A friend is looking for a tractor. Can you help me help him

He's looking for a tractor to you with a brush hog and eventually a loader. He mentioned an 8N Ford. Now I know this wouldn't be my choice so I looking for some expert advise here. His tractor budget is around $2800 and it would be nice if that would cover a used brush hog too (or close) The loader will come latter.

Let's hear ye.

Dave

What would he use it for? If just bushhogging a N would be OK. He should be well below 3k for a nice one. Other uses may change my mind.

I forgot you said loader, pony up some more money and get something with power steering.

I would at least step up to live PTO and power steering. If Ford is what he wants look at a 3000. They can be bought for less than $3000.

I'd look at MF 135 or MF50 or MF65. Way more tractor than an 8n with power steering. Ford 600 or 800 or 3000 would also be good options.

8N would do fine, except on very long or heavy brush. I hog with my 8N at 7000' and also have a loader. Don't forget an over-running clutch on the PTO. It's a handful with the loader on, he will need a heavy counterweight on the 3 point.

Early MF would do as well. Bigger, more HP will do better, but cost more.

Location location location

Minnesota/Wisconsin boarder Just east of St Paul, MN

Docmirror,

Thanks for reminding me about the need for an overrunning clutch.

Dave

Later Case 430 or 530.....P/S available......might stretch the budget a little. I love mine.

Where is it that you can buy a Ford 3000 for less than $3000. Not here in Wisconsin.

I bought mine about 6 months ago. Indiana. $2200. You see it as I got it. Gas, ps,8spd, rear differential lock, very good turf tires. Needs paint but everything works. Sprayer did not come with it.

In my opinion live hydraulics are even more important to the convenience and usefulness of a tractor than a live PTO but having both is sure nice. Unfortunately a stock N-series Ford has neither. If the budget was stretched a little your friend could get into a newer Ford Jubilee or "hundred series", Oliver Super 55, any number of Masseys, or something similar that has these "modern" features along with a factory 3-point hitch.

If your friend is serious about a loader it would be certainly easier to buy a tractor already equipped with one but that would obviously mean stretching the budget by quite a lot. To buy a tractor now and expect to find a compatible loader in the future might take some searching. If a guy is handy with steel fabrication an exact match isn't necessary (custom mounts can be built) but you'd still need to find a loader that fits size-wise. You would also need to add the plumbing and potentially even an auxiliary hydraulic pump to make it all work. For some folks this whole process would make for an enjoyable project but for others it could be overwhelming - it all depends on the individual.

Brenden is right about fitting a loader. Plan for a couple weekends of solid work, unless it came off the same make and model. I fitted a tube style loader to my 8N, and it was a heck of a job. I burned plenty of steel, grinding, fitting, welding, etc.

That running Ford 3000 for the price was a heck of a deal. I've been looking for months to find a decent 50-60HP tractor with PS that all runs for under $3000. If you find one, and everything does indeed work - buy it quick.

I would suggest focusing less on the make and model, and more on the condition and features. I was on MN craigslist a while back and saw a Allis Chalmers WD with a loader that looked pretty good. No PS, but for the price - even though it's old, he said everything was working and a fairly new clutch. I think the price was $2800. Might need to fit a 3 point, but since it already has a loader, that's a bonus. Also in the midwest might consider a Farmall with one of those Du-al or FarmHand loaders on it.

Vintage tractors aren't so important on the make and model, but how much work is needed to get it running right, and shift, stop, turn, etc.

(quoted from post at 15:58:46 01/29/18) He's looking for a tractor to you with a brush hog and eventually a loader. He mentioned an 8N Ford. Now I know this wouldn't be my choice so I looking for some expert advise here. His tractor budget is around $2800 and it would be nice if that would cover a used brush hog too (or close) The loader will come latter.

Let's hear ye.

Dave

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dave I have 4 acres at my home place here that I do a little haying on plus a couple of other small fields close to me, I started out in 95 with a va case, no 3pt. no live pto. and had to add external hyd. for my blade plowing snow in the winter, bought a ford 8n with 3pt and no live pto, it seemed to me to always be struggling with snow plowing and work around the acerage, traded it up for a case 310b 30 hp. with 3pt. still no live pto. it did great till I got my jd.336 baler and again not enough tractor for the baler, keeping the 310b for raking, garden work and my general chore tractor. picked up an mm m-5 for the baler, very happy with it, live pto and more than enough hp. and torque. dual remote hyd. the point I'm trying to get to here dave with all this rambling is for your friend to get a big enough tractor with a loader right off and save himself a lot of struggling like I did. how many acres do's he have? what are his plans for the place? both now and down the road, it can get very frustrating not having enough tractor for the work your doing. I would recommend your friend get at least a 40 to 50 hp. 3pt. live pto, rear remote hyd. with the loader that way he can have a lot more options with the attachments he buys for it. so dave the question now is what tractor fills that list? and also going by my experience things will change and this way he has a tractor that can adapt to a lot more situations and needs. this is just my experience dave and how I would go about it I was just starting and knowing what I know now :lol:

(quoted from post at 03:11:39 01/30/18) Where is it that you can buy a Ford 3000 for less than $3000. Not here in Wisconsin.

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I agree, anything in the thousands is premium here.

An 8N would suit most of his needs except the loader part.
They make lousy loader tractors.
For a loader tractor, having power steering would be a must have feature.
And as usual when these questions come up I disagree that you need live PTO.
It's nice but I would take PS about 2-1 over lpto.
I also agree that you'll likely not find a Ford with lpto and PS for under $3K in MN, WI area.
More like $5K around here.
Do you have a way to haul a tractor any distance?
If you do and don't mind making a road trip for one you probably could find something.
I look at Craigslist all over the midwest and would watch central MI or Joplin, MO or Tulsa, OK areas for a Ford 3000. Seems to be some good deals in those areas.

