1086,1486 or 1586 which one?

NYFarmer1

New User
I currently farm a small portion of my 65 acres for growing field crops.( 3 acres ). I will be expanding the growing area each year beginning this spring. We will be growing on 15 acres. pulling a 10 point chisel plow, subsoiling with three shanks, pulling a small 8' disc which I will be adding a larger pull type. I also pull a 15' batwing mower. I own several older farmalls and a couple of B414's. I now pull the discs and mower with a MF 481. I also have a new Mahindra 65 hp loader that I pull a roto tiller with. I like older "working" tractors especially IH- just my preference. That being said, I would appreciate some feedback on which model would suit my needs and the pros and cons of the three models.[/b]
 
Well, to me it sounds like you already have plenty of tractor power for your acreage. If you need heavy subsoiling or chiseling done on a few acres could you find a neighbor to do it for you? Of those three tractors the 1086 would handle what you need done.
 
Get a 10. That's more than enough for what you have. Heck, with a different chisel you could do well with an 886 like the one I use for chores
and haying. I've never understood the reduced gears you get with the 15 series but I don't think I would like it.

As I see if you won't really use the power of even a 10 series. Diesels like to be worked. Get a 986 and go with it. The 86 series has quirks (like
those stupid doors) but they are great machines. I prefer mine over every other machine on the farm.
 
The 10 is a great tractor.

You really do not have that many acres, sounds like what you have should work. It is important to remember if you upsize the tractor and you will end up purchasing new tillage equipment to go with it, tractor is the down payment.
 
Agreed. I just know that every 1086 in our area that was used for row crap had the power turned up to match the 1486 and 1586 tractors.
 
I do a bit more than you but I started smaller. I would buy the best tractor for the best price that comes along. I too was looking at those three models. I liked the 1086 because it had the dual pto, but most of them had been tuned up to higher hp and I was told that they were not technically designed for it so I might be looking at some issues related to that. To make a long story short, the best bang for my buck turned out to be a 1586 sitting on a dealer lot in mid Michigan. It had some rust on the cab but dual pto had been added and it started and ran real nice. I like the 1586. It's a real tank with the duals on it. As long as you raise your implement you can drive thru a lot of mud with it.
 
Can count difference in the 1086 and
1486 on one hand , Tran. oil cooler ,
pto, engine cu in ,hyd seat , pto
constant gear in clutch area
 
I am not an IH guy, but I do have respect for and do enjoy certain IH tractors. With respect to the 3 models you mention, I think the 1086 would probably be your best choice, while the 1486 would probably be your worst choice. I have friends of mine who tended to believe their 1486 tractors were their least favorite models that IH produced. These same friends had repeated rear end troubles in their 1486's, while not having these same issues in their 1086's. I have a friend who has had to go into the rear end of his 1486 three times. The feedback they have given me is the rear end is just not heavy duty enough for the horsepower that a 1486 is typically putting out. The bull gear final drives, from what they have shared, is the weak point. It seems to be a far less common problem in a 1086.
 
Any of those would be great plenty of tractor for 65 acres. Look for one in the best condition as repairs will be twice as expensive compared to smaller tractors. During the farm crisis money was tight. Many of the big horses were worked to near death with their engines turned up and extra weight added when they should have been traded-in for a larger tractor. To handle extra power, the 15's had two fewer gear speeds than the 10 and 14. Three point hitches may only be category 3.
 
9s are nice too, plenty big to handle bale spear.

You can really reduce your tillage HP time and requirements by going no till.
 
Fuel consumption might be a consideration. When I started, my first "big" tractor was a 806IH. I used it with a 10 ft. disc, or 10 ft. chisel (took two passes to work the ground). It would burn around 5 gallons an hour when really working. A few years later I sold it and bought a 1486. I was able to pull both implements at the same time (one pass). The 1486 was not working too hard and was burning around 8 gallons an hour. Fuel cost was more per hour, but took half as long. End result was a bit more than half the fuel cost per acre with the bigger tractor. Repairs do cost more though. Around here the 125-150 HP tractors are about the same price, sometimes cheaper than the 80-100HP. There just isn't as much demand for the larger ones that are that old.
 
Frankly, "best tractor at the best price" is the best advice given so far in this thread.

For the size of your operation, any of the tractors discussed so far are overkill. Any one of them will do anything you need it to do with appropriately sized equipment. If you have your heart set on an 86 series tractor, then start looking at them to get a feel for prices and conditions in your area. Don't buy the first one you see.
 

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