I have an acre of lawn and an equal amount of new pasture needing to
be cut this year. I also need to tow a small manure spreader every
day. Now, a new 20 hp Murray sells for $2000 at Home Depot, while an
older, yet well-kept 1996 15 hp Ford can be bought for $2200 at my
neighbour's farm across the road. He says the Ford is a better
tractor, able to change oil and filters, etc. What do you think?
km

g'day jk,

don't know if i can add much but might you be camparing apples and
oranges a little bit?

the ford will be a purpose built farm type tractor, diesel motor and
lots of other stuff that comes with the equipment, and the murray if i
get it right is more or less a lawn type tractor and maybe even petrol
engine as well, will do far less work than the real thing.

if i am close to the mark then for me i would be going for the ford,
it'll do far more for you as it is designed to be a tractor for any
sort of work related to farming and is going to do it far more
reliably.

i would also be taking some advice from the farmer as well.

len

snipped
--
happy gardening
'it works for me it could work for you,'

"in the end ya' gotta do what ya' gotta do" but consider others and the environment
http://members.optusnet.com.au/~gardenlen1/

I have an acre of lawn and an equal amount of new pasture needing to
be cut this year. I also need to tow a small manure spreader every
day. Now, a new 20 hp Murray sells for $2000 at Home Depot, while an
older, yet well-kept 1996 15 hp Ford can be bought for $2200 at my
neighbour's farm across the road. He says the Ford is a better
tractor, able to change oil and filters, etc. What do you think?
km

That depends. Is the Ford a lawn mower, a garden tractor or a compact tractor.
Does it have an aircooled Briggs? A standard transmission. all of these were
made under the Ford name. The compact tractors will have water cooled diesels.
These little Japanese tractors are excellent but I doubt you will get one even
10 years old for that price.

Most of the Murrays (and MTDs) are primarily lawn mowers although there is an
ocassional garden tractor model. They are decent cheap mowers but even the lawn
and garden tractors are not much for pulling loads. Expect gearbox and bearing
problems if you pull many heavy loads and that includes the Ford lawnnmowers as
well as Murray and MTD.

(JK) said:

I have an acre of lawn and an equal amount of new pasture needing to
be cut this year. I also need to tow a small manure spreader every
day. Now, a new 20 hp Murray sells for $2000 at Home Depot, while an
older, yet well-kept 1996 15 hp Ford can be bought for $2200 at my
neighbour's farm across the road. He says the Ford is a better
tractor, able to change oil and filters, etc. What do you think?
km

Murray is about the cheapest lawn tractor made, $2000 sound very
expensive. I don't know what the Ford is worth, I didn't even know Ford
made lawn tractors until today. If your neighbor is a decent person and
they are willing to sell it to a close neighbor, it is probably well take
care of. I would spend a few days shopping around and if you want a
quality mower, skip Murray and look at John Deere, Wheel Horse (Toro), Cub
Cadet just to name a few.

Just curious, why are spreading manure every day?
--
McQualude

ok jk,

so from way over here down under i learnt that ford have a lawn
tractor with their name on it, we learn something new every day hey?
lol. is it actualy a machine that ford produce from the ground up or
is it a badge machien ie.,. another make of lawn tractor dressed up a
bit with the ford logo on it.

anyway can you tell us is the farmer selling a purpose made tractor,
with hydrayulic, pto and all that goes with a piece of farm machinery
or is he selling a lawn tractor aka rider mower? 2 years ago we bought
a second hand tractor with some implements for more than what we could
have paid for a new rider mower/lawn tractor that won't do anywhere
near what a real tractor will.

i did wonder about the manure bit as well so will look for your follow
up post to the other poster.

len

snipped
--
happy gardening
'it works for me it could work for you,'

"in the end ya' gotta do what ya' gotta do" but consider others and the environment
http://members.optusnet.com.au/~gardenlen1/

so from way over here down under i learnt that ford have a lawn
tractor with their name on it, we learn something new every day hey?
lol. is it actualy a machine that ford produce from the ground up or
is it a badge machien ie.,. another make of lawn tractor dressed up a
bit with the ford logo on it.

