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Who really makes them?
I just started looking for a tractor to use for general work around a small (17 acres) horse farm. It appears from the photos on the net that the Tractors that Northern Tools, Allied Tractors and Iron Horse Tractors all sell are from the same manufacturer. Does anyone know if this is the case and if so who actually manufactures them? Are they good?
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I belive that the Allied is a variety of Chinese tractor, and I know that the Iron Horse is built in China to American specs (GM alternator, VW oil filter, live pto...). I'm pretty sure the Nothern tractor is of Korean origin. I have seen the Iron Horse in person and it looks like beast of a machine, but lack of dealer network and Chinese production quality are hurting its sales.
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Bill,
Thanks for the information. I prefer to buy American when I can, but from what I can see from the postings on this site all of the "name brand" compact tractors appear to be made overseas too. I'm not sure it's worth paying double or triple the money for JD, NH, Kubota, etc. just for dealer support if the dealers and their service departments aren't any better than 99% of the car/truck dealers I've dealt with. For that kind of money, if it's something I can't fix I could buy another tractor and still be ahead money wise. The tractor will be used primarily for maintaining pasture which is mostly mowing and moving manure/compose around. My fields are clear and almost dead flatand I'll have at most six horses. Would I be likely to need more than a 25hp tractor?
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A 25hp tractor is plenty to do what you say you intend to do. A bigger tractor and implements just gets the jobs done faster is all. And of course, I think all of us find jobs to do with the tractor after we buy it that we didn't think of before buying.
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Robert, I am about 98% sure that the "Northern" tractor is built by JinMa. JinMa is definetly Chinese. Jerri
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Robert, just so that the other opinion gets full exposure here - I'd like to point out some things from a different point of view.
One is that although our compacts are built overseas in Europe and Japan, the dealerships here are franchises owned by local independent businessmen. A lot of these businesses have around for generations. I see a big difference between that sort of setup and a Chinese tractor sold by mail order firm.
Also I have to differ with your characterization of the tractor service departments as being like 99% of the auto/truck dealerships. I know what you mean, and tractor dealers have their dogs too. But if you check around I think you'll find most people are pretty satisfied with their tractor dealer's service department.
Tractors are remarkably durable when compared to cars. Anything mechanical will have things to be sorted out under warranty, but after that it isn't unusual for a diesel tractor to go 20 years with minimal routine maintenance - and no repairs at all. We don't know how much farther they will go. Major repairs are just not a problem with compact tractors. For instance, look back through the archives of this list for engine/transmission problems....you won't find much. That kind of reliability in a small production item drives up the price of manufacture - which is a lot of why name brand compacts cost so much. Obviously my own bias is toward reliability first and price second.
BTW, I'm not a tractor dealer or representative and never have been one. In fact I don't have any connection with the industry other than as a hobbyist. And Robert, please don't take any of this as a personal attack. It is not. I'm just using this conversation as a way to get both sides of the argument to a lot of people who are trying to make the same decision that you are.
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Roger,
All views are welcome, that's why I was asking about other's experience, because I don't have any with tractors. Unfortunately my experience with automotive service, dealers and independents, is that most (not all) of them don't know as much about the vehicle and it's systems as you do and that by the time they work on it, and you have to take it back and argue with them to get it re-done correctly you've wasted more time and money than if you just did it yourself to start with. If that's not the case with most tractor dealers that's great, and I would be willing to pay more for a tractor to get that kind of support, but if the product support is no better than I've experienced in the automotive world I can't see paying a lot more money for something that your not going to get anyway. I live in northern Virginia in the Washington D.C. area and the general attitude on service around here (for anything) is that they don't need your return business because three other unsuspecting suckers just moved to the area and they don't have to provide good service to stay in business. If anyone out there can suggest a dealer in the northern Virginia area that they have had good luck with I'd be glad to give them a try.
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Robert, Jerri's right about the Northern tractor. I was confusing it with another mail order tractor from Eastern Farm Machinery called a Branson, which, unless my brain has skipped a groove again, is almost the same machine as one offered thru AmJawa (Zetor) called Century. Regardless, I agree with you about the prices of the "American" compacts. If there was an Iron Horse or Task Master dealer near me, I'd pull the trigger on one of their models. As far as domestic brands go, don't forget about Massey-Ferguson. Everything I've read about them is good, including a more reasonable price when compared to green, blue, or orange.
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Hmmm...it sounds like car dealers are having the same problems all over. Out here in the West we have had a recent influx of new residents who have plenty of money but don't enjoy doing much of their own maintenance and mechanical work. The result is that car dealerships are overloaded with lots of work of the type that people used to do for themselves. So the dealerships haven't kept up with the changing times and are frustated. Several that I know of just gave it up, sold out to some of the newcomers, and retired. So far that hasn't been the case so much with the Ag and tractor dealers....but I'll bet that it will be in the future. I think it is just what you usually get a small town gets larger and personal accountability declines. Luckily, the perfect solution is available to anyone: Just do the work yourself.
I agree on Massey Ferguson. The ones I've tried out are every bit as good as JD/Kubota/New Holland....and for less money. Last I noticed, the Massey was being built in Europe instead of Japan. That might have changed.
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Roger,
You make a very interesting point and one that is not lost on me. Too many folks today expect that someone else will take care of everything for them such as car repairs, mowing the lawn or even purchasing groceries. Of course they seem not to fret about cost and I suppose that is OK, afterall someone is there to do these things and that is how they make their money. It does make you wonder and I know this is off subject, so I apologize, what may have happened should we had a real Y2K problem. For my part, I would like to know how to do as many things for myself as I possibly can, but I am probably a little on the weird side 
Take care,
Jerri
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