JD5103 & 6' Rotary Cutter

ShookFarm · Aug 10, 2006

We purchased my wife's family farm from her grandmother in February. I also just purchased a JD5103 from my local John Deere dealer last week and I am having it delivered tomorrow (Friday, August 11, 2006). This will be used to "hog" 27 acres of pasture and food plots for deer and turkey that will be created at a later date (I've gotta find a disk and meet with the Conservation Forester!)

After finding the web site just this week, I've been reading posts everyhwere. I am so excited to find all kinds of answers to things that puzzled me. But, I have more questions. My questions evolve around the fact that I am really new to tractor ownership. I've driven small tractors on an uncle's farm when I was younger and the last tractor I drove was an International 1066 at another uncle's farm.

Our farm is 103 acres with about 27 acres of pasture bordered by a creek. After reading the manual, I see that I need to run about 2400 RPM's on the motor to keep a 540 RPM operating speed on the PTO. It appears I should be mowing in A range any one of the gears (1, 2 or 3). Is that correct?

The Nebraska Tractor Test document lists horsepower ratings and fuel consumption which leaves me a little confused. How do they get such low horsepower output with engine RPM still so high?

The rotary cutter is a 6' King Kutter, however, it only has a 40HP gearbox. How can I keep from overpowering the gearbox and how can I conserve fuel? If the engine is runing at 2400 RPM's to keep the PTO up to speed, I really can't back off too much on the throttle without reducing the PTO speed.

Help me understand the proper operation here. I don't want to damage anything and I want to be safe. For S/N's below 1798, I see that the PTO horsepower was 38 (per the owner's manual), but now it's 42. I based my cutter purchase off the 38 number I had found on the internet so I thought I'd be safe. I may have a little more power than I need, but isn't it better to be overpowered than under?

wolc123 · Aug 10, 2006

Your Tach will indicate proper speed for the cutter and whatever gear you choose, just use enough throttle to keep the needle near this mark. All PTO equipment is designed around this indicated rpm (540), and will operate best there. The gear you pick will be determined by the roughness of the ground mostly since you have plenty of hp. If you had a smaller tractor it would bog down in thick conditions but you would have to get into some pretty thick stuff to bog your rig. I have a 4120 which is a little less pto hp and have never been able to bog it down on a 6 foot cutter. Obviously, on unfamiliar ground, you should use a lower gear. Once you learn where the bumps and ditches are you can gear up a bit. If your concerned with fuel usage, the higher the gear that can maintain proper pto rpm, the less fuel you will use to do the job. You will find however that this concern becomes secondary to safety and equipment longevity which are obviously better in lower gear.

BloomingtonMike · Aug 10, 2006

If you purchased a loader keep it on and low for the first few times you hog unfamiliar ground. Also if you do take it off (you may not on that size tractor) keep the front ballasted correctly. Have fun.

ShookFarm · Aug 11, 2006

Thanks for the replies and advice.

I did not purchase the FEL due to cost right now. Hopefully one will show up after a timber sale! I likely would have purchased the wrong one anyway. After reading all the comments, I think I'd like to spend a little more and get the quick detach, just in case.

Without the FEL on the front, how much front weight is needed for a 750# bush hog on the 3PH? (When I was about 12 or 13, I drove a small Case 2WD and speared 4x5 round bales in a flat field for my uncle. It was great fun, but looking back, I should have driven much slower - it was a wheel raising, hair raising ride! As my wife's grandmother says, "God watches over fools and little children.")

BloomingtonMike · Aug 11, 2006

I am showing the 512 (permanent mount loader) loader as the only option for the 5103. With this tractor however you most likely would never want that loader off I would think.

Mine is on my 3320 all the time except when I am mowing with my mid mount mower (MMM).

Without that loader you need to really check out the required front ballast as recommended by John Deere in you manual. I am sure someone will soon post the link to your manual so we can help you get the correct information. I kind of look at this as a good reason to buy that loader. Honestly you will not want to be without it once you get it. They are SOOOO handy. I use mine for so many tasks and I only have 6 acres.

Congrats on the farm and tractor purchase and welcome to TBN by the way.

Have any pictures of the homestead by chance?

burnetma · Aug 11, 2006

Regarding front weight and all ballast questions:

Check the owner's manual. JD gives recommendations on ballasting (very conservative) or you can simply ask the dealer.

I would think that the tractor without front ballast should handle a 750 lb brush cutter, but if not, you will have to buy the front bracket and some suitcase weights. You will be talking about a couple hundred buckets from JD.

ShookFarm · Aug 11, 2006

Unfortunately, the King Kutter book does not give the implement code, I could use the Owner's Manual to determine weights needed if it did. I can't find it in the book. I could be overlooking it.

As for the FEL, Turkflyer posted here http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/showthread.php?t=71280&page=2&highlight=quick and says a 521 quick detach loader will fit the 5x03 series.

Here's a link to some pictures of our place. http://www.geocities.com/shook63963/farmpics.html Hopefully, if it doesn't rain too much, I'll have pics of the tractor this evening!

Thanks again for the input!

rockyridgefarm · Aug 11, 2006

Beautiful place!

Fuel consumption is a real consideration. But safety is even more so. Ot is likely that a King Kutter does not have front chains. Without them, you can find yourself the target for an occasional missile. I would strongly suggest getting them. You can order them for the KK or there have been some homeade ones postd here.

Have fun, and stay safe!

ShookFarm · Aug 11, 2006

Thanks, Mike! I had a couple of hyperlinks fouled up, you can check it again, if you like. (One of the pictures was linked wrong and the home page was kind of squirreled up)

I just started creating this web page about a week ago, it's a work in progress!

I married in to the family 14 years ago. I've had access to this place the whole time, but never really utilized it until last year. Grandma had fallen at home and she needed to sell some property to pay for nursing home care (Fair Market Value Appraisal - no bargain basement deal here). Nobody else in the family jumped in so we took the dive nose first. It's going to be tight for a while, but I can think of no place better on earth to be. Our 9 year old son loves the place. It's rocky hill ground, but it's ours! Well, actually the Bank's, but we're going to fix that! We even have a guy who lives in the run-down old house and keeps an eye on everything for us.

wolc123 · Aug 11, 2006

The cheapest, simplest fix for your ballast problem is to load the front tires only with calcium. When and if you get a loader you will no longer need it in the front but can pump it into the rears, plus some more for the larger tires.