My first post here and looking for my first tractor

[JFortner5]

I m glad to have found this place as there is a wealth of information here. My wife and I bought a house almost a year ago in a subdivision here in central Alabama. Our house sits on a pretty regular sized .3-.4 acre lot. Behind it there is an additional fenced in acre that is wooded. It s fairly flat and my plan is to take some trees down and make myself a nice garden area. I also want to keep it cleaned up and prevent it from growing really thick. Another thing I d like to do even though it s a pretty small space is carve a little dirt bike trail for the kids. I m not really sure if I need a tractor or just really want one. I feel like a bush hog would be pretty handy for keeping it neat, and I think I would find ways to use a tractor.

I like tinkering with things and I m pretty mechanically inclined and I m kind of drawn to the older Fords. I found a 1953 Jubilee for sale locally that the guy says runs but tries to die when he is cutting with the bush hog and it gets under a load. He s only asking $1k for the tractor and bush hog and it looks pretty decent.

I guess I m not really wondering too much about that particular machine, but should I look for something smaller or would a tractor like that be ok for the limited space I have?

Thanks,
Joey

 

[Tony in SD]

A Jubilee may be a little too big for a 0.3-0.4 acre lot but if you are going to clear1 acre of trees It may not be big enough.

 

[Duner Wi]

I think you can get by nicely with
Jubilee. If tractor has decent tires
price sounds very good.

 

[paulsamwel]

Buy it...If rest of tractor is decent
that's a good buy.You could fix it then
use it to see if it fits your needs.If not
sell for a profit.
Paul

 

[tomturkey]

Go ahead and buy the Jubilee and mower. It will do for you until you decide to buy more acres and more tractors. Or maybe the old
iron bug won't bite you. But I'm bettin on the bug. gobble

 

[old]

A Jubilee come in at around 30HP give or take a little. As for the problem it has that could be as simple as needing a tune up or carb rebuild. If the tires are in good shape $1000 is about right for it as long as it isn't wore out and smoking like a freight train

 

[Russ from MN]

Go for it, like others have said if the tires are ok it's a good deal. Possibly just needs a carburetor or
fuel system cleaning, or maybe just adjusting, that's what I would try first. But, don't say or do that in
front of the seller, he may jack his price up!

 

[used red MN]

Hello JF welcome to YT! There is a guy down in Alabama that has a nice Farmall B for sale, just some assembly required.. ha ha. ; > ) See post in the link. I actually thought he had a picture of it on the trailer that did not include pictures of the engine problems, would have made it funnier. If you like 3 point implements those Fords are hard to beat. They are not the greatest for front end loaders but many got by with one on them.
Look here

 

[JFortner5]

Sorry if that was confusing, I won t use it at all on the lawn, just on the acre. I m not looking to clear all of it just a portion for a garden and a few other things. I really just don t want it to get thick with underbrush and stuff. I would love to have more acres but that s not possible where we are now. It s a good compromise for us now because the kids have plenty of friends to run around with in the neighborhood and we at least have a little piece of land to play on. Maybe one day when we are empty nesters we will go a little further out and have more space.

I appreciate the replies so far. I think I am going to go ahead and buy the Jubilee.

 

[JFortner5]

Sorry if that was confusing, I won t use it at all on the lawn, just on the acre. I m not looking to clear all of it just a portion for a garden and a few other things. I really just don t want it to get thick with underbrush and stuff. I would love to have more acres but that s not possible where we are now. It s a good compromise for us now because the kids have plenty of friends to run around with in the neighborhood and we at least have a little piece of land to play on. Maybe one day when we are empty nesters we will go a little further out and have more space.

I appreciate the replies so far. I think I am going to go ahead and buy the Jubilee.

 

[johnofnewhaven]

The Jubilee is a good little tractor.
This is me personally but I just
don't like a tractor that I will be
working that doesn't have live PTO.
The Jubilee is not live PTO. Some
folks don't mind but for me a live
PTO is a must. Also since you
mentioned a garden it's not a good
tractor for a tiller if that's in
your plans. Transmission is not slow
enough.

 

[grandpa Love]

Where in central Alabama? I'm in
Sylacauga, AL

 

[grayrider]

Im about hour and twenty minutes south of you at
Andalusia, pass on the jubilee and look for the next
series, the 600 Ford. If you are not mechanically
inclined you will be happy I told you so, the Jubes if not
maintained are a pain in the rear with leaking axle seals
and worn out rear hubs. Just trying to save you some
grief . Welcome aboard

 

[grandpa Love]

The B ain't for sale.....

