Latestarter's ramblings/musings/gripes and grumbles.

I highly suggest looking at not only the initial price of the tractor but the replacement parts and maintenance part prices. Some companies are like printers.....the printer is cheap but the ink will kill your wallet.

Well, ideally I'll find a deal like the one that lasted 5 minutes after I posted it here last night It was a 35 or 40 HP, 2012 tractor with all the attachments for 12K. I want to say it was a Kubota, but it may have been one of the other brands I've been looking at. I'm really attracted to the Branson tractors... for price, specs, and looks (VERY important, right ladies?).

Looks are the most important lol!!

If it was an Orange tractor it was either Kubota, AGCO(Allis Chalmers became AGCO which owns Massey now and a bunch of other brands Hesston, Gleaner etc.), or Fendt(Owned by AGCO),

I really like the blue tractors, but red works for me as well. Orange or green are nice, but costly colors. Just checked out the Zetor but it looks like they only have the bucket loader for the front and a drum mower for the back... can't find any other rear attachments for it?

Branson is made by Kukje which also makes 51different John Deere tractors....in South Korea. Also builds Cummins engines, manufactures Century Tractors, merged with Montana Tractors...AND makes 5 different Zetor tractors

So im going to assume Branson is a good brand but hope prices run more towards Zetor then Deere.

No there are more attachments, forks, bale spear, etc....Zetor uses a Euro Quick Attach system...so any "euro style quick attach" attachment will work fine. If you talk to a dealer they can give you the info. I will admit Zetor's website kinda sucks.

Youtube video on the quick attach

Here's what I was posting about that I was most interested in. Of course this is purchasing new. If I could find this package for sale by someone who bought 2-3 years ago, I should be able to get it in the teens... vice near 30K.
http://www.bigredsonline.net/--xInventoryDetail?id=1401082 Of course that's without the back hoe... with the backhoe is about the same price, but no other implements are included. And as I stated, the trailer is a "narrow" width, so add to price for a wider trailer.

What kind of truck are you driving late? In all honesty, if you're going to get an older diesel, I'd avoid duramax. I would also avoid 2004 and up diesel Ford's. The 6.0 and 6.4L engines on Ford are known for issues with the head studs, and need to be bulletproofed. 1999-2003 has the 7.3L Turbo diesel and it is a beast of an engine. If you get something newer in a Ford, don't buy it unless they have proof it has been bulletproofed - it is a bear working on them and a lot of the major engine work requires the entire cab to be pulled off - which equals around 12 hours of labor - yeah, you do the math. The 7.3 doesn't require that, so a lot cheaper to work on.
Not sure what your price range is, but I bought my 2000 F350 dually (4 door) for $9000. It has the 7.3L turbo diesel made by International. It has 191,000 miles and change on it and it runs great. Other than some minor issues (original starter went out, a couple of cheap sensors, and my HPOP blew apart - which was expensive ($450 for the part) but it was obviously really worn out) it runs great. I have towed over 12,000 lbs on it (6000 lb flat bed backhoe trailer with a 6000 lb pickup on it) from Arizona to here. No problems at all other than my load was placed poorly and you couldn't get up to 65 because the trailer got squirrelly. The backhoe trailer is a bumper pull too. With almost 200k miles I expect some things to wear out now - but the motor I will get at least 3-400,000 miles out of. The transmission is original (automatic) but is still shifting fine even under stress, though I imagine that will need an overhaul in another 50-60k miles.

The only problem you might have is trying to find one. They are getting scarce because most of us that have them, won't let go of them. I get good fuel economy with it 15-16 MPG with that 12000 lb load, closer to 20 freeway without a load. What is really awesome is if I need OEM parts, I can call Ford, or International to order them.

Here's a pic when I hauled my old pickup. You can see how "off" the load is, with more weight on the tongue that it needed to be, but I had no brakes on the old pickup when I got it up on there, so backing it on wasn't going to happen.

That does look like a nice package.

You also probly want a bale spear...you can pick them up cheap $200-300 brand new.

The Drum mower on the Zetor is for hay/forage to cut it for baling. If your planning on hay you might check prices on hay equipment as well. Mower, rake, baler, hay wagon/trailer.

They have a used 2005 Brand 4720(47hp) on that site asking 18K.

Finding one that is 2-3yrs old 9K+ cheaper is not likely to happen. Tractors are not like cars and hold their value for a very long time. That same site has a 1957 Ferguson 36hp for 3k...which is a good deal.

@Latestarter, don't rule out a Bobcat. Their quick attach for attachments is the bomb, they have down pressures for augers, and the track layers are amazingly surefooted. Also what ever you get think about 4 wheel drive and wheel weights. I got tired of pulling our old Ford tractor out of the mud or off a slight incline with the Tundra. After getting the 4 WD fixed for the 2nd time and still not seeing it work we bought Lizzy. She has never been stuck.

Also, think about which implements you will use the most and which ones you could rent for a week. Most of ours came with our old tractor, but we use the box scraper and the rototiller the most. The disc is for future and the rock rake is at a friend's house more than mine. I now have a trencher and augers with down pressure with my little Bobcat so our small backhoe will be used even less than before and the augers on Lizzy probably never. In our hard ground they just bounce.