It is always an emotive subject among the farming community, isn't it? What tractor do you have?
Everybody seems to have their favourite's and they are fiercely defendant of their choice of tractor.
But what makes a tractor choice a good one for you? Should we all be going for new modern tractors, or is an older classic, such as a cab-less Nuffield or a Leyland with the quiet cab more suitable?
There are certainly advantages and disadvantages for both options and I am going to discuss a few of them in this blog, continue reading to learn more.
What Tractor Do We Run On Our Smallholding?
Not surprisingly on our smallholding, we run Leyland tractors as our primary tractors. However, we also have a BMC Mini tractor that we love to use for the smaller jobs and a nicely restored Nuffield Universal 3 which doesn’t see much farming action but is more of our show tractor.
Equally Andy’s Dad runs Marshall tractors with the Marshall 100 and the Marshall 954XL tractor being his main tractors on his smallholding.
But why do we go with these classic or vintage tractors when other local farmers and even family members would not be seen without a newer more modern tractor?
There are many factors when it comes to choosing a tractor.
Parts Are Readily Available for Nuffield, Leyland and Marshall Tractors
The obvious one for us is that we run a tractor parts company specialising in Nuffield, Leyland and Marshall tractors and we have a range of these tractors of our own so that we can fit the parts that we sell to these tractors. We have a number of spare parts (ok we have loads and loads and loads of spare parts) for the Nuffield, Leyland and Marshall tractors so this is where we go.
We like to think that we are a bit different to many of the other tractor parts companies out there in that we specialise in one brand of tractor, and we do not just buy in parts to sell on, we manufacture a lot of the parts too, both in-house and through contracts with manufacturers. We like to fit the parts that we manufacture, and the parts that we buy in, to real tractors to make sure that they fit before we offer them for sale. So, our range of Leyland tractors that we run on our smallholding help us achieve this.
We also have customers and friends in the local area who have Nuffield, Leyland or Marshall tractors and they are often very willing for us to measure up or fit new parts to their tractors if we don’t have a particular model that is needed for the new part. They are happy, we are happy and our customer are happy – win win!!
But one factor to consider if you are going to be using your tractor is how readily available parts are. It is certainly true that for the Nuffield tractors, Leyland tractors and Marshall tractors we have all the spare parts that you need to keep your tractor starting, running and stopping safely here at Tractor Spare Parts Ltd. Just follow the links to your model of tractor and the section of the tractor that you need (brakes, engine, electrical, etc) and then you will see a good range of the parts available. But don’t forget that we have more parts than are on the website, so if you cannot see what you need, get in touch and we should be able to help you.
Nostalogia
But I understand that not everybody has a whole shed full of tractor parts at their disposal to choose from, so for others it may be a different decision. Don’t get me wrong nostalogia plays a very big part and every farm worker or farm workers family has an attachment to a certain brand of tractor from when they first farmed (for example their Dad or Grandad may have farmed with a Nuffield Universal 3 and that greatly influenced the tractor a customer choose to purchase), this becomes a pull when buying a tractor later in life. This is why Andy has a David Brown Cropmaster Diesel in our collection. It was his Grandads tractor that his other Grandad helped him to buy back when he was a teenager. This is a special tractor for Andy and will probably always be in our collection.
You only need to look though any issue of the tractor magazines to find a tractor enthusiast with more than one of the same brand which has become a bit of a collection, they are usually loyal to this brand, even if they then have one other tractor which they use for a specific job. This is often the case when the collection is of a vintage or classic brand of tractor, such as a collection of Nuffield tractors. It may be a brand that has been in the family for years, or one that just took your fancy.
A Good Local Dealer
It may be that there was a dealer near you and therefore that brand was popular in the local area; I know there were a lot of Leyland tractors supplies by Burgess’ in Derby where Andy’s Dad worked and that is where a lot of the local Leyland tractors came from. If the dealer was good and offered good after purchase support, then why would you go to anything else.
The Correct Size Tractor For The Job, That It Needs To Do
Of course, farming has changed a lot in the past 50 years with farms getting larger and larger and therefore there has been a shift in the tractors that are needed for farming activities. An arable farmer with 2000 acres would not be running a very profitable farm if all they had was a Leyland 255 with 55 horsepower, as it would take all day to cart from the fields for a start. This is where the larger more modern tractors come in, and they certainly have their place.
Smaller Tractor for Smaller Lanes
However, not everywhere is able to accommodate these larger tractors of 140+ horsepower.
