comparing utility tractors

[brucew44guns]

I asked this question in another area of the forum, a member saw it and told me to put my question here. I'm interested in a new utility tractor. I have looked at JD 5093E, IH Farmall 95, and Kubota 100X ( although I should have looked at Kubota 9540) to be closer to the others. I want a loader on the tractor that won't break apart in a week, and in general appreciate strong and heavy duty features in any machine I own.
The forum member suggested Massey Fergusons HD 2680 with a DL 280 loader. I went to their web page and looked at their comparison to the Red, Green, and Orange competitors, and was favorably impressed with what I saw. Have no idea of cost comparison. I'd appreciate you mens comments and opinions. The tractor will be a luxury item for me, mowing, grading my drive, drilling post holes, light work, I have 155 acres but do no haying or farming. I could survive with a smaller tractor, but since I like a Kenworth, I also want a HD tractor in my life. Thanks.

 

[magicheater]

Look at the Kubota M59, stronger loader and you get a backhoe to boot.

 

[TWD]

The Kubota 9540 and Kubota 100X seem a little large to be standard utility tractors... you plan to do a lot of mowing with it ?

You said

mowing, grading my drive, drilling post holes, light work,

For grading, drilling, and just general UTILITY work I think you should check out the M59 too! I wanted something for general utility duty (minus mowing), and that's what I`m going to end up getting. From all my research, and 'in person' inspection the M59 is a beast.

 

[art]

There are many things that enter in here but a powershift transmission for driving on roadways is nice to be able to shift up and throttle down on the 100X. A training seat is also a nice option.

There are smaller horsepower tractors that also may get the job done but a Kenworth IS a Kenworth!

 

[Double6]

Kubota & John Deere are the 2 most popular brands.
If you have several dealers near by, check with each one & see who has the best prices on the models your looking at. Get on the tractors, check out the controls, all are similar but located a little differently, some will feel right for you, others will be more awkward, you will know it.
Also check out the service & parts dept. A good dealer is worth its weight in gold.
All the best in your purchase.

 

[doall]

don't forget the New Hollands. Blue is good too.

 

[Dargo]

I don't stick with any one manufacturer. Right now I have a JD5525, but I'd have to give the nod to the Kubota 100X series tractors. I wish they gave the lifting capacities of their loaders though. That "crawler" tractor is strange looking, but the others look great and have a lot of really nice features. Good luck! With dealers in my area dying to sell something, I'd imagine one could drive a pretty reasonable deal on a new tractor.

 

[TripleR]

Look at the Quicke Loaders for something heavier duty than that offered by the dealers. I obviously like Kubotas, but as others recommend, I would look at all of them to find the best fit. Good luck.

 

[RogerMc]

I think the Massey Ferguson line is worth a strong look. I also saw the HD 2600 series comparison on their web site. I think they have a lot to offer. I have been looking at the 1600 series line and I like what I see and the price seems good. For me its going to come down to a good local dealer. But you can't go wrong with any of them. If you can I would test drive them all and see what fits you the best. Let us know what you get and think.

Roger

 

[TripleR]

I think the Massey Ferguson line is worth a strong look. I also saw the HD 2600 series comparison on their web site. I think they have a lot to offer. I have been looking at the 1600 series line and I like what I see and the price seems good. For me its going to come down to a good local dealer. But you can't go wrong with any of them. If you can I would test drive them all and see what fits you the best. Let us know what you get and think.

Roger

That sure is a major consideration. We bought a MF375 new in the mid 80's and have ongoing problems the dealer never fixed. When I bought my last tractor, I toured all the dealers and our MF dealer had a total of six new tractors on his lot with only one cab unit. You can see what I bought.

 

[jenkinsph]

Most of the activities you mention would be more easily accomplished with a slightly smaller tractor. Keep in mind that good implements are costly too for the tasks you have mentioned, for example a good 7' boxblade is about $4000, good brush mower about $8000, rearblade about $6000, (some items higher some lower). So matching the heavy duty implements to a heavy duty tractor can easily add $30,000 to the mix in short order. Just mentioning this as I well remember having a 95hp 4020 years ago and didn't have enough implements of my own to justify it.


