Tractor Purchase Recommendation - Mahindra vs Kubota vs New Holland vs JD

[texasjohn]

you are beginning to observe that a tractor is not the total story...must be matched with
trailer
pickup
disc
fel, bucket size
box blade
seeder
etc. etc, etc

the size of all equipment, number of hydraulic ports, etc. MUST MATCH to achieve the best fit and function

be sure and budget to get ALL the equipment you need.... doesn't help to have an engine (tractor) and lack a needed implement.

for 500 acres, I really, really don't think that 40hp would be a fit... recommend 55hp or better.... with all equipment to be matched to the tractor you get. If you get too much above 60hp, all equipment scales up and cost does likewise..... be ready for that.

If you go with two tractors, you will need TWO sets of equipment... OK if you already have one set of equipment, expensive if you are needing to purchase all at once. Even used, it starts to add up.

Also, two tractors/implement sets means that much more maintenance cost...

On the other hand, two tractors allows parallel activities...

Only you know how many tractor jockeys you have and time/skills available.
All this plays a part in the decisions.... and, something simple like a trickle charger (110v or solar) can make the difference between being ready to go and frustration....

 

[LAWALLSTRACTOR]

Galen, any chance you have any pictures of this? How heavy of a 10' disc, what type of disc, and what kind of ground and terrain? Not that we really need to get into all the details, it is just that ALL of these things make a HUGE difference on just how big of a disc one can really pull and do any good.

Hi Brian,
When I was growing up on the farm, we pulled a IH 10' wheel transport disc, in heavy clay, and some gravel ground, and we did set the disc in and made it work. We pulled it with a Massey 165 2WD. I don't see why a 5530 4WD shouldn't do it. I really don't see any discs like that in my area anymore, as most of the discs in my area are pulled by a 4WD articulated tractors and it covers half the field they are working in, I don't believe I have seen a 10' disc since I was a kid. I have sold a few 7 1/2' 3PH discs but these are lightweight toys compared to the IH disc my dad had.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

Galen, the reason for asking is that there have been several TBN members that have said that their tractor pulls such and such disc. Many times the size of the tractor and the size of the disc just don't add up to what seems to be a practical combination. So to confirm what these people have said that they do with no problems, I usually ask to see some pictures, I would love to be able to pull a big disk with my tractors, I just want to see what they have so that maybe I could do the same.

Guess what, no pictures yet. So this leads me to believe that just maybe these people are stretching the truth just a bit. I have no problem showing the different combonations that I pull, size, guesstimate of weight, type of disc and ground, topography. It is my feeling that you should be able to pull a disc through any type of circumstances that you may encounter on your property. If you can only disk once on hard ground, and then after the first pass you get stuck trying to do the second pass, what good is that?

Now all I have to base my thinking on is what my circumstances are and the results that I want. We have old John Deere offset pull discs, a 6' an 8' and a 12 footer. All have 22" disc blades. Guess that the 8' weighs a little over 2000lbs, the 12' might be close to 4000lbs. Most of our land is rolling hills, elevation changes 140', nothing drastic, our property is 1 mile deep. We have an old Cat D6 that we use to pull the 12 footer and there are times when it works, as in the tracks slip in the ground. Now I can pull these discs with my 7520 on flat ground 2 times. It won't do is three, and it is not due to my R4 tires, just not enough power. Yes if I had R1s maybe I could crawl, but what good is that? I usually pull our 8 footer with the 7520, and there are times, if conditions are just right that it will have problems. This is why I often question disking posts. Would just like to see what people are using, because what I have would not do it.

 

[jenkinsph]

I agree with Brian on this, if you wan't to get anything done with a disc you need to be able to pull it with set and at a fast enough speed to turn the dirt. I have considered buying a new disk for my 4520 but not sure how practical it would be. By the time I would run a 6' offset disk and make two more passes with either the offset and disk harrow it isn't much faster than running my tiller one pass. The difference is the tiller is alot cheaper than either disk new. I checked on a Frontier DH15 8' pull type disk and this was almost $7000. delivered, the 6' Amco offset disk was about $4500 awhile back.


For the OP's needs I think the 4520 60hp tractor I have would be a good choice and I would recommend a tiller for the food plots, 6 or 7' brush mower, and the hydro transmission as I suspect he will be doing a lot of miscellaneous jobs with his tractor.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

Steve, would you consider a used set? New sets are just to expensive as you have found out. You said that tilling might actually be faster, for how many acres to you think? I'm actually thinking about getting a small 3pt (5 or 6 foot) offset disc for my small tractor. I'm thinking that it will be faster disking in my smaller tighter areas than tilling. The tiller does work very good, but it seems like it takes forever. But I have never really used a smaller disc before. :confused2: It might be a waste of time and money.

 

[bdog]

Am I the only one who doesn't think of Stonewall county as Central Texas? Anyway I am pretty familiar with that area. Spent a lot of time around Aspermont, Hamlin, Jayton, etc.

