@@BuildALotAcres Amen to that. I grew up at a time where if you didn't plant a garden and can your fruits you didn't eat that winter. Plus hunting and fishing to put that on the table. We lived in a poor county and jobs were low pay, I remember My Dad being gone weeks at a time to work a bit better paying job.If something really bad does happen, people will starve . Has they will not know what to do. They kill plants that would have fed them in their yards. Also the food we get from the store are so full of very bad things, we are all sick. I subscribed, liked and shared
@@tectalabyss Thank you very much 🙏 We appreciate the support. I agree with your points. I think unfortunately it will take a hard lesson like you described to wake people up. I try to be as self sufficient as possible.
I picked up a cub cadet 1250 fixed what was broken, adjusted everything to factory specs, changed the belt blades and fluids greased it and it cuts 2 acres a week trouble free. I've got less than $750 in to it.
I was pricing tractors a while back, a fully loaded Deere X700 series was more expensive than a Deere 1 Series. Also the compact utility tractor can run more attachments, for me it's a no-brainer.
Yup. And most garden tractors just wernt suitable for doing loader work for example. Of course you do see loaders on them. Often homemade loaders, but the lift capacity was what, only 2-300 lbs if that? That’s all the tractors axles could handle. So start making them bigger and you can increase that lift capacity by double or even more. Plus having a rear PTO on the machines for homesteads was game changing. I just acquired a 1025R and it’s significant bigger than my Deere 425. And the 425 was no lightweight, and did have rear PTO, 3pt and front loader options, but the capacity just wasn’t there for doing bigger jobs.
My ariens gt18 rear axle is rated for almost 2,000 pounds and they have front end loaders for them and rear back hoe's for them and what usually limits lift capacity on a garden tractor is counter weight
I bought my Deere 445 new in 1994 and have been diligent about maintenance. Almost 3000 hours later, it is still my weekly mowing machine for around 3 acres. Some parts can be a challenge sometimes but there are many available on Ebay. My local Deere dealer parts guy always knows he's in for a challenge when I show up. When I look at the new machines there is simply no comparison so I will keep this machine forever!
Those 400’s were great machines. A local to me nursing home had a 445 or maybe a 455 that they used for many years. Lawn is absolutely humungous. I actually drove by yesterday and a young guy was zipping around on a big Ventrac
I bought a house on 7 acres in 2016 and was determined to buy the best and wanted diesel. Ended up with a 1200 hour 1989 430 60" deck for my lawn and occasionally blowing snow, and a larger 1993 870 4x4 with 450 hours, front end loader and 5' bush hog. Both 3cyl yanmar diesel Done repairs and lots of maintenance on both, but they are a joy to work on and use. machines worth restoring when worn out, whenever that may be.
My grandparents had the Case 444 shown in your thumbnail image! It had the rear mount tiller attachment, the front snowplow and dump wagon trailer and the mower deck. I spent many hours mowing grass with that bad boy. It was finally retired about 10 years ago due to lack of spare parts.
People don't buy garden tractors anymore, because they don't make them any more. I sold all the 3000 series Cub Cadet Garden tractors I could get my hands on. They dropped the line. I was furious at the Cub Cadet rep. If you want a five foot deck and a snow blower, tiller, too bad. Get two machines.
There isn't a big enough demand for them to warrant serious production. Deere still makes them, but it just makes more financial sense to get a compact tractor. There are a few out there, but not many. Again, just no real demand for it.
@@Pinion512 The Deere ones are Aluminum underneath, not like the old ones. You're right, they do not make sense, because they've been junkized so much. They told me about the falling demand for Garden tractors, which I knew was Bullkrap because I was selling twenty five of them a year and could have sold more if they were available. I think the Big Box stores wanted them to stop making them so they could sell more of the junk models. I think they stopped making Garden tractors so they could put the lines over to making more of the junk ones for the Big Boxes. The Big Boxes have coated the country in junk machines and ruined the business.
You definitely did an outstanding job on the editing! When we filmed this, I knew it had the potential to be good, but this is truly outstanding, can’t wait to make more!
I have 2 tractors, a Gilson GT18HE and an Ingersoll 448, admittedly it's tough to keep just those 2 going all the time, and it would be easier to just buy a new mower. I like tinkering with these old behemoths, and appreciate the versatility that true garden tractors afford, like 3 point attachments, sleeve hitches, plows, blowers, real pulling power, etc. Most of that could not be offered by a single modern lawn mower.
@@billyboy969 I have been trying to find a hydraulic pto set up for mine for a little while. I've pretty much decided that I'm going to have to buy a whole tractor and pull the pto off of it for mine.
I remember my granddad having a Craftsman garden tractor in the late 80's. it almost couldn't be killed. The next several only lasted a handful of years. I have used and enjoyed some David Bradley walk behind tractors and they are fascinating and super handy to have. I did finally have to sell them, but they were great.
My uncle had a fairly big property and he bought a Cub Cadet with the hydrostatic drive brand new. If I remember right I think it was the late 1960's. It lasted the rest of his life, so about 40 years.
The IH Cub Cadet built them tough back then. Now, I pass on them. Back in the early eighties, I bought a 20 year old 70 model cadet with a broken rod. I overhauled it, and used it until 96 when I moved. I paid $25 for it and sold it for $400.
You hit the point right on the bullseye. Garden tractors are definitely not what the once were or non-existent. I remember my grandfather had an 8 hp simplicity tractor that he used to mow, rototill the garden, and snow removal with a front blade in the winter with. Now a days, you have to have 20 plus h.p. machines just to be able to do all of this and more, compared to the 1940s to the 1980s units that used to be out, and ou last a lot of the current units of the modern day. It's a real shame everything doesn't last like it used too.
My grandpa did the same with a 1965 Simplicity Landlord. He replaced it into late 70s with another Simplicity. He also had a heavy duty dump cart made and would haul rocks, wood or ride my brother and I around. What great machines.
@@BuildALotAcrescompanies used to strive for an edge by making the best quality machines and sell them based on said quality. This business model is gone. Cheaper throw away machines that business can profit from is now the way. Scrap it and buy another. Sad. I like a good old USA made machine that gets it done. But that does take extra effort to pull off. I’m going to run my 7117 as long as I can.
@@straightpipec6099 Amen to that. Most of the companies can’t even be bothered to put out ads now. I agree, the old “buy once, cry once”….”buy for a lifetime of use” is gone. I can’t stand the cheap crap China pumps out and the companies shove down our gullets like we’re damn baby birds in a nest
In the early 70,s I worked for a man who owned Boydville.A home in town on 13 ac.He had a new Case hydrostat and a Farmall cub.You already know which one I used.The farmall cub.
You don't need a zero turn for Christ sake. Just another 10k toy, a 25 HP tractor would be enough if you have a lot of acreage, just get a larger mower
@@benjaminwright1807 this was my thinking when I bought my tractor, I did not want another engine to maintain so figured I would just get a mower for the tractor. I could not stand it and bought a zero turn after one season. Having to take the loader and whatever other implements off, then installing the mower deck, then having to do it all over again in reverse when I was done was a lot of work to do each time I wanted to mow the grass, I tried mowing with the loader on but that was a thoroughly unpleasant experience. Plus with the amount of engine hanging over the front of the deck it's really hard to get into those tight places and I found myself having to do a lot of trimming afterwards. You really can't beat a zero turn for mowing. That being said some of the newer tractors with drive over decks and quick attach loaders and what not would make it much easier but old girls like mine really don't make very efficient lawn mowers.
If you have a lot of trees then a zero turn if on trees mow rake and bale it! I can not believe the amount of people that have two to four acre yards😵😵😵
For me when my dad purchased a John Deere 140 it was the best tractor I had ever operated. The ease to change it from a deck to a snowblower…. It had 3 point hitch so we had acc. For the back as well. My grandpa lived on a farm on a big hill 1/2 mile down the road and when he couldn’t get down the driveway with a tractor with a blade on the back plowing snow I drove up it with the 140. My son has two 140’s to this day and still uses them. Probably one of the best garden tractors ever made. They made some really great garden tractors in the 1960-1970 years…. Not to be confused with lawn tractors….
My dad mowed an acre for 40 years with a John Deere 140. I inherited it and now mow 1/2 acre every week with it. My dad had the 12 hp Kohler rebuilt and put a better mowing deck on it. I had to replace the electro-magnet (really hard to find for a 1973 tractor). These investments were worth it- for a really tough tractor that is now over 50 years old.
David Bradley!! Sears and roebuck..Kind of mind blowing at all the attachments that were available from Sears and roebuck to cater to the small homesteaders..Was visiting some family in Virginia and passed by a homestead,,,saw a Suban Garden Tractor working a small hay baler,, also was a Roper garden tractor with a sickle bar that actually had cut the hay and was mounting a hay rake..Im the outgoing type and stopped the chat about the little machines. That's when I discovered those hey attachments had actually been made by David Bradley and the older gentlemen was the second generation to be using those attachments the younger one being the third generation. They told me those attachments had been doing 5 acres of hay every year some years two cuttings every since they were brand new..
We have a "Herd" of 60s and 70s Wheelhorses. Very easy to build maintain and repair. Excellent machines. Very rugged. We've done 5 full frame off restorations. We use them to maintain our acreage.
Nice video. We have gone through a lot of garden tractors on our farms over the years. Most did not hold up but for a few years and then we spent more time repairing them than using them. I bought a John Deere X350 last year and hope it holds up better than the others. I bought a new John Deere 1023E with loader over 10 years ago and I am happy how well it works. That is why I gave the John Deere garden tractor a try.