I would think alot depends on how much mowing you plan to do, if your plans are to mow a large part of the 160 acres then the larger tractor and batwing would be a better choice. The other jobs you have mentioned would be easily done with a 40 to 75 hp premium tractor or tlb. The Kubota M59 mentioned above and the Deere 110 are both good units and as for tractors there are lots of good choices. Another unit to consider that is heavy duty for loader and 3pt work is the Deere 210LJ landscape loader, a very good tractor with a first class 3pt hitch setup.

 

[jlsmith]

For the amount of work you will be doing you could go with th MF2650 or the MF2660 with the DL260 loader. Massey is one of the top lines of tractors in this area. They weigh more and are the number one tractor in fuel efficiency. You cant go wrong with the perkins. Not to mention 0% for 72 months or a FREE loader. If you would like a price on one of these just let me know.:thumbsup:

 

[lungdoc]

This may be obvious but if you want to mow anything anyone would call a yard you either need something a little smaller (e.g. Deere 4x20 series-size at most) or two machines.

 

[TripleR]

This may be obvious but if you want to mow anything anyone would call a yard you either need something a little smaller (e.g. Deere 4x20 series-size at most) or two machines.

There you go:thumbsup:

 

[Storm56]

I asked this question in another area of the forum, a member saw it and told me to put my question here. I'm interested in a new utility tractor. I have looked at JD 5093E, IH Farmall 95, and Kubota 100X ( although I should have looked at Kubota 9540) to be closer to the others. I want a loader on the tractor that won't break apart in a week, and in general appreciate strong and heavy duty features in any machine I own.
The forum member suggested Massey Fergusons HD 2680 with a DL 280 loader. I went to their web page and looked at their comparison to the Red, Green, and Orange competitors, and was favorably impressed with what I saw. Have no idea of cost comparison. I'd appreciate you mens comments and opinions. The tractor will be a luxury item for me, mowing, grading my drive, drilling post holes, light work, I have 155 acres but do no haying or farming. I could survive with a smaller tractor, but since I like a Kenworth, I also want a HD tractor in my life. Thanks.

I was in your seat this year and ended up buying a McCormick. About 50 hours so far and although it is not a lot of time yet, I positively have no regrets.

 

[LAWALLSTRACTOR]

If you get a chance, check out a Mahindra 8560 with the loader, you may be very impressed with what you find.

 

[texasjohn]

Bruecw, you've gotten some good advice. Typically, TBN folks suggest getting a larger tractor than you think you need because needs tend to increase over time. You have gotten advice to scale back in tractor size ONLY because these folks know how capable a 50 to 70 horsepower tractor truly is.

I run 200+ acres with a 50 hp tractor. I obviously like Kubota and think it is as bullet proof as they come.... these days a tractor doesn't have to "look" intimidating to be absolutely awesome in operation.

I understand you want a real tractor that will get your work done, and "feel right" doing it.

So, I agree that you should be guided by how the tractor fits your body and by dealer availability.

The Kubota M59 is HUGELY capable....and as other posters have mentioned, be sure and include all the attachments you are going to need as up front cost. Given your stated needs, I cannot imagine you ever needing anything larger than this tractor if properly outfitted with features and attachments.

In the final analysis, a tractor is simply an engine, it is the ATTACHMENTS that get the work done. Thus, features like cab, multiple hyd ports, quick attach fel, 4wheel drive, grill guard, box blade, hydraulic top and tilt, tooth bar on HD bucket, chain hooks, type of transmission matching the kind of work you anticipate, proper weight balance, etc are the REAL KEY to being happy with your tractor set up.

Good luck in your decisions...and keep us posted on how it goes.:thumbsup:

 

[brucew44guns]

John is right, I have gotten good advise from you thoughtful men, thank you for taking time to respond. I'll try to come back and post the outcome of all this, and post a pic of a new tractor as it sits ready to work at my place, hopefully real soon. bruce