Ultimate Wheel Horse

[WheelHorseNut 222]

Hey guys,

I've been mulling over what to do next.  I have always wanted a GT14 and recently missed out on a nice one about 3 hours away from me at a really good price.  I guess, what I'm asking is, what is the best or most versatile Wheel Horse?

 

I guess it's kind of subjective and probably needs clarification -- the right tool for the job sort of thing...

 

I want a larger tractor that has the ability to run a loader at some point.  Basically has to have the hydraulic option.  Any thoughts?  What do you guys see as the ultimate wheel horse?

Thanks for your help!

- Jeff

[wfrpalm 218]

I would think something from the D series.

[russellmc301 600]

c-160 is versitile and a common model to get parts for so you can work it hard without worry.

[953 nut 60,220]

56 minutes ago, WheelHorseNut said:

I have always wanted a GT14

Well there you go, answered your own question. I have been real pleased with my GT-14 and it works well with a loader. The three point hitch is nice to have too.

[jellyghost 378]

Now I want a GT-14!  

[Walt 339]

This came up on my local CL yesterday and is a long ways from you it also seems rather high priced to me.

This is a 1977 D250 wheel horse garden tractor, it has power steering, 
It comes with a front end loader, 60" mower deck, 59" plow blade, garden trailer, and a rock basket for weight.

I have the original owners manual, from 1977.

Officially for importing purposes the Renault engine was underrated to 19.9HP. It's actually an industrial forklift engine closer to 35HP. In order to import it as a "garden tractor" it had to be rated below 20HP. Anything over that was subject to different regulations as a full size .

The D-250 specs are:
Engine: 19.9 HP Four cylinder Renault liquid cooled engine.
Transmission: Manual 10 speed
Ground speeds Fwd 0.4 - 10.6, Rev 0.6 - 3.6
Wheel Base 55"
Overall width 44.5"
Overall length 78.0"
Overall height 44.6"
Weight 1,169 lbs.

$5,600.00 or Best offer

Edited October 1, 2016 by Walt

[roadapples 6,983]

1 hour ago, russellmc301 said:

c-160 is versitile and a common model to get parts for so you can work it hard without worry.

I`m also partial to the C160 but I have no need for a three point hitch. Parts are easy to find and will handle most anything except a 60" deck...

[wallfish 18,187]

1 hour ago, WheelHorseNut said:

Basically has to have the hydraulic option.  Any thoughts?

The loaders are run from a separate hydraulic pump powered from the PTO of the engine and do not use the trans hydraulics. So no need to limit yourself to a hydro trans tractor.

GT-14s are nice bigger style tractors and that loader looks good on 953's tractor.

[elliot ness 1,916]

I would say 520H 92 or newer with the gear reduction steering, I have had many loader tractors, and I just put a loader on a 1994 520H and it steers like it's got power steering. and plenty of power from the 20hp Onan.

[refracman 167]

The best or most versatile imop would be either the GT14 or the C195 of WHs larger tractors.

 Once i picked up a 195 the 160 was put into storage, while its a great all around unit it was to small for my needs.

I would not pick any of the Ds, they have to many issues and parts are specific and getting hard to come by. 

Although the GT14 and the 195 have their own issues the C195's would be easiest to overcome. Most of the parts and attachments are inter-changeable with the smaller C's and 3-500 series and the engine can be swapped easy enough. I had loaders on both and both handle one well, the 3pts on both work well.

I do like my XI tractor but parts and attachments are not as plentiful.

 

[WheelHorseNut 222]

5 hours ago, wfrpalm said:

I would think something from the D series.

That was definitely on my list of options.  The D250's with the Renault engines are not good for heavy work, right? The earlier D160's and D200's are where I should look, right?

5 hours ago, 953 nut said:

Well there you go, answered your own question. I have been real pleased with my GT-14 and it works well with a loader. The three point hitch is nice to have too.

Wow!  That's impressive!  What a great setup!  That's just a real nice tractor!

4 hours ago, Walt said:

This came up on my local CL yesterday and is a long ways from you it also seems rather high priced to me.

This is a 1977 D250 wheel horse garden tractor, it has power steering, 
It comes with a front end loader, 60" mower deck, 59" plow blade, garden trailer, and a rock basket for weight.

I have the original owners manual, from 1977.

Officially for importing purposes the Renault engine was underrated to 19.9HP. It's actually an industrial forklift engine closer to 35HP. In order to import it as a "garden tractor" it had to be rated below 20HP. Anything over that was subject to different regulations as a full size .

The D-250 specs are:
Engine: 19.9 HP Four cylinder Renault liquid cooled engine.
Transmission: Manual 10 speed
Ground speeds Fwd 0.4 - 10.6, Rev 0.6 - 3.6
Wheel Base 55"
Overall width 44.5"
Overall length 78.0"
Overall height 44.6"
Weight 1,169 lbs.

$5,600.00 or Best offer

Those are man sized tractors for sure!  I read something about the drivetrain somewhere on RS when plowing and stuff -- would a front end loader cause it too much stress?

4 hours ago, wallfish said:

The loaders are run from a separate hydraulic pump powered from the PTO of the engine and do not use the trans hydraulics. So no need to limit yourself to a hydro trans tractor.

GT-14s are nice bigger style tractors and that loader looks good on 953's tractor.

Gotcha.  Yeah, I just thought there was an option because a few tractors I had looked at on CL had hydraulic distribution blocks mounted on them where others did not.

3 hours ago, elliot ness said:

I would say 520H 92 or newer with the gear reduction steering, I have had many loader tractors, and I just put a loader on a 1994 520H and it steers like it's got power steering. and plenty of power from the 20hp Onan.

 

 

Hmm... These were not on my list but I will definitely check them out on my local CL.

[WheelHorseNut 222]

3 hours ago, refracman said:

The best or most versatile imop would be either the GT14 or the C195 of WHs larger tractors.

 Once i picked up a 195 the 160 was put into storage, while its a great all around unit it was to small for my needs.

I would not pick any of the Ds, they have to many issues and parts are specific and getting hard to come by. 

Although the GT14 and the 195 have their own issues the C195's would be easiest to overcome. Most of the parts and attachments are inter-changeable with the smaller C's and 3-500 series and the engine can be swapped easy enough. I had loaders on both and both handle one well, the 3pts on both work well.

I do like my XI tractor but parts and attachments are not as plentiful.

 

Definitely good info... I will look for some of those.  Actually, I think there is one on CL here that has a loader.

Thanks for the info everyone.  Sad about losing out on that GT14 but this gives me some avenues to go down.

I'll let you know what I get.

There are some tractors with loaders around here but they're a little out of my price range (in the 3k range!).

We'll see what comes up!

-Jeff

[DennisThornton 4,771]

16 hours ago, refracman said:

The best or most versatile imop would be either the GT14 or the C195 of WHs larger tractors.

 Once i picked up a 195 the 160 was put into storage, while its a great all around unit it was to small for my needs.

I would not pick any of the Ds, they have to many issues and parts are specific and getting hard to come by. 

Although the GT14 and the 195 have their own issues the C195's would be easiest to overcome. Most of the parts and attachments are inter-changeable with the smaller C's and 3-500 series and the engine can be swapped easy enough. I had loaders on both and both handle one well, the 3pts on both work well.

I do like my XI tractor but parts and attachments are not as plentiful.

 

  Of course this is with the understanding that attachments are most important and to me that's one of the defining characteristics of the word "Tractor".   If one is just looking for a riding lawnmower, then I would narrow that down to the XIs.