International 300 utility possible purchase

Greetings,

I'm looking at an IH 300 utility for sale around me. They're asking $2,800 for it, and it includes a finish mower. it has the torque amplifier trans, no power steering. It has 3pt hitch, 1 new rear tire, the fronts are "not great".

I'm just trying to gauge if this is a decent deal, and get ideas of what I should offer, what I should look at, etc. I'm looking to use it to maintain about an acre of grass, and also for some light work (scraping driveway of snow, gravel, etc).

Sorry of this post is a bit ramble-y, I'm not entirely sure what to ask!

Thx

The 300U are known to be hard to steer if it does not have power steering. Thee a pretty good little tractor but with out power steering you will find that is is not easy to use

(quoted from post at 14:04:11 04/16/16) The 300U are known to be hard to steer if it does not have power steering. Thee a pretty good little tractor but with out power steering you will find that is is not easy to use

Click to expand...

Does a wide front vs narrow front make a difference in steering difficulty? I assume it's like a manual steering car, easier to turn when she's moving

That may be something I have to decide whether I'm willing to make that compromise or not. I just don't have a nice, new, feature rich tractor in my budget . I also like the appearance of the older tractors (ford tractors, this IH, that "style")

Never seen a 300U with any thing but a wide front end. As for a trike or wide front which with out power steering is easier I say the trike hands down. As for a tractor I would keep my eyes open and take my time looking. The 300U I have we payed $100. Ya it needed tires and some TLC but I drove it off the trailer I hauled it home on and that was less then 25 hours after we got it. If you pretty good with a wench you can find many good deals if you take you time to do so

(quoted from post at 15:33:07 04/16/16) Never seen a 300U with any thing but a wide front end. As for a trike or wide front which with out power steering is easier I say the trike hands down. As for a tractor I would keep my eyes open and take my time looking. The 300U I have we payed $100. Ya it needed tires and some TLC but I drove it off the trailer I hauled it home on and that was less then 25 hours after we got it. If you pretty good with a wench you can find many good deals if you take you time to do so

Click to expand...

I've been looking for about a year now. I need something that is somewhat turn-key and ready to run. I'm not [i:9c077f38f3]bad[/i:9c077f38f3] with a wrench, but I don't have a lot of space to service equipment, and I have a few things already in the hopper for repair. Given the size of my property, it's hard to find something that isn't a bit TOO big.

$100 is a great deal for a running tractor. I'd imagine that is far more the exception, than the rule. Around these parts it seems a non-running tractor will run ya 1200 bucks or so.

Nice tractor for your use. Don't put a loader on it, the steering will suffer. The price is a bit on the high side, at
that price the engine and hydraulic and PTO need to be it great shape. Jim

I have a 300U I use around the farm. It is a great tractor for that. I think it is too much tractor for what you have. An acre of land is a large suburban yard. If you have any number of trees this is going to be a chore to mow grass with. For mowing an acre and plowing snow/grading, one of the light utilities offered by Ford/JD/Kubota in the 18-20+ hp would be way better. This house is on 2.5 acres and I used a Ford 1520 for a couple decades as my mower and snow plow tractor. Even that was harder than it needed to be. Even with turf tires that heavy 300U is going to compact your lawn. Both of those tractors now live at the farm and I use a ZTR for grass and bring the 1520 home in winter to plow. The other issue is the price. The finish mower may be worth a few bucks or nothing at all. May be worn out. The tractor itself would half to be a real gem to pay that. I paid about $2800 for mine but the engine had been overhauled and the outside had a pretty nice restoration done. It also came with the correct 2 bottom plow which had also been restored. All my rubber was like new and it had a new seat.

But make sure it has Live Power Take Off, there were two 300's in this area, that didnt have LPTO .

That $100 was for a non running 300U. Ya it did not take much to get it up and running but that is also what I do and have been for decades guess that is why I have around 30 tractor on the place. Even have a few that I would gladly sell but I an in Missouri

(quoted from post at 17:06:31 04/16/16) I have a 300U I use around the farm. It is a great tractor for that. I think it is too much tractor for what you have. An acre of land is a large suburban yard. If you have any number of trees this is going to be a chore to mow grass with. For mowing an acre and plowing snow/grading, one of the light utilities offered by Ford/JD/Kubota in the 18-20+ hp would be way better. This house is on 2.5 acres and I used a Ford 1520 for a couple decades as my mower and snow plow tractor. Even that was harder than it needed to be. Even with turf tires that heavy 300U is going to compact your lawn. Both of those tractors now live at the farm and I use a ZTR for grass and bring the 1520 home in winter to plow. The other issue is the price. The finish mower may be worth a few bucks or nothing at all. May be worn out. The tractor itself would half to be a real gem to pay that. I paid about $2800 for mine but the engine had been overhauled and the outside had a pretty nice restoration done. It also came with the correct 2 bottom plow which had also been restored. All my rubber was like new and it had a new seat.

