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Texas/New Mexico Stateline | I was looking at older used tractors online, mostly the late 70s and early 80s 4 wheel drives and was noticing how there seems to be quite a bit of difference in price for a similar aged and speced Versatile verses a Steiger. With the Vers. on average 10k more or so. I haven't had any experience at all with Steigers but have been around Versatiles a little. Why do you think this is? Are parts harder to find for one or the other? More reliable? Nobody likes the green color?
...Just idle curiosity. |
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| A couple of things that made farmers go with Versy rather than someone else...
The Versatiles had a longstanding relationship with Cummins and they had solid, efficient, reliable engines designed and rated to perform in ag applications. The Steigers, on the other hand, were unpredictable year-to year as to who would supply the engines.
One other coffee shop [and farm shop] comment was that the Versy was much easier to service... both minor and major repairs were just more convenient to do on the red ones. The farm I grew up on never owned a Green Steiger or Red Versy, so my comments are one step removed from actual owners.
The first 4WD's bought for our place were from Winnipeg, but were Blue... Ford, then New Holland. Both had very reliable Cummins power, but the 350 Hp NH had a weak manual trans [Okubo] that dinged us for $15K+ at under 5000 hours. Never again.
You guys who owned either or both of the old green Monsters or Red Versy tractors... comments on cab comfort, reliability, longevity... Whaddya say??? |
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North Dakota | We used to have a few of each. Still running three Versatile 950s now. As the previous poster said, the big thing is that Versatiles are much easier to work on. For instance, just to replace a clutch on a Steiger, you have to remove the transmission.
Some Steigers had Cat engines whereas all Versatiles had Cummins. As a general rule, Cat engines are more expensive to work on. We had a Tiger, a Cougar, and a Bearcat, along with 900 and 950 Versatiles.
I would say that cabs are better in the Steigers, at least in the Tiger and Cougar they were. Also, Steigers were usually quite a bit heavier than comparable Versatile models, so they had better traction.
I don't think getting parts are big problem for either tractor, at least I know they are not hard to get for Versatiles from New Holland dealers. I'd assume Case dealers carry parts for Steigers. |
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ND | have had both
steigers are hands down a better built and pulling tractor in the same size
i prefer the cat motors also
newest tractor bought is a new buhler versatile
built like the steigers used to be and simple
still have 2 steigers of the 85 vintage |
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Hagen Brothers farms,Goodrich ND | I owned an early Versatile (68) and still have a pair of older Steigers (84 model series 4 Panther and 85 1000 series Cougar. Both brands were good tractors, all Cummins powered. The old manual trans Versy is hands down easier to change a clutch, they appear to have a lower profile and ride better.
The Steigers are brute tough with much thicker metal in things like frame and fenders, a little tougher to service than the Versy, but not much You rarely have to add ballast to a Steiger, you got it in the form of thick steel. |
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Southeast North Dakota | Hey, nice to see another V8 Versatile fan! I do have to disagree about the cab comfort. I owned a Steiger ST 310 Panther III and have many Versatiles on the farm now and I wouldn't get back in that cramped Steiger cab for anything. The Versatile cab you can stretch out in, I always felt the Steiger cab lacked room.
I once replaced a clutch in my Steiger and it was over $3000. I replaced a clutch in one of my Versatiles and it was $1000. They are so much easier to work on, I wouldn't own anything but a Versatile. JMHO.
Hey, what do you pull with your 950's? How have they treated you? |
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Elkhart, Illinois | What is all this complaing about clutches? Our 1975 Panther II has the original clutch and a "boat load" of hours |
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Southeast North Dakota | We're trying to point out the difference in cost when you have to replace the clutches in each tractor. If you have an original clutch in a Steiger that age you are truly lucky. |
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Flora IL | we have a steiger cougar st 230 i think... its been a great tractor and we will keep it forever just to pull a field cultivator for ditches in fields and a backup for the stx 375 and 325...
Really good tractor.. |
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Winkler, Manitoba Canada | Have had both as well. A blue Ford FW20 (PT series3) powered by an 855 Cummins and a Designation 6 Versatile. The tractors are both pretty good machines. The Steiger is definitely a heavier tractor but I am not sure better. Both are heavy on the nose and light on the tail. The 20 speed transmission in the Steiger is easier to shift while moving than the Versatiles 12 speed. Versatile cab is nicer than Steiger in the series that I have owned. General accessibility for working on would go to the Versatile for sure. The tip up hood on the Steiger was a nice feature. Overall I would have a preference for the Versatile.
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North Dakota | Versatile Farmer - 4/25/2009 18:41
Hey, nice to see another V8 Versatile fan! I do have to disagree about the cab comfort. I owned a Steiger ST 310 Panther III and have many Versatiles on the farm now and I wouldn't get back in that cramped Steiger cab for anything. The Versatile cab you can stretch out in, I always felt the Steiger cab lacked room.
I once replaced a clutch in my Steiger and it was over $3000. I replaced a clutch in one of my Versatiles and it was $1000. They are so much easier to work on, I wouldn't own anything but a Versatile. JMHO.
Hey, what do you pull with your 950's? How have they treated you?
I agree about the spaciousness of the Versatile cab being nice compared to the Steigers, but from what I can remember (been about 11-12 years since we had a Steiger), the cabs on the Tiger II and the Cougar were quieter and a bit more modern-ish.
2 of our 950's are our workhorses. One pulls a 4010 CaseIH Concord all spring, the other jumps around from pulling the heavy harrow, applying NH3, chisel plowing, disking, rolling, whatever we need. The third one is kind of just a yard tractor. It was purchased brand new by my grandfather, and despite having over 20,000 hours on it and being a tad thirsty for oil, we can't bring ourselves to part with it. That one pulled the air-seeder up until about 4 years ago.
