buying an older tractor

[Anonymous-0]

I am looking to purchase a smaller old tractor for pulling my boat and other smaller trailers (all less than 3000 pounds) around my property. I was thinking of getting a IH farmall cub or A. Will these tractors do the job?

Anything I should look for when purchasing one? Is there a lot of maintenance with older tractors? What about parts availability?

Any input is appreciated.

 

[Bob]

Parts availability fro the tractors you mention is GOOD, between OEM and aftermarket sources.

IMHO, messing around with up to 3000 lbs. is getting pretty heavy for a tractor of that size, ESPECIALLY if you have any hills to deal with. Then, GOOD brakes, and the weight and stance of the tractor, for stability and safety, become BIG issues.

 

[John S-B]

A tractor of that size should work ok, you might have to add a little weight in front to aid in steering when going up a grade. They are easy to work on, and most parts are easy to get. Check fluids, tire condition, and how well it runs and any transmission noise. Check overall condition, leaks, rust and banged up sheet metal to get an idea of abuse or neglect. Take your time and shop around.

 

[Don L C]

Farmall Cub is to small to be hooked to 3000#......the A or Super A would be much better....even a C or Super C or a H would work fine

 

[Walt Davies]

Sounds to me that you might be better off with a newer tractor there are quite a few small tractors out there with a better source for parts and maintenance. Not to stop you from getting into an old tractor but they are mostly for having fun on at parade and shows and not the best thing for every day use around the farm as you may spend more time looking for parts than using them.
Now if you want to restore an old tractor show and tell this is the place for you.
Walt

 

[CJ3b_jeep]

Heck, I've seen those little sears hydrostatic drives pulling floats in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, some of the floats are quite large. Unless you're pulling up hills and over rough terrain, I'd say a cub low-boy would be a good bet.

 

[Steven f/AZ]

(quoted from post at 12:29:33 03/03/08)Not to stop you from getting into an old tractor but they are mostly for having fun on at parade and shows and not the best thing for every day use around the farm as you may spend more time looking for parts than using them.
Walt

I respectfully disagree...

http://youtube.com/watch?v=-csVNcuBoRo

http://youtube.com/watch?v=SvJWIadXI10

We use our 42 H's almost daily throughout the summer for mowing and raking hay. During the spring and fall one of them usually ends up on the grain auger. One is also used on the mixer mill to grind feed during the winter. I have used the H's and the Farmall A to run the PTO generator on building projects away from electricity. I use the H's to cultivate the trees, drag the yard, even pull the scraper and blade to maintain our section lines and drive way. This coming summer I hope to have another sickle mower on Dad's C so that we can use that as well.

I think it is an excellent idea to have a nice older Farmall as a daily chore tractor and an A will work wonderfully for moving things around - you will probably want to add some sort of a step for getting off and on the tractor as it can be somewhat unhandy to mount and dismount...

 

[utupuller]

how about the N series Fords. you can get parts still ( I think ) but the fords have to be on of the nicest ones to get on and off multiple times

 

[IH2444]

A couple of points/questions.
Are hills involved ? Will the tractor stop the load on a hill.

 

[495man]

I wouldn't touch either personally if there are any big hills on your property, both too light in my opinion, for heavy load, however if it's flat ground, should not be an issue. Lots of work done with those tractors, both pretty simple. An A would be my pick of the two.

 

[BLW]

cub to small- we have an A an H and a 350 for sale any one would do the job but the H and the 350 would pull more if you have to you didn"t say where you are located we are in the northeast NY state ???? parts are all over the place used and after market these tractors ran for ever with little main. if you treat them right

 

[Anonymous-0]

Thanks for all the input.

For those of you that asked, I do not have any big hills to worry about, just gradual inclines. I'm leaning towards an IH H, A, or a Ford N.

I'm just looking for a nice toy that can do a little work on the side. There seems to be a lot of nice old tractors out there for sale at reasonable prices.

I live in Wisconsin. If anyone has something for sale in any neighboring states, I'd like to hear from you.