Transcription
Over the years, I couldn't even count the number of emails or instant messages I've received from people who have just bought land and are asking, "What tractor should I buy?" They watch my channel, and I can tell you one thing: today's video is going to discuss what tractor I think you should buy.
Not one that all the viewers are necessarily going to agree with, but one thing I can tell you is that it ain't any of these you think should be your first tractor. You think that should be your first tractor? How about that?
**Disclaimer:** This video really isn't for you seasoned vets who are used to gripping antique tractors. It's for the guy who maybe came across my video or a lot of other people's videos, where their channels are all about antiques and stuff.
What you have to understand is that most people don't have experience driving these. We didn't know at the time, but now we realize they are dangerous equipment. Most of them don't have rollover protection, and if they do, it's antiquated compared to today's standards.
The first thing I would do if I were a complete newbie and didn't really know much about tractors is to make sure that my first tractor has a loader on it. You're going to need that loader to pick stuff up, put it down, and clean the property up. You're going to wish you had a loader if you don't.
The second thing I would do is ensure that the tractor is four-wheel drive. Now, having said that, you need to understand that my definition of "new" is not most people's definition of "new." When I see an 88 series red tractor, I'm like, "Wow, that's new!" Or a boxcar that's brand new.
So, if you're going out and buying a tractor, whether it's an open station or cab, that's personal preference. This is just my advice.
So, the first thing is a loader. The second thing is four-wheel drive. The third thing is, if you could get it, I would try as hard as possible to avoid DEF. I think it's a big scam. If you can buy pre-DEF, I think it was 2012 or 2014 when they mandated that anything over like 40 horsepower has to have DEF. I would find the year and figure out what I need to buy.
Lower hour tractors can be better, but it doesn't mean that just because it has 1500 hours, it was properly maintained. I would probably not buy my first tractor at an auction, with the exception of a farm auction. A consignment sale is different from, you know, Bob Williams' retirement farm auction, where he's selling his stuff that he just got done using.
If you know what to look for at a consignment auction, now there's a continuum of honesty when it comes to auctioneers. You have extremely honest ones who aren't going to ruin their reputation by trying to pull the wool over your eyes and lying to you, to completely dishonest ones. I've come across them all.
I won't say which ones are which, but I would avoid a consignment auction if I were a newbie. I would buy one at a farm auction.
Now, there's a caveat to a farm auction. A lot of times, what happens is Grandpa gets sick, and they don't know how sick. He ends up passing away two years after fighting whatever he had. The family gets into a dispute over who owns what, and by the time they're done with all that, five or six years have passed, and the tractors have sat not running.
So, you show up at these farm auctions, and they have a beautiful array of tractors, but none of them run. A lot of them just need simple fixes. If they're gas tractors, sometimes they just need the points filed, a set of plugs, or maybe some good gas. But if you're not remotely wrench-savvy, those aren't your tractors.
As much as I say it could be something very simple, it usually is, but maybe it's something bigger. That's a problem I run into at some of the farm auctions. Those tractors weren't made to sit.
So, what are we up to? Four things? It's not because I'm a red guy, but if I were going to buy a 2014 or newer tractor, I would avoid John Deere. I don't think they're customer service-oriented.
How do I know that? If a guy goes and spends $500,000 on one of their tractors and gets treated poorly, how are they going to treat you, the little guy? Locally, I've heard bad things. A friend bought a $2,000 or $3,000 lawn tractor from them, and when something went wrong, they just dogged him.
That word needs to get out because they won't change until it does. Moving some production to Mexico and not allowing you to fix your stuff is a no-go. Those are all red flags.
Some of their smaller model tractors don't have good lift capacity on their loaders. I was looking at some of them, and they have like an 850 lb lift capacity on a 30-some horsepower tractor. If you have a small farm or property, I would want a tractor that has at least a 2500 lb lift capacity at full capacity.
So, I would stay away from John Deere. I've heard mixed reviews but mainly good things about Kioti. I don't think it's because the product is superior; I think that in a lot of places, the service matters.
When I bought my new truck two years ago, I knew at the time that they had a good service department. You definitely need to buy service, especially for tractors that are under warranty.
