Kubota or mahindra

[Cahaba Valley Farm]

It is always easier to spend someone else's money. The gear drive is cheaper and does not lose as much power to the PTO. The MX models are 600 pounds lighter than the M5660.
Note: when I say cheaper, I mean for what you get. The price of the MX6000 and the M5660 are basically the same. The MX is just a much lesser tractor in terms of weight and frame for your money. Learning to use the gear drive is well worth the inconvenience.

I based my statement on what I saw the guy and his son doing. From what I saw in that video he would have been more productive with a hydrostat utility tractor for that type of work. Just my two cents.

 

[LD1]

I personally think the guy in this video

would have been a lot better off with a MX5400/MX6000 HST then that gear drive M5660.

I agree. That type of work is where a hst shines

 

[Torvy]

Hard to say, for sure. At first, inflation may work to their advantage. As long as their note is not a variable rate, the payment will remain constant. The value of the asset will continue to rise (in raw dollar terms) and they could sell if for more than they owe. Prices move up, followed by wages in an inflationary cycle. So, if you have a $500 payment today and a year from now you still have a $500 payment, but your salary has increased 10% due to inflation, you will be better off with the asset....the problem is paying for fuel, food, etc. A little later, things could become dicey as unemployment will eventually follow as people stop buying new things. Much of the devil will be in the details. If you only have a year or so to pay, it would be a good thing. If you just bought something with a note and/or have a longer term or variable rate...things could get dicey. In any market condition, people can be in position to make money or lose money.

 

[5030]

It is always easier to spend someone else's money. The gear drive is cheaper and does not lose as much power to the PTO. The MX models are 600 pounds lighter than the M5660.
Note: when I say cheaper, I mean for what you get. The price of the MX6000 and the M5660 are basically the same. The MX is just a much lesser tractor in terms of weight and frame for your money. Learning to use the gear drive is well worth the inconvenience.

I don't care for the complexity of the HST either. Problem is a tractor with a dry clutch will be a major repair at some point in it's life as dry clutched tractors will always fail (clutch) at some point in their lives and a split to replace that consumable item is ALWAYS expensive.

The BIG issue that I can see is, people don't follow the recommended maintenance intervals plainly stated in their owners manuals or don't even both to read them at all or even worse, pay thousands of dollars for a piece of equipment and then cheap out on consumable items like oil or grease or filters.

Myself, I always use OEM consumables, no exception. The highly paid engineers the manufacturers employ know better than the end user what works and what don't.

People today rely on social media or You Tube video's to maintain their investments, I do neither. I read the owners manuals and follow that. There has to be more false information on YT and social media than anywhere when all the 'real' information you need is right there in the owners manual.

 

[5030]

I agree. That type of work is where a hst shines

I know one thing, those tire suck for dirt work. Any of you ever used a hydraulic shuttle gear drive tractor, I bet not.

 

[sea2summit]

Learning to use the gear drive is well worth the inconvenience.

Well, that and maintaining your man card.

 

[5030]

Well, that and maintaining your man card.

Huh???? At 71, my 'man card' expired years ago and really has nothing to do with the subject anyway. To me, it all has to do with the complexity of the drive system, the parasitic loss of power and the ultimate cost of fixing it when it fails (and it will eventually).

 

[Cahaba Valley Farm]

I know one thing, those tire suck for dirt work. Any of you ever used a hydraulic shuttle gear drive tractor, I bet not.

Gear drive tractors is all I have ever used. The gear drive makes more sense in certain applications like mowing big open fields or pulling plows but the problem is the OEM's are not offering gear drive transmissions that are worth considering most of the time. When the only choice is a unsynchronized gear drive or a hydrostat it becomes clear what the manufacturers are setting the customer up to choose.

 

[5030]

One thing I've noticed and that is, with most used equipment (powered implements and tractors) there is almost always no owners manual included with the unit. I always wonder where it went to in as much as the majority of original owners never bother to read it anyway. Those owners manuals always list recommended maintenance intervals, recommended lubricants and common issues that may arise.

I know that when I sell or trade any equipment, the owners manual or shop manual goes with that equipment plus a log sheet of all maintainence performed as well as all the parts I replaced along with the invoices for those parts. I feel that is just common courtesy toward the next owner. If I bought used (which I don't), I'd expect that documentation to be included and it if was absent, my offered price would reflect that absence.

 

[5030]

When the only choice is a unsynchronized gear drive or a hydrostat it becomes clear what the manufacturers are setting the customer up to choose.

Why I run what I run and have no intention of ever running anything else.

 

[Hay Dude]

Most large farmers around here LEASE their equipment (Combines and large row crop tractors), they don't buy them outright.

Yeah one guy I know who is a step larger than me started doing this and says it’s the way to go.
Seems like purchasing farm equipment went in this order:
Long ago-pay cash or possible short term finance.
More recently-pay cash or longer term finance
Today-long term or “0%” finance or lease
Future??? Donate a kidney? Lol

I can’t see this lasting much longer. Equipment prices now far exceed farming profits. My most recent tractors are 20 years old. Solid and reliable, but at some point will experience a catastrophic failure.