Great video! I have a 40+ year old Snapper 1855 for nostalgia purposes but a sub compact tractor with FEL and other attachments for practical purposes.
Unfortunately another thing that happened is garden tractors also became much more expensive in the 80s, 90s, and early 2000s. They priced themselves out of the market. I remember the Ingersoll 4020PS being a dream garden tractor for myself, in the late 90s. I priced one at a local dealer and if I remember correctly, it had a $12,000 price tag on it, and that price was just for the tractor itself. A 60” deck was another $1,000, and you didn’t get a 3 point hitch standard. That was extra. If you wanted to till a garden you needed to buy the 3 point hitch, the hydraulic pto valve, and the tiller. I’m sure by the time you were done optioning out all those extras, you probably would have been looking at something closer to $15,000. The deal breaker is you could have bought a compact diesel tractor with 4wd for about the same price, and it would have had a lot more features standard, would be built heavier, and would probably out work any almost any other garden tractor available then. Now days, you are better off buying a sub compact tractor, rather than a garden tractor, if you can still find one being offered, for the same reasons.
Great point. I think quality built gt’s have always been expensive for the time period they were in. Maybe someday I’ll try and dig up sone price literature to do a cost comparison video
1968 John Deere 112, and a sears suburban 16, with ohv cast iron tecumseh engine, has a manual 3pt hitch, and 1 row bottom plow, fun days, I still have them both.
I never really got over losing my 1974 John Deere 140, with 3rd function, to a barn fire. It had the mower deck, dozer blade and rototiller attachments. It would still be here today. After the fire, our needs changed. We weren't planting a large garden anymore. I replaced it with a John Deere LA 140. I didn't expect this tractor to last, but 18 years later, it is still turn key and has required very few repairs. Electrolux did a good job with these. It was purchased at a JD dealer. You are right about the Asian stuff. I also have a Kubota BX 1850 with the front loader and a box scraper to maintain the driveway. It is a little beast. I plow snow from the comfort of my truck now days. I enjoy your content.
Great video! I was just contemplating this the other day. I think with the popularity of the ATVs and zero turn mowers these were phased out. Also our suburban lot sizes have shrunk substantially reducing to need for such heavy equipment
Love the channel guys keep up the good work I love cutting wood and old iron have a 60s round fender John Deere a 48 cub and a newer kubota b series also a fan of the Bauer tool line !
If I recall correctly, in 1975 my dad bought a new Gravely 812 with a 50” mower deck, a snow thrower, wheel weights, snow chains, and a front attachment kit ( so we could use the rotary plow from our 1948 Gravely model L. It cost about the same as a well equipped new compact car.
Tractors became as expensive or more expensive than used cars. So it actually does make sense to just pay a landscaper more often than not. You're definitely getting your money's worth. If I wanted to do a garden, I would even just hire someone to plough up or till the ground, because the economics of me buying the vehicle, storing the vehicle, and maintaining the vehicle just doesn't make sense unless I was starting my own full-time business! I have a little electric mower Ryobi, that I use for pathing cuts around the house and essential property, (the fairways), but I don't live in suburbia, I basically live in the woods, and the rough only needs to be cut a few times a year. Which may be 80 to 200 a month during the summer months, depending on how much work I want done, and how many people I need to hire to get it all done reliably. Less than the price of a modern tractor split between a handful of independent contractors who are all going to make the rest of their money from someone else. And I'm not the one putting in the effort, so when I get home from work, I actually get to rest. That's hard to beat. I suppose if I did't have a job, I would tend the land differently, but if I didn't have a job, I'm not even sure if I'd be able to pay off the mortgage and keep the place! I actually thought about getting a 4x4 with a mower hitch. A 4x4 ATV makes more sense than a tractor for the kind of terrain on I'm living on. Hilly, full of trees, country roads. Zero-turns can handle the slopes well enough, but tractors can have a rough go of it, because they aren't built or geared to tackle slopes and climb. And that means even more work getting them where-ever they need to be. Meanwhile I could use the atv for forrest trails, logging, and going to the gas station for odds and ends, and the local drinking hole when I get bored at the house. If I was going to homestead my property, I'd have to cut a glade or hallow into the woods, and not just have an acre of cleared land on the acre my house actually sits on. That would either require the really big forestry tractors which cost as much as a house, or solid 4x4 thinking. The basic almost 3wheel-like design of a traditional tractor isn't going to tackle the job. We tried a tractor on this property, it was nothing but a pain in the ass. But yeah, they all worked absolutely great on my grand-dad's property which was farming grade flat. Where they didn't work was at his cabin by the lake, or my place in the hills.
Our church just replaced a John Deere 425 with a John Deere 738 to the tune of $20,000. We didn’t need that caliber of machine for mowing. However we have to clear snow from the alley behind the building and I have to wind row it so it gets heavier and heavier. It takes every horse and a well built chassis. To complicate the situation we can’t have anything larger because it won’t fit in our storage area. Now I’m not brand loyal and have no allegiance to John Deere but they are THE ONLY company that makes something that size and quality. What do ya do?
Yeah. With Simplicity out of the picture there's very limited choices for what I'd consider a garden tractor. If you step up to a sub compact there are several brands that are around the size of a 738 JD. The BX Kubota's, CS Kioti's, Mahindra emax, etc.
Guys, I just ran across your channel, liked and subscribed as I am an “old guy”. My Dad inherited a JD400 from my Grandfather and now I’ve inherited it from him. It needs rebuilt and that next winter’s project. It’s got hydrostat, tiller, pto, and a snow blade, no mower. She’s tilled a great many gardens and it’s headed to my friend’s farm where it will be our main tilling machine. The expense of new tractors vs their quality is depressing. I’ll keep my 400 until I can’t rebuild it anymore because there was quality back in the day and we didn’t throw money away!
I garden a lot, garden tractors are too expensive and make little economical sense. Maybe if you could sell expensive produce tractors would have made sense, but the proles around here don't eat vegetables much. What's worse, it is impossible to find a shovel that lasts more than a season in my clayish stone infested soil. Shovels break, usually within a few months of moderate use to spade a garden. Insanity. Everything is too expensive and it does not last.
In Connecticut dad had a 7hp massey ferguson. bought it used around 1975. He sold it in 1992 when we moved to Arizona. Bought it for $500. sold it for $500. He said it was his favorite thing. Dad grew up in Queens and hated yard work, and home maintenance. But he loved his Massey. I learned to drive on that little tractor. Eventually during high school I would remove the mower deck and put the blade on for plowing the snow. I miss that tractor too. I can close my eyes and see all the details, can feel how the throttle moved, I can here the clutch disengaging. Tractors can really get under your skin. Also dad worked for Garden Way. He created the old tiller ad that ran for years and years in various forms. The pencil drawing of the guy using the self propelled Troybilt tiller with one hand and the toture of using any other brand walk behind.
My dad had an old sears suburban when i was a kid. That thing was made to work. He sold it before we moved south. I ended up buying a late 80's ford 1210 and i do all the yard work (besides mowing) with the ford.
I got a PowerMax9020 with a FEL and dozer, WH 414-8 and WH GT-14....all great toys to play with and restore. I cut grass with 414-8. Picked up a Kubota B7400 last year though to do real grunt work; move mulch around and grade. You should make some restoration videos..
Nice looking riggs Guy's ! Terrif comes to mind at 5:25 . The first Japanese tractor I remember was a Yanmar back in the early 1980's ...... Lime green 4 wheel drive with a front loader and rear mounted box blade .. What more could a 12 year old boy want ? LOL
My family had (and still has) the original John Deere 110 garden tractors (1964 and 1966). They were great for mowing and moving snow (blade and blower). Not to mention pulling a trailer for countless tasks. Despite the small 8hp Kohler engine, that little beast just kept plugging along (albeit slowly in heavy grass) -- for years and years (and still does, but needs some valve work). I won't say much about the abuse two brothers gave those tractors in full-throttle races and attempted donuts in the winter (with full chains and weights too). 😄
Interesting how Allis Chalmers revolutionized farming with the 1937 B, then the 1940 C and finally the radical 1948 G. All tractors that were large garden tractors or small tractors for small farms. By the 1970's they couldn't build their own anymore and did like everyone else and rebranded Japanese tractors! Today's speedy mows are like today's speedy harvesters. Lots of speed at the expense of quality of work done! I still like a good old garden tractor!!!
One reason why is people can't afford new ones. The older ones (I have my dad's old Suburban SS12) are either rusted junk heaps or bought up by collectors to sit in a shed, only to be sold for a lot of cash if they ever are. Cost is an entry barrier, as is land. More people don't have access to land to grow a garden or keep/maintain their equipment. Def more true the closer to suburban areas you get.
I would love to have a smaller to mid sized tractor with a bucket, mower or brush hog, with all the rear pto accessories, but they are very expensive these days, even used! I do have a couple 30" riding lawn mowers, but that's not what I'm talking about. It's hard enough just to afford reliable transportation and maintaining properly let alone a tractor, especially when you have a home payment. Thanks for listening to my rant. Peace Everyone
Interesting discussion. Unfortunately the days of true garden tractors being manufactured are pretty much over. One brand that definitely belongs on the ol garden tractor list is Gravely. Yes I have one and it is a beast! Like many of the old ones it is all steel and cast iron. It's 35 years old and still runs beautifully. Great channel guys!! 👍
Amen to that. I grew up at a time where if you didn't plant a garden and can your fruits you didn't eat that winter. Plus hunting and fishing to put that on the table. We lived in a poor county and jobs were low pay, I remember My Dad being gone weeks at a time to work a bit better paying job.If something really bad does happen, people will starve . Has they will not know what to do. They kill plants that would have fed them in their yards. Also the food we get from the store are so full of very bad things, we are all sick. I subscribed, liked and shared
@@tonystoops7802 Believe what you want to. We were poor living in a poor County here in the Mountains ,where most lived like we did. Not everyone back in the 60's had it made. Have a great day.