How much horsepower you need will depend on what you plan on using it for. I tend to err on the side of too much horsepower for what I'm doing. You get a lot more longevity out of your equipment that way.
For a couple of years, I was making videos with my 750 56 gas running a three-bottom plow. I was about a quarter throttle in high gear, and it didn't even know it was back there. There's nothing wrong with that.
One of the mistakes you're going to make in buying your first tractor is not buying enough horsepower. Just like building a building, you put it up, fill it, and then realize it's not big enough. Now you have to build another one.
You'll buy a tractor thinking it's plenty of horsepower, but the salesman will talk you into it. You might think you only need 30 horsepower, but come to find out, you need 55 or 60 to do what you really want to do with ease, not just to get by.
So, I would buy a little more horsepower than you think you need, maybe a lot more. I would buy a loader tractor, four-wheel drive, and whether you want a cab or open station is completely up to you.
Along with that, you have gear drive or hydro. A lot of them with loaders are hydrostatic, so if you buy a 60-horse tractor that's hydrostatic, it's probably going to be more like a 45 horsepower tractor at the end of the day.
I wanted to make this video because I get this question probably once a month, maybe twice a month, over the last four years. If you're looking for me to tell you what Farmall tractor to go out and buy for your first main tractor, it ain't your second or third tractor.
If you need something to pull logs or move a wagon around, that's great, but as your primary tractor, if you don't have experience on antiques, there really are no safety features on these.
At the end of the day, there are deficits when it comes to safety features. A lot of you guys are probably going to comment, "Oh yeah, back then they had common sense." No, back then, people actually got killed.
The A-series and the end series did a lot of flipping. There were guys who went off the back of the tractors and got run over by a brush hog or a disc. If you don't believe me, there will be people who leave a comment in this video talking about Uncle Fred or their dad or grandpa who got killed that way.
I appreciate the comments that say it doesn't happen or that it never happened because it helps me in the algorithm, but it's simply not true.
At this point in time, pound-for-pound service for service in this area, I would get a Kubota. We have a mom-and-pop shop here, and I believe the service seems to be good. The tractors are tried and tested. You're not going to get inflated prices just because of a name alone.
You're going to get at least as much tractor, if not more, for a lower price and greater value. Maybe there comes a day when you want to sell that first tractor. I can tell you a couple of things that will sell a tractor: maintenance records, a loader on the machine, and four-wheel drive.
Those two things will help hold its value more than if you bought a two-wheel drive tractor without a loader. If you don't have experience driving tractors and you're not a pure flatlander on dry ground like me, you're going to get a two-wheel drive tractor.
I had a guy I was farming with about 10 or 11 years ago who told me he didn't get stuck. Well, he called me up one day and said, "Oh, I'm stuck." I didn't tease him or anything, but I thought, "I didn't think you got stuck." When I got there, he was buried to the axles.
So, the guy who said there are two types of guys who don't get stuck: liars and guys who have never driven a two-wheel drive tractor.
My recommendation would be to stay away from John Deere and the newer models like TYM, Mahindra, and Branson. They haven't worked the kinks out of those tractors yet.
I know a couple of other YouTubers who took deals on those tractors, and I ain't blaming you, but from an outsider's perspective, they have issues, and a lot of it is electrical.
I'm not saying down the road those three companies won't work the kinks out or that one will rise to the top while the others fade away. Time always tells.
When I was growing up, it was all dairy farms, and the big tractor on the farm back then was an 8 series, an 856, or an 886. Those ran the farm, and then you'd have your second and third tractors, like maybe a Massey 165.
I remember being a kid when Kubota came out, and it was like, "Oh no, that's Japanese junk." Well, come to find out, the Japanese were the front runners in the automobile industry and electronics.
As we found out and they worked the kinks out of the early Kubotas, they turned out to be really good tractors.
So, as shocking as it may be, I'm telling you: don't make your first tractor a Farmall unless you grew up on these machines and you're that guy. Well, this video isn't for you anyway.
For your second or third tractor, get yourself a Farmall red power. But my main recommendation is a four-wheel drive loader tractor.
Thanks for watching! Boom!