Buying Advice Need Advise on M9540 vs L5030 Purchase

[WVBartMan]

I presently own a L5030 and it seems I'm always pushing the limits of its abilities. I use my L5030 for mowing grass, blowing leaves, plowing snow, logging (winch & loader grapple) and misc small dirt projects around here. The L5030 has R4 tires on it and it still compacts the soil leaving tight soil and poor turf conditions in its wheel tracks. My dilema is buying an M9540 to replace the L5030 and my only concern is destroying my yard (3-acres) with the R1 tires and the extra weight of the M9540. I thought about buying an aerator to help relieve the compaction and I debated on buying two sets of tires (turf & R1) for the M9540 and switching them out.

I love the R1 Tires for my other chores but mowing the grass may pose a problem. My wife does most of the mowing (Woods 84" finish mower) and she is a great operator and I have very steep terrain, to the point where the R4 slide around on her and the rear tires are loaded. Does anyone have expereince mowing their grass with a M9540 and what is the damage to the turf?

Any advice and or opinions would be appreciated. Thanks for the help.

 

[case245]

i have a 7040su fel loaded rear tires cast center wieghts R 1s it tear up the yard really easy hardest when you turn

 

[OrangeToys]

I have to ask why the HUGE jump?

 

[ovrszd]

I made a similar jump, going from an L4400 to an M9540. I don't mow my lawn with either tractor.

Operational weight of the L4400 was 5700 w/loader. Operational weight of my M9540 is 9820 w/loader.

We are currently in a drought, 22" of rainfall short over the past twelve months. Haven't had a runoff rain in four months. I drove my M9540 across my lawn today and left lug indentions in the sod. It would destroy a lawn under normal moisture conditions.

In situations where the L5030 with R4's slides around, the M9540 with R1's won't slide, it will simply rip up the sod until it finds traction in the dirt below. I don't think you will be happy with the change.

For the other tasks you listed, you'll enjoy the M9540 horsepower and the chassis stability. I can operate on steeper inclines with the M9540 than I could with the L4400. Most of my use is on steep timber land.

 

[Piston]

When you say "mowing grass" are you talking about mowing your lawn? Or are you referring to pasture?

It sounds like you could benefit from the larger tractor (I'm in the same situation, minus worrying about my lawn) for most of your chores, aside from lawn mowing. Have you thought about a bigger tractor and a dedicated lawn mower?

Otherwise, if you want a do it all tractor, your at a pretty good size for compromises right now. I do some land clearing with my tractor and would certainly want something bigger (if only money was no object). If you can avoid having to be on your lawn with the tractor then a bigger tractor may be just what you need. Even still, I think of an L5030 as much too big to be mowing lawn regardless.

 

[WVBartMan]

I'm presently debating on keeping the L5030 to just mow grass with and grass meaning very nice sod no pasture and getting the M9540 to do everything else off the grass. So far I have gotten by these last 8 years with just the L5030 and I could probably go another 8 years. I tend to get the fevor when I see the 60-series with all the pollution/exhaust crap and the cost of a 9540 and 5740 are only a couple of dollars apart and the 9540 is twice the tractor of the 5030.

Orange Toys - Good question, the answer maybe long and complicated but the short side follows a few threads of sanity such as:
1. I have 3-chainsaws (Stihl 026, 362, 066) to cut firewood with for my home. I tend to run the 066 most of the time due to the speed of the cut and the increase production.
2. I have a Super Split Splitter which can out produce my hydraulic splitter 4:1 thus resulting in increase production.
3. My L5030 gets drug around like a rag doll by my Farmi Winch when pulling big logs up the side of these steep mountains where I live. The tractor spends half its life on the 2 front wheels due to the log grapple on the FEL picking up logs that raise the rear loaded R4's and my Nascar (Agrimetal) Leaf Blower on the 3-point off the ground.
4. The final and maybe the biggest factor is I am the type of person who has always changed the engine oil/filter, Hyd/HST Filters in my L5030 every 100-hours since I purchased it new. I keep thinking that I am just pushing it too hard and if the L5030 only had to cut grass and leave all the heavy lifting to the big tractor then the 5030 R&M cost will continue to be only filters and oil.

I think the 9540 will handle everything I do with ease and not strain like my 5030 is doing. The 5030 has been and will be one of the best tractors I have owned but I keep thinking that if I keep pushing it to the limit its only a matter of time before I start replacing axles, pumps, etc.

I'm open to suggestions and advice on this subject since the last thing I need is two tractors since there is just one of me. Picture of my latest attachment I picked up on Friday, quarters big wood nicely without the operator breaking a sweat.

 

[Piston]

4. The final and maybe the biggest factor is I am the type of person who has always changed the engine oil/filter, Hyd/HST Filters in my L5030 every 100-hours since I purchased it new. I keep thinking that I am just pushing it too hard and if the L5030 only had to cut grass and leave all the heavy lifting to the big tractor then the 5030 R&M cost will continue to be only filters and oil.

I think the 9540 will handle everything I do with ease and not strain like my 5030 is doing. The 5030 has been and will be one of the best tractors I have owned but I keep thinking that if I keep pushing it to the limit its only a matter of time before I start replacing axles, pumps, etc.

Boy if you've read any of my posts you'd know I'm in the exact same situation! I feel the same way about feeling like your pushing the tractor to it's limits. I'm using mine for a lot of things that would be much better served by a larger tractor.

If you can afford to keep both tractors then that seems like the ideal setup. (TripleR comes to mind here :thumbsup
However, I still think that if your primary purpose would simply be mowing the lawn with the 5030, it just seems too big, but since you've been doing it all this time, I must be wrong about that!

