Challenger Tractors

[GarryinNC]

Do any of you know of the Challenger brand of tractor? I think they are (were?) marketed by AGCO. Anything good, bad, etc. There is one for sale locally, has hydrostatic drive, FWD, and a loader with bucket and forks (Quick attach). 1240 hours. I will get the model number. Looks like around 35-40 horsepower.

Garry

 

[Billy NY]

Might be a MT 275, we had a 33hp MT 265. That one was an Iseki 3 cylinder diesel. I'd say they are a typical compact tractor, hold up reasonably well with decent maintenance, but these are not suited for heavy commercial type use, but if its a size that works, given the hours, repairs and maintenance on ours, for the work it did, it was a decent compact tractor. With wheel weights, but no loaded tires, and the fact that they are narrow, this model was not as stable as other utility tractors I've owned or operated. I prefer my older Ford 850 over this compact in many situations, because of weight and stability.

So depending on what you will be doing, that should help you decide if one this size is fine for what you need.

Ours had a side exhaust instead of a stack and that was the worst design I have ever seen, having the exhaust pipe end, next to the fresh air intake of the engine. The soot that would build up on the secondary filter was unreal, and a maintenance cost, it was traded off on something much larger, was just too small for us, and was really not a good choice from the beginning, but it did the job for 12 years. I was going to put a stack on it, or customize the side pipe, they all had stacks later. I unloaded tractor trailer loads of shavings with it, ML 30 loader was on it, but that loader under heavy usage, cracked on the frame, it sheared bolts off on the cast housings of the tractor, and towards the end it had front axle issues from the loader useage, which I would have to say was heavy at times and its just too light of a tractor.

Hydrostatic was nice for some work, and for an estate, landscaping, or similar seasonal and moderate use, it would be fine, like most of these compact tractors, seems Kubota and others are more dominant and have been. Parts from AGCO I could get without too much trouble from a variety of sources, I could also get them from CAT, as they were involved in the beginning but not with the small models like these, however I could get any part I needed 7 or 8 years ago, off the shelf or ordered in. A friend who has a greenhouse and hay operation in town here bought a brand new 80HP model and in comparison to a JD he meticulously looked at, it really shined, he has a late model JD as well, but feature wise, this challenger is impressive, he's happy with that one, as we have talked about it every year I go to get my plants. Parts I don't believe are a problem, but getting service, like on site, is not good in this location since the dealer went out of business, he's a dairyman now. I used to do a lot of business with him, parts support, service etc. were all great when it was open. It made all the difference.

 

[sd pete]

According to tractor data.com the smaller tractors are imports from Japan. There are a few 4x4 and track models around here

 

[GarryinNC]

It is a MT285B with a ML 40 loader. Tractordata says 47 engine hp and 38 at the pto. Has a four cylinder diesel, three speed ranges and hydrostatic drive for forward and reverse. Missing the hood side panels.

Thanks for the replies.
Garry