Moving Up

[muskyhunter7]

Hello All,

I've been away from the discussions for several years now. I was active around the time I bought a JD 855 and then some attachments. Now it seems that I have the need (itch?) to move up. My job list has expanded and so have the acres. Instead of 5 acres of mowing, trimming, grading, etc. I now have about a 100 acres to take care of. My 855 has been a great "all purpose" tractor with its loader. I have a 5' box scraper, 5' tiller, 5' rotary cutter, 6' landscape rake. I'm thinking of moving all the way up to a JD 4710 or NH TC 45D. If I go that big I'm thinking that all of my attachments would be too small. If that's true then I'll have to go with all new attachments which I'm not thrilled about. Also, I use the 855 with a 5' belly mower for the lawn. If I move up I'll be looking at having to buy a separate lawn mower (maybe a ZTR). This is a dilemna. My thought re: bigger tractor centers around the need to mow with a larger cutter (6' or 7') which means more hp. Also I need a tractor with a couple of rear hyd. outlets for operating a drill (food plot planting). But I really like the small profile of the 855 getting in under trees, etc. Your advice/insight would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Henro]

Any chance of keeping the 855 and getting a second tractor?

If it were me I would keep it and buy a second tractor. It is nice having one to do the bigger jobs and a smaller one to do the grass cutting and odd jobs that don't require the larger tractor!

The implements for the smaller tractor would probably work on the larger one, to some degree...not optimum perhaps...but they would work at least until you bent them up if you were not careful... /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif... e.g...box blade catches root, root wins!

 

[RoyJackson]

I'd keep that 855. About the only thing you'd lose is the trade in value (pretty good on the 855, BTW). I assume you own it outright?
That might also give you more incentive to stick with the Green Machine..one dealer to deal with.

Good luck on your choice...

 

[PineRidge]

Not too many months ago I was faced with the same dilemma. Keep and maintain two tractors or cut one loose? My decision was partly based upon my only having room the the pole barn for one tractor and implements so I stepped up to the TC-40D and sold the 25 HP outright. I also didn't want to leave one out in the weather to rust away. Yes, I may be faced with replacing some of the smaller implements that I bought for the 25 HP but that doesn't really bother me too awful much. I just couldn't justify keeping 2 tractors hanging around especially if I would be relying of the larger HP unit most of the time if I had decided to keep them both.

Multiple tractors seem to work for some guys but I have better things to do than trying to maintain more than one but this is just my personal opinion. Do what works for you. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Henro]

<font color="blue"> Multiple tractors seem to work for some guys but I have better things to do than trying to maintain more than one but this is just my personal opinion. </font>

PineRidge,

You may have this right...but the way I look at it is that my annual maintenance will be about the same, whether I have 1, 2 or 3 tractors. That's because I am the only user, and I do maintenance by hours.

As the only user, maintenance relates more to seat time than tractor numbers. Hours on one are hours not put on the other...so my GUESS is that I spend about the same $$$ and time in a year maintaining two tractors as I would with one.

This seems to make sense to me, anyway... /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Might not work this way if the tractors are very old and/or prone to breaking frequently...

And like you said, it makes a difference if you have a roof to put your tractors under, which I do... /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

 

[PineRidge]

<font color="blue"> my annual maintenance will be about the same, whether I have 1, 2 or 3 tractors. That's because I am the only user, and I do maintenance by hours.
</font>

Henro I see your point when adding up the numbers that is a valid one. I guess I was thinking more like tires, batteries and accessories like starters, clutches and so on. But if all the tractors are fairly new then as you said that should not be a main issue I reckon.

 

[Theowegian]

Im sorta in the same situation. I have an older tractor and I really want to update to a modern bigger CUT. My thoughts relate to these:
If you have two tractors, then you'll have two of everything to maintain.
For example, two batteries, two sets of wheels, two different sets of lubricants, two maintenance schedules, two EVERYTHING! I guess thats not so bad, if you enjoy the maintenance activities and maybe if there is more than one operator at your place. But if you're having all the seat time, then you can only work one tractor at a time, right?

One tractor might sit around more than the other. So, if you dont mind having one asset sitting around, then I would say go get another one. Remember, if your misses is in love with the 855, then she'll cry when it drives away! And she might not be as comfortable with the larger tractor either.

Ive come to believe that I personally cannot justify two different sets of equipment. But it is mostly because my place is only 7.5 acres. I'll soon be buying a modern CUT ~30 hp, to use with my current 5' implements. Now thats just my opinion.

However, there must be some magic breakpoint where a fella says to himself, "I need another tractor!" And I would expect that outlook to be based on your expansion of work - which you now have.

So the bottom line is this: Do ya want it or
do ya wanna justify it? (Im sure the boys here will help you justify it, if that's what ya want/need!!! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif And it'll sure be easier to say to yourself, "I guess I should get rid of that 855 since I dont use it much", than to say, "Dang, I wish I had kept that little 855!"

good luck and tell us what you decide!
dwight

 

[frank_f15]

i will chime in with the rest, any chance of keeping the old machine? and getting the new one for th other tasks?

 

[40Kchicks]

I can understand this dilemma. I had an older ford tractor that I used as down payment for my M9000. I tried using my old 5’ mower but it was just too small. The trouble is that a 5’ mower can be found for $500 but a 10’ mower is more like $5000. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gifSo it’s double the width and ten times the cost. This is a disadvantage of going bigger. Since getting rid of the older ford there have only been a few times that it would have been nice to have the two tractors and I would have hated to see the ford just sitting out so even though I sometimes wish I could have kept it, it was probably for the best that it’s gone. Now I do have a skid steer. This does many things better than a tractor ever could so having two very different machines gives the best of both worlds.

Eric

 

[rockyridgefarm]

<font color="green"> 855 has been a great "all purpose" tractor with its loader. I have a 5' box scraper, 5' tiller, 5' rotary cutter, 6' landscape rake... ...5' belly mower </font>

If it were me, I'd keep the 855 as it is. I'd be looking at a utility tractor, probably used. CUTs are almost never worth buying used, thay hold their resale so well. But a used 60hp is pretty easy to find. Shouldn't be too hard to find one with a batwing mower, or something.

If course, new are nice too. Dealers have quotas to meet, maybe you can get an awesome deal right now....

Even if you go the large CUT route, you can keep the 855 to use with its attatchments, until you replace them, Then trade it on a ZTR, But I'd rather have the 855!!