Rural King tractor problems

[wore out]

I imagine the mower settled to the ground, and he didn't notice. Then he tried to back up, the tailwheel caught on something, and folded the mower.

Perhaps the O.P. will come back and tell us "The Rest of the Story"?

 

[Art601]

What's "the rest of the story" on the lift that wouldn't stay up destroying the mower, I've never heard of THAT before (destroying the mower, that is)?

Was the front axle "full" of oil when the differential "locked up"?

I've worked on a similar TYM tractor that had one of the front wheel seals get damaged and leak, and it's a "common reservoir" all the way up to the differential, if he had run it any longer with the leak it would have taken out the differential. Did yours have any leaks and was the front axle oil checked occasionally and verified to be "full"?

Yes the front axle was full it had recently been serviced by Rural King. The rotary mower dropped and hit a stump breaking the shaft and stump jumper off the mower. Yes it was a John Deere mower and quality mower. Bottom line I bought a lemon plain and simple. I’m not an unnecessary complainer I have legitimate problem.

 

[wore out]

Yes the front axle was full it had recently been serviced by Rural King. The rotary mower dropped and hit a stump breaking the shaft and stump jumper off the mower. Yes it was a John Deere mower and quality mower. Bottom line I bought a lemon plain and simple. I’m not an unnecessary complainer I have legitimate problem.

As to the hitting the stump incident, I think that falls somewhere between "an act of God" and "Operator Error".

 

[Art601]

As to the hitting the stump incident, I think that falls somewhere between "an act of God" and "Operator Error".

BS you are determined to find fault with everything but the tractor. If the lift would have held the mower at its set height it would have cleared the stump. My original intent was to prevent another person from making the mistake of purchasing a tractor of low quality. I’ve owned an operated tractors for over fifty years without any major problems.

 

[wore out]

BS you are determined to find fault with everything but the tractor. If the lift would have held the mower at its set height it would have cleared the stump. My original intent was to prevent another person from making the mistake of purchasing a tractor of low quality. I’ve owned an operated tractors for over fifty years without any major problems.

There is no comparison between these little "acreage tractors" of quite a few brands and a REAL tractor of similar horsepower.

I have been around several TYM's and they didn't seem to be particularly inferior to other "acreage tractors" I've seen, LOTS less weight and iron than the tractors you have likely operated "over the last 50 years", though!

 

[Art601]

There is no comparison between these little "acreage tractors" of quite a few brands and a REAL tractor of similar horsepower.

I have been around several TYM's and they didn't seem to be particularly inferior to other "acreage tractors" I've seen, LOTS less weight and iron than the tractors you have likely operated "over the last 50 years", though!

I wish that I had purchased another brand of tractor but if I can prevent someone else from making a similar mistake I will.

 

[sandcastle1]

never heard of the brand before this post, googled it and learned they are a store brand.

 

[jm.]

View attachment 108226

Montana was a short lived experiment mots of the others have never been imported, but the TYM is actualy the third time Rural King has tried to get in the tractor bussiness. They now seem to be trying to get out of this deal but just do not know how to go.

 

[Art601]

Montana was a short lived experiment mots of the others have never been imported, but the TYM is actualy the third time Rural King has tried to get in the tractor bussiness. They now seem to be trying to get out of this deal but just do not know how to go.

Very interesting so Rural King has a history of selling crappy tractors

 

[Geo-TH,In]

Montana was a short lived experiment mots of the others have never been imported, but the TYM is actualy the third time Rural King has tried to get in the tractor bussiness. They now seem to be trying to get out of this deal but just do not know how to go.

Jerry
My 83 year old friend with 3 horses, my horse poo supplier, bought a YTM from a dealer about 30 miles away.
He broke the door off his tractor. He claims he can't get a door from the dealer.
Because of his many problems from day one with the YTM, is why I bought my Kubota for a local dealer. ,
Then Kubota pulled out of the local dealership, Grrrr.
It appears a used car dealer may be trying to take over the Kubota dealership.
No way would I buy from him, because the used car dealer may not have experienced mechanics working there.

 

[BarnyardEngineering]

Same thing with Bush Hog Tractors. I saw one coming up at auction and based on yerars of satisfaction with mowers I was ready to bid until I checked parts availability and found there is little to non. Who would have thought Bush Hog would put their name on something less than top of line.

You mean the Bush Hog garden tractors built for a short time in the 1960s?

 

[Texasmark]

Geo. what you're missing here is these outfits have "established dealers" just not for long! Or they use a "contract dealer" think tractor supply, Home Depot etc. Then the contract is up in say 2 years. End result is lots of people left holding the bag!