anyway can you tell us is the farmer selling a purpose made tractor,
with hydrayulic, pto and all that goes with a piece of farm machinery
or is he selling a lawn tractor aka rider mower? 2 years ago we bought
a second hand tractor with some implements for more than what we could
have paid for a new rider mower/lawn tractor that won't do anywhere
near what a real tractor will.

i did wonder about the manure bit as well so will look for your follow
up post to the other poster.

len

back before Ford was bought out by Fiat (Now badged New Holland) they rebadged
riding lawn mowers, lawn and garden tractors and compact tractors. The compacts
were Japanese. I don't know which company made the lawn tractors and riding
mowers but Murray and MTD make most of these on the American market.including
the Cub Cadet.

(JK) said:

I have an acre of lawn and an equal amount of new pasture needing to
be cut this year. I also need to tow a small manure spreader every
day. Now, a new 20 hp Murray sells for $2000 at Home Depot, while an
older, yet well-kept 1996 15 hp Ford can be bought for $2200 at my
neighbour's farm across the road. He says the Ford is a better
tractor, able to change oil and filters, etc. What do you think?
km

Murray is about the cheapest lawn tractor made, $2000 sound very
expensive. I don't know what the Ford is worth, I didn't even know Ford
made lawn tractors until today. If your neighbor is a decent person and
they are willing to sell it to a close neighbor, it is probably well take
care of. I would spend a few days shopping around and if you want a
quality mower, skip Murray and look at John Deere, Wheel Horse (Toro), Cub
Cadet just to name a few.

Just curious, why are spreading manure every day?
--
McQualude

thanks farmerdill,

so fiat own the ford tractor/lawntractor manufacturing now?

there is a lot of badging going on with garden machinery i tend to
stick with models that are manufactured by the brand maker.

enjoy

len

snipped
--
happy gardening
'it works for me it could work for you,'

"in the end ya' gotta do what ya' gotta do" but consider others and the environment
http://members.optusnet.com.au/~gardenlen1/

ok jk,

so from way over here down under i learnt that ford have a lawn
tractor with their name on it, we learn something new every day hey?
lol. is it actualy a machine that ford produce from the ground up or
is it a badge machien ie.,. another make of lawn tractor dressed up a
bit with the ford logo on it.

anyway can you tell us is the farmer selling a purpose made tractor,
with hydrayulic, pto and all that goes with a piece of farm machinery
or is he selling a lawn tractor aka rider mower? 2 years ago we bought
a second hand tractor with some implements for more than what we could
have paid for a new rider mower/lawn tractor that won't do anywhere
near what a real tractor will.

i did wonder about the manure bit as well so will look for your follow
up post to the other poster.

len

snipped
--
happy gardening
'it works for me it could work for you,'

"in the end ya' gotta do what ya' gotta do" but consider others and the environment
http://members.optusnet.com.au/~gardenlen1/

so from way over here down under i learnt that ford have a lawn
tractor with their name on it, we learn something new every day hey?
lol. is it actualy a machine that ford produce from the ground up or
is it a badge machien ie.,. another make of lawn tractor dressed up a
bit with the ford logo on it.

anyway can you tell us is the farmer selling a purpose made tractor,
with hydrayulic, pto and all that goes with a piece of farm machinery
or is he selling a lawn tractor aka rider mower? 2 years ago we bought
a second hand tractor with some implements for more than what we could
have paid for a new rider mower/lawn tractor that won't do anywhere
near what a real tractor will.

i did wonder about the manure bit as well so will look for your follow
up post to the other poster.

len

back before Ford was bought out by Fiat (Now badged New Holland) they rebadged
riding lawn mowers, lawn and garden tractors and compact tractors. The compacts
were Japanese. I don't know which company made the lawn tractors and riding
mowers but Murray and MTD make most of these on the American market.including
the Cub Cadet.

