I bought a two wheel tractor today... I have always been a huge fan of sizing equipment for a person's needs, and not on their wants. For many I think a 2 wheel tractor would work well. My father, now down to just a few acres, agrees. For years he has always wanted a 2 wheel tractor, but the cost of new kind of seemed silly when you factored in the $4000 tractor, and then whatever $1250 accessory wanted. It adds up quick, to the point of "why don't I buy a tractor", sort of thing. But my father found a used one for $500, but did not dare ask my mother to buy it who is rather frugal to say the least. He has always wanted one, so Katie and I talked, and today went down and bought him it. It came with a rototiller and lawnmower, but you guys know us: we will have multiple things attached to it in no time. The thing is, when you only spend $500 for the tractor, you can add multiple accessories for $1250 and still come out ahead. Already we have saved $3500 and my father will have it rebuilt to new condition in no time. For those that are unsure of what a 2 wheel tractor is; they are a glorified rototiller, but all gear drive so many attachments can be bolted to them. You can do everything from pull carts of firewood in tow, to haying your fields. Snowblowers, dozer blades, and everything in between is available. They even have steel or rubber tracks that can replace the wheels. So they are small for sure, but are versatile. About the only limitation is not having a Front End Loader, but for my father; anything big he can come and use my Kubota. Either way he was really appreciative... I don't have a picture of the exact unit yet, but this shows the concept of 2 wheel tractors.
I am doing an adult education sheep class at my local high school, and I think the biggest farm the people have there is only 70 acres. With sheep, the money is just not there for spending lots of money on equipment, so I was advocating for scaling down equipment and yet take some of the labor out of getting jobs done. Two wheel tractors work well because they do the pulling and pushing, and basically are a small pto tractor. The average profit is only $100 per head of lamb, so while it would take raising 180 lambs to pay for a smallish sized tractor, but only 45 lambs to pay for a NEW 2 wheel tractor. Going with used reduces the cost even lower. In terms of moving firewood, the Swedes are really good at adapting them for low impact logging for small wood lots. (Fun part starts about 2:25 in)
Duuuuuuuuuude. You win the "you suck" trophy today Very nice purchase! That's a steal. So much so, I'd try to run the serial number at a dealer to find out if it's still smoking.
No it was actually a consignment deal for the dealership so I know it is not stolen. They said the guy never used it and brought it in figuring being a BCS dealership they could sell it quicker. My father has been looking over the BCS catalog now for 2 years, but my mother would never let him buy anything like that. BUT... It was in rough shape. The engine runs great; starts on the first pull, but the clutch is stuck. It sounds bad, but you have to know my father. He is rather odd in that he will have more fun with a used machine he can get running then a new one he just stares at. He is a mechanical engineer so this thing is going to be festooned with implements this summer. In another lifetime perhaps, I would have loved to have gone into business with him, him engineering small implements and me welding and machining them out. But as bad as a stuck clutch sounds, if a person can overlook rust, they can save a lot of money...whether a BCS machine, or bulldozer parts.
