Tractors

Utility tractors on the farm, mini tractors on the small plot:

that split decides most purchases before brand comes into it. The utility tractor is what most farms mean: a diesel strong enough for a disc harrow or a subsoiler, a three-point hitch at the back and a power take-off shaft to drive a rotary slasher, a rotavator or a maize chopper. Massey Ferguson, John Deere, New Holland and Kubota are the names seen most, next to a growing number of Indian and Chinese makes such as Sonalika and Lovol. Mini tractors fit vegetable plots and orchard rows where a full-size machine cannot turn, and the two-wheel walk-behind tractor goes where nothing on four wheels fits. A lawn tractor carries a mowing deck and is not built to drag implements. A crawler bulldozer is a different machine altogether; for that kind of earthmoving look at excavators, and for loading in a yard too tight for a front loader, at skid steers.

Horsepower, four-wheel drive and the implement behind the tractor:

have to be judged together. The figure on the bonnet means little until you know what it will pull: a wide disc harrow in heavy clay needs a big engine and real weight on the rear wheels, while a slasher on level pasture asks far less. Four-wheel drive earns its cost in wet clay and when hauling a loaded trailer out of a field; on dry, flat ground two-wheel drive does the same work with less to wear out. Before settling on a newer make, find out who stocks its filters, clutch plate and hydraulic pump in your department, because a tractor waiting weeks for a part can cost you a planting.

Mini tractors, full-size tractors and the money between them:

a new Chinese-built mini tractor of around fifteen horsepower, sold with its plough and rotavator, costs about Q50,000, while a full-size utility tractor from an established brand costs several times that before a single implement is added. That gap keeps old Ford and Massey Ferguson tractors in demand: so many are still working that their parts are easy to find. On a used tractor the rear tyres, the hydraulics and the implements that come with it move the price more than the year does, and a worn pair of rear tyres can swallow much of the saving.

Hydraulic lift, PTO and clutch on a second-hand tractor:

tell you most, so ask the seller not to start it before you arrive. A diesel that fights a cold start, smokes white or blows oil mist from the breather has worn rings or injector trouble. Raise an implement on the hitch, switch off and wait: if it sinks, the lift seals or the control valve are worn. Run the PTO with the slasher turning and listen for grinding. Try the clutch in a high gear against the brakes; if the engine labours without stalling while the tractor stays put, the clutch is slipping, and replacing it means splitting the tractor in two. On a four-wheel drive, rock the front wheels to feel for play in the king pins. The engine, gearbox and rear axle bolt together to form the chassis, so a weld across one of those joints means it broke there. Many old hour meters stopped years ago; worn pedal rubbers and loose pins say more. Ask for whatever papers came with it.

A tractor offered with its harrow and slasher:

sells sooner than a bare machine, so photograph every implement that goes with it, along with the serial plate and both rear tyres from the side. Say whether it is two- or four-wheel drive, and film a cold start and the hitch lifting the harrow. Say where it is parked and whether a truck with ramps can reach it. A rancher driving in from Sayaxché will want to see the harrow lifted and held with the engine off before talking money, so leave it hitched and the engine cold.