I have a 90’s Sunstar I had plans to make a FEL for using the local Tech High School adult night class. The school dropped the use @ night so now I found my self buying a Kubota 1850 with low hours resulting in having the Sunstar sitting going no where. The New England area is not made up of small farms like the midwest and such. Now I have this machine that only sells based on scrap prices. Go figure the US would loose it’s edge on making things last. Great channel. Keep the vids coming.
I have sale slip, $7,200 back in 1992 for the Simplicity sovereign that was passed down to me. I loved it since I had picked up a 1975 allis 712s years earlier. Both have the same attachments and almost the same identical tractor. Hard to believe that nothing really changed between the 70s up to 2000 ish on those. That was still a serious price tag back in 1992 when you look at inflation vs what prices were back then.
I agree 💯 A lot of people comment prices are too 💰💰nowadays. Thing is….quality garden tractors were always expensive. Often similar in price to a vehicle back when they were made 👍
I still plow snows with my 1963 953 wheel horse with the factory hydraulic lift 54" dozer blade. Now days you have tractors twice the size with 54 inch blades.
I think you hit the main reason in the last 2 minutes. Most garden tractors were used 90% to mow. Zero turns are just better at that function. I still use a 1973 John Deere 140 to mow an open 1/2 acre every week, but in the confined 1/4 acre area around my house- the turning radius is horrible and I end up doing it all with a push mower. When I get too old to be pushing it; I will have to break down and get a zero turn.
I have a Husqy TS248XD. It has the bigger transmission with limited slip diff. It was advertised as ground engagement capable. I got it because I had moved to an acre lot and needed something a little more capable. Plus I had plans on making a small garden. The John Deere equivalent was almost twice the price, but has the same transmission and Kawasaki 23 hp engine. I never did till a garden, but it got a lot of use doing maintenance on the property. I towed a dump trailer behind it to pick up branches and other yard debris. I loaded the trailer with wall blocks and pavers and mulch, you name it. I have an ATV winch I am going to mount on it as soon as I figure out how. A small mom and pop lawn and tractor store in NC is where I got it from. I saw their listing online and went to check it out. They still had it in the box and didn't think they would even sell it. Nobody was in the market for a garden tractor, even out here in the country. The shop owner asked me to come back the next day so they could assemble it. It's been a great little tractor for the four years I've had it.
I have some simplicity sunstars . I need a new drive shaft that runs from the command 20 horse engine to the sun strand rear end ( same rear end found on john Deere early 400 series) A drive shaft ( engine group) that I received will fit the older one with the magnum engine but is too short for the cammand ( newer sunstar) if anyone knows what tractors at the bone yard I should be looking at for the correct drive shaft - please reply.
i guess it depends upon what you’re doing and what your yard looks like. zero turns have their place but they’re not for everyone and sometimes, a sub compact is too big. but as a rule, you can buy a diesel sub compact with a 3-point hitch for about the same price as a garden tractor. i like my cub cadet xt3 and john deere x530 for mowing, tilling between garden rows and bagging leaves i have too much ledge and trees to get the lawn done with a zero turn or scut.
I have always ran Gravely riders, they have been really reliable for me. They came with 50" and 60" decks, plows, snow blowers, tillers, and would do pretty much whatever you needed. Good 50" mower decks are getting a bit harder to find for them and the old tractors don't mow and turn as quickly as the new zero turns, but the old stuff still cuts well.
Part of that is there isn't enough space to garden (at least not in the scale that would need a tractor). On a typical suburban home, you'll be lucky to find 1000 square feet that's unpaved. Part of which is going to be a front yard which most cities have restrictions against using as a garden. In urban centers, there's practically no space that's unpaved--they'll have to rely on balcony plants or indoor house plants. Rural places have the space, but less people. And they fix and rebuild their own machines, so the companies making them don't get to sell enough to make it worthwhile. Pretty much the closest to a tractor that's seen in suburban/urban areas are lawn mowing machines at golf courses and parks.
I remember going into the Gravely/Honda dealer and seeing the ever present "Parts Still Available for Gravely Model L" more than 30 years after the last L rolled off the line and nearly a half century from when the first L rolled off the line!!! You cant still get almost any wear item today!!!
It's pretty easy to slap together a motor and a belt driven powertrain but a diesel engine and integral transmission and drive axles in cast iron is a bit harder and requires more thought and design. Live PTO is another step up. A B/S or Kohler doesn't cut it.
Been looking to find a garden tractor over the last few years. Got a lot of heavy wet snow this past winter and trying to clear 200 feet worth of sidewalk around my house just absolutely sucked. A garden tractor with a small front loader would make it less back breaking. Good luck trying to put a front loader on a moder lawn tractor without burning out the hydro drive or snaping the stamped frame in half. For the price of a newer garden tractor, one could buy a nice used small farm tractor like a International Cub (which would hold up even better than a modern garden tractor or scut/cut.
I agree. Those old Cub type tractors require a ton of tinkering though. Most people can’t be bothered or don’t know how to. You could definitely pick one up very cheap.
"I've had well over a dozen garden tractors..." I have over a dozen right now LOL. I'm a Sears guy with also an AC HB212, Massey GT12 hydro, Massy MF1855, Craftsman FF24 to name a few, but absolutely no green/yellow! I think it a combo of things, good tractors aren't made anymore, people use zero turns for mowing so no need for another tractor, people don't work the ground like they used to and frankly our country can't put their social media down enough to do anything else. Thankfully I'm a gen Xer who grew up around these tractors and enjoy working on them.
Even the 1968 Case Garden tractors were really the purchased Colt company designs. I think the Japanese tractors being imported was simply the world market awakening. Americans discovered that someone else was doing tractors better for a particular purpose and choosing that - as opposed to an “invasion”.
They're quite popular in central Portugal where i live. There are lots of small holders who own compact pieces of land tucked into right valleys. Big tractors are unsuitable for that kind of land. I really need a little tractor for my own place, it's pretty high on my list of things to acquire.
as a kid we had a ? 1978 Massey 1200 still amazed a tractor that small had a mechanical rear PTO .. that was a tank it was replaced by commercial walk behinds that cut the time in half ...
I think the walking tractor was an amazingly versatile invention. I wish a company would make a unit that could be used as a walk behind mower, then shift into being a rotor tiller, then a snow blower, then a wood chipper, and even a generator and water pump. The list of uses is endless. Heck you could even use the tractor as a pto drive for a wood splitter. These might be more popular now that lots are smaller. I would also love to see a resurgence of the small family farm. And more small tractors, combines implements etc.
Look into BCS, two wheel tractors, I think they have a bunch of attachments you can get for them, I remember as a kid dad had an old David Bradley walk behind with a plow, I used to plow snow with it,
I own 3 WHITE GT55, Bought the first one [GT1655] in 1979 it is still going after 1 Engine change. I have 2 SNOW BOWERS and a Plush Blade that can go on them. They were built by MTD and came under many brand names.
I own my last and forever garden tractor I mow my lawn with. I spent a winter doing a frame up restoration, after buying a farmers lawn ornament from an old chicken farm. I have a nearly mint 1972 Case that I re-powered with a briggs vanguard 20hp engine, due to the fact, trying to find and the expenses of the original Onan 16hp parts wasn't worth the effort or cost of rebuilding it unfortunately. But everything else is basically OEM and or has been replaced or rebuilt, and I went a step further to retain the original PTO clutch assembly by making my own flywheel crank snout adapter. Rather than simply using the common replacement electric PTO clutch that are sold with most of the re-power kits. The most challenging part for me was making a perfectly straight and centered hydraulic pump bracket off the other end of the engine. Due to space constraints and its placement, it was definitely the hardest part of the entire process. Otherwise I rebuilt its original 48" deck and revised it baffle wise and blade tip speed wise by changing the pulley ratios so it now cuts so much better than the factory setup. Best tractor I've ever worked on, and I've been a small engine mechanic for the better part of my life with the schooling and business to back it up. Now I no longer turn wrenches for a living, but as a hobby lol. I decided to upgrade my career about 18 years back and stopped getting my hands dirty at work. After owning nothing but Bobcat commercial mowers for my home use, it was time to sit down and relax for a change. Great Company and the amazing amounts of aftermarket and OEM parts still available for such old equipment is mind boggling.
Very cool 😎 Sounds like you got a great machine 👍 I watched a documentary on the history of the Bobcat with the two brothers and it was great. Ironically Case, originally Colt was also started by two brothers
Non-gardner here, but we own two acres. After many years of using "old school" quality Sears and John Deere garden tractors, we bought a 22 hp Cub Cadet Zero Turn. It decreased our mowing time by at least 30 minutes, but we were always disappointed in the quality of the cut. Middle blade always seemed to miss some grass. Recently found a fantastic deal on an ultra low hour 33 hp Dixie Chopper Zero Turn Classic 60". $3500. My neighbor with a similar size yard uses a state of the art John Deere diesel garden tractor. $20K. He doesn't garden either. I don't see the point of a garden tractor like that either for what we both do. There is no comparison of how fast I can cut my two acres. If you don't need a garden tractor, a high-quality commercial fast zero turn is the only way to go.
