# Foton tractors



## tnwalkingred

Ok guys I know few people on here are going to be a fan of buying a Chinese made tractor but give me your honest opinions and experiences with these tractors. I found a Foton 404 tractor that is 4wd about 38 hp at the PTO with a FEL with bucket and hay spear. It has two sets of remotes as well. It's a 07 model with less than 200 hours on it. I can buy it for less than 9000 dollars. Been looking for a tractor to stack 4x5 rolls that I can leave at the hay barn and this seems like it might fit the bill and is much cheaper than any other I have seen. Thoughts?

I looked around the web and it seems most of the reviews are pretty good.

--Kyle


----------



## NDVA HAYMAN

Kyle, My first thought would be the lifting capacity of a 38 hp tractor. Lifting a 1000# bale very high may be a little dangerous in my opinion. Just something to think about. Mike


----------



## JD3430

Yeah I'd be worried about weight more than HP.


----------



## Mike120

Put a big counterweight on it Kyle, then worry about getting parts and any kind of dealer support.


----------



## ARD Farm

It's been my experience (first hand) that most offshore tractors have more ass in the front loaders than the weight of the tractor can safely handle. I own a couple offshore tractors, well mainstream offshore..... Kubota's and both have more loader ass than tractor weight to deal with it.

I'd check to see if you can load the rears or load and wheel weights plus if you can increase the track by spacing the rims out. Be sure it has a substantial ROPS or cab cage and use the seatbelt.

Frankly, I've seriously floated my 105X with the loader and it's not a small unit, however, you'll dirty your knickers right now.

I bet the foton is the same.


----------



## somedevildawg

That's my deal Kyle, parts and support, and I have borrowed a couple of tractors in the past that were imports and all of them seemed to be made for smaller people, hard to operate scrunched up and levers everywhere to get tripped up on, and it's made in ROC so my honest opinion.....junk
To many other choices in tractors for me to EVER consider buying a tractor made in ROC, but then again I drove all over town the other day looking for a torque wrench made in somewhere other than ROC, I found one, cost me 3X as much but at least it won't be in a landfill in 3 weeks, probably be in someone else's toolbox, but not in the landfill or the nearest pond. My buddies tractor was a kioti, seemed to be a decent tractor, just hard as hell to operate and get onoff, think it had a diahatsu diesel engine?, purty orange paint tho


----------



## ARD Farm

A while back Kioti and Kubota got in one hell of a tiff and Kubota won. Not sure what it was about.

Never even sat on/in a Kioti but I believe Kubota's ergo's are designed for large framed American citizens, after all, this is Kubota's largest market.

My take is any tractor is good, if you take care of it properly, well, besides a green tractor......









If I remember correctly, Kioti uses a Daedong Diesel engine.


----------



## somedevildawg

ARD Farm said:


> A while back Kioti and Kubota got in one hell of a tiff and Kubota won. Not sure what it was about.
> 
> Never even sat on/in a Kioti but I believe Kubota's ergo's are designed for large framed American citizens, after all, this is Kubota's largest market.
> 
> My take is any tractor is good, if you take care of it properly, well, besides a green tractor......
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> If I remember correctly, Kioti uses a Daedong Diesel engine.
> 
> You may be right about that engine, and yes I don't even consider kubota an import anymore, they proved their quality a long time ago, and they are built for the larger size person. That lawsuit had to be over the paint color, real similar to kubota, combine that with the name kioti....grounds for a lawsuit in America. Don't think the average citizen would be fooled......but whatever
> 
> You may be right about that engine, and definitely about kubota


----------



## JD3430

For a tractor needed only to load bales and be under 9K, I'd want a heavy 4x2 with an FEL. I would think you could find an old Ford, IH, Case, etc that will easily handle and load 4x5 bales. Probably with an AC'd cab, too.


----------



## somedevildawg

Wow wth kind of post did I do, didn't know you could add to a quote but I did, maybe a new law put in by our new politicos? Sounds like one, so how does that work, I'm quoting someone else but am allowed to enter my txt in the quote box, seems rather strange, probably something to do with this made in ROC iPad, lol, sorry


----------



## ARD Farm

I have issues with posting on here myself but I'm learning slowly to circumvent them. Slowly, I'm a bit older and less computer literate than you are.....

I remember back when Kubota was little more that a curiosity from Japan. A rice paddy tractor. I had one of the first imported here. Wish I had it now.

I never imagined that they would attain what they have attained in this country.