Click to expand...

I'm on about 1.3 acres. I have probably 4 trees total on the property, and the rest is "yard". It's actually more like field. It's too much for a riding mower to handle in any functional amount of time, plus I want to have the added benefit of a PTO. I also am shopping w/ upgrade in mind as I'm searching for more property. I butt up to about 20 acres of farm land, and ideally would like to snag a portion of that at some point.

I've been looking mostly at Ford *N tractors, and the Ferguson counter parts. The big negative to those is apparently the lack of Live power. This 300 has live PTO, which was one of the pluses to it.

I did not suggest to you any riding mowers. You need to Google the tractor mentioned in my post.

I use a gasoline 300U for mowing and blade work (15-20 acres of grass and 3/4 mile gravel road), and a 350U on LP for mowing only (5 acres in West Texas), both with Power steering. I have a 5 foot brush hog, but almost never use it once I have a patch beaten back into grass. Love them both. You really got my attention when you mentioned the blade. These have down pressure on the 3 point, and as far as I am concerned, I will never again try to use a blade without down pressure. The price is on the high side, but as far as I am concerned just barely. If you have shopped rear tires you know that number already. I don't pay much attention to the fronts because of the much lower cost. My 300 came from a neighbor with a loader installed, and failed the steering gear in short order. I haven't used the loader in years, and only leave it on because the frame protects the sheet metal when I am in rough brush. I can't comment on manual steering, but power is really nice when you are using a blade. My 2c is that you are looking at the right make and model of tractor, but maybe the wrong specimen because of the money. One way to proceed is to make a list of all the things you would LIKE to do to it as soon as you buy it, put a number to them, then make an offer based on your "all in" price. They are pretty straightforward, with the average amount of quirks, and the guys here can be super helpful.

I have a 300U currently under restoration and will mow with it. Power steering will be added. That said and you never get the 20 acres you need a 48 inch (or more) zero turn lawn mower. You have 1.3 acres, I have a 30000 sq ft yard planted to fescue. It takes one hour to mow, yours would take about 1.5 hours. Cost is $3-$4000. I also have about 3.5 acres more planted to buffalo grass -- a little too much for the zero turn in terms of time when I need other things done. Currently I mow that with a Super H and a 5 foot mower run in 3rd gear or 5 mph. Takes about an hour. In other words I have done both ways of doing it. The trees will add more time with a tractor, my 4 acres don't have trees, the yard do have 4, and take little time with the zero turn mower. Your choice -- but I have done it both ways. Also, my yard and 4 acres are smooth prior to planting. If it is rough the tractor handles rough ground better than the zero turn with its small wheels.

i've got a 350u, no power steering- mine is easy to turn the wheel even when standing still. around here the price is ok as long as she's mechanically sound and has been well taken care of

(quoted from post at 20:28:14 04/16/16) I did not suggest to you any riding mowers. You need to Google the tractor mentioned in my post.

Click to expand...

No, I understand that you didn't recommend riding mowers. I was just trying to give you a better idea of my layout here.

I think they had some sort of improvement on the steering when the 350U came out. The 300u on the other hand unless your moving they are a so and so to steer and even when moving there not very easy to steer

(quoted from post at 23:40:06 04/16/16) I think they had some sort of improvement on the steering when the 350U came out. The 300u on the other hand unless your moving they are a so and so to steer and even when moving there not very easy to steer

Click to expand...

Is it bad enough to not even consider the tractor as an option then? Or is it just an inconvenience? Perhaps it could be a point to try and drive the price down some.

One thing I would like to kick in. Do NOT turn the front wheels outwards on these tractors, It makes them harder to steer and can mess with the steering parts. Strains them. My old man did that and busted a couple of parts before I turned everything back the way it should be. Even worse with a loader on it. If you want a loader you must have power steering. It will be a killer to steer without. Also these machines are 1955-1956 so you can also look for a newer toy. My two cents.