Here in New England snow removal, hauling firewood and other heavy trailers, York raking are all chores I do besides mowing. I agree for mowing it’s tough to beat a zero turns speed and maneuverability
I use and maintain a general use push mower Briggs & Stration...i get about 15 years out of each one...since 1988 I'm on number 3 mower....less than $600. to $700. for all three.
Great video, guys! I love all the tractors you're showing here. Ten years ago, I bought a 12 hp Dynamark riding mower, from the early 90's or late 80's, for $150. US . I removed the deck, and set about making wheel weights, a set of chains, a hitch system on the back, for a tiller and other attachments, and a frame extension, on the front, for attachments and weights. I also put some bigger, meaner ag tires on it. I'm currently building a winch-driven bucket and a snow plow for it. It's small, but it does what I need for my five acres. I cannot afford to buy a subcompact, so I'll make my little tractor as useful as possible. For a backhoe, I opted for the Harbor Freight ride on trencher. I love it, and, at half the price of an attachable backhoe for a subcompact, it was a no brainer. Cheers!
Very cool 👍 I’ve made homemade wheel weights, accessories and attachments as well. I’ve always wondered how good the HF towable backhoe is. Glad it’s working out on your estate 🏡
I have a 1980 mtd garden tractor with ag tires. Last year my small hayfield got away from me. I was sick. I dont harvest the field i just keep it from going wild. The grass was a bit over 3 ft tall. I put the mtd in granny gear and turned up the revs. I just let her chew through the hay. Its about 1/3 acre. I gave the machine a few heat breaks. I believe a newer lawn tractor or garden tractor would have gotten burned up.
I have a 1968 Speedex. All rusty and beat but still the best damned tractor I’ve ever had! Have tiller for it. (Home brewed) snow plow, and building a back hoe for it. Leave it covered outside all winter and it starts right up when needed. I’ll keep the oldies!
Papa had a sweet old Wheelhorse that he had cobbled together again, and again and again...I miss when things could be easily worked on and were capable yet affordable to the average person.
I haven't seen anyone sell anything resembling useful in garden tractor anymore. The attachments are now just a bagger or rear drag trailer. No modern Lowe's tractor comes with rear hydro
I have a 3 acre lot and up to a couple years ago had a Mitsubishi 3 cyl diesel. When I bought it (used) that was all that was available. No one was selling anything in that size range. It had a front end loader but it was the PTO that made it really useful. The quality was outstanding. I would love to get another one that was an American brand but I look at my lawn tractor that is an American brand but the quality just isn't there. I try to buy American whenever possible but can't justify spending that amount of money on something that isn't going to last.
I agree. American companies in the 40’s through the 80’s really strived to come up with quality made innovative products. Now it seems they don’t really care. It’s no wonder we get passed by with foreign built machines. American made doesn’t mean what it used to
One thing that’s missed in this video is prices of a garden tractor vs the small Asian diesel compact tractors. Also look at the prices of the cheaper mass produced new mowers. They’ve all doubled in the last 5-6 years. And the quality sure didn’t go up, nor did the longevity. But the greed sure went up from MTD. Honestly for what they cost now, I’d expect a real metal painted hood, and a real diesel engine instead of a cheap mass produced gas engine from B&S, that blows up in a couple years.
I have a craftsman GS6500 garden series tractor. It was made by Roper outdoor products in Orangeburg SC. Its 20 years old this year my how time flies. True they don't make these anymore. Tires 23" rear 16" front, 26 hp Kohler v-twin , 54" mower deck, 6 speed Peerless Tecumseh transaxle. 5 1/2. gallon gas tank at the time they offered up to 60 attachements. I had to rebuild the deck last year. Replaced tires with more aggressive tread. Currently 560 hours on tractor doesn't use oil. I will never sell it.
@@BuildALotAcres It was northern Kankakee IL, then in 1895 David Bradley built a plow factory right next to the railroad track. Soon after it became Bradley city, Now Bradley IL. My father worked at the factory starting in the 1950s after he got out of the Navy. He retired from the Orangeburg division In SC. as a tool design engineer. I went to many a company picnic, all the hotdogs, watermelon, ice cream a kid could eat. Both the Roper plants burned down in the mid 1980s. Husqvarna bought out Roper. You are right at one time Craftsman , Poulan , Huqvarna tractors were the same machine different color scheme and the parts interchanged. A year after I bought my tractor I saw a Poulan tractor everything the same, 6 speed transaxle except it was powered by a 30 hp. Kohler v-twin. I think that was the last of the big ones. Now 24 hp. is big with a hydrostat trans and is a mower only it can't pull a plow.
@@LawrenceWalrabenstein Very cool that you got to attend those company picnics. Most companies don’t even bother appreciating employees like that anymore 👍
@@BuildALotAcres Best I can remember they had grilled chicken for the adults Yes there was a beer tent. As a child having a hotdog in one hand and a drumstick ice cream cone in the other was excellent. Games and prizes for the children , it was a all day event that every child looked forward to! They had chain saw log cutting event. They showed the outdoor products they made in action. The suburban series tractors pulled wagons to give the kids a ride around the Kankakee fair grounds. Don't sign up for the 50 yard dash in the morning , by afternoon I had eaten to many hotdogs and ice cream cones.
Simplicity 2010 Landlord, great little 10hp tractor. Smaller than a 1990's Sears GT series with more torque and way more options. Has a nice little hydraulic system including a FEL and a small 3 point hitch. Almost anything you could get for a full size Simplicity made a small version for their Landlords.
Probably the biggest factor is that a lot of people don't garden anymore...
A lot of people don’t do anything themselves anymore
@@BuildALotAcres Amen to that. I grew up at a time where if you didn't plant a garden and can your fruits you didn't eat that winter. Plus hunting and fishing to put that on the table. We lived in a poor county and jobs were low pay, I remember My Dad being gone weeks at a time to work a bit better paying job.If something really bad does happen, people will starve . Has they will not know what to do. They kill plants that would have fed them in their yards. Also the food we get from the store are so full of very bad things, we are all sick. I subscribed, liked and shared
@@tectalabyss Thank you very much 🙏 We appreciate the support. I agree with your points. I think unfortunately it will take a hard lesson like you described to wake people up. I try to be as self sufficient as possible.
That's true, lack of interest, or their HOA won't allow it.
@@johncasey1020laziness
I picked up a cub cadet 1250 fixed what was broken, adjusted everything to factory specs, changed the belt blades and fluids greased it and it cuts 2 acres a week trouble free. I've got less than $750 in to it.
Very cool 👍
Bought mine in 1976 with an Amex card in Virginia..55,000 square feet of bluegrass…yeah baby!
I was pricing tractors a while back, a fully loaded Deere X700 series was more expensive than a Deere 1 Series. Also the compact utility tractor can run more attachments, for me it's a no-brainer.
Yup. And most garden tractors just wernt suitable for doing loader work for example. Of course you do see loaders on them. Often homemade loaders, but the lift capacity was what, only 2-300 lbs if that? That’s all the tractors axles could handle. So start making them bigger and you can increase that lift capacity by double or even more. Plus having a rear PTO on the machines for homesteads was game changing.
I just acquired a 1025R and it’s significant bigger than my Deere 425. And the 425 was no lightweight, and did have rear PTO, 3pt and front loader options, but the capacity just wasn’t there for doing bigger jobs.
Makes sense
My ariens gt18 rear axle is rated for almost 2,000 pounds and they have front end loaders for them and rear back hoe's for them and what usually limits lift capacity on a garden tractor is counter weight
That's why I'll choose my small 1991 garden tractor over any new crap it is capable everything a bigger tractor can do just on a different size scale
Got an x360 for the lawn. PS is nice. Backhoe for the heavy lifting
I bought my Deere 445 new in 1994 and have been diligent about maintenance. Almost 3000 hours later, it is still my weekly mowing machine for around 3 acres. Some parts can be a challenge sometimes but there are many available on Ebay. My local Deere dealer parts guy always knows he's in for a challenge when I show up. When I look at the new machines there is simply no comparison so I will keep this machine forever!
Those 400’s were great machines. A local to me nursing home had a 445 or maybe a 455 that they used for many years. Lawn is absolutely humungous. I actually drove by yesterday and a young guy was zipping around on a big Ventrac
I bought a house on 7 acres in 2016 and was determined to buy the best and wanted diesel. Ended up with a 1200 hour 1989 430 60" deck for my lawn and occasionally blowing snow, and a larger 1993 870 4x4 with 450 hours, front end loader and 5' bush hog. Both 3cyl yanmar diesel Done repairs and lots of maintenance on both, but they are a joy to work on and use. machines worth restoring when worn out, whenever that may be.
@@austinaubinoe2195 Great couple of machines 👍
My grandparents had the Case 444 shown in your thumbnail image! It had the rear mount tiller attachment, the front snowplow and dump wagon trailer and the mower deck.
I spent many hours mowing grass with that bad boy.
It was finally retired about 10 years ago due to lack of spare parts.
👍
People don't buy garden tractors anymore, because they don't make them any more. I sold all the 3000 series Cub Cadet Garden tractors I could get my hands on. They dropped the line. I was furious at the Cub Cadet rep. If you want a five foot deck and a snow blower, tiller, too bad. Get two machines.
Sad but true 😔
Yep I’d buy one if they were available! But no! They want to sell you a $25,000.00 dollar compact tractor!
There isn't a big enough demand for them to warrant serious production. Deere still makes them, but it just makes more financial sense to get a compact tractor. There are a few out there, but not many. Again, just no real demand for it.
