New L5740/4720 enough tractor for stacking square bales?

[TruckinFool]

3x4 I think you can go 3 high on edge at most.(height restrictions?) That's 12' in bales not sure how high the deck is, 3-3.5'?

3x3 are 3 high on the trailer. You waste some height with 3x3, I'd be ok with stacking 3 high on the ground if need be. Higher is always more efficient when tarping but 3 high keeps them completely covered so its a trade off I suppose.

Either 3x3 or 3x4, its three rails down the trailer.

 

[TruckinFool]

Go check one out at the dealer, you will be surprised by the maneuverability of the bigger tractors. My primary tractors are a L5740HSTC and M8540HDC, yes the L5740 is more maneuverable, but not by a whole lot and yu won't be getting one that big anyway. I have mowed my son's yard with our M8540 pulling a 10' rotary cutter, certainly not ideal, but much better than you would think. I obviously had to do a bit of trimming, but less than I would have thought.

Whats your thoughts on la1153 vs la1353 vs 553? Seems deere doesn't make a comparable tractor.. You need to step up to their M series to get a bigger loader which is a big price jump. Not sure if my wallet will allow but I'm having a tough time wrapping my head around buying this size tractor with less than 70hp. Seems the 50-60hp guys are bogging down pretty good plowing snow on youtube video's.

 

[TripleR]

Whats your thoughts on la1153 vs la1353 vs 553? Seems deere doesn't make a comparable tractor.. You need to step up to their M series to get a bigger loader which is a big price jump. Not sure if my wallet will allow but I'm having a tough time wrapping my head around buying this size tractor with less than 70hp. Seems the 50-60hp guys are bogging down pretty good plowing snow on youtube video's.

I sure wish I could help, but I have no experience with any of those mentioned other than our M8540, I do like the John Deere M Series too, but couldn't handle the difference in price either.

I personally like something in the 70 up HP range for a lot of things, but find my L570 does pretty well overall with 50 PTO HP. I have never used a snow blower, but 4shorts uses his almost exclusively for commercial snow blowing in Canada, so you might check some of his threads and I am pretty sure he has some You Tube stuff.

A downside to the M7040 and under is the 8F/8R, this is changed in the M60 Series, but the price is higher, always seems to be something.

foreman Etexas used to run an M7040 and M5040, now he has two M7040's, so check with him or some of his threads.

Good luck and sorry I couldn't help more.

 

[KWentling]

No help on the tractor, but I'm wondering what attachment you use to handle the bales. Our hay supplier has an attachment that has 3 or 4 short spears built on a frame work as high as 2 or 3 bales, and has claws that rotate into the face of the bales to grab them. Really light weight and slick. They use these on both 3x4 and 4x4 bales up to about 1450 lbs, and 2 or 3 at a time. Those folks put up thousands of tons a year and regularly load out semi trailer loads. I can find a manufacturer if your interested. I have no idea on the price.

Kim

 

[TruckinFool]

Just got back from tire kicking. M7040 was very nice, probably perfect size for our property but boy the M8560 just screams "You'll never outgrow me!" The turning radius is such that I dont think the size would be an issue either. (Very impressive) One thing I did notice was the 7040 started up and reved quick and snappy. Sounded real nice and you can hear the turbo whine when you rev it. The 8560 was another story. It started fine but when I went to blip the throttle it fell on its face. It did go away as it warmed up but **** it was 96* today. Just didnt seem as smooth. It also seemed quieter than the 7040 but no turbo whine, just diesel drone. Are the 8540's like this? I was thinking maybe the common rail/emissions crap muffles the "Man" out of it? Tomorrow I'll shop around and get some bids. All this regen stuff scares the **** out of me.. If the 2013 8540's rev/sound like the 7040 I'm going to try to hunt one down.

Kim, I'm planning on using a tri-spear head with extensions and stabilizer spikes. From what I've been told the tri-spear is fine for picking two 3x3 and usually 3x4's but might be a little unstable with a loose 3x4. The grapples are nice but I just dont need it for our operation. Minimal traveling.

 

[TripleR]

We have had our M8540 HDC for three years and are very happy with it, it is very responsive in all temperatures from start-up to shut-down. We have used it side by side with our L5740 and it is surprisingly agile. We used it to muck out a pond a couple of years ago and had to go through some really tight woods to get in and out requiring a ninety degree downhill/uphill turn in and out. Using the brakes, we could make the turn easily. The limited slip differential also kept it from getting stuck and there were times it was dragging the frame in the muck. On a few occasions, my son did get a bit enthusiastic with the amount of muck and how deep he went in, but was able to use the bucket to push him back out.

We really like the option of 12/12 over 8/8 on the 7040.

 

[TruckinFool]

We really like the option of 12/12 over 8/8 on the 7040.

This and the larger loader is what keeps me looking at the 85 but in all honestly I should stay about 42k max at this point in time. If I lost the cab I could afford it but that means many years of manure, snow, dirt etc blowing in my face. The 12/12 would be nice if haying comes up in the future which would also benefit from the cab. Round and round in circles!

 

[TripleR]

This and the larger loader is what keeps me looking at the 85 but in all honestly I should stay about 42k max at this point in time. If I lost the cab I could afford it but that means many years of manure, snow, dirt etc blowing in my face. The 12/12 would be nice if haying comes up in the future which would also benefit from the cab. Round and round in circles!

Don't blame you, I'd do the same, love a cab.:thumbsup:

 

[TruckinFool]

Well brought her home yesterday and put it to its first test load today. 3x4's 900# one at a time, no ballast. Rear was a little light (less traction) when changing directions but didn't feel unsafe. I'll surely need ballast for 1600+ lbs but overall very happy with the tractor. Only issues I've noticed are that the "Quick attach" jams up with the stock bucket and random pallet forks. Real PITA and the shifting from high/low range is very stiff. Not sure if this is normal. I need to push so hard on the lever I feel like I'm going to break something. (Will prob post about this in another thread).


Paid $43k. 7040,hydro,cab, LA1153, air ride seat, 3rd function, single rear scv, rear wiper, cast iron wheels.



Over all, I'm extremely pleased with the tractor so far. Perfect little tractor for unloading squares. Will do some dirt moving tomorrow. Took these 3x4's off basically at idle. Hydraulics had plenty. Tried lifting trailer but the rear started coming up haha.

Thanks everyone for the help. Certainly pointed me in the right direction and took some of the stress out of the purchase!

 

[Buppies]

Nice tractor hope you get many years of useful and productivity out of this unit