Tractor Business

Hello all!
I'm looking to get into tractor work. I own a small business doing handyman work and want to get a tractor to start doing various thing. Bush hogging, tilling gardens, driveway repairs, ect.

There's a 1973 Massey Ferguson 135 for sale for $5,500
And a MS 165 for $4,800.
Both diesel. Neither are in great condition but both work.
Are either of them good choices?
What would y'all suggest for a small tractor business?
 
Her 1950 Fergy TO-20 is a toy and a continuous project. Nice janky antique toy compared to the
Kubota (25HP) L2501 I had 2 years ago year or the (54HP) MX5400 I picked up last year.
Bigger question is how much work do you intend to do?
Is this a top shelf business with reportable income and equipment tax write off's? or an under the table I saw nothing deal?
So your under the table and no conractor bonds. I understand.
Both of the Kubota's came with a skid plate mounting system on the front and a back hoe.
I would suggest you skip the back hoe. Cheaper to rent one when you need it.
Unless your wife say's you need to spend that $8~14K. #%&.
 
I would say they can both be great tractors. The size of the jobs will dictate the size of the machine, I expect youd do better with a 135. Unless youre looking for a project it sounds like neither is a good choice, they seem expensive to me if not in good condition. Do you want to work on it or with it?
 

I'd go for the 135.

Get a service manual for it.
Plenty of YouTube videos for fixing any of the 35 series, lots of parts around as that model had higher production units.

Prices are very much localized. What you listed seem typical around me as most tractors have gone up a lot the last two years.

You'll want dependable, so replace all wiring, battery, battery cables, use dielectric grease on wire connections and battery posts, new fuel lines, clean carb and tank, hydraulic and engine maintenance, brakes and steering.

At a slower pace, lower price, locate a second tractor as backup.



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I have a T035 diesel and have owned a 165 but my all time favorite tractor in that size range was a 4600 Ford.
 
(reply to post at 05:28:25 03/01/23)
I do tractor work and like others said you will need a tractor that will mow for hours and not give you any trouble. I use a 2000 231s Massey Ferguson for mowing or garden work. It also will depend on what area you live. I wish I had another 4 wheel drive because here in East TN there are a lot of jobs I pass on because of the hilly fields some want mowed. Check around and see what others are mowing with because with my years of doing this you will need a better tractor then what you asked about
 
Well you have some options as listed above.
Me? I would pick up as decent a machine as possible, Stay to smaller jobs as to not kill the machine, save your money and buy a second machine as a back up. If your eventually looking for a front loader, buy a machine designed for a front loader. Most antique tractors are not. Go cheap and go home. I tried to tell that to my wife, oh so long ago. I currently have a yard of old machines along with the orange toy and 37 hours on it. What a colossal waste of money.
 
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The TO35/MF35/135 series are modern enough to have Live PTO so your brush hog doesn't run you into ditches or fences, and top link draft control for plowing. Watch old dealer videos on YouTube, they'll tell you the details.

They are smaller to get in tighter spaces than many other options. Smaller trailer and truck needed to haul it.

Later tractors by all brands got bigger chasing more hp. I have the family heirloom TO35 gas and when I was a kid it was the hardest and longest working tractor on our farm. It pitched in when the others went down. Baled square bales with it, hauled everything, silo filler, even rode it back to the fishing hole.

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Unless you have the willingness and time to invest, you might want to go with something newer, even if you have to start with a higher initial investment.

Buying an older tractor, especially one you admit is not in great condition, you are looking at dependability issues. Diesels last a long time, but when they need attention it can get very expensive, not like an old gas engine that can be patched up to buy some time.

The newer (but not so new to have emissions and complex electronics) are so much more refined and easier to operate, better brakes, power everything, especially important if you will be turning it loose with employes.

It will mostly pencil out about the same, buy an older, well used one, and spend time and money making it work, or but something ready to go and have something dependable and safe to operate.
 
Stay away from any unheard of brand as a MS, I have never heard of it. Stick to Kubota, John Deere Or Massey Ferguson, Some Fords good others not. Don't know Case-IH. A 135 could be a good size for you but for some of your jobs possibly too big to get into places so you might also want a compact type of tractor. They can do more work than you think. A lot of gardens or driveway work a small compact would be what you need because a size you are talking about would be too big for a small garden or city drive way. The only thing you mentioned doing is bushoging that the compacts could not do better. And get a loader to help with that handy man work. Ask on this site what Grandpa love thinks of his M F compact tractor in his work. He also has Fords in size of the 135 that he also uses. And you may also want to consider a 1 ton dump truck as town homes with a small gravel drive cannot get any gravel hauled because all commercial haulers have too big a truck to get in that house drive. Also you do not say what you have for work but with a tractor you are going to need a truck to pull a trailer with to get tractor to jobs and a tone size would do all the work you are thinking of.
 
Handy, you do not say where you are located. In rural areas you would not get enough work to make a living. Now in smaller towns possibly. There you would be looking at gardens of under 50 ft by 75 feet and you would not want a tiller fof bigger than 4 foot for that size. For driveways you would be looking at older propertys that have a small gravel dtiver of perhaps 8 feet wide and possibly 50 feet long with a curve in them. For that you would not want over a 4 foot box blade for manurveribility. and you would need to be able to fill and smoth pot holes and be able to get a small dump truck backed in the drive enough to be able to carry it to the pot hole where needed using a small loader with bucket.. Out in suberbs more like being able to get bigger drives but still not big enough where a 6 foot box blade would work and for those tractors you were talking about that is size you would need and also a 6 foot tiller that unless the garden was one section of a half acre or more the 6 foot tiller would be too big. Think small as they are the ones that would need that type of work. And in the sberbs the owner would be more apt to be able to do the work himself.
 
my vote is for the 135 however like others have said, if you can get a kubota, then by all means do so, 0 percent financing on a great tractor! I m seriously considering one myself
 
Your own business is always a good idea if you are ready for that responsibility. Being your own boss is definitely an advantage, but of course you need to go an extra mile if you want it to work. With the microsoft teams sms tool it is easy to reach a large group of customers at the same time and let them know important information.

This post was edited by michakamp on 04/29/2023 at 11:57 am.
 

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