Here in 'green country' I still take a lot of crap about my 'Orange import'. I give a bit back too.


----------



## somedevildawg

Well, all of mine are green but if I coulda found a good enuf deal I woulda bought a orange one in a minute, but the one thing that Deere has all of em beat in is parts distribution network. They have done their homework on that one, tractors are better than I've had from agco, but the new Hollands and fords have been good to me in the past. But, like I said kubota proved itself a formatable player in the tractor, atv, engine market along time ago. I currently have a rtv 900 that I've had for about 5 years.....bulletproof, don't think I've spent more than 100.00 in parts, you turn the key and go to work. I also have a lawn mower with a kubota diesel and again, no problemo, great equipment from a good company, if only they were all like that....isn't kubota Japanese tho, no comparison Japan vs. ROC, Japan actually engineers things, china does it in reverse and manages to screw that up! What is amazing tho is that companies like Apple have managed to prroduce goods in ROC and attain good quality control, so it is possible I guess.


----------



## Vol

Yes, China does have very capable engineering......the problem is they charge more for more quality....so the U.S. companies that have products built by the Chinese buy the cheaper engineering(quality), so that they can make maximum profit off the U.S. consumer. This is nothing different from the late 50's and 60's when Japan was basically doing what China is now....cheap production...and we bought those products and bitched and complained about them. The Japanese evolved over time and now build mostly quality products as their standard of living increased and allowed them to educate the general population.....surpassing the U.S. in education and many other areas except nuclear safety .

Regards, Mike


----------



## tnwalkingred

Thanks for all the good replies guys. My first concern was weight as well. Right now we run our hay business with a JD 5210 tractor and it does everything I need without any problem. The weight of our JD is 4205 while the weight of the Foton is 4580. If these numbers are correct then I would assume that handling my 4x5 rolls would not be a issue. The second most concern was dealer support. There is a guy who sells these tractors about a hour away from me. I'm 30 minutes to any other dealer. Seeing how this will just be a spare tractor to leave in the hay barn I'm not really concerned if it takes a few days to get a part. I have not seen the tractor in person yet so I can't speak to how it is set up and if it is easy to operate and will fit my 5'10" 175 lb frame. This has always been one of the best things about the green tractors in my opinion. They seem to do all the little things right that make operation easy. I'm going to go look at it and will keep you posted. Here is a link with some of the tractor specs on it.

--Kyle

http://www.jdbequipment.ca/model_ft40_404.php


----------



## carcajou

I had a good look at a few of the Foton models last fall and not all of them are built in China. Some were available with Perkins ( knockoff?) engines. I felt at the time they were built with late 80's early 90's technology, not a bad thing at all in my mind. The heavy steel fuel tanks ( read NOT plastic) and overall simplicity impressed me. Parts appear to be readily available too. At the same time i looked at John Deere's import models and the Fotons castings looked better esp on the front end loaders. Jd's 9 speed trans wouldn't work for me as the jump in the higher gears was just too great. Price wise there was not much difference between them which surprised me.


----------



## Canderson012

I just googled the tractor, it almost looks like one of thsoe Northern Tools tractors? But for lifting round bales best tractor I've found yet is a JD 5310 with loader. You could probably downsize to the 5210.


----------



## slowzuki

At least around here, the Foton's are falling in resale faster than Belarus or Zetor's. The knock off perkins is not actually a perkins, there's a lawsuit about that going on. Also, I'd be wary of the front axle. Tractors orginally designed for the asian market generally don't consider a front end loader being mounted. Even Daedong/Kioti a fairly main stream brand has had troubles with this in recent years.

That kind of money at least around here would get you a good strong 100 hp or so cabbed 2wd loader tractor that has basically stopped depreciating so you don't loose 4500$ if you have to sell it or trade it next year.


----------



## Starvation Plantaton

I don't know about a Foton but I can tell you to be wise and stay away from Belarus!
I had a new one (856 if I recall) with less than 200 hrs on the clock, still under warranty, when it swallowed a valve. At the time I was clipping pasture. Called the dealer, he came and got it, then would'nt honor the warranty! $2200 land 3 months later he brought it back. Needless to say it found a new home. I traded it in on a new JD 6400 and have'nt looked back.
I guess dad was right- You learn the hard way, You don't forget!
A dealer can make or break you if you need parts, that's why I'll stay green. They also have a death grip on resale value too!


