40-55hp CUT or Utility Tractor for 20 acre horse farm in Michigan

[Z-Michigan]

Thanks! I spent about 2.5 hours playing on my 5105 this afternoon, moving lots of snow, turning a manure sprawl into a manure mountain, etc. It is wonderful. With the FEL and loaded tires I never feel like I'm straining it (admittedly this has been light work so far - though it was fun shoving a wet, old 1000+ lb round bale around without any resistance!) and the rear blade is wonderful for moving snow. Very timely too with the winter storm warning we have here.

I saw the report and i was impressed actually on the tc55da. HP was what it was rated and hydraulic was 10.9 instead of 11.6 whcih is not far off and 3Pt hitch weight was 3433 at 20 inches instead of 3465 at 24 inches. I call that close enough. The fuel leak was a fluke as i have not heard of any problems with that on other 55 owners. I will say that its a fuel hog for sure. It also is heavier than any other comparitive tractor which is good for haying but not good for on a lawn. I just didnt want other TC-55 lookers to be scared away with this post.Mike

No problem. I'm not here to smear other brands/models. I think NH makes a good product and I had initially looked at the TC48/55 models - but lack of any in stock at local dealers kept me from looking too hard. I will note that I think my 5105 is directly comparable and it weighs about 4500lbs in ready to operate condition, before adding ballast or the FEL or implement weight. I'll also note that my fully ballasted 5105, weighing something like 6500 lbs with filled rears (16.9x28) and FEL, and R1 ag tires, did no visible damage to any of my turf today - cold but not totally frozen ground. Also, one item that steered me toward the 5105 was the extremely low fuel consumption per HP hour indicated on the NE tractor tests - about 15-20% less than many models in that power range. Large displacement and low RPM is the secret, helped by having 3 cylinders instead of 4 or 5.

 

[john_bud]

5105 good tractor, good choice. You will enjoy it for many years to come!

jb

 

[Roto]

exceptionally better fuel mileage then a tc55 but that extra 550lbs i need when haying. i would love to have that fuel mileage though.......

mike

 

[Z-Michigan]

Photos at long last!

 

[Z-Michigan]

Another three photos (that's all for now). The fields on other side of the driveway are mine - existing alfalfa hayfield on the right, weed field to be turned into another hayfield on the left. Corn fields belong to neigboring farmer.

 

[dgl24087]

Seeing that snow reminds me how happy I am to live in the south, lol.

 

[scott_vt]

Mornin Z,
I have been waiting for those pics Im glad to hear that your happy with your new machine ! Should serve you well for many years to come ! Did you ever get in touch with my neighbor Neil on the 5105 ?

Good luck with your new machine !

 

[Z-Michigan]

Scott - I did email with Neil and he was very helpful. He seems totally happy with his 5105 and that was a plus in my decision to choose it over Kubota. I also have to say - I usually get "buyer's remorse" after any big purchase no matter how carefully thought out. As usual, I did on this. I stopped by the Kubota dealer two days ago and scrutinized a 6040 they now had on hand (too bad they didn't two months ago or else I probably never would have looked at JD) - and all my remorse went away! The Mxx40 isn't a bad tractor, but now that I've used the JD for a bit I can see a number of detail areas where I really like the Deere better. Some examples - quality and location of draft control lever, quality and location of PTO lever, location of throttle, ease of shifting between ranges, and quality of 3ph components and fasteners used to keep them all together (in particular, the Deere toplink is really easy to adjust with a big built-in lever that folds along it - the Kubota toplink has two little nubs and is much harder to adjust; also, there was paint flaking off the toplink on the M7040 that I test-drove, which was brand new with like 2.0 hours). Stuff most buyers would hardly notice, but after using for a bit seem like important items.

 

[charleyfarmall]

I read this whole thread after the fact and thought that I would add some things I have learned over the past 2 years.

First though, The 5105 was a Very Good Choice. You won't be sorry.

I have 88 acres of rolling land in Tennessee. When we started, I leased the hay fields out to a neighbor, so I needed a good small tractor that could do everything else on the farm. That included some FEL work, tilling, grading, brush hogging, fencing etc. We are planting several acres of blueberries on a hill so I knew that the tractor would need to be used in an orchard/ vinyard setting. At that time we had no animals but planned on horses.

Today, the neighbor is gone, farm sold and we are doing our own hay - all square bales. We are now responsible for renovating all of the fields and replanting. We now have 3 horses, planting blueberries, planting new hay fields, fixing roads, building fences, doing lots of square bales etc.

MFWD is important to us, as are good brakes, and locking differentials. I bought a McCormick GX50/ CAB/ FEL. It has MFWD, 4 Wheel brakes, 12x12 shuttle fully syncro shuttle and gearbox. My wife uses it most of the time for virtually everything.

Cabs are great, we work in all conditions comfortably. This was especially important for my wife. It is really important for mowing and haying because there are so many insects and we spend hours in the fields. The cab gives us total comfort.

We use every bit of the tractor. Especially tilling for field renovation. I was not interested in a hydro, and there is nothing better than a fully syncroed shuttle. I won't buy another tractor without a 12x12 or 16x16 shuttle. Power reversers are great, but to me, it's one more problem that I can't fix 10-15 years from now.

Tools we have are: Box blade, post hole, rock rake, Square baler, Haybine, 3pt Hoe, 6ft tiller, 5ft Bush Hog, 6ft flail mower, fertilizer spreader, grain drill, hay tedder, sickle mowers x 2, 5 ton fertilizer spreader,,,,,,,,

So... 45-50hp is more than enough to do square bales and everything else we do on the farm. Even on a farm this size. The best tool I own is the flail mower. It beats a bushog for pasture mowing, it beats a finish mower if the grass gets a little long. I got mine used and if you can get one, do it. You still need a bush hog for heavier brush though. If your tractor can swing it, get a 6 or 7 ft bush hog if you have a lot of territory. We have miles of overgrown areas that get mowed once a year. 5ft takes too long, but it is easily run by my old IH so I can get under trees etc. Cabs don't go under trees so well...

Get a quick attach FEL. You need palette forks even if you think you don't initially. I don't have them and there are so many times I have needed them it kills me.

I need a second small tractor to get under trees and in the woods. One without a cab. I have an old IH utility which I use for this, but no power steering and the clutch is too heavy for my wife so I will be replacing it with another old tractor with power steering. I can't afford another CUT with a shuttle shift for this or I would.

I am going to get a bigger tractor with cab, fel etc. Why if the GX is doing fine? Because I have way too much hay to do by hand and I want to automate it completely and you need a full size chassis tractor do handle palettes of hay. I also find that both of us need a tractor at the same time frequently. Both of us could hay at the same time and a bigger tractor can handle picking it up and stacking it. Plus, the CUT is not safe on my farm pulling a fully loaded hay wagon which can weigh as much as the tractor. Some of the tilling and field work is going to be easier with a bigger tractor but these are more unique to our style of farming on a large acreage.

 

[cave]

Qualifier:

I have a 5030 HST. I have personally, with zero problem, moved 3000 lb (weighed on a scale) pallets of sod with my 5030 and 853 loader with forks.

YMMV

I have been looking at a Kubota 5740 with a cab and a 5240 without a cab. Do you think the 854 loader that goes with the 5740 will lift 3000 lbs on a set of forks? What do you think the chances are of lifting a 3000lb palet 5 or 6 ft high. This is something I would only do once or twice a year. The specs on the 853/854 loader don't indicate it can lift much more than 2000lbs. But, the loader looks stonger and heavier than the 400cx loader on the JD 4720 that is rated at 2500lbs.

I am a little bit concerned about the visibilty in a cab for doing fine grader blade work such as spreading gravel or filling in a pot hole in the driveway. I felt like I could see better without a cab as I could lean over the fender but I didn't have an actual impliment on the tractor.

I am very close to buying the 5740 but I am also looking at JD 5105, 5325 and perhaps a M7040. But, I would love a HST.