Joined the Club

lincmercguy · Aug 8, 2018

I joined the club and bought a used JD 5105 with a 521 loader. I've had it for about a month, and like it quite a bit so far. I've used it for a little bit of driveway repair to get the hang of everything. I've moved a bit of dirt around. I'm building up a leveling pad for a 10x10 shed this week. I also picked up a box blade and have just started to learn how to use that. I've used it to move around some unsplit firewood and other heavy items. It's really handy for that. The capacity of this tractor is pretty impressive for its size.

I grew up using a 4020 with an F11 loader, so this isn't too big of a jump for me. I didn't do a lot of dirt work with it growing up, so I'm still learning how to do that.

Here's a pic from the day I brought it home. Don't worry, I put the ROPS up right after this. I had lowered it to trailer it home.

oosik · Aug 8, 2018

Welcome to TBN and the forum. Looks to be a very nice unit - box blades DO take practice. Suggestion - update your profile and tell us where you are located.

LightningCamaroGuy · Aug 8, 2018

Cool! Very nice machine. Hope it gives you many years of good service.

lincmercguy · Aug 9, 2018

oosik said:
Welcome to TBN and the forum. Looks to be a very nice unit - box blades DO take practice. Suggestion - update your profile and tell us where you are located.

Location updated.

I worked a little more with the box blade tonight. I dug up an area I wanted to lower a bit for drainage and used the dirt on a leveling pad for a shed. I tried adjusting the angle of attack on the box blade, that helped quite a bit. I tried working some with the scarifiers all of the way down. It takes quite a bit larger bite with them in the lowest position, to the point where it would dig too far and start spinning the tires. To resolve, I practiced using the draft control lever to control the depth and got fairly good at it. That's an option on this tractor, and I'm glad to have it. (One of my projects for next year is to flatten out a spot for a shop).

I still have some work to do on my leveling pad. I'm usually racing the sunset after I get home from work. It's only for a 10x10 shed and it's between a couple of trees and against a fence. It's almost too big of a tractor to work in that spot. I'll get it done, just takes a bit of time. It's good practice anyway.

oosik · Aug 9, 2018

I have my rear blade, roll over box blade, disk harrow, land plane grading scraper and moldboard plow. Each takes a finite set of skills to make maximum use of the implement. I've found that my hydraulic top link is an invaluable addition. It allows infinite adjustments while on the go - no stopping, dismount, twist, remount and go. If your tractor has rear hydraulics - a hydraulic top link is a worthwhile addition. It makes learning any ground engagement implement so much easier and quicker.

Besides - the hydraulic top link is a good crutch to lean on while learning ground engagement implements. I've been at it for 36+ years and still learning.

lincmercguy · Aug 9, 2018

The 5105 has two SCVs, but they are used for the loader via joystick on mine. If I really wanted, I could disconnect the bucket tilt and use that, but I use the loader quite a bit when moving dirt.

I've got a good amount of experience with tillage for farming, but everything I've used for that was pull behind. Using a 3 point for anything except a posthole auger is new to me.