I finally bought a Deere 6120M

[hayden]

How many acres are you mowing? With my 70hp Massey and 12 foot batwing, I'm mowing about 30 acres with $68,000 worth of lawn mower. It makes no sense, but it works and I'm happy with what I have.

About the same. And in the winter 1/2 mile of road plus a big barn yard. And never ending loader work. I'm just starting to build a steel building and will be able to use the tractor to lift all steel into place, so no need to rent a crane or telehandler.

It's still very expensive for all that, but I expect my kids will recoup a bunch of that when they sell it off. I had a Cat D5 dozer for a few years. It seemed like a crazy indulgence (it was), but when I look back at what I got done with it, and what it cost me after re-sale, it was worth every penny. And the same is true for my two excavators and L5740 tractor. Priceless in terms of what I can do that would otherwise be impossible, or I'd be driven crazy chasing other people around trying to get it done.

Again, it's a really big step from the L5740 to the 6120M, but that's how far you have to step to get an IVT. Otherwise I had decided to just stick with the L5740 and keep going really, really slow.

 

[LHF2019]

Anyway, much is personal choice, and I'll be the first to acknowledge that controls that "make sense" and are "intuitive" to one person are non-sense and confusing to others. My brain took to the Deere controls much more than the Fendt controls.

That statement makes a lot of sense to me. While I have not been on any thing "new" I know my old Deere tractors whether row crop or utility compared to other brands of same time period are just more comfortable. The controls just are in the right place and no searching. They are just there. My 2007 NH hydraulic controls are basically on the floor. I would have to lean over to reach them every time I dumped a bale. 2007 and you can't have ergonomically correct controls?????? I had extensions built so they are at my finger tips.

 

[RichardMeyer]

Great post and I love your tractor. I’ve been looking at the same ones, 5m125 and 6120m. I also want the ivt but I want the front 3pt and pto. Very hard to find used.

 

[Hay Dude]

That statement makes a lot of sense to me. While I have not been on any thing "new" I know my old Deere tractors whether row crop or utility compared to other brands of same time period are just more comfortable. The controls just are in the right place and no searching. They are just there. My 2007 NH hydraulic controls are basically on the floor. I would have to lean over to reach them every time I dumped a bale. 2007 and you can't have ergonomically correct controls?????? I had extensions built so they are at my finger tips.

I have never been a fan of NH tractors, although they have modernized them pretty well.
Although one of my all time faves is the NH 8670

And the 8870

If I remember, they were one of the first tractors to hit 28MPH and offer the Funk 18 speed full powershift

 

[hayden]

Great post and I love your tractor. I’ve been looking at the same ones, 5m125 and 6120m. I also want the ivt but I want the front 3pt and pto. Very hard to find used.

I recall seeing at least one 6120M with the front PTO & 3PH. Also keep in mind that it can be added. You just need to account for the post-purchase cost.