Years ago i bought a JD riding lawn mower from a big box store. There was a sticker on the machine that said to refer servicing or other problems to the local JD dealer and listed name and address. Price was the same as was sold at the dealer for the same machine. That was about 25 years or so ago. Wore it out as a lawn mower so I removed the deck, put a basket on the front, added 2 ply, 5 PSI ATV studded snow tires for a soft ride and all weather, all terrain travel, and made it my JD "Gator......ette". Still using it as my get around vehicle on the farm. None of my equipment has ever been back to the dealer for any reason.....have a multi-colored corral, with multifunctional inhabitants.

 

[m16ty]

Years ago i bought a JD riding lawn mower from a big box store. There was a sticker on the machine that said to refer servicing or other problems to the local JD dealer and listed name and address. Price was the same as was sold at the dealer for the same machine. That was about 25 years or so ago. Wore it out as a lawn mower so I removed the deck, put a basket on the front, added 2 ply, 5 PSI ATV studded snow tires for a soft ride and all weather, all terrain travel, and made it my JD "Gator......ette". Still using it as my get around vehicle on the farm. None of my equipment has ever been back to the dealer for any reason.....have a multi-colored corral, with multifunctional inhabitants.

I just bought a new Toro mower. I could have bought the same mower at Lowes and saved a couple dollars, but I ended up going with the local dealer. The thing is, the Lowe’s mower only had a 90 day warranty and the one from the dealer had a 3 year. Even if something happened in that 90 days, who at Lowe’s would fix it?

Now I know that as part of their contract with the manufacturer, dealers have to warranty machines bought somewhere else, but they will usually drag their feet about it. Dealers usually don’t make much or even loose money on warranty work. They will try to take care of their loyal customers but don’t really care about helping somebody that went and bought a piece of equipment somewhere else and then expect them to work on it.

 

[DoubleO7]

Montana was a short lived experiment mots of the others have never been imported, but the TYM is actualy the third time Rural King has tried to get in the tractor bussiness. They now seem to be trying to get out of this deal but just do not know how to go.

Our local RK started selling them when the third try came out. With promises of on-site service.
That was like 2019? then they stopped having them in stock about a year ago. If they did or do any on-site service, I doubt if it was anything more than changing fluids and filters.

 

[m16ty]

Is the message here intended to be "Rural King tractors are JUNK" or is it to ask more questions when making a significant purchase such as a tractor?

It's no big secret that the "box stores" only sell the tractors. They will openly admit it when asked, and will tell you where the tractor needs to be taken for service when asked. But, you need to ask. Same goes for their Cub Cadet, Stihl, and other products. You're buying these things from a teenager that just got done stocking the dog treats, not an experienced tractor salesman.

No matter how careful you are, no matter how satisfied you are with the right answers to all the right questions, things can suddenly change. That nearby dealer you were counting on to fix your tractor could disappear overnight. They could go broke, lose their franchise, or be bought out and closed. They may turn out to be completely incompetent. That's only going to happen more and more these days with tight margins and an uncertain business climate.

All you can do is be careful, ask lots of questions, but accept that sometimes things are beyond your control.

Not to mention the fact that the local service dealer isn’t going to be eager to fix a tractor that wasn’t bought from them. As part of their dealer contract they are usually required to perform warranty work on equipment bought elsewhere, but they can still slow walk the job and other things.

 

[m16ty]

I think the original Rural King tractor was a Branson. TYM has since bought Branson.

I don’t have anything bad to really say about TYM. There are a few folks around here that that have them and I haven’t heard of any major problems. Honestly they seem as well made as any of the major brands, which aren’t made like they used to be either. All that being said, I’d rather have a good 30+ year old tractor of any brand than I had a new one.

 

[Absent Minded Farmer]

You mean the Bush Hog garden tractors built for a short time in the 1960s?

My question marks exactly! Even checked the BH website, to no avail. Figured I'm apparently just not cool enough to know about it. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Mike

 

[wore out]

My question marks exactly! Even checked the BH website, to no avail. Figured I'm apparently just not cool enough to know about it. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Mike

Well, Hesston sold these back in the '70's, you just never know! (I have one, BTW.)

 

[Absent Minded Farmer]

Well, Hesston sold these back in the '70's, you just never know! (I have one, BTW.)

Were those from the same company that built the articulateds for Bolens? Sure looks familiar. Don't recall the parent company, but recall the mowers as being yellow & German.

Mike

 

[wore out]

Were those from the same company that built the articulateds for Bolens? Sure looks familiar. Don't recall the parent company, but recall the mowers as being yellow & German.

Mike

You are likely thinking of "Holder". I believe Heston built these, I can't remember where they went, Ariens, maybe?