Tractor Spare Parts Ltd is based in a small village in the Peak District in Derbyshire called Alstonefield. As the name suggests the landscape is characterised by stone walls and there is a lot of them. This often dictates the width of the lanes in the area, and therefore what tractors and implements can get into the fields to do the job. Some people choose to widen gateways or make new access routes, but this is not always possible.
The largest of our tractors is the Marshall 100 and there are some fields around here where it is tight to get into, especially with the Class Quadrant baler that we run behind the tractor. Some fields we just cannot get in with this combination of tractor and baler, so a different approach is taken for those fields.
This picture below is the main road into the village just outside where Tractor Spare Parts is based, and if this is the main road, you can imagine the small lanes. Also, it is not always the width of the road itself, but also the leaves on the trees and overhanging branches that hinder you when moving machinery and crops. As I write this in April it is difficult to remember so many leaves on the trees, but it is a big problem, especially if it is not you who controls them.
Bigger Tractor To Get The Job Done, Or Smaller Tractor To Suit The Conditions
This winter we were muck spreading on some fields of our which are particularly wet fields. With it being winter and wet, the Marshall 100 was a bit too heavy for the conditions, so we swapped for the Leyland 472 for the wetter areas at the bottom of the fields, and a few days later this was successfully spread with Leyland 472. So, a lighter tractor, but still with the 4WD capability was perfect. It would have been great to go with a very large tractor and spreader and get the job done in half the time, but it was not to be.
The Leyland 472 was also great for chain harrowing this particular field in early March as it is on a slope and the 4-wheel drive allowed easy harrowing up and down the slope.
We often use our BMC Mini around our smallholding as we don’t want to have too heavy a machine on these fields where we don’t need to, and we don’t have hundreds of acres of land, so a small tractor will do. We often run a small topper on the BMC Mini and we also have a link box for the back of the BMC Mini tractor which is ideal for picking up fallen branches and tidying up the fields. So, all in all, a tractor for every job.
Where Is The Tractor Going To Live?
Your choice of tractor also depends on where you can store your tractors and what shed you have. Older sheds were designed for the size of the tractor which was available at that time, so your typical Nuffield, Leyland or Marshall should be ok for the majority of older sheds. What you don’t want to do is buy a brand new big tractor and realise that you cannot house it inside because your sheds are too small.
Cost of the Tractor and Cost of Repairs
Another big consideration is cost. With new machines being up to the price of a small house and probably beyond, cost of a tractor of your choice is a big consideration. Even with the prices of Leyland and Marshall tractors going up in recent years you should be able to buy a very nice example in full working condition for £12,000 – considerably cheaper than any more modern tractor. And if this is sufficient for you needs then this is perfect.
Of course, I am not saying that a Marshall will do the job of a £190,000 John Deere tractor, but it comes down to do you need to spend this amount of money for your farming enterprise (or hobby!) and can you justify spending tens of thousands of pounds. It all depends on what you need.
And with this there is also the ongoing cost of repairs and maintenance and parts for your tractor of choice.
While new tractors are more expensive to buy, I guess you may buy them on the basis that they have a warranty with them so there will be little cost consideration in terms of repairs. However, this is ok as long as you exchange your tractor and keep it new within the warranty every few years. The cost of replacement then needs to be taken into account.
If you are going to run a more modern tractor out of warranty then repairs can be costly as parts have to be genuine parts from the manufacturer and specialist plug-in computers are required for diagnosis, meaning that you cannot do much of the work yourself, even if you are good with your spanners.
At least older classic or vintage tractors such as the Leyland have relatively easy electronics and do not have to be plugged in to tell you what is wrong. You can also work on older classic tractors with a good well set-up home workshop and minimal specialist tools. Jobs such as replacing the clutch, changing the track rod ends, even rebuilding the engine can be done by somebody with good mechanical knowledge as long as they are referring to the workshop manuals.
Also, on the older classic or vintage tractors parts are readily available and although they may sound expensive, they are nowhere near as expensive as Genuine dealer brand parts. For example, a fuel filter for a Marshall 802 will cost you £6.70 plus VAT whereas a fuel filter for a Massey Ferguson 3645 will cost you £39.90 plus VAT. We know that we have had local customers in the yard who needed shafts and pumps and other parts which have been hundreds or even thousands of pounds from the dealer!! It has been known that it has been cheaper for us to bespoke make certain items in our in-house workshop rather than buying parts for certain tractors. Now that is a crazy world when that is the case.
So, Time for Considersation
I know this is not an exhaustive list or exhaustive comparison, but it just shows that there are lots of considerations when buying a tractor. After all we can spend hours and hours in the cab of the tractor, so it needs to be right for the situation.
So, food for thought there, what are you going to buy next?