Johnofnewhaven,

That was a good find.

How are his mechanical skills? No sense in buying a 60 year old tractor if you can't work on it. I can't tell you how many times I have had guys getting close to retirement ask me about about buying an old ford tractor and I ask how their mechanical skills are and they say they don't know how to turn a wrench. I tell them to look for something modern then.

P.S. - If they do tell me they can turn a wrench I tell them to buy something red, green or orange because I think Fords are ugly and I just don't like 'em!

Where would that be? Scarce as hens teeth here in Ohio. Don't remember even seeing one at a show in either Indiana or Ohio let alone one for use. 4000 yes, 3000 no and only know of one 2000

Ford 3000 scarce? If you Google Ford 3000 for sale there is a tractor web site that has 65 of them listed and I am sure many more on other sites.

I have run a Ford all my life, 74 as of now and own 2 of them. I say DO NOT try a bush hog on an N series, I repeat DO NOT TRY. They will not do any more than cut your lawn. A 4000 Ford with a 5' hog is a load as I also had that and the tractor dynoed at 60 on the PTO and I have do idea how often I killed the engine in heavy stuff. For average use an 860 Ford (5 speed with live PTO) same thing in a 4000 4 cylinder or a MF 65 or 165 would be good but as it sounds like he is not that tractor savage so make sure it is a wide front end with the 28" rear wheels, not the 38" as from his experance with tractor stay away from any row crop or high tractors. But get a tractor with loader mounted as linding one to fit later will be like pulling those hens teeth (hens DO NOT HAVE TEETH) and chances are you buy a tractor with out a loader it will not have either a hydrolic system than handle the loader of if systen is capable will not have the hydrolic controls to be able to operate the loader and fitting them would be only slightly better than chances of finding the loader. If he was experanced with a tractor and if he has to be asking like he is says he is not experienced get a tractor with the 2 stage foot clutch for live PTo so when he gets in trouble he can only rember to jab the foot clutch pedal and everything will stop. With the independant he will still be having that cutter spinning without realizing it and get in more trouble. I would say that is way more important for an inexperanced operator than power steering with a loader as I dought a lack of power steering would put him thru a building wall as not the PTO would. A Ford 661 (SAME 5 SPEED) But very scarse or a Ferguson 35 (probably no power steering). MF 135 and am not famiular with but an Oliver S55, 550 if equiperd with the live PTO and power steering if light cutting only would work. I would not wany to put somebody like that on a high (row crop) type of tractor especially a narrow front. And yes I have spent thousands of hours operating them so I knowwhat they will do and what not to try to do with one.

I would first ask him what he is going to use the loader for. I would look for something heavier than a 8n for a loader.

Better with a loader than the mower. I do now what I am talking about as I had a loader for years on one and have a mower now for mine.

(quoted from post at 19:41:12 01/29/18) Minnesota/Wisconsin border Just east of St Paul, MN

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I live in this exact area, so I have experience with the local market. There is a lot of competition and demand in this area. Lots of people east of the Twin Cities own large-lot semi-rural properties and are buying tractors for yard chores. Even more people now own hunting properties and are looking for food plotting tractors. High demand and there has been for years.

Tractors in the small utility category are VERY difficult to find in this area in good condition and prices are high. To get a good condition tractor at a reasonable price, you have to move FAST and be willing to drive.

IMO it's going to be tough sledding if the list is too short and just going after a single brand and 1 or 2 models in that brand. Problem is that is this area you could wait years for a good example to come up and at a reasonable price and then it will be sold within a day.

The best thing you can do in this area IMO, Dave, is assemble a long list of brands and models that are worth looking at. As soon as a tractor on the "long list" comes up and if it's in the price range he can pay, you have to jump on it that day. You have to get out there and look because if it IS any good, it will be gone.

One more thing. It may be a good idea if your friend has the storage space to essentially "overbuy". Stepping up into the full-size space can get you way more tractor for even less money total than the small tractors are going for. If a loader is on the list of wants, this would be an even better idea because many of the small tractors don't have the weight or size to really use a loader effectively.

I ended up driving out into rural MN and buying a full-size tractor rather than what I originally wanted which was a compact. It was just crazy the prices compacts were bringing.

Good luck.

Grouse

What does your friend have for a tractor storage shed? If he has 10 foot high clearance a 1950's or early 1960's rowcrop gas tractor might be the best value for $2,800, especially if he wants to push snow in the future. If he has 7 foot high garage doors or a low lean-to, then a utility tractor would be the only option.

Free advise for those having trouble bush hogging with an 8N.

A) Know which way your blade spins.

B) Sharpen your blades with a grinder, then finish with a 120 grit belt sander to about 6" in from the end. Plan to do this fairly often, and plan to buy new blades when they get too narrow. I lift my bush hog all the way up with the 3 point, support it with two 2x4s at the tail, and spin the blade so they can be sharpened by bending down and doing it on the spindle. Makes a world of diff, but YMMV.

C) If/when the bush gets pretty heavy, run the tractor half path into the heavy stuff. On most decks, the left side is the leading edge of the rotary and should do the cutting while the retreating side on the right accumulates the detritus.

Sure, having more HP would be faster, deeper, harder, wetter. It can all be done with the 8N, just takes a little longer under heavy load. Live PTO is a moderate hassle, but again - there are ways around it. First lesson is leave the clutch alone! Get the hog spinning in N, push the clutch in, put it in gear, let the clutch out, and don't mess with the clutch anymore. I also take my bucket off the loader, and run the loader all the way up to minimize the load on the front.

I know not from around here 80 mile from New Haven