DPF vs. NO DPF (75hp edition)

[EddieWalker]

One of my hay suppliers has a John Deere 5055E tractor as his backup loader for round bales. It gets the job done, but barely. In my opinion, it's border line for lifting round bales safely. I think 65 to 75 HP is what you want if you are dealing with round bales. Bigger is always better, but for me, there isn't anything that I need a bigger tractor for. I think that's the ideal HP for getting everything done that needs getting done, and fortunately, it's also right under the 75 HP rule for DEF.

 

[Hay Dude]

One of my hay suppliers has a John Deere 5055E tractor as his backup loader for round bales. It gets the job done, but barely. In my opinion, it's border line for lifting round bales safely. I think 65 to 75 HP is what you want if you are dealing with round bales. Bigger is always better, but for me, there isn't anything that I need a bigger tractor for. I think that's the ideal HP for getting everything done that needs getting done, and fortunately, it's also right under the 75 HP rule for DEF.

I would value #1 weight and #2 hydraulic strength and #3 HP for a farm tractor used for loading bales.
Buy a loader tractor by its weight and loader lift capability for loader work.
Tillage tractor? Then I’d value HP/drawbar HP first.

 

[mo1]

One of my hay suppliers has a John Deere 5055E tractor as his backup loader for round bales. It gets the job done, but barely. In my opinion, it's border line for lifting round bales safely. I think 65 to 75 HP is what you want if you are dealing with round bales. Bigger is always better, but for me, there isn't anything that I need a bigger tractor for. I think that's the ideal HP for getting everything done that needs getting done, and fortunately, it's also right under the 75 HP rule for DEF.

A 5065E or 5075E is the exact same tractor as a 5055E but just with the ECU allowing more fuel and a higher turbocharger wastegate pressure setting. More power doesn't do anything for loader work unless the additional power comes in a larger, heavier tractor.

That being said, unless you are trying to stack 5x6 silage bales 3 high or stacking multiple bales at one time, a 5E is plenty of tractor for handling round bales. I've handled a number of them with mine. A 4 series sized machine is borderline for dry hay round bales in my opinion, particularly when stacking them.

 

[EddieWalker]

They guy normally loads round bales with a 100HP cabbed NH. It had a flat tire that day and he was using the Deere 5055E to load somebody before me, and then loaded me up. It got the job done, but it was struggling, and very, VERY bouncy!!!! That tractor was brand new, so my thinking was that it was just a matter of time of doing something like that until something broke, or wore out.

I'm surprised that it's the same as the 65 an 75 Deere's. Sounds like Hay Dude called it. The problem wasn't HP, the tractor just isn't heavy enough.

 

[WM75Guy]

I have the newest model Workmaster 75. Production started 09/2018, mine is a 2019 model. It uses DOC, so no regen was a big part of the decision to buy a NH. There is no mention in the operator's manual of emissions systems or how to operate the tractor to meet the needs of the DOC system. PTO speed for mine is 2000 RPMs. Even when not using the PTO I run it at 2000 RPMs. I know what the MPH is for the gear combinations I use at 2000 RPMs and that seems to be good for loader work. I doubt a plugged DOC filter will be an issue for me in my lifetime.

I did test drive and get quotes for the equivalent JD, MF, and Kubota models when I bought the WM75. The WM75 came in at the lowest price and I like the dealership, 4 Brothers in Terrell, Texas. No regen and being partial to the NH brand, my decision was not difficult. I paid $46,000 for 2 hats and they threw in the tractor.

 

[mo1]

They guy normally loads round bales with a 100HP cabbed NH. It had a flat tire that day and he was using the Deere 5055E to load somebody before me, and then loaded me up. It got the job done, but it was struggling, and very, VERY bouncy!!!! That tractor was brand new, so my thinking was that it was just a matter of time of doing something like that until something broke, or wore out.

I'm surprised that it's the same as the 65 an 75 Deere's. Sounds like Hay Dude called it. The problem wasn't HP, the tractor just isn't heavy enough.

A 100 HP tractor of anywhere near the same age is generally going to be only slightly larger than a 50-75 HP utility tractor. A current 100 HP Deere is still going to be a 5 series, you have to go up more in power than that to get to the least powerful versions of the next size up (6 series) chassis. Ditto with the blue tractors, a Workmaster 105 is only slightly larger than a Workmaster 55/65/75, the big jump up is to to the T6. I wonder if the "not heavy enough" part was he didn't have enough rear ballast, that would certainly cause a tractor to become "very bouncy," particularly if he was driving over rough ground, going 10 MPH, or stacking the second row of bales on a semi trailer.

I have used my 5075E to handle bales, and it is the same size as the 5055E, and it had no problems at all. I have also used one "the next size up" where that line went to 101 HP, and it did fine too, I didn't notice it really doing any better than mine. The only tractor I have used that I would say struggled at all with round bales was a 50 HP compact New Holland. It would lift them up just fine but it was best to go no more than about 2 MPH because that tractor really could get tippy doing that.

 

[WM75Guy]

Weight makes a big difference in moving hay. My TC40DA with loader weighs #4,300. My WM75 w/cab base weight is #6,800 and the loader probably adds another #2,000, for a total of #8,800. I can move and lift round bales with the TC40DA but it requires low speed, flat ground, and heavy ballast on the rear. The WM75 at twice the weight and 35 more HP is a grab and go situation.

 

[rScotty]

I'd say that the WM75 or the JD 50xxE are both a little light for handling round bales on anything except low lifts on hard dry level ground. All of them are about 3000 lbs lift at the pins, and a bale is way out in front of the pins. Why overload the tractor?
Trying to do too much with a loader is how to make a new tractor old in a hurry.
rScotty

 

[mo1]

I'd say that the WM75 or the JD 50xxE are both a little light for handling round bales on anything except low lifts on hard dry level ground. All of them are about 3000 lbs lift at the pins, and a bale is way out in front of the pins. Why overload the tractor?
Trying to do too much with a loader is how to make a new tractor old in a hurry.
rScotty

Most bales around here are 4x5/4x6 dry hay and weigh 800-1200 pounds. There are some 5x6s around but less common than the 4x5s and 4x6s. There are a lot of round bales around here as the county I live in is one of the top 20 in the entire country for beef cattle production. Lifting a ~1000 pound round bale with a tractor that can lift over 3000 pounds 11 feet up in the air is a piece of cake and a bunch of people use a tractor the size of the Workmaster 75 or 5E Deeres for feeding bales.