New 300HP tractor is $250-300,000. Has the complexity of an Aircraft and most everything needs to be dealer repaired
Not the most impressive warranty, either. Maybe 3yr 2000 hours.

 

[Hay Dude]

Just to give you an idea of what farm equipment costs, I paid $42,000 for a well used, but excellent running 300HP Case/IH Magnum.
That tractor new is about $300,000.
The new one has features I would never use. Basically for pulling a square baler all you need is a strong 4WD tug with a good selection of gears and plenty of power.
If I was going to sink big coin into anything, it would be a hoss baler. Large Balers are complicated and frustrating. Better off “newer” on the baler and “older” on the tractor.

 

[sea2summit]

At 71, my 'man card' expired years ago

Somehow I doubt the there is any truth in that statement...other than age.

I guess I was more saying the gear/hst debate should not be influenced by not knowing how to use a clutch. My children have/are all learning to drive a manual vehicle specifically because I believe it makes them more aware of what's going on with the engine and how power is being applied/used and puts their brain into the decision making process of how that's done unlike HST/automatic trans.

 

[5030]

If I experienced a a major failure of my units, I think I'd just hang it up and be fully retired without the constant hassle of taking care of equipment.

So far, so good, but who knows what the future will bring.

No way buying new can ever balance cost to profit today and it's only getting worse which is why more and more operators are going lease plans. Works with vehicles too. With vehicles I like that because I always buy late model off lease vehicles with the balance of the factory warranty still in force.

Have not bought a new vehicle in decades. Firm believe in letting some other schmuck take the depreciation hit.

Far as equipment is concerned, I always buy new (minus the tractors) because with equipment, there won't be any warranty for one and secondly, equipment generally gets abused and ill maintained and I don't like buying some one else's issues. I already have enough of my own.

 

[5030]

Just to give you an idea of what farm equipment costs, I paid $42,000 for a well used, but excellent running 300HP Case/IH Magnum.
That tractor new is about $300,000.
The new one has features I would never use. Basically for pulling a square baler all you need is a strong 4WD tug with a good selection of gears and plenty of power.
If I was going to sink big coin into anything, it would be a hoss baler. Large Balers are complicated and frustrating. Better off “newer” on the baler and “older” on the tractor.

Just wait until the economy goes south and your forage customers either vanish or demand rock bottom prices because they can no longer afford your prices.

it's coming but you already know that.

When push comes to shove you already know what takes the hit.

 

[Hay Dude]

It’s just hard to believe you can buy a good, tough running tractor for 1/8th the cost of new! You do need to have $10,000 in reserve for a big repair, and the will to fix smaller issues, but that’s still a heck of a lot less.

 

[ptsg]

Gear drive tractors is all I have ever used. The gear drive makes more sense in certain applications like mowing big open fields or pulling plows but the problem is the OEM's are not offering gear drive transmissions that are worth considering most of the time. When the only choice is a unsynchronized gear drive or a hydrostat it becomes clear what the manufacturers are setting the customer up to choose.

Most manufacturers offer a synchronized shuttle along with synchronized main gears and unsynchronized range gears.

Branson now offers a fully synchronized transmission on the new 2021 20 series. F&R Shuttle, 4 main gears and 4 range gears, all synchronized.

 

[Hay Dude]

Just wait until the economy goes south and your forage customers either vanish or demand rock bottom prices because they can no longer afford your prices.

it's coming but you already know that.

When push comes to shove you already know what takes the hit.

I don’t sell much to those kinds of people. That’s small potatoes I can survive without.
My prices are dirt cheap and my guess would be I’d actually get more customers

 

[Emainiac]

Yep, would you buy a car made in India? Of course not

You are showing your ignorance. My tractor was manufactured and assembled in PA. Only the engine is made by Mitsubishi in Japan.

 

[coobie]

Kind of curious as to what happens when the economy finally takes the deep dive and all those 'suburbanites' that buy the small tractors can no longer afford to make the payments on them. reality is, when you have to choose from feeding your face or making a note on a piece of equipment, you all know what takes preference.

Same applies to the housing market. It's gotten so inflated that buying a home has become almost financially impossible unless you actually have the where with all to make a couple grand mortgage payment every month. I don't see any of that coming to a good ending with the general economy on the cusp of a severe recession.

Something has to give and it's usually not necessary purchases that take the hit.

Same applies to vehicles. I'm sure not gonna pay 80 grand for a new pickup truck, but then, I have not had a vehicle or house payment for years anyway.

Believe it or not some folks pay CASH for tractors.. You are NOT the only Big $hooter on this website. How many times do have you to TOOT your own horn about payments and money? In one your earlier posts you stated you married Olds car company grand daughter correct ? So I guess you married money and really did not work for it.Kind of strange how that works..