NEED HELP ON FIRST TRACTOR

indyjim1 · May 15, 2007

I have been reading this site almost daily for over 4 months. Last fall I purchased 70 arces in south central indiana. It is about 15 acres pasture and 55 arces wooded. There are some logging roads that were used to harvest some logs for a cabin on the property. The property is hilly with dirt trails (the width of a pickup truck) throughout. Some of the inclines approach 30-35 degrees. I need a machine to:
1. bush hog the pastures (I don't plan on any livestock and at this stae just want to keep the place neat
2. a FEL to move gravel to maintain the 400 ft driveway, move dirt around, , keep the dirt roads in shape through out the property
3. I plan to eventually get a grapple (after reading this website) and a blade to keep the road and dirt trails in shape. I am thinking I need 4 WD and thinking about a JD 4X20 or a JD 5105. Any and all suggestions are very much welcome and appreciated by someone that never owned a tactor before. I plan to use the FEL and bushHog alot. the place is overgrown and needs some cleaning up. I also hope to get PTO based post hole digger and maybe a wood chipper down the line. As you can see , I am a one man operation that hopes to use the tractor as my main power tool.

BamaRob · May 15, 2007

Sounds like you've done a good bit of homework. This site is an invaluable resource for helping to decide on a tractor purchase. With the acreage you've got and the planned uses, I think you're looking in the right HP range. I'd be looking in the 40 to 55 HP range. Just don't limit yourself to one color. I have nothing against the green machines, but you'd be cheating yourself if you didn't give other brands a look. Take your time. Visit lots of dealers and sit on and drive lots of machines. Get to know the dealerships (sales people, service department, parts department). Often, with the quality of units being produced today by several brands, the dealer relationship will play a big part in your purchase.

Good luck. I'm sure others here with more experience in the HP range you're considering will chime in with their advise. I feel that my 26 HP Mahindra is ideal for my uses on my acreage. But, I also have access to my dad's 72 HP Ford 5900 when more umph is needed. If I didn't have access to it, I'd likely have went little bigger when I purchased.

Keep us posted,

BR

redlevel · May 15, 2007

The 5105 sounds like a perfect fit unless you went on up to the next higher hp model. 5205, 56hp? That is a big acreage to keep up, and you definately want to go the ag utility route rather than cut. They are just built heavier and tougher. You'll want to pull a pretty good sized mower and that extra hp will come in handy pulling a heavy mower up those grades. Good luck and have fun.

Soundguy · May 16, 2007

40-50 hp sounds good for that size of property.. especially if you want to do ANY logigng safely.

YES on 4wd.. etc. If fel.. look for units with HST.. if you will be doing lots of HST workl... otherwise gear is fine.. and probably easier to find in the Utility sized tractors.. not to mention cheaper...

Soundguy

Champy · May 17, 2007

IndyJim - Once you have narrowed your selection down to basic performance criteria on a tractor, I cannot stress enough that (IMHO) you should be shopping for a dealer - then selecting a tractor. Every brand can put some model or feature out there to compete and meet your needs against the others, but the performance of their support systems are irreplaceable and cannot be easily copied.

My experience is that the dealer (service support) can kill any brand or model quicker than another tractor manufacturer ever could. Where in SCI is your property located?

Greyfields · May 17, 2007

I couldn't be more pleased with my 4120. If this is your first tractor, having the HST flattens the learning curve. You can focus on the task at hand.

Z-Michigan · May 17, 2007

My view really depends on how big a mower you want, which depends a lot on how often you will be mowing and whether you have to mow in tight spaces. The 4120 or 4320 with HST will be a lot more fun for FEL work and may be better or worse than gear for mowing, depending whether you're mowing large rectangular areas or smaller irregular areas.

I have a JD5105. Wonderful tractor, though not as fancy as some. Very powerful; I have a 6' LX6 mower and it runs it at 1/3 power without slowing down ever. I think it would run a 7' lift type mower or an 8' or possibly larger pull-type mower. The 5205 has only 4 more PTO hp based on Nebraska testing, so I wouldn't pay much extra for it. Both are discontinued but are nice and should still be at dealers (some can be found online).

I guess if you want a 7' or larger mower, you will want/need a utility for that mower, and that means you will simply be deciding brand and model. If a 6' mower is good, I would look at larger CUTs with HST. I really like Deere, but you should at least compare the other top brands like Kubota, New Holland, etc. The Kubota M5040/6040 compare to the 5105/5205 and have a few more features, though I think the 5105 is a bit tougher.

indyjim1 · May 24, 2007

Thanks to all for your input, i have been off line for a few days but am back
all advice is welcomed, appreciated and considered. It looks like I am in the ball part, due not the least - to the great information that is available on this site that I have been following for the past several months

One question , if i am doing more fel work than bush hogging , is the 5105 alot more difficult to work than say the 4320 or is it just a learning curve

Jaybr · May 25, 2007

I maintained 70 acres w/35 in pasture for 5 years with a Jd 790 with FEL and 5' bushhog. Sure, a bigger tractor would have done the work quicker but I got by fine with the little 790. I only cut the pasture a couple times a year just to keep it from getting overgrown.

I've now downsized the land and upsized the tractor

Z-Michigan · May 25, 2007

indyjim1 said:
One question , if i am doing more fel work than bush hogging , is the 5105 alot more difficult to work than say the 4320 or is it just a learning curve

It's not significantly more difficult, but it's slower and more work. Basically you would drive into a pile, push the clutch in, move the range lever to reverse, let out the clutch, turn, push the clutch in again, move back to forward, go drive wherever and dump the bucket, then drive back to your pile and repeat. If it sounds like a lot - well, it kinda as. No problem if FEL work is 10% of what you're doing, but not recommended if FEL work is 50% or more of what you're doing. With HST you just push one pedal to go forward and another to go in reverse, no clutching and no lever to move. HST would also be better if you're pushing into something really slowly (probably because it doesn't want to get in the bucket, like fist-sized or larger rocks).

It is possible to get a "power shuttle" that eliminates the clutching and makes this all go faster and easier. Not available on the 5105, but it is available on the 5225 and the 4120-4520 series, as well as on other brands like a Kubota Mxx40 or the L-series with glide shift transmission (only with their GST - not on their L series with conventional gear transmission).

I was recently preparing an entire 5 acre plot for a new hayfield - discing, dragging, then dragging again after seeding. Gear is definitely the way to go for this type of work. But since your tasks focused on mowing (where both transmissions work well) and FEL work, I just wanted to note the issue.