I think you need two tractors or just get the smaller one for your general needs and contract out the plowing of the 200 acres when if the need comes. I don't think there is anyway you would want to do that with a 40 HP tractor. Sure you could, Heck if you had enough time you could plow 10,000 acres with a 20HP tractor but that doesn't make it a good idea. If my math is correct plowing 200 acres with 6' disc at 4mph will take about 70 hours. If you are living in Dallas and visiting the place on weekends I don't think you want to spend 70 hrs plowing a field.

 

[jenkinsph]

Brian,
I would consider a used disk or disks but from past experiences I don't see the advantages for smaller tractors. For instance the 4520 and 4720 Deere tractors have plenty of pto power for their size but don't have enough draft and or weight to really use it, but using the pto tiller makes for a much easier transfer of this power to the ground. When I started out with small disks in the early 1970s' they just didn't do a good job, it would take four passes to get decent results in some ground. I find that I can run my tiller to a depth of 7 inches about 1.5 mph at 2000 rpm and get good results, if I run full pto speed I can get about 1.8 mph with good results. You could make three or four passes with a small disk at 4 to 6 mph and get similar results, but I don't see any particular advantage to that since in tight quarters you are having to manuever the tractor around three or four times to accomplish the same thing.

About the 3pt offset disk, these things can put alot of stress on the tractor and hitch, I would much prefer something like the Amco pull type disk. I had one years ago and the Amco 6' pull type was as good as any I have ever used. For close quarters work a tiller can be backed up to a fence and will start tilling full depth immediately, whereas a disk needs to travel forward about twenty feet or so to achieve full set.

So for smaller plots I prefer the tiller and for large plots would consider a chisel plow followed by a tiller to pulverize afterwards. My 60 hp compact tractor can pull a 6' offset disk, 8' disk harrow, 6' tiller and 6'8" tiller. I don't think there would be much difference in the results or time it takes to get the job done. Comparing apples to apples the tillers are both cheaper than the combination of good used disks and far cheaper than new disks. I am willing to bet the tiller takes less fuel with one trip across the field compared to three trips with the disks.

For larger fields I am not sure but would wan't to compare the larger disks to the larger tillers and note that the large tillers are capable of depths approaching one foot and about sixteen feet wide. I would think some of the same issues would apply to them as well.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Everyone is talking size of disc in feet which has very little to do with how hard it is to pull. I have pulled a 14 foot tandem drag type disc with 22" blades with a D17 AC (49 drawbar HP) and yet couldnt pull a 10 foot offset JD disc with deep cup 30" blade with the same tractor. That was because of the weight difference and amount of cup in the blade and the amount of set in the offset. The 14 foot disc had to travel at least 5 mph to turn the soil whereas the JD would completely flip the dirt if it was moving at all and cut twice as deep on one pass. Soil type and conditions dictate much of how these implements pull. Sandy soil is easier than heavy clay. You can also pull larger implements in the fall than in the spring since the soil is much looser and aerated in the fall than spring. Your local dealer should be able to match you with tractor and implement that will do well in your soil conditions. I would think that a compact 4WD tractor of 55 HP would pull a medium to medium heavy disc at least 10' wide in any soil. Most agriculture folks now advise that minimum depth tillage that turns under the grass or stubble is better than deep tillage so using sub-soilers and chisel plows 12-18" deep is no longer recommended for farming to gain the most production. If you are trying to rip out roots of invasive plants, chisel plows are likely better options than several passes with a disc harrow.

 

[jdbnh]

Thanks again for all the comments. Some great info here. I have decided to go with a 4wd tractor w/ a gearbox.

I feel that a 40hp tractor will be sufficient for our loader, mowing, grading, etc. work. I think it will pull a 6' disc OK also. With that said, we are looking more toward the 55hp tractors for the same work. I have been told the 55 hp tractors might pull a 7' disc, but nothing much bigger.

Question: Should we buy the 40 or so hp tractor and perhaps a much bigger used model also, for they heavy field work?

I'm going to look at the following models Friday.
-Kubota L4400DT
-Kubota MX5100DT
-Mahindra 5530
-John Deere 6045E
-John Deere 5055E

I'd like to look at the Mahindra 4530, but they are not available now... I was told to avoid the 4035 model???

Any comments on this? The Mahindra tractors seem to be heavier, and I'm sure this would be beneficial.

If I buy the 5530, I'll also haeve to purchase another trailer to haul it. The others will fit on what I have...

if you are gonna look at those you should check out the NH T1530, TT60A, or Boomer 3045. I recomend the T1530, 45hp, 4x4, qucik attach bucket and loader, 12x12 synchroinzed shuttle. shift trans. 4 cyliner diesel

 

[greystone]

but if you check out nh also check out the prices to fix nh and parts avaiablity. how long will you be down. so far in this forum you will see that any major repair to nh cost as much as the power unit does. and nh gives little to no support. but they do have a good owners magizne...