What's the best general purpose tractor?

Thanks much!
Marc

I have a MF-135. You can't have mine. Its sturdy enough to really plow, though the loader on mine was too heavy and took most of the weight off the rear wheels which made it helpless in snow without tire chains. But it plowed 24 acres a year, planted, cultivated, mowed hay, baled hay, all those things on a sip off gasoline.

Today I use the 135 for planting and spraying and a JD 4020 (definitely not a "utility" tractor) for some tillage and some spraying and for loader work. The day it arrived, I spent all afternoon with the 135 trying to open a path through snow drifts, and the 4020 just drove in not needing the drifts cleared at all. The 4020 won't go through a 7' high garage door but it does more work in a day than two untility tractors and if gas (like mine is) the purchase price is not significantly different from the smaller utility tractors. You will make up some of that price saving in the cost of fuel, but when I bought mine the $4000 difference in price from gas to diesel paid for 14 years of gasoline at off road prices. Those 14 years aren't up yet.

Gerald J.

Bush hogging is a lot more fun with a live position control 3pt hitch (hydraulics being live; setting the height with a position lever rather than an on/off lever). And a live pto.

Snow blowing _requires_ a slow reverse gear & a live pto.

A loader also is much more fun with live hydraulics & power steering.

Some N series tractors don't have any of that, and most don't have several of those items.

What you are looking for is a late 1950's through 1960's tractor with those options. Most manufatuerers made these advances during this time frame.

Those old tractors without these features are great to collect & restore & look at.

A Ford N would be a step down for you. An N has a 3pt hitch; but in every other way it is less of a tractor than what you have now.

As to wide front vs narrow front; I have a loader on an IHC H tractor narrow front with it property wighted; and I have a NH compact loader tractor with wide front & 4wd. That H is a rock solid loader. The little compact scared the heck out of me the first times I used it, terribly unstable. I added fluid to the tires, and a rock box on the 3pt, but it still scares me some days. Wheelbase & loader geometry make those rear wheels lift up, & the front powered axle keeps it moving rather than spinning out.

That old H (which does not have live pto, live hyd, or power steering.....) is much more stable even with a narrow front & being taller, because of the long wheelbase & proper weighting. Don't assume a wide front is always better than narrow front.

And hey, I have 4 Ford/NH tractors, so I'm not bashing them in a color war. :) Grey/red & blue are my favorite colors - despite the red & olive green on my place which I also like. You just have to look at the options a tractor has to fit your needs.

--->Paul

The massey 135 or ford 3000 series will do great with the live pto and lift..

8n's are good tractors, but they don't have the live pto..

-mike

That being said you might look around and find one of the older small John Deere 3 cylinder diesels or even a gasser. Something like a 820-830 1010 or 1530 is a good size and reliable. Plus if you need work done or parts you can get them.

Allis D-15-17 would be a good choice also but I don't think they have live PTO, could be wrong in that. They are usually reasonably priced also.

I'm gonna say that probably one of the best all around small tractors and most used is a Massey Ferguson 135 or so. Zillions of them still going and being used every day.