Farm and utility quality loaders are not really meant for continual hard use. But for a home owner or farmer with reasonable use and reasonable care can function for a long time.
Knowing what I know now, I would have owned an industrial loader of some type back when we owned and operated the turkey operation. We now have a Cat IT28 articulated loader and a JCB tractor loader backhoe. They make a farm loader look and act like a toy. I can do more with an 80 hp industrial loader than a farm tractor loader twice the size (and I have one with a CTV transmission). There is just no comparison to what they can do, and do without breaking, compared to a farm loader. And we own and have owned farm tractor loaders with hydraulic reversers and CVT transmissions, the best that farm tractors can be for loading. But an actual torque converter and a loader with twice the beef just dwarfs the farm tractors ability. The highest hour turkey barn tractor had over 5000 hours when we traded it with minimal breakdowns or down time, starting and operating 365 days a year. But it was a toy compared to our TLB.
I cut my teeth on 50's and 60's tractors growing up, and traded for a number of them while in the business. Worked on them too. So I'm no stranger to the older stuff (though it has been a while).
