Contents

Sidebar: Tractor dealers.

The Small Tractor FAQ
Big Wheels

The Tractor Store

[Copyright 1988 by Ronald Florence]

Most shopping malls don't have a tractor store. In farming areas you may find a John Deere or Ford dealer who carries a wide range of tractors and implements, but in many areas the only dealers are ground care equipment dealers or rental yards, who may sell garden tractors, mowers, and a few regular accessories like snow blades, or utility tractors with backhoes and York rakes for contractors, but who may not be aware of the agricultural implements that are available for small tractors.

If your local dealers are not knowledgeable about the uses you intend for a tractor, you'll have to study up on your own. Ask the dealers if you can peruse their catalogues of implements. Most manufacturers and distributors of implements put out voluminous literature, listing compatability specifications and giving numbers to call for more information. If you're sure you will want to use a rear loader attachment and aren't sure whether it will fit the tractor you've picked out, call the maker of the rear loader and ask.

Most three-point hitch accessories need only a specific PTO horsepower range and/or lift weight capacity range, but there are exceptions, especially for implements that make special use of the hitch and/or drawbar. For example, some sickle-bar mowers use the drawbar or the hitch arms for the articulated lifting mechanism; they don't fit every tractor without some tinkering. If the tinkering is going to require hours of welding, you want to know in advance, and you may be wise not to trust a cavalier "Oh, don't worry, it'll fit!" assurance from a dealer who has never tried the implement on a tractor.

New tractors come in many flavors: John Deere green, Kubota orange, Ford blue, Honda red, International Cub yellow, Yanmar red, Case yellow, and dozens of other brands, some internationally known, others manufactured for chain stores in specific areas, like the Agway brand of garden tractors. There are no accepted standards for different types of machines, and dealers and manufacturers are free and easy about the labels they give their machines. What one manufacturer calls a "garden tractor" is really a "lawn tractor" or a "riding mower" to another manufacturer. Dealers are also quick to tell you that their model F-1000 is equivalent to a John Deere 750 or a Kubota B9600. It is worth the time it takes to check specifications for yourself, in particular the horsepower, weight, wheel and tire size, and hitch type and lift capacity. A 1200 pound tractor with 8.5-16 rear tires and a category 0 hitch is not the equivalent of a 2000 pound tractor with 11.4-24 rear tires and a category 1 hitch, even if both put out 20 horsepower at the PTO.

How do you choose a dealer? It is tempting to choose by proximity. The Haul-All dealer right down the road can offer service, ready availability of parts, and the comfort of dealing with a neighbor, if you are willing to buy a Haul-All. But tractors are not all the same. Most utility tractors are manufactured in Japan or Taiwan, but there are real differences in design, technology, ruggedness and quality. And you may not need regular servicing in any case. If you are willing to do the routine maintenance, most tractors are reliable enough that you won't need a dealer frequently, as long as you can get parts and service when you really need it. The quality of the dealer -- whether he or she is responsive to your needs and uses of the tractor -- is often more important than proximity. In my own case, there are three dealers for my tractor closer to me than the dealer I use. For the quality of service and the ready answers to my questions, I'd drive an extra hour any time. If you find a dealer like that, stick with him.