@@Pinion512 The Deere ones are Aluminum underneath, not like the old ones. You're right, they do not make sense, because they've been junkized so much. They told me about the falling demand for Garden tractors, which I knew was Bullkrap because I was selling twenty five of them a year and could have sold more if they were available. I think the Big Box stores wanted them to stop making them so they could sell more of the junk models. I think they stopped making Garden tractors so they could put the lines over to making more of the junk ones for the Big Boxes. The Big Boxes have coated the country in junk machines and ruined the business.
They still sell garden tractors. There just called subcompact tractors. Massey, Kubota, and JD are just a few of the huge market of subcompact’s
Thanks for this video. I recently picked up a 1968 CASE 155 and got it running again. I just love that little machine.
You definitely did an outstanding job on the editing! When we filmed this, I knew it had the potential to be good, but this is truly outstanding, can’t wait to make more!
Thank you son 🥰
I have 2 tractors, a Gilson GT18HE and an Ingersoll 448, admittedly it's tough to keep just those 2 going all the time, and it would be easier to just buy a new mower. I like tinkering with these old behemoths, and appreciate the versatility that true garden tractors afford, like 3 point attachments, sleeve hitches, plows, blowers, real pulling power, etc. Most of that could not be offered by a single modern lawn mower.
I agree 👍
I like the hydro powered attachments on those.
@@billyboy969 I have been trying to find a hydraulic pto set up for mine for a little while. I've pretty much decided that I'm going to have to buy a whole tractor and pull the pto off of it for mine.
Small tractors website, bone yards cregslist, eBay watch for old dealer / repair shops to go out of business in the net.
I remember my granddad having a Craftsman garden tractor in the late 80's. it almost couldn't be killed. The next several only lasted a handful of years. I have used and enjoyed some David Bradley walk behind tractors and they are fascinating and super handy to have. I did finally have to sell them, but they were great.
My uncle had a fairly big property and he bought a Cub Cadet with the hydrostatic drive brand new. If I remember right I think it was the late 1960's. It lasted the rest of his life, so about 40 years.
Wow imagine being able to buy something today that would last that long
I bet he enjoyed the heck out of that machine.
The IH Cub Cadet built them tough back then. Now, I pass on them. Back in the early eighties, I bought a 20 year old 70 model cadet with a broken rod. I overhauled it, and used it until 96 when I moved. I paid $25 for it and sold it for $400.
You hit the point right on the bullseye. Garden tractors are definitely not what the once were or non-existent. I remember my grandfather had an 8 hp simplicity tractor that he used to mow, rototill the garden, and snow removal with a front blade in the winter with. Now a days, you have to have 20 plus h.p. machines just to be able to do all of this and more, compared to the 1940s to the 1980s units that used to be out, and ou last a lot of the current units of the modern day. It's a real shame everything doesn't last like it used too.
I agree. There's no money in building a lifetime machine. Everything is about the almighty buck 😠
My grandpa did the same with a 1965 Simplicity Landlord. He replaced it into late 70s with another Simplicity. He also had a heavy duty dump cart made and would haul rocks, wood or ride my brother and I around. What great machines.
@@BuildALotAcrescompanies used to strive for an edge by making the best quality machines and sell them based on said quality. This business model is gone. Cheaper throw away machines that business can profit from is now the way. Scrap it and buy another. Sad. I like a good old USA made machine that gets it done. But that does take extra effort to pull off. I’m going to run my 7117 as long as I can.
@@straightpipec6099 Amen to that. Most of the companies can’t even be bothered to put out ads now. I agree, the old “buy once, cry once”….”buy for a lifetime of use” is gone. I can’t stand the cheap crap China pumps out and the companies shove down our gullets like we’re damn baby birds in a nest
In the early 70,s I worked for a man who owned Boydville.A home in town on 13 ac.He had a new Case hydrostat and a Farmall cub.You already know which one I used.The farmall cub.
My dad owns a 1952 Famrall cub.
For rural property owners you really need two machines, a zero turn for mowing and a compact tractor with FEL for everything else.
You don't need a zero turn for Christ sake. Just another 10k toy, a 25 HP tractor would be enough if you have a lot of acreage, just get a larger mower
@@benjaminwright180710k? Dude I have a Scag Turf Tiger and I paid 5 for it
In 2024 that’s a pretty common combo for sure 👍
@@benjaminwright1807 this was my thinking when I bought my tractor, I did not want another engine to maintain so figured I would just get a mower for the tractor. I could not stand it and bought a zero turn after one season. Having to take the loader and whatever other implements off, then installing the mower deck, then having to do it all over again in reverse when I was done was a lot of work to do each time I wanted to mow the grass, I tried mowing with the loader on but that was a thoroughly unpleasant experience. Plus with the amount of engine hanging over the front of the deck it's really hard to get into those tight places and I found myself having to do a lot of trimming afterwards. You really can't beat a zero turn for mowing. That being said some of the newer tractors with drive over decks and quick attach loaders and what not would make it much easier but old girls like mine really don't make very efficient lawn mowers.
If you have a lot of trees then a zero turn if on trees mow rake and bale it! I can not believe the amount of people that have two to four acre yards😵😵😵
For me when my dad purchased a John Deere 140 it was the best tractor I had ever operated. The ease to change it from a deck to a snowblower…. It had 3 point hitch so we had acc. For the back as well. My grandpa lived on a farm on a big hill 1/2 mile down the road and when he couldn’t get down the driveway with a tractor with a blade on the back plowing snow I drove up it with the 140. My son has two 140’s to this day and still uses them. Probably one of the best garden tractors ever made. They made some really great garden tractors in the 1960-1970 years…. Not to be confused with lawn tractors….
Definitely a great tractor. Cool story Steve. Thanks for sharing 🙏
My dad mowed an acre for 40 years with a John Deere 140. I inherited it and now mow 1/2 acre every week with it. My dad had the 12 hp Kohler rebuilt and put a better mowing deck on it. I had to replace the electro-magnet (really hard to find for a 1973 tractor). These investments were worth it- for a really tough tractor that is now over 50 years old.
@@shemp1howard Great history there 👍
David Bradley!! Sears and roebuck..Kind of mind blowing at all the attachments that were available from Sears and roebuck to cater to the small homesteaders..Was visiting some family in Virginia and passed by a homestead,,,saw a Suban Garden Tractor working a small hay baler,, also was a Roper garden tractor with a sickle bar that actually had cut the hay and was mounting a hay rake..Im the outgoing type and stopped the chat about the little machines. That's when I discovered those hey attachments had actually been made by David Bradley and the older gentlemen was the second generation to be using those attachments the younger one being the third generation. They told me those attachments had been doing 5 acres of hay every year some years two cuttings every since they were brand new..
Amazing for sure! Very cool 👍
We have a "Herd" of 60s and 70s Wheelhorses. Very easy to build maintain and repair. Excellent machines. Very rugged. We've done 5 full frame off restorations. We use them to maintain our acreage.
Very cool 😎 I have a Wheelhorse history video coming out this coming Tuesday 👍
This Is Truly OUTSTANDING Informative Video and Father and Son Team Work 👌😇👍 Cheers 🍻🍻
Thank you sir 🙏
Nice video. We have gone through a lot of garden tractors on our farms over the years. Most did not hold up but for a few years and then we spent more time repairing them than using them. I bought a John Deere X350 last year and hope it holds up better than the others. I bought a new John Deere 1023E with loader over 10 years ago and I am happy how well it works. That is why I gave the John Deere garden tractor a try.
Great video! I have a 40+ year old Snapper 1855 for nostalgia purposes but a sub compact tractor with FEL and other attachments for practical purposes.
Thank you 🙏
Unfortunately another thing that happened is garden tractors also became much more expensive in the 80s, 90s, and early 2000s. They priced themselves out of the market. I remember the Ingersoll 4020PS being a dream garden tractor for myself, in the late 90s. I priced one at a local dealer and if I remember correctly, it had a $12,000 price tag on it, and that price was just for the tractor itself. A 60” deck was another $1,000, and you didn’t get a 3 point hitch standard. That was extra. If you wanted to till a garden you needed to buy the 3 point hitch, the hydraulic pto valve, and the tiller. I’m sure by the time you were done optioning out all those extras, you probably would have been looking at something closer to $15,000. The deal breaker is you could have bought a compact diesel tractor with 4wd for about the same price, and it would have had a lot more features standard, would be built heavier, and would probably out work any almost any other garden tractor available then.
Now days, you are better off buying a sub compact tractor, rather than a garden tractor, if you can still find one being offered, for the same reasons.
Great point. I think quality built gt’s have always been expensive for the time period they were in. Maybe someday I’ll try and dig up sone price literature to do a cost comparison video
1968 John Deere 112, and a sears suburban 16, with ohv cast iron tecumseh engine, has a manual 3pt hitch, and 1 row bottom plow, fun days, I still have them both.
Nice pair 👍
I never really got over losing my 1974 John Deere 140, with 3rd function, to a barn fire. It had the mower deck, dozer blade and rototiller attachments. It would still be here today. After the fire, our needs changed. We weren't planting a large garden anymore. I replaced it with a John Deere LA 140. I didn't expect this tractor to last, but 18 years later, it is still turn key and has required very few repairs. Electrolux did a good job with these. It was purchased at a JD dealer. You are right about the Asian stuff. I also have a Kubota BX 1850 with the front loader and a box scraper to maintain the driveway. It is a little beast. I plow snow from the comfort of my truck now days. I enjoy your content.
