Sub Compact Tractors

[dh]

That LS looks like a nice tractor. I shopped new and used, but ended up with a Shibuara 22hp diesel 4x4. No idea what year it is, probably early 1980's but completely overhauled in 2008 with low hours. Great tractor, but the high center of gravity and no rollover protection scare me sometimes. I don't know if the old Fords are rollover prone but this one has been on two wheels once on a very gentle slope with a load of feed in the bucket and it scared the crap out of me. I got it for a small firewood business and unloading animal feed and maintaining a little stretch of dirt road around my property. About once a month I have firewood customer wanting to buy or trade vehicles for the Shibuara.

When I was in the market I found a lot of rebadging happens with the subcompact tractors. Everyone knows the Ford and Yanmar name, but few people have a clue what a Shibuara is. I learned that Shibuara happens to be the OEM for Ford and Yanmar and maybe MF subcompacts from the 1970's and up. So there are some good deals on the "off-brand" stuff.

New rebadged "off brand" units I nearly bought were the McCormick (X1.25) and the Branson (2205H). A dealer in Bakersfield had a McCormick X1.25 with a syncro trans for $10,999 last year. I called to make a deal but they had just sent it out to a job as a loaner. When it was returned with about 100 hours on it they offered it to me for $9999 but I had already bought the Shibuara by that time. Rural King sells a rebadged Korean subcompact at a good price, but no dealers near California.