What to buy!

[needtractor]

I am fairly new to this board and have been doing a lot of reading/studying on the "big red's". We have recently purchased 27 acres and it has quite a bit of underbrush on it. We just cleared out a lot of trees, but we are not 1/2 completed. I am trying to decide on a tractor and like what I am reading about the Mahindra's. I hope to purchase some hay equipment in the future and start cutting my own hay as well. I am looking at either the 5500, 6000 or 6500 with a FEL. Can't decide on the 4wd. Is it worth the money?

We will also be building a house starting in June so I have to weigh this into my decision as well.

Any feedback would be appreciated.

[BobG_in_VA]

Originally Posted by needtractor

. We just cleared out a lot of trees, but we are not 1/2 completed. I am trying to decide on a tractor and like what I am reading about the Mahindra's. I hope to purchase some hay equipment in the future and start cutting my own hay as well. I am looking at either the 5500, 6000 or 6500 with a FEL. Can't decide on the 4wd. Is it worth the money?

We will also be building a house starting in June so I have to weigh this into my decision as well.

Any one of them will bale hay. What it seems like you're looking at are different "dimensions". Here's a few:

1. 2WD vs. 4WD: COMPLETELY DIFFERENT DIMENSION.

2. FEL vs. NO FEL: COMPLETELY DIFFERENT DIMENSION.

3. FEL W/ TOOTHBAR vs. FEL W/O TOOTHBAR: COMPLETELY DIFFERENT DIMENSION.

Personnally, I'm into different dimensions....BobG in VA

[RedRiver]

If you are getting a FEL, yes the 4WD is worth the money. You will regret not getting it, especially if you plan on doing some heavy work with the FEL.

[hudr]

2wd vs 4wd
That is my biggest regret from the purchase of a 5005DI in 2000. I should have gotten the 4WD 6000 that was sitting next to it.

[awill99]

I just purchased a used 5005 DI one month ago and also regret not getting 4wd. Just subsoiling in damp (not wet)
Texas clay I couldn't run but about 12-13 '' deep without spinning tires. Also my first tractor with FEL and it sure eats up space in tight quarters in larger tree area while taking out underbrush with bushhog. You'll be moving FEL quite a bit to keep from taking out limbs overhead and that 6 ft wide bucket sure takes up a lot of space reguardless of where you position it and it's very painful to take off/on.

[bindian]

Originally Posted by awill99

I just purchased a used 5005 DI one month ago and also regret not getting 4wd. Just subsoiling in damp (not wet)
Texas clay I couldn't run but about 12-13 '' deep without spinning tires. Also my first tractor with FEL and it sure eats up space in tight quarters in larger tree area while taking out underbrush with bushhog. You'll be moving FEL quite a bit to keep from taking out limbs overhead and that 6 ft wide bucket sure takes up a lot of space reguardless of where you position it and it's very painful to take off/on.

I got the skid steer quick attach for the FEL. I took my 7 foot bucket off the other day to haul to the welding shop for some chain hooks. It took less than a minute to detach it while sitting on my trailer and took less than a minute to reattach it later in the day. This was the first time I had detached it. It is a breeze. Skid Steer is the way to go for FEL attachments. Also, 4WD is well worth the extra money.
hugs, Brandi