Tractor Buying Guide

Veteran farmers know how great it is to have a powerful and dependable tractor ready to tackle the hard work each day brings. Efficient and able to direct their power accurately through a wide array of attachments and implements, there’s little that stands in the way of a tractor getting work done. It can be difficult to narrow down your choices when looking at buying any new piece of equipment, and tractors are no exception. Fortunately your friends at Magnum Power have put together this short guide with some tips for buying a new or used tractor. Read on for more information or head into our location in Lawson, Missouri for your chance to check out some great tractors. We proudly serve Clay County, including Kearney, Liberty, Gladstone, and Kansas City, Missouri.

Types of Tractor

Before you get down to the dealership, you might want to consider what kind of tractor you’re after. A final decision with depend on two main factors: size of your property and the type of work you intend to utilize the tractor for.

Compact Utility Tractors

These tractors are essentially smaller versions of their true agricultural counterparts, mostly used for landscaping and small-scale work in the dirty. If all you need is something to help with a small garden and a few other chores around your property, like mowing, hauling, and light excavation, then a compact utility tractor should suit your needs.

Utility Tractors

Standard utility tractors won’t be hard to confuse with their compact counterparts. They’re big, powerful, and can support a large number of attachments to tackle anything you throw at it. They’re great for excavation and hauling as well. Anyone with a serious agricultural operation would benefit highly from a utility tractor.

Row Crop Tractors

If your business is crop production, you’ll want a row crop tractor. They’re larger by design and are great at taking on all the specialized field work you might have in front of you. With the ability to haul pretty much any implement, you’ll have all the options you need to till, spread, and plant.

Articulated 4WD +

Some of the largest tractors available, articulation between front and rear wheels allows for extra maneuverability and more towing power so you can haul any field-use implements you need, from planting to tillage and even leveling out land. There’s little these behemoths can’t accomplish

Implements and Attachments

The right tractor will be able to utilize the implements you need to get your work done. Have a huge field to keep mowed? Hook up a pull-behind mower and tear through that brush. Got crops? You’ll want something big that can pull heavy implements like spreaders and rotary tillers. Whatever you have in mind, it’s important to start with the kinds of implements you intend to use to make sure the tractor is up to handling them.

You can determine whether or not your tractor will work with such implements is by looking at the components. The power take-off, or PTO, is a drive shaft that powers other equipment. Another common method is a series of hydraulic pumps, which transfer energy back into the implement. If neither of these are present, there should at least be a drawbar that allows the tractor to tow. Without one of these mechanisms present, you won’t be able to get any practical work done on your field, so always check that it’s equipped with what you need.

Land and Power Considerations

Even the right type of tractor with all the implements you need won’t get you far if they aren’t right for your property. Different terrain types need different farm equipment. A lot of trees and other obstacles mean a harder time for larger tractors. Wide and open flat fields mean you can employ a faster tractor to save time. Overall, it just takes a little bit of common sense to decide how each tractor could perform on your land, so simply put some thought into it before making a decision.

Pure horsepower output isn’t the spec to look at when buying a tractor. Pay attention to equipment that can better apply power to the parts of the job most beneficial to you. More powerful PTO is going to be more useful than just a big engine alone. The same goes for hydraulic systems and drawbar ratings. Considering strength vs. utility is important for finding the right tractor for you.

New vs. Used

While used models of some equipment or vehicles are known to be lesser than their brand new counterparts, tractors stand out as extremely durable, especially when well maintained. And since your average tractor owner is definitely going to keep their tractor running, shopping for used units is usually quite safe in terms of finding an affordable, working piece of equipment. However, there are a couple of issues to consider when shopping for a used tractor.

Perhaps more important than operational hours is how well those hours match the wear on the tractor. Check cab controls like pedals or the floor mats for signs of use. A tractor with low hours but lots of wear and tear is a warning sign. Be sure to ask for any documentation about maintenance, service, and even ownership verification. Don’t be afraid to run the equipment identification number through a professional service to verify a dealer’s integrity. And of course, it’s a good idea to hop in the saddle and give the tractor a test drive.

If you don’t feel comfortable making decisions based on the mechanical condition and interior of a tractor or other heavy equipment, don’t hesitate to bring along someone who does that can serve as an advisor.

Hopefully this guide has better prepared you in your quest for a tractor. As long as you consider your needs and choose a model that can operate on your property, you’re on the right path. For more tractor buying tips, head into Magnum Power in Lawson, Missouri, where we serve Kearney, Liberty, Gladstone, Kansas City, and all of Clay County. Come in today and let our team of courteous professionals answer all your questions and help you find the new or used tractor you’ve been looking for.