Comparison JD 5065E VS JD 5065M...$10,000 QUESTION

[jenkinsph]

Well that 5420 will be a definate upgrade in power over your 5105 and is alot more tractor to boot. Seems to be in good condition just looking at the pic.

I looked at the prices for a few new tractors before this post and was drawn to the 5085M with cab. Equipped with the features I would like it totaled about $53k list and should sell for about $44k. This should last you a long time and I suspect you would really like it without reservations. With loader this would be about a $35k upgrade with your trade, rather steep but you are getting alot more tractor too.

Trust me on this, anywhere you can drive a canopy tractor such as the 5420 you posted you can take a cab tractor too. I have a canopy and cab tractors and have to say driving these expensive tractors through the trees and limbs is not something I do anymore. The glass is not as fragile as some on here think but looking at the big picture if you drive through the woods very much the tractor will look worse for wear.

Having a cab tractor is alot more pleasant and I think you should give it some consideration. I lived in Pike county for a number of years and know that you would appreciate the cab where you live. An 85hp cab tractor and cat 2 implements would be a very good match JMHO and would likely eliminate the future wish to upgrade to a cab tractor.

 

[deere5105]

Well that 5420 will be a definate upgrade in power over your 5105 and is alot more tractor to boot. Seems to be in good condition just looking at the pic.

I looked at the prices for a few new tractors before this post and was drawn to the 5085M with cab. Equipped with the features I would like it totaled about $53k list and should sell for about $44k. This should last you a long time and I suspect you would really like it without reservations. With loader this would be about a $35k upgrade with your trade, rather steep but you are getting alot more tractor too.

Trust me on this, anywhere you can drive a canopy tractor such as the 5420 you posted you can take a cab tractor too. I have a canopy and cab tractors and have to say driving these expensive tractors through the trees and limbs is not something I do anymore. The glass is not as fragile as some on here think but looking at the big picture if you drive through the woods very much the tractor will look worse for wear.

Having a cab tractor is alot more pleasant and I think you should give it some consideration. I lived in Pike county for a number of years and know that you would appreciate the cab where you live. An 85hp cab tractor and cat 2 implements would be a very good match JMHO and would likely eliminate the future wish to upgrade to a cab tractor.

Steve, I agree with the cab comments. I just don't think I am ready to make that step. The deal with this canopy is that it can be removed. One thing I really like is that this unit has the folding ROPS and underhood exhaust. My 5105 doesn't have either and I have already snagged my vertical exhaust once and also had to unload the tractor from the trailer because it wouldn't fit under the barn while on the trailer. I had planned to help a guy disk his food plot the next evening after work and didn't want to have to come home and load and lose daylight. I also despise leaving anything out in the weather. I don't do a lot of work in the woods, mainly just pulling out downed trees and keeping up woods roads. Definitely could make good use of the cab, but can't justify at this time. I also heard at the dealer Saturday that a lot of customers are trading for the 5083E cab. Think those are going for a lot less than the 5085M. Takes you back to the "E" vs. "M" deal though. Thanks for the comments.

 

[jenkinsph]

Just one more suggestion, instead of removing the canopy consider buying a Florian pole saw. I keep one handy to cut limbs in my way, these things are super sharp and will cut a 3" branch very quickly, reach is about 15'. Cost about $125.

 

[deere5105]

Tried going to their website, but doesn't seem to be working properly. Is this a power saw or manual saw. Sounds like a good idea.

 

[RollingsFarms]

Tried going to their website, but doesn't seem to be working properly. Is this a power saw or manual saw. Sounds like a good idea.

i think he's talking about a pole saw. similar to what Sthil and Poulan and others make. long pole that can be adjusted to many different heights with a mini chainsaw at the end.

btw, that tractor looks to be in great shape! hope you get it!:thumbsup:

 

[jenkinsph]

Here is a link to the Florian mini pole saw with telescopic handle. Don't really need a power tool for most of this trimming.


Mini Long Handle Saw - - Florian Tools

 

[deere5105]

Steve, Thanks for the link. Our service people have blades like this that attach to the end of an extendable rod. Very handy tool.

After running through my numbers again, I have counter offered with the dealer to try to reach a more "workable" price. Not sure if he will match it or not. Got to talking with a fellow co-worker yesterday and about decided this tractor may be bigger than I actually need. Although it will do things my 5105 won't there are also things the it can't do. I use my 5105 in the garden for single row crops. Was threatened to be photographed and placed on YouTube if I was caught trying to work a garden with a 80 HP tractor!

 

[Bigfoot62]

. . . I use my 5105 in the garden for single row crops. Was threatened to be photographed and placed on YouTube if I was caught trying to work a garden with a 80 HP tractor!