Thank you very much 🙏
With respect Sir I believe the Phrase you were looking for is 'Import Tariff' :)
Yes it is. Thank you 🙏
Great video! I was just contemplating this the other day. I think with the popularity of the ATVs and zero turn mowers these were phased out. Also our suburban lot sizes have shrunk substantially reducing to need for such heavy equipment
Yeah, all good points 👍
Love the channel guys keep up the good work I love cutting wood and old iron have a 60s round fender John Deere a 48 cub and a newer kubota b series also a fan of the Bauer tool line !
Very cool. Lots of similarities 👍
Great recap and discussion!
Thank you 🙏
I have a 4 wheel Simplicity tractor with a lawnmower and snowblower very handy.
💯
If I recall correctly, in 1975 my dad bought a new Gravely 812 with a 50” mower deck, a snow thrower, wheel weights, snow chains, and a front attachment kit ( so we could use the rotary plow from our 1948 Gravely model L. It cost about the same as a well equipped new compact car.
I agree, garden tractors of the era often cost similar amounts to automobiles.
Tractors became as expensive or more expensive than used cars. So it actually does make sense to just pay a landscaper more often than not. You're definitely getting your money's worth. If I wanted to do a garden, I would even just hire someone to plough up or till the ground, because the economics of me buying the vehicle, storing the vehicle, and maintaining the vehicle just doesn't make sense unless I was starting my own full-time business! I have a little electric mower Ryobi, that I use for pathing cuts around the house and essential property, (the fairways), but I don't live in suburbia, I basically live in the woods, and the rough only needs to be cut a few times a year. Which may be 80 to 200 a month during the summer months, depending on how much work I want done, and how many people I need to hire to get it all done reliably. Less than the price of a modern tractor split between a handful of independent contractors who are all going to make the rest of their money from someone else. And I'm not the one putting in the effort, so when I get home from work, I actually get to rest. That's hard to beat. I suppose if I did't have a job, I would tend the land differently, but if I didn't have a job, I'm not even sure if I'd be able to pay off the mortgage and keep the place!
I actually thought about getting a 4x4 with a mower hitch. A 4x4 ATV makes more sense than a tractor for the kind of terrain on I'm living on. Hilly, full of trees, country roads. Zero-turns can handle the slopes well enough, but tractors can have a rough go of it, because they aren't built or geared to tackle slopes and climb. And that means even more work getting them where-ever they need to be. Meanwhile I could use the atv for forrest trails, logging, and going to the gas station for odds and ends, and the local drinking hole when I get bored at the house. If I was going to homestead my property, I'd have to cut a glade or hallow into the woods, and not just have an acre of cleared land on the acre my house actually sits on. That would either require the really big forestry tractors which cost as much as a house, or solid 4x4 thinking. The basic almost 3wheel-like design of a traditional tractor isn't going to tackle the job. We tried a tractor on this property, it was nothing but a pain in the ass. But yeah, they all worked absolutely great on my grand-dad's property which was farming grade flat. Where they didn't work was at his cabin by the lake, or my place in the hills.
Our church just replaced a John Deere 425 with a John Deere 738 to the tune of $20,000. We didn’t need that caliber of machine for mowing. However we have to clear snow from the alley behind the building and I have to wind row it so it gets heavier and heavier. It takes every horse and a well built chassis. To complicate the situation we can’t have anything larger because it won’t fit in our storage area. Now I’m not brand loyal and have no allegiance to John Deere but they are THE ONLY company that makes something that size and quality. What do ya do?
Yeah. With Simplicity out of the picture there's very limited choices for what I'd consider a garden tractor. If you step up to a sub compact there are several brands that are around the size of a 738 JD. The BX Kubota's, CS Kioti's, Mahindra emax, etc.
Thanks for the video!
You’re welcome 👍
Great job I just bought 5 acres and was curious what happened to garden tractors.
Now you know 😁
Guys, I just ran across your channel, liked and subscribed as I am an “old guy”. My Dad inherited a JD400 from my Grandfather and now I’ve inherited it from him. It needs rebuilt and that next winter’s project. It’s got hydrostat, tiller, pto, and a snow blade, no mower. She’s tilled a great many gardens and it’s headed to my friend’s farm where it will be our main tilling machine. The expense of new tractors vs their quality is depressing. I’ll keep my 400 until I can’t rebuild it anymore because there was quality back in the day and we didn’t throw money away!
Thank you very much 🙏 One of the original Super Garden Tractors! Very cool 👍
I garden a lot, garden tractors are too expensive and make little economical sense. Maybe if you could sell expensive produce tractors would have made sense, but the proles around here don't eat vegetables much. What's worse, it is impossible to find a shovel that lasts more than a season in my clayish stone infested soil. Shovels break, usually within a few months of moderate use to spade a garden. Insanity. Everything is too expensive and it does not last.
In Connecticut dad had a 7hp massey ferguson. bought it used around 1975. He sold it in 1992 when we moved to Arizona. Bought it for $500. sold it for $500. He said it was his favorite thing. Dad grew up in Queens and hated yard work, and home maintenance. But he loved his Massey. I learned to drive on that little tractor. Eventually during high school I would remove the mower deck and put the blade on for plowing the snow. I miss that tractor too. I can close my eyes and see all the details, can feel how the throttle moved, I can here the clutch disengaging. Tractors can really get under your skin.
Also dad worked for Garden Way. He created the old tiller ad that ran for years and years in various forms. The pencil drawing of the guy using the self propelled Troybilt tiller with one hand and the toture of using any other brand walk behind.
Very cool memories 👍
My dad had an old sears suburban when i was a kid. That thing was made to work. He sold it before we moved south.
I ended up buying a late 80's ford 1210 and i do all the yard work (besides mowing) with the ford.
My last video before this was on the old Sears line 👍
@@BuildALotAcres oh sweet! I'll go watch it!
I got a PowerMax9020 with a FEL and dozer, WH 414-8 and WH GT-14....all great toys to play with and restore. I cut grass with 414-8. Picked up a Kubota B7400 last year though to do real grunt work; move mulch around and grade. You should make some restoration videos..
Maybe some day 👍
I would love to find a reasonably priced garden tractor. It’s like finding a unicorn.
Nice looking riggs Guy's ! Terrif comes to mind at 5:25 .
The first Japanese tractor I remember was a Yanmar back in the early 1980's ...... Lime green 4 wheel drive with a front loader and rear mounted box blade .. What more could a 12 year old boy want ? LOL
Tariff*... and yeah, that's what I was thinking, too.
Yes, that’s the word I was looking for. Thank you 👍 It’s funny how the tractors we see as young men stick with us in our minds all these years later
My family had (and still has) the original John Deere 110 garden tractors (1964 and 1966). They were great for mowing and moving snow (blade and blower). Not to mention pulling a trailer for countless tasks. Despite the small 8hp Kohler engine, that little beast just kept plugging along (albeit slowly in heavy grass) -- for years and years (and still does, but needs some valve work). I won't say much about the abuse two brothers gave those tractors in full-throttle races and attempted donuts in the winter (with full chains and weights too). 😄
Yes sir. They sure were built to last. Great memories I bet 👍
Interesting how Allis Chalmers revolutionized farming with the 1937 B, then the 1940 C and finally the radical 1948 G. All tractors that were large garden tractors or small tractors for small farms. By the 1970's they couldn't build their own anymore and did like everyone else and rebranded Japanese tractors! Today's speedy mows are like today's speedy harvesters. Lots of speed at the expense of quality of work done! I still like a good old garden tractor!!!
@@49commander I agree with that 👍
One reason why is people can't afford new ones. The older ones (I have my dad's old Suburban SS12) are either rusted junk heaps or bought up by collectors to sit in a shed, only to be sold for a lot of cash if they ever are. Cost is an entry barrier, as is land. More people don't have access to land to grow a garden or keep/maintain their equipment. Def more true the closer to suburban areas you get.
I would love to have a smaller to mid sized tractor with a bucket, mower or brush hog, with all the rear pto accessories, but they are very expensive these days, even used! I do have a couple 30" riding lawn mowers, but that's not what I'm talking about. It's hard enough just to afford reliable transportation and maintaining properly let alone a tractor, especially when you have a home payment. Thanks for listening to my rant. Peace Everyone
@@robertc.6441 The cost of living is way too high. I agree 💯
Interesting discussion. Unfortunately the days of true garden tractors being manufactured are pretty much over. One brand that definitely belongs on the ol garden tractor list is Gravely. Yes I have one and it is a beast! Like many of the old ones it is all steel and cast iron. It's 35 years old and still runs beautifully.
Great channel guys!! 👍
💯 Gravelys were built like tanks ready to go to battle. I plan on going a history video on them soon. Thanks for the kind words 🙏
@@BuildALotAcres Awesome! Can't wait to see it!
Amen to that. I grew up at a time where if you didn't plant a garden and can your fruits you didn't eat that winter. Plus hunting and fishing to put that on the table. We lived in a poor county and jobs were low pay, I remember My Dad being gone weeks at a time to work a bit better paying job.If something really bad does happen, people will starve . Has they will not know what to do. They kill plants that would have fed them in their yards. Also the food we get from the store are so full of very bad things, we are all sick. I subscribed, liked and shared
Thank you very much 🙏
You grew up in the 1700s? I smell BS.
@@tonystoops7802 Yes sir. I’m older than I look
@@tonystoops7802 Believe what you want to. We were poor living in a poor County here in the Mountains ,where most lived like we did. Not everyone back in the 60's had it made. Have a great day.
very informational. Its a shame you done see garden tractors much anymore but its cool to restore and use them.
