My 5085M now has 20 hours on it and I figured I'd write a quick review of my my experience with this tractor so far.
2.3 hours - This is what was on it when I first saw it at the dealer the day it was delivered. Drove it around the lot for maybe 10 minutes. Very powerful, and very tight.
2.9 hours - After dealer Pre Delivery Inspection, which consisted mainly of the dealer running the tractor on the PTO dyno (made 85 PTO HP!), after filling up the 52 gallon fuel tank.
4.0 hours - I spent some time just playing around with my new toy and finish moving a couple of acres, switching between 540 and 540E PTO speed. Cabin was very quiet at both PTO speeds. A/C worked extremely well (about 90 degrees and humid conditions).
5.0 hours - I picked the tractor back up from the dealer after having the H260 FEL installed. I really like the action of the control joystick. I can feather it much better than the joystick on the 460 loader I had on my JD4700 CUT. Very precise control. Hydraulic power is incredible. I was able to pick up a ~3500 lbs car with my forks at 1200 rpm with no issues.
7.0 hours - I used the FEL to place 24' roofing panels on my pole barn. Really appreciated the self leveling of the FEL in placing the panels. I did have an issue with the check engine light coming on on about every 4th engine start. Dealer flashed all the modules to the latest code version, and the issue went away.
10 hours - I drove the tractor about 4 miles down the road (black top) in the following configuration:
I absolutely love the hydraulic top link! It made raising the cutter up for transport so much easier, and also made it real easy to use the cutter as semi-mount without having to leave the seat.
Top speed going down the road in D4 was 22.2 mph. Even during WOT and downshifting to maintain speed up steep hills, there was absolutely no smoke coming out of the stack. I guess there tier 4 engines are running very clean.
I did stall the engine once running in 540E hitting a mound of dirt. I guess I need to adjust the slip clutch on the cutter!
I had to clear several large trees and relocate an existing burn pile to another location. The loader suspension system is fantastic. Heavy loads appears to just float along on the loader moving across bumpy terrain.
Cutting some very steep terrain, I did manage to get the tractor up on 3 wheel with one rear up in the air a little. I normally don't plan to have the grapple on when cutting except the first time each season to pick up fallen trees/limbs, so I don't expect this behavior with the FEL disconnected. I might consider adding another pair of rear weights, and maybe even 40% rim guard.
Going down very steep slopes, windshield fluid would pour out the front wiper nozzle. Might need to add a check valve to prevent this.
In all, I managed to clear about 10 acres of trees and cut the grass/brush in about 8 hours. Temps were in the 90s and at no point did the engine temp get above mid mark.
18 hours - I detached the FEL. It was a bit tricky to apply just the right amount of down pressure to allow releasing the lock pins holding the loader from the the tractor brackets. I'm sure with practice I'll get the hang of it. Love the drop down feet. The single point disconnect is great, no oil mess or oily hands. Put the finish mover deck on and cut about 5 acres, again varying between 540 and 540E. The sound quality of the speakers leave a lot to be desired. I'll need to look into upgrading them. It might be the radio electronics, but I suspect its primarily the speakers themselves.
20 hours - I was down to half a tank and filled back up. It took 26.3 gallons to fill completely up to the filler neck. So I averaged 1.48 gallons per hour. Keep in mind that this included the dealer dyno run, and me spending 40% running 540 PTO, 40% running 540E PTO, 15% running wot or close to it on the road and in the fields, and maybe 5% idling at 1200+ rpm doing roof panels and what not. I'm sure that once I get this thing broke in and use 540E for everything and don't flock is so bad, my fuel economy will get a lot better.
Heading to the dealer today to sign the paperwork and make it mine officially. So my 2 year warranty and 60 month 0% w/ insurance officially starts today. Good thing I didn't break something on it over the weekend.