We want a link to the video!!! :laughing:

 

[jenkinsph]

deere 5105,

I gave alot of thought to what size tractors would be best for me and decided to go to the larger compact for a few reasons. First, where I use my tractors the most are on residential properties, some ot these have confined spaces. Second, I am making the change over to pto powered tillage implements rather than disks which work much better in tight spaces as a tiller will till deep as soon as you drop it down, whereas a disk needs to travel atleast 30 feet to fully engage. This change to pto powered tillage greatly reduces the need for a larger tractor capable of the high draft loads normally associated with plows and disks. Third, in most cases the ehydro is way easier to use on my projects IMHO and I have had them all I think.

Years ago my in McComb I used 3020 and 4020 to handle most of the tractor related tasks on a 180 acres. This place needed the normal run of things such as new fences, pasture renovation, clearing, contouring and solving drainage issues. Quickly found the need for a small dozer and bought a deere 450 to help with clearing fence rows and general earth moving. Like everyone else at the time I had the usual chisel plow, offset disk, disk harrow and section harrows to improve the pastures. These were sized to the equipment on hand and worked out reasonably well. Also had the smaller low hp old tractors and a variety of smaller cheap implemennts for the odd jobs.

Later on I thought I needed larger equipment (what young man doesn't want larger equipment :laughing and bought a Case 1370 and new 850 dozer to expand the operation. With this came the need for larger tools, trucks and trailers. Learned how tough the world is somewhere in there. Still had some great experiences along the way and did for the most part found I enjoyed this.

Back to the present, I am leaning more towards minimal till using pto seeders and renovators rather than high draft equipment so I see less need on a regular basis for large tractors. I feel the vast majority of the time a 40 to 60 hp compact will do all that needs to be done along with my small backhoe. My gut feeling is it would probably be alot more economical in your area to hire out major tillage via a local farmer when needed rather than doing it yourself. You may find as I have that something along the lines of the 4520, 4720 or your existing 5105 may fill the bill from this perspective.

In a nutshell I am focusing in on adding better implements in the 40 to 60 hp size that I can use frequently, just seems to make more sense to me. Hope this helps a little and good luck with your decisions.

 

[deere5105]

Steve,
Curious if you have pulled the MX6 and the 8' landplane with the 4520 and if so how it handled them?

Think you may be on to something with your new strategy. I think this is one of those situations where a 50 HP to 60 HP tractor is all I would ever need, but for just a little bit more you can go bigger. As you stated, when you go bigger on the tractor so goes the need to increase implement size to make full use of the bigger tractor and then there are other things that have to follow suit and be increased too.

Again, thanks for the advice. Seems I am not traveling an untraveled path!!

 

[Edward. S]

Hi deere5105 I think the 65M/E can probably handle a MX7 i've seen a few people use a 4(5/7)20 with a mx 7 bush hogging it depends if your property has inclines and hills if you have alot of hills and inclines you should get the mx 6

 

[jenkinsph]

deere 5105,
I use the 4520 and the 110 tlb to pull the landplane and boxblade both work well for this. Bear in mind the Frontier BB1284 boxblade is a 7' 1250 lbs with hydraulic rippers and can carry almost 1 1/4 yards, so this is the highest draft load. I use the landplane to improve new lawn sites more than roadwork and it does a great job smoothing out yards for planting. That is why I built mine with straight blades instead of angled blades.

The MX6 is no problem for the 4520 in most conditions but when using with the 110 it can drop rpms if you try to go too fast in heavy brush. Both machines handle the weight with no problems. Lots of people use 4520 and 4720's with MX7 here but I would think you need a full 12 front weights for that. I prefer the MX6 for my work as it is more nimble to use in unknown fields, don't really use it alot as I have only cut about 200 acres total so far.

When comparing a 60hp 4520 to a similar hp 5xxx tractor there are trade offs for each, the 4520 does not have as much draft capability but is a little faster and more nimble machine. While the 5xxx are a good size for general purpose work having the 4xxx machines I would rather consider the 6xxx machines which are large enough to make a difference for big jobs. Right now I can't justify it for the few times I need a larger tractor.

 

[deere5105]

Thanks for the info. I always assumed the compact tractors didn't have a place in ag work, but sounds like they are very capable machines. I looked up a 4520 early today and was suprised to find out it isn't much different in weight than my 5105. I think for the time being, if they don't accept the offer I made on the 5420, I will stick with the 5105. Got to redirect focus on a new trailer. The 16' 7K with sides we have just isn't cutting it for moving the tractors with an implement. Thanks for the input.

 

[deere5105]

I have an update for those of you that advised on this topic. After much thought and consideration I found myself still wanting to upgrade. After traveling about 900 miles and 15 hours and one blow out and one flat on trailer, I am now the proud owner of a 2008 John Deere 5303 4WD with 522 FEL. Unit has 264 hours. Was able to work out a trade with my 5105. This tractor was used very little to run a 6' cutter and a little square baling. Previous owner traded for a cab tractor for the hay operation. Was looking at the 5065E, but come across 5303 which appears to be identical. Tractor is in like new condition. Can't wait to try it out. I realize there are some options on the M Series that are handy, but I just could not justify the extra cost. Thanks for all of the advice.