👍
Good one. 👍🏻👋
🙏 Thank you sir
Got a 91 Wheelhorse 520H still going on 1.6 Acres in NJ. 60"deck and 48" 2 stage blower. Looking for the tiller attachment.
Nice!
I miss my ole, 20hp Sunstar. It was an '86 with the Magnum. Tons of power.
They are true brutes 💪🏻 🚜
I have a 90’s Sunstar I had plans to make a FEL for using the local Tech High School adult night class. The school dropped the use @ night so now I found my self buying a Kubota 1850 with low hours resulting in having the Sunstar sitting going no where. The New England area is not made up of small farms like the midwest and such. Now I have this machine that only sells based on scrap prices. Go figure the US would loose it’s edge on making things last. Great channel. Keep the vids coming.
@@waynehigden Thank you very much 🙏 Sorry to hear about the school night program closing
Hi. You live near Massachusetts?
@@waynehigden Yes MA
I have sale slip, $7,200 back in 1992 for the Simplicity sovereign that was passed down to me. I loved it since I had picked up a 1975 allis 712s years earlier. Both have the same attachments and almost the same identical tractor. Hard to believe that nothing really changed between the 70s up to 2000 ish on those. That was still a serious price tag back in 1992 when you look at inflation vs what prices were back then.
I agree 💯 A lot of people comment prices are too 💰💰nowadays. Thing is….quality garden tractors were always expensive. Often similar in price to a vehicle back when they were made 👍
I still plow snows with my 1963 953 wheel horse with the factory hydraulic lift 54" dozer blade. Now days you have tractors twice the size with 54 inch blades.
They definitely don’t build them like they used to
I’m rocking the Simplicity 7117 with its 3rd engine. It has a 1999 Vanguard which burns some oil but still cuts great.
Right on!!! My father has three 7117’s. czcams.com/video/dezWhzHd4-I/video.htmlsi=y5eElSt3d3MK1F4d
I fixed a old IH 149 cub cadet cut grass and worked a garden with for several years with no troubles.
Very nice 👍
I think you hit the main reason in the last 2 minutes. Most garden tractors were used 90% to mow. Zero turns are just better at that function. I still use a 1973 John Deere 140 to mow an open 1/2 acre every week, but in the confined 1/4 acre area around my house- the turning radius is horrible and I end up doing it all with a push mower. When I get too old to be pushing it; I will have to break down and get a zero turn.
Yeah, the zero turns are nice for speed and maneuverability.
I have a Husqy TS248XD. It has the bigger transmission with limited slip diff. It was advertised as ground engagement capable. I got it because I had moved to an acre lot and needed something a little more capable. Plus I had plans on making a small garden. The John Deere equivalent was almost twice the price, but has the same transmission and Kawasaki 23 hp engine. I never did till a garden, but it got a lot of use doing maintenance on the property. I towed a dump trailer behind it to pick up branches and other yard debris. I loaded the trailer with wall blocks and pavers and mulch, you name it. I have an ATV winch I am going to mount on it as soon as I figure out how. A small mom and pop lawn and tractor store in NC is where I got it from. I saw their listing online and went to check it out. They still had it in the box and didn't think they would even sell it. Nobody was in the market for a garden tractor, even out here in the country. The shop owner asked me to come back the next day so they could assemble it. It's been a great little tractor for the four years I've had it.
Very cool 😎 I love those small mom and pop shops. Top notch customer service and supporting local businesses is always good 👍
I have some simplicity sunstars . I need a new drive shaft that runs from the command 20 horse engine to the sun strand rear end ( same rear end found on john Deere early 400 series)
A drive shaft ( engine group) that I received will fit the older one with the magnum engine but is too short for the cammand ( newer sunstar) if anyone knows what tractors at the bone yard I should be looking at for the correct drive shaft - please reply.
i guess it depends upon what you’re doing and what your yard looks like. zero turns have their place but they’re not for everyone and sometimes, a sub compact is too big. but as a rule, you can buy a diesel sub compact with a 3-point hitch for about the same price as a garden tractor. i like my cub cadet xt3 and john deere x530 for mowing, tilling between garden rows and bagging leaves i have too much ledge and trees to get the lawn done with a zero turn or scut.
I have vintage cub cadets I love them all
I have a Cub Cadet history video in the queue 👍
More garden tractor videos, please!
Yes sir. Every Tuesday at 3pm EST we are doing a Tractor Talk video on garden tractors 👍
I have always ran Gravely riders, they have been really reliable for me. They came with 50" and 60" decks, plows, snow blowers, tillers, and would do pretty much whatever you needed. Good 50" mower decks are getting a bit harder to find for them and the old tractors don't mow and turn as quickly as the new zero turns, but the old stuff still cuts well.
Very true. I plan on doing a Gravely video one of these days 👍
Part of that is there isn't enough space to garden (at least not in the scale that would need a tractor). On a typical suburban home, you'll be lucky to find 1000 square feet that's unpaved. Part of which is going to be a front yard which most cities have restrictions against using as a garden. In urban centers, there's practically no space that's unpaved--they'll have to rely on balcony plants or indoor house plants.
Rural places have the space, but less people. And they fix and rebuild their own machines, so the companies making them don't get to sell enough to make it worthwhile.
Pretty much the closest to a tractor that's seen in suburban/urban areas are lawn mowing machines at golf courses and parks.
I remember going into the Gravely/Honda dealer and seeing the ever present "Parts Still Available for Gravely Model L" more than 30 years after the last L rolled off the line and nearly a half century from when the first L rolled off the line!!! You cant still get almost any wear item today!!!
@@49commander Amazing 💯
It's pretty easy to slap together a motor and a belt driven powertrain but a diesel engine and integral transmission and drive axles in cast iron is a bit harder and requires more thought and design. Live PTO is another step up. A B/S or Kohler doesn't cut it.
Been looking to find a garden tractor over the last few years. Got a lot of heavy wet snow this past winter and trying to clear 200 feet worth of sidewalk around my house just absolutely sucked. A garden tractor with a small front loader would make it less back breaking. Good luck trying to put a front loader on a moder lawn tractor without burning out the hydro drive or snaping the stamped frame in half.
For the price of a newer garden tractor, one could buy a nice used small farm tractor like a International Cub (which would hold up even better than a modern garden tractor or scut/cut.
I agree. Those old Cub type tractors require a ton of tinkering though. Most people can’t be bothered or don’t know how to. You could definitely pick one up very cheap.
"I've had well over a dozen garden tractors..." I have over a dozen right now LOL.
I'm a Sears guy with also an AC HB212, Massey GT12 hydro, Massy MF1855, Craftsman FF24 to name a few, but absolutely no green/yellow!
I think it a combo of things, good tractors aren't made anymore, people use zero turns for mowing so no need for another tractor, people don't work the ground like they used to and frankly our country can't put their social media down enough to do anything else. Thankfully I'm a gen Xer who grew up around these tractors and enjoy working on them.
Very good points 👍 Sounds like a great lineup of machines
Even the 1968 Case Garden tractors were really the purchased Colt company designs. I think the Japanese tractors being imported was simply the world market awakening. Americans discovered that someone else was doing tractors better for a particular purpose and choosing that - as opposed to an “invasion”.
Lol. You’re probably right. 👍
Maybe this explains why i put a 28HP 890cc V2 on.my Dad's old Toro 11 32 mower that has a gear drive..no hydro...nice to pull stuff around my yard
They're quite popular in central Portugal where i live. There are lots of small holders who own compact pieces of land tucked into right valleys. Big tractors are unsuitable for that kind of land. I really need a little tractor for my own place, it's pretty high on my list of things to acquire.
Very cool 👍
as a kid we had a ? 1978 Massey 1200 still amazed a tractor that small had a mechanical rear PTO .. that was a tank
it was replaced by commercial walk behinds that cut the time in half ...
Great memories no doubt 👍
fathers are smart .... kid ...go drive this around the yard & cut the grass lol
as a kid its like OH Can I Please @@BuildALotAcres
🤣
@@user-kg4eb7nl5b Lol. They knew all the tricks. Bet you can’t split that hunk of wood with this axe
Garden tractors are still very popular! There is a huge market. They just go by a different name. They are called sub-compact tractors now.
I think the walking tractor was an amazingly versatile invention. I wish a company would make a unit that could be used as a walk behind mower, then shift into being a rotor tiller, then a snow blower, then a wood chipper, and even a generator and water pump. The list of uses is endless. Heck you could even use the tractor as a pto drive for a wood splitter. These might be more popular now that lots are smaller. I would also love to see a resurgence of the small family farm. And more small tractors, combines implements etc.
Look into BCS, two wheel tractors, I think they have a bunch of attachments you can get for them, I remember as a kid dad had an old David Bradley walk behind with a plow, I used to plow snow with it,
I think gardening and homesteading has and will continue to get more and more popular
I have 2 sears suburbans and several attachments for them. They do just about everything I need to do on 12 acres.
Nice Case 👍
🙏
I own 3 WHITE GT55, Bought the first one [GT1655] in 1979 it is still going after 1 Engine change. I have 2 SNOW BOWERS and a Plush Blade that can go on them. They were built by MTD and came under many brand names.
