Need Advice

[redman135]

Hello BCM330, Some points to help make up your mind.
1) ERGONOMICS. sit on the tractor and test for fit and comfort, ie do the controls sit in easy reach, particularly the loader controls? At 150 bales to shift, you can get a very sore arm from bad loader control ergonomics. If it passes the seat test , then test drive.

2) Shed stacking, how high is the shed and how high is the loader reach? Sun roof for high level work?

3) Gearbox, which one is most user friendly? Is an auto shift avalible on the splitter gears? (you can turn the autoshift on or off as required) eg MF5665 16sp g/box has 4 stick shift gears and a 4 speed splitter on each main gear, this has an autoshift option that makes a huge difference in fatigue. At 150 bales I think you will find it is worth looking at.

4)Loader, 3rd service, is generally cheaper to get on purchase, rather than retro fit.

5) Factory default is narrow track. Set wider to suit as it will make the tractor more stable. Also some mirrors on narrow setting will whack you in the head getting on and off, so set them wider.

6) I reccomend the air seat over the steel spring seat. Specify 2 way seat as this will reduce the shutting effect from the haybaler, and a;lso when towing a trailer. It is just alround reduction in operator fatigue.

7) How much farming experience and what kind (horse, stock, grain)have you got?
good luck

 

[dodge man]

I guess I dont understand why you aren’t getting an adapter plate for the new JD if you like the tractor otherwise. Google John Deere to SSQA adapter. They cost between $320 to $550. If most of your work is brush hogging that shouldn’t matter anyway.

 

[BMC330]

Hello BCM330, Some points to help make up your mind.
1) ERGONOMICS. sit on the tractor and test for fit and comfort, ie do the controls sit in easy reach, particularly the loader controls? At 150 bales to shift, you can get a very sore arm from bad loader control ergonomics. If it passes the seat test , then test drive.

2) Shed stacking, how high is the shed and how high is the loader reach? Sun roof for high level work?

3) Gearbox, which one is most user friendly? Is an auto shift avalible on the splitter gears? (you can turn the autoshift on or off as required) eg MF5665 16sp g/box has 4 stick shift gears and a 4 speed splitter on each main gear, this has an autoshift option that makes a huge difference in fatigue. At 150 bales I think you will find it is worth looking at.

4)Loader, 3rd service, is generally cheaper to get on purchase, rather than retro fit.

5) Factory default is narrow track. Set wider to suit as it will make the tractor more stable. Also some mirrors on narrow setting will whack you in the head getting on and off, so set them wider.

6) I reccomend the air seat over the steel spring seat. Specify 2 way seat as this will reduce the shutting effect from the haybaler, and a;lso when towing a trailer. It is just alround reduction in operator fatigue.

7) How much farming experience and what kind (horse, stock, grain)have you got?
good luck

I hope to be able to get by a couple more dealers real soon. Only bad part is the winter months bring the dealers closed on the weekend. My work hours dont allow me time to make it after work. I have never had a air seat in a tractor so I will look into that. The power shift will be a must.

I have been around farming all my life. Had a uncle who farmed when we were growing up so we always had to assist when he needed us. During my high school years I worked all summer for a large farmer in my town. The only grain we will grow will be for deer and turkey. At the moment we only have 13 cows due to a tornado a couple of years ago destroying lots of fence. We had around 60 before the tornado. Have a family member who is going to help with the hay, he currently has around 50 cows.

 

[newbury]

My wife recently inherited 175 acres from her late father. It has about 120 acres of hay fields the rest we clip or is wooded. The land will come with several John Deere tractors that have been neglected over the years. I need a new tractor I can depend on to run without needing work before each use. I have a life long friend that is the manager of my local Kubota dealer so on January 3 I ordered a M7060. He did not give me a time frame on when I should expect delivery. From all I have read it is not looking like I will get it any time soon. I need it in the spring as I have a lot clipping to catch up before it is time to cut hay.

My local Deere dealer has a 5075e in stock. The catch is all of my attachments are for the skid steer quick attach and the Deere system will not work. I ask about swapping the Deere to quick attach and it was going to be more than I am willing to pay. I have several tractor dealers local to me. I want something in the 75 hp range. It seems that I can find every other name brand in my HP range other than Kubota.

Both CNH dealers local to me have the 75A and 75C and 75 Work Master and 75 Power Star units in stock. I see many mixed reviews on the CNH units. I know most people that buy and use tractors do not get online and post reviews so I have mixed feelings.

