw, I'd guess the Kubota is the oldest of the three, the Deere the newest, and that blue one somewhere in between.

I also know of another boat dealer in Waco that has a little Deere for moving boats and trailers around on the property and I know they bought it new. The thing that surprised me about it was that they got a manual transmission instead of HST for that purpose. I know one of their mechanics and know they have to do a lot of close maneuvering in in tight quarters. I think the HST would last a lot longer than a clutch for that kind of work and lots of different drivers.

 

[JDgreen227]

My local RV dealer uses an older model 5000 series Deere fitted with a fifth wheel hitch and a secondary receiver to move his stock of several hundred travel trailers around the lot. The ease of hooking up any type of large trailer using a tractor is amazing, but they will NOT back anything up without a spotter, for obvious reasons.

 

[bczoom]

Bird,

I worked at a boat dealer years ago.

It wasn't unusual for us to take tractors in on trade if they could be used at the shop or re-sold to an employee.

Brian

 

[bgott]

When I was selling mobile homes I took a tour of the Fleetwood M.H plant in Waco. Lots of houses setting around everywhere and they use larger tractors to shuttle them around. Those guys have been doing it awhile, I couldn't believe how fast they were whipping those 80' houses around in close quarters.

 

[Soundguy]

This must be a fairly common thing. There is a MH and a boat dealer on the main drag where i live. Both use tractors to shuttle trailers around in their yard. Only difference is of course that the boat dealer has a small red tractor.. and the mobile home dealer has a large red tractor.

Soundguy

 

[Golfgar4]

Gee, I figured this was really obvious. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

The boat dealer has 3 customers, each of which owns one of the brands of tractors he's using. He bought a tractor from each one because he's a good businessman! /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif