Buying Advice 4720 or 5085m

   / 4720 or 5085m #1  

corey9212

Platinum Member
Joined
May 23, 2010
Messages
748
Location
Red Deer County, AB
Tractor
2015 John Deere 3046R
Hello, I'm shopping for a bigger tractor and am in a toss up between a 4720 cab tractor or a 5085m.

I have 5 acres of lawn to mow and 48 acres or pasture to take care of with the possibility of bailing some of it. I have two riding arenas to maintain plus about 300' of lane way to maintain.

I plan on getting all the options available for the tractor. Does anyone have any experience with these tractors, pro's and con's of both. Which one do you think would be best for me and why.

Thank you.
 
   / 4720 or 5085m #2  
Easy answer...M
 
   / 4720 or 5085m #3  
48 acres is too much to bail and maintain with a 4720. I vote the m as well. don't buy too small a machine just to have to trade it in the following year and lose money.
 
   / 4720 or 5085m #4  
You could easily handle all those chores with a 5075m or an E series with a cab. Sounds like you enjoy tons of features though so the M might be a better fit for you.
 
   / 4720 or 5085m
  • Thread Starter
#5  
How well does the m handle tight areas and turns?
 
   / 4720 or 5085m #6  
Hello, I'm shopping for a bigger tractor and am in a toss up between a 4720 cab tractor or a 5085m.

I have 5 acres of lawn to mow and 48 acres or pasture to take care of with the possibility of bailing some of it. I have two riding arenas to maintain plus about 300' of lane way to maintain.

I plan on getting all the options available for the tractor. Does anyone have any experience with these tractors, pro's and con's of both. Which one do you think would be best for me and why.

Thank you.

I went through the same decision process that you're in the middle of - 2 years ago. I ended up buying a 5075M and in all honesty... should have bought the 5085M!

The tractors you're looking at are not really in the same "functional" ballpark - IMO. Frame size, weight, maneuverability, etc. the tractors are night and day from one another! It's sorta like comparing a Toyota Tacoma versus a Ford F-350 dually.

They'll both haul loads and trailer your boat...

But, if your riding arenas are less than 100'x250' don't consider the 5085M. That tractor needs some room to maneuver! And mowing a lawn (even 5 acres) is pretty much over-the-top for a 5085M! :laughing: I could only imagine the compaction you'd have after 2-3 seasons...

The flip side is baling hay on the 48 acre parcel. Do you get 2 cutting's - maybe 3? Say, 75-100 50lb bales per acre? That's about 2 tons per acre yield. The 2nd and 3rd cutting would be less. Maybe down to just over a ton on the last cutting. So, that's somewhere in the neighborhood of 200 tons of hay per year.

That's a lot of pounding on 56hp @ pto and less than 6,000 lbs with the 4720! :eek:

So, what's most important? How are you going to cover those areas that one tractor or the other won't reasonably handle?

What finally pushed me over into the 5000 series tractor was the realization that the dollar per horsepower ratio ($$/hp) for the smaller frame tractors; including the 4000 machines is way, way out of line! When you configure the 4000 tractor with the options that you want -- the price is within striking distance of the more powerful 5000 machines! Crazy..

Good luck with your decision. It's a fun process and journey!

AKfish
 
   / 4720 or 5085m #7  
I would suggest getting the 32 speed transmisson if you go with the M! Nothing at all wrong with a 16x16 power reverser but I love all the gears I can get and I think the 32 speed gives you a road gear of up to 25mph. You said you were gonna get it all decked out anyways with options :)
 
   / 4720 or 5085m #8  
I would suggest getting the 32 speed transmisson if you go with the M! Nothing at all wrong with a 16x16 power reverser but I love all the gears I can get and I think the 32 speed gives you a road gear of up to 25mph. You said you were gonna get it all decked out anyways with options :)

X2 here. I opted for the 16x16 thinking it was enough of a step up from the 12x12 on the eLimited series of tractors. Hindsight... it'd sure be nice with a baler and heavy rototilling to be able to click that switch on the go and drop down a quick 20% in ground speed (or up) immediately! :thumbsup:

AKfish
 
   / 4720 or 5085m #9  
I think the M is the clear winner for what you need....especially if you keep your existing tractor for lighter work. It's nice to have a couple machines for that much land.
 
   / 4720 or 5085m #10  
I went through the same decision process that you're in the middle of - 2 years ago. I ended up buying a 5075M and in all honesty... should have bought the 5085M!

The tractors you're looking at are not really in the same "functional" ballpark - IMO. Frame size, weight, maneuverability, etc. the tractors are night and day from one another! It's sorta like comparing a Toyota Tacoma versus a Ford F-350 dually.

They'll both haul loads and trailer your boat...

But, if your riding arenas are less than 100'x250' don't consider the 5085M. That tractor needs some room to maneuver! And mowing a lawn (even 5 acres) is pretty much over-the-top for a 5085M! :laughing: I could only imagine the compaction you'd have after 2-3 seasons...

The flip side is baling hay on the 48 acre parcel. Do you get 2 cutting's - maybe 3? Say, 75-100 50lb bales per acre? That's about 2 tons per acre yield. The 2nd and 3rd cutting would be less. Maybe down to just over a ton on the last cutting. So, that's somewhere in the neighborhood of 200 tons of hay per year.

That's a lot of pounding on 56hp @ pto and less than 6,000 lbs with the 4720! :eek:

So, what's most important? How are you going to cover those areas that one tractor or the other won't reasonably handle?

What finally pushed me over into the 5000 series tractor was the realization that the dollar per horsepower ratio ($$/hp) for the smaller frame tractors; including the 4000 machines is way, way out of line! When you configure the 4000 tractor with the options that you want -- the price is within striking distance of the more powerful 5000 machines! Crazy..

Good luck with your decision. It's a fun process and journey!

AKfish

I agree with you, I hate the 3 Liter in the 5225. That's why I got the 5085M. The 3 liter takes some time to accelerate but the 5085M is right away. The little 3 liter doesn't have much juice in it.

A 5085M isn't that hard to move around. I can turn around with it on a headland that's 15 feet wide that goes on for a 1/4 of a mile. Can't be done with a 6000 series I wish it could though. Just slow and press of brakes if needed. It just takes some time and experience. I have a 1.5 acre lawn that I mow once and awhile and I wish I could have a finish mower with my 4700 to mow that. But then I just use a ride on so I don't tear up the grass and since the 4700 has Ag tires.

I wouldn't mind mowing a 5 acre lawn with a 5085M. It would be finished fast and it will look nice while mowing it too. :D Just don't have any low hanging branches or trees that are short.
 
 
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