Tractors nickel and dime you to poverty! WAS - Buying a new (to me) tractor

grweldon · April 22, 2013, 04:18:18 PM

Howdy!

I've known for quite a while that I needed to get a tractor to be able to work more efficiently and less painfully while clearing land and cutting lumber! I paid off my car late last year and I am now in the position where I can buy a tractor. I am buying a 1988 Ford 3910, 50HP with two 60" rotary cutters (one a Bush-hog brand) a substancial 72" box blade, a 72" disc harrow and a rear-facing hay lift for round bales. Unfortunately it does not come with a Front-End Loader, but they are available for that tractor and I may be able to afford one in the future. In any case, having a tractor is 100% better than having NO tractor! I'm buying it from the original owner and it's in great shape, although the paint is a bit faded! I'll post pics when I get home from work tonight...

Magicman · April 22, 2013, 04:23:08 PM

Congrats for sure on getting the "new" tractor.

Buck · April 22, 2013, 05:11:47 PM

life changing event there ole sport 8)

Peter Drouin · April 22, 2013, 06:34:43 PM

Good for you 8)

grweldon · April 22, 2013, 08:35:15 PM

And here are the pics!

thecfarm · April 22, 2013, 08:41:47 PM

Like them Fords. ;D

Peter Drouin · April 22, 2013, 08:43:55 PM

Now you have to fix at the bottom of your post, have a tractor :D :D 8)

grweldon · April 23, 2013, 04:16:27 PM

Thank you Pete! Forgot about that. I don't have the tractor yet, but it's a done deal. I guess I'll change it now just so I don't forget about it!

Corley5 · April 23, 2013, 09:16:39 PM

Good looking machine 8) 8)

Okrafarmer · April 23, 2013, 09:21:25 PM

One great thing about those 3910's, they were a very very common model, so parts are easy to come by. You might say the 3910 was the 8N of its day.

clww · April 23, 2013, 09:22:36 PM

Congratulations on the new tractor and the upcoming wedding.

;)

OlJarhead · April 23, 2013, 09:24:54 PM

Nice!

Firewoodking · April 24, 2013, 01:03:21 AM

I have the same tractor.

grweldon · April 24, 2013, 04:12:55 PM

Quote from: Firewoodking on April 24, 2013, 01:03:21 AM
I have the same tractor.

Cool. What do you use it for mostly and how does it work for you. It's a bit too late to ask, but what the heck... ;)

redbeard · April 26, 2013, 03:10:58 PM

Good investment ! That is is the perfect size for a woodlot operation. When you start looking for a loader try to find the stock one ford put on that model it will hold its value the best. Happy for you!

grweldon · April 26, 2013, 03:37:22 PM

Been looking for a Ford loader...an 887A. They are few and far between. Won't want to drive more than a hundred miles to pick one up. Closest one I found is in Ohio... about 700 miles...

Fraxinus · April 26, 2013, 07:37:51 PM

One can never have too many tractors. I have bought two "new" lawn tractors in the past couple of weeks. I now have 4 of the 300 series Allis Chalmers. They would be about 1970 vintage, back when they were making them rugged. I have a 310, 2 - 312s and a 314. If I see another one I'll buy it, too. Those things will outlast anything you buy new today.

grweldon · May 06, 2013, 04:17:06 PM

Well, the tractor is now safely residing at my home after a nail-biting 160-mile round trip to pick it up. I've already started gathering quotes for front-end loaders which is very depressing. I'm finding that the dealers/manufacturer are all wanting about $5800 - $6200 for one that fits my tractor! I bought the tractor and 5 implements for $8600!

I think I've mentioned on the forum in places that I'm a design engineer with a machinist background. I think I'm going to have to take a shot at designing and building my own. I've done 3D solid modeling of custom machines and tooling for my last 5 employers since 1987. I think I can probably do a pretty decent job with the design, even make a loader that was just perfect for my tractor.

My problem would come with cutting parts from sheet/plate stock and welding. I've done some welding in my years, but nothing super-critical. I do know some excellent welders, but between paying to have the parts cut and paying to have them welded, I think that would end up becoming expensive enough to consider buying the new unit.

I've looked for a few hours on the web for used loaders, but I have not found anthing that I know would work. The stock Ford unit is and 776B and they certainly are not a dime a dozen. I've found a few in Ohio and Michigan (I'm in Alabama) and they are between $3K and $3.5K and did not come off the same tractor as mine, so bracket fabrication would probably still be required.

I'm just at a loss for what I should do. I DO have a twin-boom hay lift for the 3-pt. hitch for lifting large, round bales. I could probably modify it to make it a single-boom for skidding logs. Maybe I could even modify it to pick up logs with the two booms and load them on to the mill. I was really looking forward to being able to lift logs hydraulically. For the short-term, maybe I can accomplish what I intend by replacing the 3-pt. top link with a hydraulic cylinder and using the hay lift with both booms in place.

I'm a little bummed about the cost of a new unit and even if I could afford it, I don't know if purchasing a loader for a 25 year-old tractor is a wise choice. Y'all have any wisdom to share regarding this?

beenthere · May 06, 2013, 04:38:06 PM

Bummer
Maybe look for a used unit with the loader on it. Sell this tractor, keep the attachments, and have everything you need... likely at less cost than what a FEL is going to run you.

Whitman · May 06, 2013, 07:45:12 PM

check out cad plans for loaders. thanks

tractormanNwv · May 07, 2013, 01:12:53 AM

Good little workhorse, Congrats. Have fun with it, but be safe.

Jim

John Mc · May 09, 2013, 06:37:12 PM

As whitman mentioned, check out CadPlans loader designs. Even though it sounds as though you may have the design end of things covered, this might give you some good ideas.

They also sell kits of some of their models, which might help on at least the cutting end of things.

chevytaHOE5674 · May 09, 2013, 07:20:15 PM

Don't hold yourself to just the ford loader. There are plenty of other loader manufactures out there that make loaders, in fact many ford/jd/case/etc loaders are built by other companies and repainted/rebadged. I've had great success with koyker, leon, and westendorf personally and there more out there than just those.

Find a loader for sale then contact the manufacture to see if they offer brackets for your tractor. If not they can be built as long as the loader frame is the correct size for your tractor.

I've picked up loaders cheap in the past with mounting brackets for some other tractor that I don't own. Few hours/days with a torch and welder and they will fit just about anything.

John Mc · May 09, 2013, 10:04:02 PM

Woods makes some good loaders as well. When I bought my New Holland TC33D tractor new back around 2002, I intentionally bought it without the NH loader, since I liked the design of the Woods loader better (a bit higher lift capacity, which is nice, but the real selling point for me was the larger dump and rollback angles). Since that time, NH has redesigned their loaders in this size range... I'd probably go for one of theirs now.

chevytaHOE is right, there are lots of options out there. You may find one used that will fit, or that you can buy a fit kit for to adapt it to your tractor.