 

[jenkinsph]

Glad you found something that works for you. Post some pics of it.

 

[deere5105]

Will take a little time to know for sure how it will operate under various conditions. Got to do a little mowing with MX6 cutter last night before church and noticed right off that the engine seems to run smoother at higher RPM, tall thick grass bogs less and that even though 5303 is only 4" longer it seems much bigger. Not quite as "nimble" feeling as the 5105, but more "solid" feeling. Looks like everything is in easy to get to locations. Bought tractor through Trigreen Equipment in Athen, AL. About a 400 mile drive one way for me, but dealing with Curtis at that store was a pleasure.

Having a little trouble with pictures file size. Will have to work on that to see if can get them posted.

 

[deere5105]

Had to put pictures in different format. These were taken on the previous owner's property. Have not taken any at it's new home.

 

[MBDiagMan]

Beautiful machine! I'm not intimately familiar with that model, but it appears to have a gearbox like my 5045D. You could have posted that your tractor is brand new and no one would have been able to tell by looking at the pictures. You did good. Yours is very similar to mine and I like the added mass very much (over 6,000 pouns with loader) as compared to the lighter weight tractors of the same HP range.

Much of this is personal preference and also related to your driving experience. It sounds as if you are like me with plenty of previous experience dealing with a clutch pedal.

In finding and choosing a tractor recently, one of my top goals was to get a regular shift transmission with a clutch pedal. If you are competent with a clutch pedal, the sync reverser will serve you quite well for FEL work, you can slip it easily forward to reverse as the tractor is moving toward the position where you want to change directions without the tractor being at a full stop.

Many younger folks don't have the clutch skills or just don't want to bother with a clutch pedal. By choosing such a tractor if you are comfortable handling it, you will have a gearbox that will probably never need any attention. In the case of the fancier systems, if they ever DO give any trouble, it will be very expen$ive to repair. I can split a tractor myself and replace the clutch, but I'm not going to attempt an overhaul on one of these fancy transmissions.

So, with all the fancy doodads, you get to pay more money up front PLUS pay more money later on should they need repair.

I really like the basic simplicity of my 5045D and find the syncreverser very natural to handle. As an added bonus, I know that if anything does happen I can take care of it with minimal expen$e.

Enjoy.

My $0.02,

 

[deere5105]

Beautiful machine! I'm not intimately familiar with that model, but it appears to have a gearbox like my 5045D. You could have posted that your tractor is brand new and no one would have been able to tell by looking at the pictures. You did good. Yours is very similar to mine and I like the added mass very much (over 6,000 pouns with loader) as compared to the lighter weight tractors of the same HP range.

Much of this is personal preference and also related to your driving experience. It sounds as if you are like me with plenty of previous experience dealing with a clutch pedal.

In finding and choosing a tractor recently, one of my top goals was to get a regular shift transmission with a clutch pedal. If you are competent with a clutch pedal, the sync reverser will serve you quite well for FEL work, you can slip it easily forward to reverse as the tractor is moving toward the position where you want to change directions without the tractor being at a full stop.

Many younger folks don't have the clutch skills or just don't want to bother with a clutch pedal. By choosing such a tractor if you are comfortable handling it, you will have a gearbox that will probably never need any attention. In the case of the fancier systems, if they ever DO give any trouble, it will be very expen$ive to repair. I can split a tractor myself and replace the clutch, but I'm not going to attempt an overhaul on one of these fancy transmissions.

So, with all the fancy doodads, you get to pay more money up front PLUS pay more money later on should they need repair.

I really like the basic simplicity of my 5045D and find the syncreverser very natural to handle. As an added bonus, I know that if anything does happen I can take care of it with minimal expen$e.

Enjoy.

My $0.02,

Your evaluation is right on track. I grew up using a Ford 4000 and an old Ferguson 40 tricycle tractor. The SyncReverser was an unbelieveable upgrade from these tractors. I have no problems using the clutch and find myself in one gear moving in one direction most of the time. For the occasional loader work and change of direction this transmission suits my needs just fine. I talked with several shop employees in the dealerships and all of them stated if buying for themselves and keeping cost in mind that this would be the model range they would be looking at. Seem to have little to no repair issues on the newer ones.

 

[MBDiagMan]

Yes, I am coming off of a Ford 3000 that I have run for the last 24 years. I just wanted a simple transmission like on the old Ford. As a surprise bonus I discovered the sync reverser and have fallen in love with it. I can maneuver this machine back and forth efficiently and with ease.

I'm a clutch person all the way. Everything on my place has a clutch except my wifes car. I even have a Mercedes four door with a manual transmission.

Keep us posted on how your new machine works out for you.