----------



## mlappin

I'd stay away from a off breed, dealer support can disappear quickly.

It sounds way too light to me. I can't find a weight for our JD401C which I use to load hay in the field, but I can guarantee it weighs considerably more than the 4500lbs you mention.

I have both rear tires loaded with two wheel weights per axle and also have the 6" cast iron wheel spacers on the rear. With a bale on the three point it has enough loader to handle two 1100lb bales with the loader. Can handle two bales at a time with no bale on the back but spins the tires very easily.

Couldn't find a spec for weight, but did find a picture. Lots of cast iron on a JD401C along with a lot of 1 1/4" plate for the loader frame.


----------



## ARD Farm

Starvation Plantaton said:


> I don't know about a Foton but I can tell you to be wise and stay away from Belarus!
> I had a new one (856 if I recall) with less than 200 hrs on the clock, still under warranty, when it swallowed a valve. At the time I was clipping pasture. Called the dealer, he came and got it, then would'nt honor the warranty! $2200 land 3 months later he brought it back. Needless to say it found a new home. I traded it in on a new JD 6400 and have'nt looked back.
> I guess dad was right- You learn the hard way, You don't forget!
> A dealer can make or break you if you need parts, that's why I'll stay green. They also have a death grip on resale value too!


I have a very good attorney (on retainer) and here, that would never happen.....

Kubota has patterened it's parts network after JD. Always good to copy a proven system.


----------



## JD3430

I have a great Kubota dealer. Very service oriented, but even they have had some problems getting me Orange parts. I went to get a part for my 4 yr old M-7040 and they couldn't even find the part on their schematic! Finally had to go to Kubota engineering department to figure it out. 3 months later I got the part. Luckily it was only a piece for the hood.
If I had the extra money to spend, I'd buy Deere. Their resale value puts Mercedes to shame.
I got started on my own in farming with nothing....no farmland, parents were not farmers, no mentor, no inheritance, no money-honey wife.....nothing. I had to buy the least expensive, reasonably/sensible, non-chinese hay tools I could find. That's why I have a mix of so many brand names and so much old stuff

......I do have 3 New Holland pieces though!
I love Deere. US owned, pretty paint, great resale, incredible dealer network, parts, such a warm fuzzy feeling owning their stuff.
Case-IH and New Holland are pretty cool (former) US brands, too.


----------



## rdbigfarmboy

I have a Foton 404 bought it new in 2005 from rural King in West Tennessee. 
The only thing I can compare it to was a 75 Ford 3000. the foton works good 800 hours, never any failures or serious issue other than stobbing a tire on a burried post. Its shift is decent, Steering is good, The hydraulic remotes are on the left side. Brakes are good, I have replaced the alternator with a one wire DELCO. filters are off the shelf Autozone, Its a decent made good all around tractor I have disc mowed and do a lot of work with it. Compared to the 3000 ford same relative size the Ford soesnt have 4 wd or 2 speed pto or 2 sets of builtin remotes. PArts are best from Affordable Tractor of Bellview Texas.
If it has a decent loader it sounds like a good deal.
Other wise I have 2 Zetors (crystal and 7711) and a Belarus, The Ford is gone and the old Deeres are in someones yard or parade.


----------



## tnwalkingred

Ok guys after some serious thinking and alot of insight from you all I have decided to stay away from this tractor. For around 9-10K it looks like I can buy a older Ford or Massey with a FEL on it. I'm thinking maybe a MF 255. Thoughts???

--Kyle


----------



## JD3430

Ford TW's are dirt cheap and plentiful, too. Very heavy tractors-great for handling bales.
I think you would have disliked the light weight foton over a 12,000lb old American.
No offense to Foton-probably a good tractor, just sounds like that particular tractor would have been a little light for bale moving compared to old heavy steel.


----------



## Mike120

I'm not a big fan of little imported tractors. I had a Ford 1700 with a Japanese engine that we used to drag an arena rake until it cracked a piston. NH carried very few engine parts and I finally found a piston for it in a PA junk yard. As soon as I got it running again, I sold it. Pretty much anything that was US built, even most of the old stuff, you can find parts for. I also like larger tractors because, in a pinch, you can always use them as a backup.

Alternatively, for loader work I'd sure look hard at either a skidsteer or a loader tractor with a hydrostatic transmission. The most loader work I ever do involves loading/unloading small squares with the grapple or moving rounds. My left leg sure gets tired working that clutch.