Originally when ford sold L & G tractors under their FORD name they
were made for them by ............yep, Murray. Ford has not made a
gas powered L & G tractor for some years now, or at least thats what
my Ford Dealership told me last August when I was in the market for a
new L & G to replace a 30 year old JD. The smallest tractors that Ford
sold were still just small diesel powered and all had 4 wheel drive,
just not suitable for a L & G with ag type tires. Fine for in a garden
but he%% on a lawn. Last I remember seeing any small gas powered
Ford L & G in the dealers was about in the late 80's or early 90's. I
would have to belive that 2000 bucks for a used L & G tractor gas
burner type made by Ford is worth that kind of money. Its got to be
10+ years old at least, and they certainly do not hold the value like
a JD or Kubota or other major manuf. does.

On Tue, 06 Apr 2004 04:31:53 +1000, len gardener
wrote:

===thanks farmerdill,
===
===so fiat own the ford tractor/lawntractor manufacturing now?
===
===there is a lot of badging going on with garden machinery i tend to
===stick with models that are manufactured by the brand maker.
===
===enjoy
===
===len
===
===snipped

Visit my website: http://www.frugalmachinist.com
Opinions expressed are those of my wifes,
I had no input whatsoever.
Remove "nospam" from email addy.

len gardener wrote:

there is a lot of badging going on with garden machinery i tend to
stick with models that are manufactured by the brand maker.

Let's see which ones they would be.

MTD makes:
Cub Cadet
Troy-Bilt
Yard-Man
Ryobi
Yard Machines
Bolens
White Outdoor
Cub Cadet Commercial
MTD

Toro makes:
Wheel Horse
Ford
New Holland

Electrolux makes:
Sears Craftsman
Husqvarna
Poulan Pro

WCI makes:
Ranch king
Poulon Pro
Weed Eater
Husqvarna
Jonsered

To name a few. I gleaned these from product recalls.

--
Pardon my spam deterrent; send email to
http://home.earthlink.net/~rhodyman

thanks farmerdill,

so fiat own the ford tractor/lawntractor manufacturing now?

there is a lot of badging going on with garden machinery i tend to
stick with models that are manufactured by the brand maker.

enjoy

len

snipped
--
happy gardening
'it works for me it could work for you,'

"in the end ya' gotta do what ya' gotta do" but consider others and the environment
http://members.optusnet.com.au/~gardenlen1/

Originally when ford sold L & G tractors under their FORD name they
were made for them by ............yep, Murray. Ford has not made a
gas powered L & G tractor for some years now, or at least thats what
my Ford Dealership told me last August when I was in the market for a
new L & G to replace a 30 year old JD. The smallest tractors that Ford
sold were still just small diesel powered and all had 4 wheel drive,
just not suitable for a L & G with ag type tires. Fine for in a garden
but he%% on a lawn. Last I remember seeing any small gas powered
Ford L & G in the dealers was about in the late 80's or early 90's. I
would have to belive that 2000 bucks for a used L & G tractor gas
burner type made by Ford is worth that kind of money. Its got to be
10+ years old at least, and they certainly do not hold the value like
a JD or Kubota or other major manuf. does.

On Tue, 06 Apr 2004 04:31:53 +1000, len gardener
wrote:

===thanks farmerdill,
===
===so fiat own the ford tractor/lawntractor manufacturing now?
===
===there is a lot of badging going on with garden machinery i tend to
===stick with models that are manufactured by the brand maker.
===
===enjoy
===
===len
===
===snipped

Visit my website: http://www.frugalmachinist.com
Opinions expressed are those of my wifes,
I had no input whatsoever.
Remove "nospam" from email addy.

len gardener wrote:

there is a lot of badging going on with garden machinery i tend to
stick with models that are manufactured by the brand maker.

Let's see which ones they would be.

MTD makes:
Cub Cadet
Troy-Bilt
Yard-Man
Ryobi
Yard Machines
Bolens
White Outdoor
Cub Cadet Commercial
MTD

Toro makes:
Wheel Horse
Ford
New Holland

Electrolux makes:
Sears Craftsman
Husqvarna
Poulan Pro

WCI makes:
Ranch king
Poulon Pro
Weed Eater
Husqvarna
Jonsered

To name a few. I gleaned these from product recalls.

--
Pardon my spam deterrent; send email to
http://home.earthlink.net/~rhodyman