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tl;dr question summaries:
1) So I know each tractor has its own peculiarities, good and bad, so I was hoping to get some insight into what this particular tractor's are.
2) How much would you personally be willing to spend for a tractor like this?
3) what kind of options do I have (if any) if I were to want to install a complete cab (currently just am open air ROPS with a top shade
4) what kind of future issues can I expect during this tractor's lifetime? What area of maintenance/upkeep should I make sure to especially devote focus and energy to in order to keep it running strong?
5) Can anyone spot me a pdf of any of the manuals (owner/operator's, repair/service, and parts?)
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I potentially have an opportunity to buy a 2003 MF 481 tractor and am wanting to get some advice/input from others on the pros/cons of this particular year/model.
So basically the tractor is in almost pristine condition, apparently the owner bought it brand new (so only one owner), but never really used it due to the fact that he supposedly has a crazy amount of other (read: BIG; also: WORKHORSE) tractors that get used for his very large scale operation. I've seen photos of it, and you would think the tractor just fresh off/out of the manufacturing plant, other than the fact that as a 481, it's obviously an older model.
I just had two of my smaller tractors, both slightly <50 HP, one gas (ford 3000) and one diesel (Farmall 504) basically simultaneously crap out.
Rather than spend probably about the ~$10,000 it would take to fix them both up (and even then, probably have something else go wrong who knows how long after), I am considering parting out/selling the Ford and Farmall to someone wanting them for parts. Putting whatever money I can get from the two of them towards purchasing this MF 481.
Info I know about the tractor:
- 2 remotes
- gear drive
- ROPS (but not full cab)
- 1 owner
- everything is functioning and OEM
- diesel
- owner kept it inside or otherwise under shelter. (even the paint looks brand new!)
- 80 HP (so about 1.7x more than the Ford or Farmall - which is a good thing for me, I don't have a tractor around this HP range)
- should be reliable, which is probably the most important factor for me. Having equipment breakdowns all the time has really screwed me in the past)
- was told the tires/rim size on tractor are 18.4-30s
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Things I need to find out still:
1) how many speeds/gears its transmission has. Since no full cab, it's probably the 8 speed transmission, either with or without synchronized shuttle
2) 2WD or 4WD?
1) So I know each tractor has its own peculiarities, good and bad, so I was hoping to get some insight into what this particular tractor's are.
2) How much would you personally be willing to spend for a tractor like this?
3) what kind of options do I have (if any) if I were to want to install a complete cab (currently just am open air ROPS with a top shade
4) what kind of future issues can I expect during this tractor's lifetime? What area of maintenance/upkeep should I make sure to especially devote focus and energy to in order to keep it running strong?
5) Can anyone spot me a pdf of any of the manuals (owner/operator's, repair/service, and parts?)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I potentially have an opportunity to buy a 2003 MF 481 tractor and am wanting to get some advice/input from others on the pros/cons of this particular year/model.
So basically the tractor is in almost pristine condition, apparently the owner bought it brand new (so only one owner), but never really used it due to the fact that he supposedly has a crazy amount of other (read: BIG; also: WORKHORSE) tractors that get used for his very large scale operation. I've seen photos of it, and you would think the tractor just fresh off/out of the manufacturing plant, other than the fact that as a 481, it's obviously an older model.
I just had two of my smaller tractors, both slightly <50 HP, one gas (ford 3000) and one diesel (Farmall 504) basically simultaneously crap out.
Rather than spend probably about the ~$10,000 it would take to fix them both up (and even then, probably have something else go wrong who knows how long after), I am considering parting out/selling the Ford and Farmall to someone wanting them for parts. Putting whatever money I can get from the two of them towards purchasing this MF 481.
Info I know about the tractor:
- 2 remotes
- gear drive
- ROPS (but not full cab)
- 1 owner
- everything is functioning and OEM
- diesel
- owner kept it inside or otherwise under shelter. (even the paint looks brand new!)
- 80 HP (so about 1.7x more than the Ford or Farmall - which is a good thing for me, I don't have a tractor around this HP range)
- should be reliable, which is probably the most important factor for me. Having equipment breakdowns all the time has really screwed me in the past)
- was told the tires/rim size on tractor are 18.4-30s
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Things I need to find out still:
1) how many speeds/gears its transmission has. Since no full cab, it's probably the 8 speed transmission, either with or without synchronized shuttle
2) 2WD or 4WD?
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