Z-Michigan
Veteran Member
Hello-
For a little over 3 years now, I've had a Deere 5105 utility tractor (47 PTO hp, MFWD, 522 FEL, R1 ag tires with filled rears). I use this on a 20 acre property that has a horse, some pasture, 10 acres of hayfields and a lot of miscellaneous.
In all honesty this isn't the tractor I originally wanted. I wanted a large CUT with HST, and was close to buying either a NH TC-45 or a Kubota L5030. But my wife didn't like HST and planned to use it a lot. Turns out she uses it less than 1% of the time, and lack of HST is an issue for me. Also we were thinking about buying hay equipment, but shortly after the tractor purchase realized that was not practical for 10 acres or our time availability.
As time has gone by my actual uses for the tractor have evolved to:
-brush cutting/field mowing
-pasture mowing
-moving round bales with the loader and sometimes a rear spear (4x5 bales, approx 500-600lbs)
-some random and fairly light other loaded work, mostly dirt and compost
-a little but not very much snowplowing
-disking some garden plots and occasionally larger areas with a 6' tandem disk
Over 3 years, I've found that this tractor works, but is not ideal for a couple reasons:
-it's much bigger than I need for anything but moving round bales
-the 8/4 manual transmission and conventional clutch is an enormous pain for loader work or any other tight area work
-the turning radius is too big for convenient mowing inside 1-acre pastures
-nothing I do and no implements I have come anywhere close to taxing the engine power
So, with a barely used (165 hours) tractor that is not quite right for my needs, I'm seriously thinking about selling or trading it. After some experience I actually think that the midsize CUTs, 30-40hp, like a JD 3320/3520 or a Kubota L3140-3940 would handle all my tasks. Moving round bales on the FEL may be at the edge of their ability, but should still be safe (our ground is fairly level). I would even consider smaller, but need the ability to handle round bales. I really want HST and a smaller turning radius. Also, if I could get R4 tires and not fill the rears, I could probably use the tractor for a lot of the lawn mowing that we now do with a very tired 42" MTD riding mower, and that would be a plus too. (I am also considering getting a flail mower to supplement or replace my 6' rotary cutter.)
For those who've used some different sizes and types, what am I likely to miss if I make this trade?
What specific tractors should I look at? I really want HST, a tighter turning radius, R4 tires, and quality. The only dealers close enough to really consider are Kubota, New Holland, Deere, and Case. Of those the Kubota/NH dealer is probably the best, but I suppose the Deere dealer might give me a better trade-in if I decide to trade (vs. sell on my own), and they are OK.
For a little over 3 years now, I've had a Deere 5105 utility tractor (47 PTO hp, MFWD, 522 FEL, R1 ag tires with filled rears). I use this on a 20 acre property that has a horse, some pasture, 10 acres of hayfields and a lot of miscellaneous.
In all honesty this isn't the tractor I originally wanted. I wanted a large CUT with HST, and was close to buying either a NH TC-45 or a Kubota L5030. But my wife didn't like HST and planned to use it a lot. Turns out she uses it less than 1% of the time, and lack of HST is an issue for me. Also we were thinking about buying hay equipment, but shortly after the tractor purchase realized that was not practical for 10 acres or our time availability.
As time has gone by my actual uses for the tractor have evolved to:
-brush cutting/field mowing
-pasture mowing
-moving round bales with the loader and sometimes a rear spear (4x5 bales, approx 500-600lbs)
-some random and fairly light other loaded work, mostly dirt and compost
-a little but not very much snowplowing
-disking some garden plots and occasionally larger areas with a 6' tandem disk
Over 3 years, I've found that this tractor works, but is not ideal for a couple reasons:
-it's much bigger than I need for anything but moving round bales
-the 8/4 manual transmission and conventional clutch is an enormous pain for loader work or any other tight area work
-the turning radius is too big for convenient mowing inside 1-acre pastures
-nothing I do and no implements I have come anywhere close to taxing the engine power
So, with a barely used (165 hours) tractor that is not quite right for my needs, I'm seriously thinking about selling or trading it. After some experience I actually think that the midsize CUTs, 30-40hp, like a JD 3320/3520 or a Kubota L3140-3940 would handle all my tasks. Moving round bales on the FEL may be at the edge of their ability, but should still be safe (our ground is fairly level). I would even consider smaller, but need the ability to handle round bales. I really want HST and a smaller turning radius. Also, if I could get R4 tires and not fill the rears, I could probably use the tractor for a lot of the lawn mowing that we now do with a very tired 42" MTD riding mower, and that would be a plus too. (I am also considering getting a flail mower to supplement or replace my 6' rotary cutter.)
For those who've used some different sizes and types, what am I likely to miss if I make this trade?
What specific tractors should I look at? I really want HST, a tighter turning radius, R4 tires, and quality. The only dealers close enough to really consider are Kubota, New Holland, Deere, and Case. Of those the Kubota/NH dealer is probably the best, but I suppose the Deere dealer might give me a better trade-in if I decide to trade (vs. sell on my own), and they are OK.