How have they treated us? Really well. The one that pulls the Concord is set at 375 HP and has a shade over 10,000 hours on it and I would say is the most critical tractor to our operation. Despite the high hours, I haven't had any reason to be concerned about it. The other one has about 6,000 hours on it, and we just overhauled it about 400 hours ago. It's had a rougher life than the other one, but is a good outfit.
I don't know what model Versy the original poster in this thread was looking at, but one big drawback that I will mention about a 900 Versatile, both Series I & II, is that the differentials were not heavy enough for the horsepower. We converted a Series I 900 to Turbo VT, and ended up going through alot of differentials. The engine ended up putting out 360 HP on the dyno, so we just figured it had too much power for the drive-train. A couple years later we bought a Series II 900 and went through a couple differentials on that one as well. That one was all stock, rated at 320 HP. The 950 and 935 Versatiles came out with much heavier differentials than the 900's, and we haven't had much trouble with those. I'm not familar with what the drivetrain looks like on the 895/875/835's, so I don't know if that was a problem with those tractors although I would guess not since they didn't put out near as much horsepower as the ones with V-8's.
Also, to ramble on for a bit longer, the one 950 we have that pulls the air drill has British differentials. The differentials, axles, and axle housings are about half again as big as those on our other Versy's. that one is a 1982, the last year they made the 950 so I don't know if that was standard that year or not. We've had two '81 models that didn't have those heavy duty differentials and axles.
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bushton kansas | My first versatile 935 came from N.D. My dealer would trade for two tractors a year off of this big farm in N,D. he would have two new tractors delivered from the factory to this farm, then his service man would go up and prep them. Then he would go up with two mexican boys and pump the tires up and send them south, he would meet them at noon with two micky dees bags and put them in a cheap motel at night,he said it was a lot cheaper than trucking and he knew everything that was wrong with them when they got to central kansas. the tractor ran great for 20 years. |
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Central ND | 850 II |
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Seneca Kansas 66538 | How did you get one of those with an 855 cummins in it? |
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SW Saskatchewan | Just have their little quirks. Versatile a little handier, simpler-- the RABA axles have more parts and can cost more to repair- plus a lot more steel to handle.
The electrical bulkhead connectors on Steigers are a PITA. Prefer the Versy Trans to the road ranger.
Had problems with the hyd pump on PT270 with the 3306 motor- didn't like running Valmar units. Also hydraulics on Steigers tend to be leaky.
The big complaint - the air conditioner on Steiger blows out on your knee and elbow and took me 7 yrs to get rid of the arthritis- Versy has a nice cool breeze right in face- ah.
Story used to be that the green was worth more in States, red more in Canada.
Now I would say the one in best condition would be the best tractor- so close you aren't going to lose going either way.
Oh, I nearly forgot - the Steiger is one step higher than versy- if you are getting on and off a lot it counts up by the end of the day!
See- there are real important differences between these tractors. |
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Brazilton KS | In most respects the 895 was the most severe load on the components of any of the series 2 tractors. While it's stock hp was marginally lower, it's torque output is significantly higher. That's why it was the only one in the series to get a 15.5" clutch and the only one which is commonly found with 16 bolt final drives.
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Flora IL | i still have a hard time believeing they have better resale...ive been seeing the older steigers going for alot of money.... i never really see old versatiles.. |
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Southeast North Dakota | What gear do you pull your Concord in? Which seed cart do you have? Do you pull NH3 behind it? LOL.....sorry for the 100 questions but I'm always curious to see what other Versatile owners do with their tractors.
I've got a Series 2 900 that I just repowered with a 360 HP 903 Turbo. The original 320 HP 903 was in there until this past year with close to 12,000 hours and finally got a little tired. When I put the new engine in I had the diffs pulled apart and checked and the mechanic said they look like the day they were put in. I'm thinking by pulling all the same loads I should be fine (as long as I don't keep grabbing for higher gears LOL).
Oh yes, if you have an '82 950 it has the large planetaries that are bulletproof. Those are similar to the ones used on the 946/976 Designation 6's. Those will run forever. |
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Texas/New Mexico Stateline | You are probably right on prices. I guess if you take a closer look at the HP they are about the same within their own years. I am not seriously looking to buy anything right now, I have always thought they were really interesting tractors. In my situation it would sure be hard to justify $150,000 for modern conveniences in a late model tractor. When you can get the same HP with $25,000. And in my situation all it would do is pull a plow back and forth all day. As long as it has A/C and radio I don't care. And I can slap a EZ steer in anything.
1980-88 Versatiles:
http://www.tractorhouse.com/listings/list.aspx?bcatid=464&PCID=&dlr...
1980-88 Steigers:
http://www.tractorhouse.com/listings/list.aspx?bcatid=464&PCID=&dlr... |
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Winkler, Manitoba Canada | I replaced an antifreeze leaking 555 with an 855. Once you have collected enough parts it is basically a bolt in. :)
Edited by WTW 4/26/2009 14:04
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North Dakota | Usually pull the air seeder in 2-2. It is a 2300 seed cart with a Lombardini engine. Pull a 1500 gal NH3 tank behind that. |
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Elkhart, Illinois | well Versy, Call it lucky if ya want. Still going.... come to Illinois and check it out |
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Southeast North Dakota | Oh I believe you when you say it's still going.........I'm just saying you're lucky that you haven't had to replace the clutch. |
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Versatile vs. Steiger