I mention the White tractors in my biggest, baddest garden tractors video 👍 czcams.com/video/d-FMy3dOF80/video.htmlsi=uhuyWL5jB_hC3B2r
I run a mower shop. I still use a IH184 to mow with and a sears SS12 to blow snow. I am the only guy in the area who works on the old stuff
@@mrboom4570 It’s definitely hard to find small engine mechanics. Hard to beat the old machines though
I own my last and forever garden tractor I mow my lawn with. I spent a winter doing a frame up restoration, after buying a farmers lawn ornament from an old chicken farm. I have a nearly mint 1972 Case that I re-powered with a briggs vanguard 20hp engine, due to the fact, trying to find and the expenses of the original Onan 16hp parts wasn't worth the effort or cost of rebuilding it unfortunately. But everything else is basically OEM and or has been replaced or rebuilt, and I went a step further to retain the original PTO clutch assembly by making my own flywheel crank snout adapter. Rather than simply using the common replacement electric PTO clutch that are sold with most of the re-power kits. The most challenging part for me was making a perfectly straight and centered hydraulic pump bracket off the other end of the engine. Due to space constraints and its placement, it was definitely the hardest part of the entire process. Otherwise I rebuilt its original 48" deck and revised it baffle wise and blade tip speed wise by changing the pulley ratios so it now cuts so much better than the factory setup. Best tractor I've ever worked on, and I've been a small engine mechanic for the better part of my life with the schooling and business to back it up. Now I no longer turn wrenches for a living, but as a hobby lol. I decided to upgrade my career about 18 years back and stopped getting my hands dirty at work. After owning nothing but Bobcat commercial mowers for my home use, it was time to sit down and relax for a change. Great Company and the amazing amounts of aftermarket and OEM parts still available for such old equipment is mind boggling.
Very cool 😎 Sounds like you got a great machine 👍 I watched a documentary on the history of the Bobcat with the two brothers and it was great. Ironically Case, originally Colt was also started by two brothers
Non-gardner here, but we own two acres.
After many years of using "old school" quality Sears and John Deere garden tractors, we bought a 22 hp Cub Cadet Zero Turn.
It decreased our mowing time by at least 30 minutes, but we were always disappointed in the quality of the cut. Middle blade always seemed to miss some grass.
Recently found a fantastic deal on an ultra low hour 33 hp Dixie Chopper Zero Turn Classic 60". $3500.
My neighbor with a similar size yard uses a state of the art John Deere diesel garden tractor. $20K.
He doesn't garden either. I don't see the point of a garden tractor like that either for what we both do.
There is no comparison of how fast I can cut my two acres. If you don't need a garden tractor, a high-quality commercial fast zero turn is the only way to go.
Here in New England snow removal, hauling firewood and other heavy trailers, York raking are all chores I do besides mowing. I agree for mowing it’s tough to beat a zero turns speed and maneuverability
Commercial mowers are too loud. Ear-splitting whine from four houses away!
Whats the difference between a lawn tractor and a garden tractor dose the garden tractor have a pto
czcams.com/video/gN3Emq1zrPI/video.htmlsi=46y3Nm9Qie0z6Rva
I use and maintain a general use push mower Briggs & Stration...i get about 15 years out of each one...since 1988 I'm on number 3 mower....less than $600. to $700. for all three.
Anyone know where i can get a front loader for a sunstar?
FBMP or Craigslist. Maybe even a FB group for Sunstars
@@BuildALotAcres I don't have Facebook, if that's what the FB stands for, might find someone that does though.
I have a lawn tractor! Ive had it for probably 20 years. Excellent info! Please stay connected! 🕊
Great video, guys! I love all the tractors you're showing here.
Ten years ago, I bought a 12 hp Dynamark riding mower, from the early 90's or late 80's, for $150. US .
I removed the deck, and set about making wheel weights, a set of chains, a hitch system on the back, for a tiller and other attachments, and a frame extension, on the front, for attachments and weights. I also put some bigger, meaner ag tires on it.
I'm currently building a winch-driven bucket and a snow plow for it. It's small, but it does what I need for my five acres.
I cannot afford to buy a subcompact, so I'll make my little tractor as useful as possible. For a backhoe, I opted for the Harbor Freight ride on trencher. I love it, and, at half the price of an attachable backhoe for a subcompact, it was a no brainer.
Cheers!
Very cool 👍 I’ve made homemade wheel weights, accessories and attachments as well. I’ve always wondered how good the HF towable backhoe is. Glad it’s working out on your estate 🏡
I have a 1980 mtd garden tractor with ag tires. Last year my small hayfield got away from me. I was sick. I dont harvest the field i just keep it from going wild. The grass was a bit over 3 ft tall. I put the mtd in granny gear and turned up the revs. I just let her chew through the hay.
Its about 1/3 acre. I gave the machine a few heat breaks. I believe a newer lawn tractor or garden tractor would have gotten burned up.
I think you’re right
I have a 1968 Speedex. All rusty and beat but still the best damned tractor I’ve ever had! Have tiller for it. (Home brewed) snow plow, and building a back hoe for it. Leave it covered outside all winter and it starts right up when needed. I’ll keep the oldies!
Amen 👍
Papa had a sweet old Wheelhorse that he had cobbled together again, and again and again...I miss when things could be easily worked on and were capable yet affordable to the average person.
Yes sir 👍 Wheelhorse of course! czcams.com/video/eTAJkrvAjsU/video.htmlsi=2VEuz5nejAFjpkfi
I like watching the videos of folks hot-roddin' old lawn tractors. Ever go 40 or 50 on a garden tractor?
I have not. Lol. I’ve watched a few races though
I have a 1972 Mtd 960. Nothing today is built like the ones back then. Everything is made to be thrown away after 5 years.
I agree 💯 👍
I still use my John Deere 325 , 30 year old garden tractor built very heavy runs like new.
Built to last 👍
I haven't seen anyone sell anything resembling useful in garden tractor anymore. The attachments are now just a bagger or rear drag trailer.
No modern Lowe's tractor comes with rear hydro
I agree. They’re just lawn tractors. No ground engaging ability, and the build quality is very poor
I have a 3 acre lot and up to a couple years ago had a Mitsubishi 3 cyl diesel. When I bought it (used) that was all that was available. No one was selling anything in that size range. It had a front end loader but it was the PTO that made it really useful. The quality was outstanding. I would love to get another one that was an American brand but I look at my lawn tractor that is an American brand but the quality just isn't there. I try to buy American whenever possible but can't justify spending that amount of money on something that isn't going to last.
I agree. American companies in the 40’s through the 80’s really strived to come up with quality made innovative products. Now it seems they don’t really care. It’s no wonder we get passed by with foreign built machines. American made doesn’t mean what it used to
Ingersoll Co (Eastman) is for sale now
I was under the impression they sold off all the remaining Ingersoll product in trailers a number of years ago
One thing that’s missed in this video is prices of a garden tractor vs the small Asian diesel compact tractors. Also look at the prices of the cheaper mass produced new mowers. They’ve all doubled in the last 5-6 years. And the quality sure didn’t go up, nor did the longevity. But the greed sure went up from MTD. Honestly for what they cost now, I’d expect a real metal painted hood, and a real diesel engine instead of a cheap mass produced gas engine from B&S, that blows up in a couple years.
Yeah, everything has doubled in the last 4 years. Another topic altogether 😉
I Plow out my Driveway Every Winter in Northern Illinois with my 1982 Wheel Horse
Very cool 👍
We have two cub cadets that still get used. Late 60s and late 70s
Very cool 👍
👍👍
🙏👍 🚜
I have a craftsman GS6500 garden series tractor. It was made by Roper outdoor products in Orangeburg SC. Its 20 years old this year my how time flies. True they don't make these anymore. Tires 23" rear 16" front, 26 hp Kohler v-twin , 54" mower deck, 6 speed Peerless Tecumseh transaxle. 5 1/2. gallon gas tank at the time they offered up to 60 attachements. I had to rebuild the deck last year. Replaced tires with more aggressive tread. Currently 560 hours on tractor doesn't use oil. I will never sell it.
Sounds like a great unit 👍
@@BuildALotAcres It was northern Kankakee IL, then in 1895 David Bradley built a plow factory right next to the railroad track. Soon after it became Bradley city, Now Bradley IL. My father worked at the factory starting in the 1950s after he got out of the Navy. He retired from the Orangeburg division In SC. as a tool design engineer. I went to many a company picnic, all the hotdogs, watermelon, ice cream a kid could eat. Both the Roper plants burned down in the mid 1980s. Husqvarna bought out Roper. You are right at one time Craftsman , Poulan , Huqvarna tractors were the same machine different color scheme and the parts interchanged. A year after I bought my tractor I saw a Poulan tractor everything the same, 6 speed transaxle except it was powered by a 30 hp. Kohler v-twin. I think that was the last of the big ones. Now 24 hp. is big with a hydrostat trans and is a mower only it can't pull a plow.
@@LawrenceWalrabenstein Very cool that you got to attend those company picnics. Most companies don’t even bother appreciating employees like that anymore 👍
@@BuildALotAcres Best I can remember they had grilled chicken for the adults Yes there was a beer tent. As a child having a hotdog in one hand and a drumstick ice cream cone in the other was excellent. Games and prizes for the children , it was a all day event that every child looked forward to! They had chain saw log cutting event. They showed the outdoor products they made in action. The suburban series tractors pulled wagons to give the kids a ride around the Kankakee fair grounds. Don't sign up for the 50 yard dash in the morning , by afternoon I had eaten to many hotdogs and ice cream cones.
Simplicity 2010 Landlord, great little 10hp tractor. Smaller than a 1990's Sears GT series with more torque and way more options. Has a nice little hydraulic system including a FEL and a small 3 point hitch. Almost anything you could get for a full size Simplicity made a small version for their Landlords.
The guy with the hat sounds like one of the Kennedys and looks like Mike on Moonshiners. LOL
The fact they cost as much as a car doesnt help...