Ok, there is no question that can’t be answered here and I already have looked around but can’t find any reliable info. so here goes.  LadyLeffe is looking for a small tractor and the two options seem to be between a Fieldtrac 180 and a similar sized but older Kubota.  Fieldtrac we know nothing about, Kubota are absolutely everywhere and seem to run forever and are presumably not too difficult to maintain.  Does anyone have any experience or wisdom to impart on this?  I’m relatively handy at maintenance having owed an Allegro and a Cortina so not too worried about fixing things but really don’t want to spend my whole life doing it if I can avoid it

Absolutely no experience of Fieldtrac but had 15 years of experience of Kubota’s and machines with Kubota engines though the last time I used a Kubota tractor was 25 years ago. I’ve only ever known one to go wrong in that time and that was some **** putting the hydrostatic gear in neutral freewheeling down a hill then trying to put it back in gear near the bottom and completely destroying the gearbox. I’ve also used similar sized John Deere and can also recommend them. To be honest the only shite small tractor i’ve used was an Iseki. They were that bad the two we had on the council we got rid off in 18 months from new due to being underpowered and unreliable and we had a  habit back then of keeping things for years.

Ooh interesting, something I’ve been idly thinking about for a while now. I want a compact tractor for our paddock mowing, rolling, chain harrow etc.

Iseki, Kubota, Yanmar all crop up in my ebay searches and seem to be very similar. From what I can gather if they have been looked after all are pretty bombproof. Older Iseki and Kubota shared designs/ components for a while. Not sure about the more modern ‘kit’s tractors that you see these days.

The only real advice I’ve got is decide on the size/hp you need and turf or ag tires and then go and try some. Just be careful that you can match any implements you need to the tractor, hp requirements, hitch rating etc. Also, some of the older small kubota/iseki had an anticlockwise pto, so some equipment doesn’t work without a reverse transfer box. They are hard to come by and so are the correct implements.

Oh and poidh if you get one.

something I’ve been idly thinking about for a while now. I want a compact tractor for our paddock mowing, rolling, chain harrow etc.

That

Just be careful that you can match any implements you need to the tractor, hp requirements, hitch rating etc.

Yep.  Am trying to get one from a supplier that reconditions old ones and will get everything from the same person (if possible) to try and resolve that issue.  Good note on the anticlockwise pto

Oh and poidh if you get one.

🙂

Had to do a quick search to check size. Kubota are the go to in this size, dont get a Massey 2405 felt unstable going off a kerb and everthing is waiting to break 😄

In case you weren’t aware or hadn’t considered, take a look at alpine tractors if its not flat or you need to run low ground pressure and reverse drive on some for optimising weight distribution.
Or if it doesn’t have to be compact, an old Ford Dexta will continue to be worth the same money, have stability in width over a compact and be simple to maintain.

Friend bought a John Deere with the Briggs and Stratton Intek engine. I repaired it for him when the cam bump decompressor failed (common issue). The engine is absolute Chinese made garbage – avoid.

The engine is absolute Chinese made garbage – avoid.

Noted.  The fieldtrac machines appear to use mitsubishi engines but I have no idea if they are any better.