----------



## mlappin

Like Mike pointed out, we still have no problems getting parts for our Olivers. The oldest is a 1949 "77"
.


----------



## tnwalkingred

Ok guys so here is what I'm looking for and you guys are more than welcome to put in your two cents worth for your favorite make and model. Giving myself a budget of 10K or less. I would like to find a 50+ PTO HP tractor and FEL. I love green and blue tractors but don't mind red ones either (IH or MF). Let me know which ones you like personally and I'll see what I can find close to home. Thanks.

--Kyle


----------



## slowzuki

Ford 4630, 5630, 5610, 7610 etc would all fit the bill if you like blue. CIH 84/85 series are nice in that size range with a shuttle shift and nice german diesel. The 2250 loader is a bit over kill for dry hay, an 1850 would be fine if you aren't taking it off.


----------



## tnwalkingred

Here is a my new "foreign made" tractor guys! LOL. What do you think?????


----------



## carcajou

Congrats You bought a great tractor IMO. Easy on fuel and very reliable. Yours appears to be in excellent shape, is that the original paint too?


----------



## ARD Farm

.................In Foton Green, on a hot summers night, me and Ilene......

Come on.....









Quite a statement.....I like it.


----------



## Vol

tnwalkingred said:


> View attachment 172
> 
> 
> Here is a my new "foreign made" tractor guys! LOL. What do you think?????


Congratulations Kyle....looks great....you will look real good on green. Beats the heck out of a Futon! Green will also put more lead in your pencil







.

Regards, Mike


----------



## JD3430

Looks great! I'm jealous.......GREEN with ENVY!


----------



## markty32

national machinery traders selling foton ft504 lemon review "foton tractor" a bunch of rip off husband and wife!!!!

look at this 
YES I GOT RIPPED OFF I have had the tractor just over a few months now and have about 15 hrs or so., on it. The dealer national machinery traders pty ltd foton tractors doesnt help at all, rubbish foton tractor. Following issues fuel tank and injector pump leaking from main housing, also hydraulic pump leaking i have a warranty "yeah right" I want a full refund so i can buy a different brand. Another major issue is the gearbox is very tight and wont go into gear. I call national machinery traders pty ltd whom supply foton tractors and no help!! rip offi want a refund! What are my rights?

THEY SUCKED ME INTO THIS DEAL AND TOLD ME IT WAS THE BEST CHINESE ON THE MARKET!!!

yeah right i am not happy Come out and fix this as you promised me a parts/labour warranty

also did you no this company has over 5 business names with ABN DODGY'

national machinery traders selling foton tractors bad news is out finally and im not the only one other members from tractor forums agree and we are going all the way.

contact me if you are even considering buying a foton tractor

I am going all the way with this!!!!


----------



## Julius15

markty32 said:


> national machinery traders selling foton ft504 lemon review "foton tractor" a bunch of rip off husband and wife!!!!
> 
> look at this
> YES I GOT RIPPED OFF I have had the tractor just over a few months now and have about 15 hrs or so., on it. The dealer national machinery traders pty ltd foton tractors doesnt help at all, rubbish foton tractor. Following issues fuel tank and injector pump leaking from main housing, also hydraulic pump leaking i have a warranty "yeah right" I want a full refund so i can buy a different brand. Another major issue is the gearbox is very tight and wont go into gear. I call national machinery traders pty ltd whom supply foton tractors and no help!! rip offi want a refund! What are my rights?
> 
> THEY SUCKED ME INTO THIS DEAL AND TOLD ME IT WAS THE BEST CHINESE ON THE MARKET!!!
> 
> yeah right i am not happy Come out and fix this as you promised me a parts/labour warranty
> 
> also did you no this company has over 5 business names with ABN DODGY'
> 
> national machinery traders selling foton tractors bad news is out finally and im not the only one other members from tractor forums agree and we are going all the way.
> 
> contact me if you are even considering buying a foton tractor
> 
> I am going all the way with this!!!!


Hi, so what happened with the foton tractor. 
It March 28/2022 , and I'm looking at a 2006 foton 40 hp, for $15,000, Alf the price of any other tractors now. 
I'm in Ontario Canada.


----------



## Trillium Farm

Julius15 said:


> Hi, so what happened with the foton tractor.
> It March 28/2022 , and I'm looking at a 2006 foton 40 hp, for $15,000, Alf the price of any other tractors now.
> I'm in Ontario Canada.


Made in China, you get what you pay for, I would not touch it.


----------