 

[grandpa Love]

If this is the one you are
looking at, and it cranks and
runs, get it. Need advice, ask
here, great group!
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src=https://www.yesterdaystractors.com/cvphotos/cvphoto142724.png
>

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src=https://www.yesterdaystractors.com/cvphotos/cvphoto142725.png
>

 

[grandpa Love]

Picture? Grrr

 

[dhermesc]

If the tractor is the one Grandpa Love posted that's a good price if its running. Most people will want at least a $1000 for the tractor alone. The little brush hog is $250 - $500 by its self.


Running a transmission driven PTO is a learning experience but with only an acre you'll have plenty of time to learn.

 

[JFortner5]

Hey that s the one haha. We live in Helena.

 

[JFortner5]

Hey that s the one haha. We live in Helena.

 

[grandpa Love]

Looks like a decent tractor.

 

[John M]

You need something with a belly mower, and IMO something smaller.

 

[gene bender]

do you have any idea the work involved in removing
trees so you can have a garden tree stumps and roots will
keep you very busy

 

[caterpillar guy]

Tree clearing if much bigger than 3-4 inches takes weight and power to get the stump out. cut the tree off about 3 feet high then use an excavator to get them out. Other choice is to hire them ground out. If going that way make sure they can go about 8-10 inched below top of ground so the stump and roots are gone. Tractors are never big enough just fine something with Power steering and live power on the hydraulics and PTO You will kick yourself if you don't later.

 

[RobCons]

Welcome to the forum J. I'm over in Wilsonville. Depending on tree size you may do better to hire or rent a mini excavator for the garden area. To keep underbrush cleared and work your garden an old Ford is a good choice.

 

[BarnyardEngineering]

(quoted from post at 15:40:04 12/12/22) If the tractor is the one Grandpa Love posted that's a good price if its running. Most people will want at least a $1000 for the tractor alone. The little brush hog is $250 - $500 by its self.


Running a transmission driven PTO is a learning experience but with only an acre you'll have plenty of time to learn.

OP stated the tractor runs but dies out when trying to run the mower.

Good point on the transmission driven PTO. Hopefully there is an overrunning clutch on the mower PTO drive shaft. If not that is the first thing to purchase after an owner's manual.

The mower will continue to back-drive the tractor's wheels with its momentum after you push the clutch. If there is anything in the way, the mower will push you into/over it.

It takes a few feet for the mower to spin up too, so you need to plan your routes or start with the mower raised then lower it into the grass.

I used a 1966 Cub Loboy to mow my lawn for three years. It's an acquired taste.

 

[Jimmydog]

Welcome aboard!

You say you don't know if you need a tractor or just want one. To my way of thinking if you just want one, then you NEED one!

Oh, and by the way, there's no law saying you can only own one.

Go for it!

 

[Blackhole49]

As an 8n owner, I would buy that Jub. in a heart beat unless the tire are total junk. Might even buy it then.

 

[Stephen Newell]

No more acreage than you have you might clear what trees that need to go and hire someone to run a bush hog. Then you could maintain it with a zero turn mower. I have a little tractor I
use only with a bush hog and it only holds about 8 hours of diesel and the diesel had been in it 3-4 years. At one time it got a lot of use but now I maintain my property with the zero
turn.

 

[JFortner5]

Thank you all for the advice I really do appreciate it. I do know that it will be a big job to remove trees and stumps. Many of the trees that I need to remove are small but there are a few bigger ones. My thinking was I could maybe use a subsoil single tooth ripper to help tear some roots up. I d probably try to burn some of the larger stumps.

I don t really have a plan yet. I don t really know how big of an area I ll need to clear out to get enough sunlight for vegetables. Honestly it might be better for me to just start cutting and just see how much sun I m getting during the day. The land is not grown up right now because the previous owner did keep a good bit of it sprayed and hired someone a few years back to come in with a skid steer and clean it up. I have an old riding mower I don t mind abusing back there because I don t use it on my lawn. I probably should build some kind of shed to keep a tractor in before I get one too.

I apologize for the double posts I m not sure why it s been doing that. I am using my phone to post though.

Thanks,
Joey