Buying Advice GL 3130 vs M5700 and other buying advice

[woodlandfarms]

I am new to this group.. and new to tractor ownership. I just purchased 40 acres north of Portland/Vancouver. It is rolling to steep rolling, with maybe 15 to 20 useable acres. Medium tree coverage (8 acres open meadows). The property is in a shambles, heavily covered with blackberries.

I am still trying to ge an idea of what kind of tractor to buy. I am pretty sure I am sold on Kubota, although Deer is a close second.

I want to first do serious brush removal, then some box scraping, then some chipping and rotatilling.

Our loan for the house was pretty brutal in the end, so the tractor money is essentially gone and I will have to take a loan. I am willing to consider a Grey Market (one dealer (cowlitz tractor) is in our area) or used as well, but the good deals on used seem to disapear instantly.

This all said, First, am I in the right horsepower / type? My wife has to drive this as well, so I thought the GL HST would be a better purchase. I have considered the L3400. The grey markets are a bit dicey, generally only 20Hp in my area, no ROPS, and no Hydrostatic.

Now to complicate matters, a friend of mine in So Cal is thinking about selling his M5700. And at a price that can't be beat. It is in great shape, and low hours. But, I would have to ship it and its implements, and I worry it is too big for the property. I haven't seen an affordable chipper that would handle the 54HP.

Finally, anyone form Kelso / Vancouver who can recommend dealers in the area?

Thanks to all and hello to the group.
Carl

 

[chilibit]

I use a 5030 HST Cab on 50 acres rolling. It is none too big. I should have gotten an M. If you don't have to carry oxygen to climb the ladder to the cab, it is not too big.

Too much power is just enough.

Oh well, you caught my drift I suspect.

 

[FamilyFarm]

It's hard to say what size you need. If you have time to go a little slower with a smaller tractor, I suspect the L3400, or maybe one of the Grand L models, would be perfect. The HST is clearly the easiest to use, but I suspect she could master any of them with practice (I don't know your wife ). There's no question a 5700 would be fine for your plans, IF it won't overpower some of the implements you have or plan to purchase. The bigger the implement, higher the initial cost, though you will get the work done faster.
Since you mention borrowing funds, what kind of rates will you have to pay to get a loan for a used tractor? There are pretty decent financing possibilities on the new ones that could make a big difference. I wouldn't even consider grey market personally.

Terry

 

[john_bud]

Carl,

You either have to slow down or speed up! Huh??

Well, you may have to slow down and really dig into what you are going to be doing long term on the property. Are you going to farm it for cash crops? grains? hay? or what. Then look into the idea of becoming a "real" farm and getting the tax credits and write offs that go with it. Also, you NEED to see your county extension officer to see what programs would be available for you. You may be able to write off the price of the tractor if you qualify. Only your tax man knows for sure. While in slow mode, check out the farm auctions in your area. That is where the good deals are on tractors in the 35-70 hp range. They won't be real pretty, but they will be much much cheaper than new. When you get ready to buy, get a SMV sign and drive it back.


OR, you need to speed up and jump on a screaming good M5700 deal! If it really is a good deal, then you should look into shipping. There are haulers that post on ytmag.com that have scheduled empty runs from place to place. Look there in the hauling section and see if you can get a good quote.

Best of luck and welcome.

jb

 

[HEC]

I have the 5700 and love it , I have 100 acres , half woods half fields. I have had smaller tractors and like the bigger, much better. If it has hyd. shuttle your wife can use it with ease as mine does.I put it in the gear that I want her to use for the job she is doing and she never has to use the clutch peddle, just the hand lever for forward ,neutral and reverse,couldn't be much easier than that, well hst would be easier if you want hst, for some of the work I do with mine hst was not advised.
Good luck

 

[rbargeron]

Go look at and sit on and drive a M5700 if possible. See if it seems ok with you size-wise. If it does, then I think the best choice of the two tractors is the bigger one. There have been many discussions here about trading up to a bigger machine. Once in a great while somebody goes smaller, but it's rare. Once you see how capable a 50 hp machine is, you'll be hooked. As always, prompt cheerful refund if info is bogus. Take care, DickB

Power is good. Weight is too.