I've got Allis to handle the trail mowing with a 5' finish mower that seldom gets removed, and the Ford 801 to do everything else. Trouble is, this time of year I need the bushhog frequently, as well as the box scraper nearly everytime it rains. So that means a lot of attachment swapping, which is not nearly as much fun as it used to be. Anyone else keep a steel fencepost handy to act as a prybar when swapping implements? A tip to help speed the process along: keep a separate toplink with every implement, already set for length. Much quicker.
I want a FEL, badly. VERY badly. So that will entail purchasing another tractor, probably a compact diesel.
And I hadn't even considered a skidsteer, but now I see where that might round things out nicely. Not good.
I'll start at the end. For several years, a friend stored a lot of his excavating equipment and dump trucks at my place. I had use of them when they weren't in use. One was a large Gehl skid steer, somewhere in the 65-70 hp range. I loved having it here, along with lots of quick attach implements. But, it would be extremely expensive to replace a utility or farm tractor with a skid steer because the implements are not interchangeable with 3-point implements.
I've owned a lot of 1940s through 1960s farm tractors, including a number of old Ford "N" series, pre and post 1947. I still regularly use a Massey 35 and 135 for community projects. But, my little 23 hp 4WD Japanese diesel will out-pull and out-lift (3-point hitch) those tractors. I've restored a lot of IH, John Deeres, and Allis-Chalmers from that era.
My last Allis was actually a Hinomoto 3-cylinder diesel, painted orange and with all the Allis-Chalmers logos and labels. That same model tractor was also sold under several other old-time American tractor names who had them painted red, or white, or ... I got my parts from a Massey dealer. It was a real beast at about 20 HP. Same with several red Yanmar 2- and 3-cylinder tractors. All crossed to green John Deere tractors.
There were a number of US companies that manufactured FELs for these tractors. The first that comes to mind in Kansas Machine Works, but there were many more.
Just a few years ago, for about $5000, and with a little bit of personal work and ingenuity, you could have a pretty nice setup with one of these older 2- or 3-cylinder 4WD diesel tractors, outfitted with an FEL, including front and rear hydraulic fittings.
Just something to think about.