I have a LS dealer about 60 miles away with 2 units in the HP range but I dont know anything about LS.

I can find Massey 4707 but dealer is around 75 miles away and no local support on these units.

I need something to cut, rake, and move hay. A cab is a must due to the fact my wife is not real happy in late summer in Mississippi when she gets to clip all day.

Any advice on the above tractors?

First of all - You've got 5 tractors there, it seems that despite your OCD you could sell several and easily have another $50K. Used tractors are selling at a premium. Like Dave wrote an adapter should cost well < $1,000.

There's a reason you can find all others except Kubota. Kubota and JD are considered top of the line. If you've got a Kubota on order you've got time to get the JD 5410 working to do your spring work. Can you run the JD 2755 "open station" during the spring - or sell it?

As far as the rest of your fleet goes - how much is a roll of hay?

Good luck,

 

[BMC330]

I guess I dont understand why you aren’t getting an adapter plate for the new JD if you like the tractor otherwise. Google John Deere to SSQA adapter. They cost between $320 to $550. If most of your work is brush hogging that shouldn’t matter anyway.

The adapter plate will not address the issue . I will have to swap the SSQA back and forth to change from bucket to grapple and hay fork. This will work but not a corrective fix unless I buy another bucket.

 

[BMC330]

First of all - You've got 5 tractors there, it seems that despite your OCD you could sell several and easily have another $50K. Used tractors are selling at a premium. Like Dave wrote an adapter should cost well < $1,000.

There's a reason you can find all others except Kubota. Kubota and JD are considered top of the line. If you've got a Kubota on order you've got time to get the JD 5410 working to do your spring work. Can you run the JD 2755 "open station" during the spring - or sell it?

As far as the rest of your fleet goes - how much is a roll of hay?

Good luck,

5 tractors is correct. Im going to try to explain my issue.

My father in law did not believe in doing services on his equipment. It has been between 10 to 15 years since any of the 5 have had the oil changed in them. I changed all the fluids after he passed away. None of the 5 would actually bring enough money to sell them even in todays market as they are all in very bad shape from abuse and neglect. I can understand it would be confusing to hear a person say he has 5 paid for tractors and be on the market for a new one.

The 5410 is only in ok shape due to it not being kept on the property but at his house. It would be hard to understand how poorly he kept up with his equipment unless you witnessed it. It was mind blowing to me when I first got married as I had never seen this type of abuse to equipment.

I work full time and have very limited time for the land and I cant spend all of my time working on tractors so I can use them.

A roll of hay is around $50 a roll, then it has to be hauled in. The land has a new Vermeer hay roller, 2 cutters, and rake. I could pay around $5000 a year in hay with all the equipment and land sitting idle. I would rather put the money towards the new unit. Not to mention I could sell around 300 rolls a year.

 

[dodge man]

The adapter plate I’m talking about isn’t permanently mounted, it just hooks up using the JD quick connect setup. They come off in about 30 seconds. It’s not convenient but not a deal breaker in my opinion. There seems to be a lot of hate on the JD system that I never understood but in your case where you have SSQA stuff already I get it.

 

[EddieWalker]

Where is that brand new 4707 located?

I signed the papers for a brand new Massey 4707 a couple months ago and I'm hoping it arrives some time soon. I looked at every brand out there on used lots and then went to a few dealers that I considered better then the others, and Massey really stood out to me. In my area, there are 5 Massey dealers anywhere from half an hour away, to two hours away. The closest is a new dealer that has been selling NH for awhile, but I've heard enough about him to not buy from there. The one I'm buying from is about an hour and a half away. I drive by two other Massey dealers to get to him. Since the tractor hasn't arrived yet, I can't comment on the wisdom of my decision, but so far, I'm not disappointed in anything that has happened so far.

I also have a few other tractors that are getting old and tired. I have plans to do a total rebuild on one of them, but before I can do that, I need the new one to be able to feed round bales and maintain my place.

Once you get your new tractor, hopefully you will have some time to fix up what you already have.

 

[BMC330]

The adapter plate I’m talking about isn’t permanently mounted, it just hooks up using the JD quick connect setup. They come off in about 30 seconds. It’s not convenient but not a deal breaker in my opinion. There seems to be a lot of hate on the JD system that I never understood but in your case where you have SSQA stuff already I get it.

I didnt see that one. I will go back and do more research.

 

[dodge man]

This is similar to what I’m describing. The side closest to you is the JD setup, it has two of the pins for both JD setups, and the SSQA is on the far side.