In your sig it says "too many attachments to list". Do you think you could list them? It would be nice to see what you have for two reasons, one, I'm just interested in attachments :laughing: and two, I'd like to see which ones could, or could not be, used with the bigger tractor.

One factor I've been keeping in mind with all attachments I've bought, is that I want to be able to upgrade my tractor without having to buy all new (bigger) implements. So far the only thing I'd have to upgrade is my landscape rake and rear blade combo (which I don't really like anyways)

Would you need to upgrade your attachments?

By the way, that is one heck of a splitter you have there! It must be a good match with the supersplit.

 

[94BULLITT]

How much grass do you have to mow? Would a BX work for you for the mowing?

 

[WVBartMan]

Piston: Since I have gotten older I have reduced my attachments but here is what's left:
84" Woods Finish Mower, 60" Woods Bush Hog, 84" FEL HYD Angle Snow Plow, 84" 3-PT HYD Angle Broom, Agrimetal 3-PT Blower, 3-PT Farmi JL 501 Winch, Herd 750 3-Pt Spreader, 17 FT 3-PT Boom Sprayer, 72" Box Scrape, FEL Log Splitter, FEL Log Grapple, 3-PT Pallet Forks, FEL Pallet Forks, FEL Tooth Bar, T-N-T.

Sold - John Deere Aercore 2000, Millcreek Top Dresser, Herd Small Spreader, 72" Woods Finish Mower, misc ground engaging tools

94Bullitt - My wife mows the grass and she liks the AC, CD Player, HST and the 84" mower deck. I have 3-acres up here on top of the mountain and half a mile of driveway off the mountain that she cuts as well. The cup holder holding her wine tends to be one of the priorities but an open station tractor would be a big no no for her, I would end up having to cut the grass then.

 

[94BULLITT]

The cab is a big plus for mowing.

 

[milkman636]

That looks like a very fine way to split wood. It sound like mowing with the 9540 has already been ruled out. After all those years in a cab you might miss it too. Maybe you should be looking for a slightly huskier cabbed tractor with more weight, lift, and axle capacity?

I can relate to your dilemna about having two tractors. Two years ago I bought a small 35hp CUT with an HST & R4s for working in tight quarters around my place and kept my larger 53 hp utility tractor because it has double the loader lift and maybe triple the traction with loaded R1s. Also because it was long paid for and I didn't know if I was going to like the HST. The bigger one gets hardly used now because the smaller one is handier for most chores. I've only put about 25 hrs on the larger one this year. Now I'm actually considering moving to a model in between the two with either an HST or hydraulic shuttle and R1's and sellling both of my current tractors. Being primarily a weekend and occasional evening user I feel I could be happy just owning and maintaining one tractor again. Plus it'll free up some more space in the barn.

As our jobs evolve over the years so does our tractor fleet. That is what keep the dealers in business:thumbsup: and our wives shaking their heads

 

[ovrszd]

The final and maybe the biggest factor is I am the type of person who has always changed the engine oil/filter, Hyd/HST Filters in my L5030 every 100-hours since I purchased it new. I keep thinking that I am just pushing it too hard and if the L5030 only had to cut grass and leave all the heavy lifting to the big tractor then the 5030 R&M cost will continue to be only filters and oil.

This is why I sold my L4400 and bought the bigger M9540. I diligently maintain my equipment. I frequently worked the L4400 at it's maximum capacity. But I began to worry that the L4400 was not going to survive the workload long term. The tasks that it struggled to do, scratching and clawing, front tires or rear tires in the air, the M9540 does without breaking sweat at an idle.

For me I chose the path of the JD2210 for mowing and snow removal. That allowed me to step up to a bigger tractor. Good luck in your quest for compromise!!!

 

[WVBartMan]

Well I pulled the trigger today on the M9540 Cab tractor with the 12-1 hydraulic shuttle transmission, FEL with 3rd function valve & 84" bucket, 3 rear remotes (2 floats and one auto-detent), Top and Tilt Kit, Cast wheels with loaded rear tires and a grill guard. I also went with the Kubota 0%, 60-month financing. I'm keeping the L5030 for mowing and misc uses around the house.

I truly do love this forum and the valuable information you can gain from members like yourselves who take the time to share experiences and opinions with others. I know my decision was based on what was said/posted on this site and I look forward to contributing as well. Thank you goes out to all who took the time to respond to me and help me make an informed decision.

 

[Piston]

:cool2: :cool2: :cool2: :cool2: :cool2: :cool2: :cool2: :cool2:

That is awesome! Your gonna have one heck of a nice team with those two setups!

 

[OrangeToys]

Awesome! All this talk of new tractor makes me want to get a new bigger one too.
As always pics are a must!

 

[94BULLITT]

Awesome, post some pics when you get it.

 

[WVBartMan]

To
Took delivery today and wanted to send some pictures. This thing is huge, I never actually saw one in person just seen a M9540 in a brochure until it was delivered today, I love it! I think I need bigger implements.

 

[94BULLITT]

To
Took delivery today and wanted to send some pictures. This thing is huge, I never actually saw one in person just seen a M9540 in a brochure until it was delivered today, I love it! I think I need bigger implements.

Thats a really nice tractor. Thanks for the pics. The front tires on the 9540 are almost as big as the rear on the 5030.

 

[OrangeToys]

Very nice!!!!! Do any work with it yet?

 

[TripleR]

Don't know how I missed this thread; you wound up going the same route we found works best for us, you will love the added capability of the M Series.:thumbsup:

My wife bush hogs with our GL, but won't give up her BX2200 and BX2660 for yard work; probably best as our M and GL live four miles apart.