What 2 wheel tractor for under £500 used?

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tommydog
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I have a few acres of land that I want to cultivate for various purposes. I want to cut grass for hay making (not planning to bail, I will store it loose) and also grow vegetables. I therefore need something that can be used with a Scythe attachment and also a rotavator / plough attachment.

Due to my tight budget I have been looking at older equipment, such as the oxford Allen Scythe and the Howard 350. Although I am unsure if the Howard 350 has a Scythe attachment? Also the rotavator / plough attachments for the Oxford Allen seem to be almost non existent for sale. The other option is something like a newer secondhand BCS machine.

I reiterate that I am looking for a 2 wheel tractor, as I don't have the budge for anything larger. I am also not interested in getting contractors in or asking neighbors to help. I want to do this myself!

Any recommendations would be much appreciated.
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peter
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A note of caution, Howard 350, mine tried killing me, rolled backwards on a slope and in hitting me engaged reverse, thankfully didn't engage the rotors, they don't have a deadmans handle that kills the engine when you release it. There are a number of brands of Italian made two wheeled tractors, a fair few of which are very adaptable. There's also TracMaster at https://www.tracmaster.co.uk/pages/bcs-machines

All the front powered wheels - rear mounted tines type of rotovator don not do well on compacted ground unless they are large and heavy machines, the rotors hit the ground and take over driving the machine pulling you forward so you put more weight on the rotors........ If heavy enough then it's easier to cut the ground than to launch the drag-race.
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tommydog
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peter wrote:A note of caution, Howard 350, mine tried killing me, rolled backwards on a slope and in hitting me engaged reverse, thankfully didn't engage the rotors, they don't have a deadmans handle that kills the engine when you release it. There are a number of brands of Italian made two wheeled tractors, a fair few of which are very adaptable. There's also TracMaster at https://www.tracmaster.co.uk/pages/bcs-machines


Apart from almost killing you how do you find the Howard 350? Have you found it reliable? Not sure when the Howard 350 was made and if spare parts are still available?

The problem with the Tracmasters is I think they are out of my price range. Are there any good Chinese clones? Anything else worth looking at?
Richard
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I definitely am biased, but a Merry Tiller Titan sounds exactly what you need. Allen scythes are not Tillers. The Titan will rotavate and has a sickle mower and plough attachment. The Titan itself would be fairly cheap, but ensure you get one with reverse, as mowing without a reverse gear, is awkward. Titan mowers too, are fairly cheap to buy, but you need Titan traction wheels with extension tubes for both plough and mower. These, and the vee-plex pulley, are expensive. Ploughs are also on the expensive side, and Wolseley recommended you rotavate before ploughing anyway. The whole thing is going to cost circa £500.
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peter
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Howard rotovator are pretty old things now, the Gem is an absolute beast.
350 is pretty manoeuvrable, controls accessible and logical.
Spare parts, rotor blades are out there as new (old) stock still,, belts very available.
All the other mechanicals your likely to be looking for a donor machine unless it's a standard thing like a bearing. You'll need to be mechanically skilled or rich to repair them.
Both mine had Kohler engines, which ended up not starting, I cut my losses, sold the lot and out the cash towards a brand new RTT3.

There's a chap near Ongar who specialised in them Google Howard Rotovator or look on Amazon, I sold him my pair and various implements including a plough.
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tommydog
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Richard wrote:I definitely am biased, but a Merry Tiller Titan sounds exactly what you need. Allen scythes are not Tillers. The Titan will rotavate and has a sickle mower and plough attachment. The Titan itself would be fairly cheap, but ensure you get one with reverse, as mowing without a reverse gear, is awkward. Titan mowers too, are fairly cheap to buy, but you need Titan traction wheels with extension tubes for both plough and mower. These, and the vee-plex pulley, are expensive. Ploughs are also on the expensive side, and Wolseley recommended you rotavate before ploughing anyway. The whole thing is going to cost circa £500.


Thanks for your recommendation. I don't know much about the Titan, but am I right in thinking that all Titans after 1978 had reverse? Also is there a selection of engines for the Titans with reverse? Were some engines better than others?

I have also been looking at the GT and Professional, but they seem very rare used and not sure if you can get a scythe attachment for them?
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Cider Boys
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Merry Tillers and Howards were all good machines but I would suggest the Mayflower walk behind tractor with scythe attachment but I don't know how available they are now. They had a Villiers engine with a forward/reverse gearbox but provided no engine braking when going downhill as I learnt the hard way when driving it down a steep road!!!! Used to plough, cultivate, hoe etc. with many attachments, some that I made, unfortunately I left mine blocking up a hedgerow decades ago.

As for a cheap Chinese rotavator for £500 I would recommend the Maxtra, but I do not know what the spare parts situation is, I have one (was given to me) and it does a good job rotavating but no scythe attachment. I would not want to rotavate a couple of acres though.
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=ma ... &FORM=VIRE
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Richard
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You are correct, all Titans made after 1978 had the reverse. Professionals are no good as the sickle mower for them is rocking horse dropping rare, and they won't pull a proper plough. All Titan GTs had reverse and all Titans and GTs had a 5hp Briggs & Stratton except for very early Titans which had a 4hp version, and post 1978 GTs had a 7hp engine. This one isn't the best, as the carb was difficult to keep in tune, though I note that Chinese copies of the carb are now available.

There were quite a few Rotavators which had sickle mower and plough attachments, Mayfield, Monro, etc, but I think all of them will be pre millennium, as the strimmer and ride on mower virtually killed off sickle mowers. With all these older machines one must expect to clean the points occasionally, and contend with rust and dirt from fuel tanks getting into the carb. Fairly sure the Chinese Tillers don't have plough or sickle mower attachments.
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Cider Boys
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Richard, I notice your correct description of the walk behind tractor as a 'Mayfield' and not a Mayflower as I described it. I think I must have got confused with the Triumph Mayflower car!

Barney
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