Newbie

[RanchMan]

<font color="blue">The 4500 4wd is a little underpowered in my opinon for teh weight. </font>

Your statement about the 4500 being "underpowered for the weight" is something I'll have to disagree with.

Weight is a GOOD thing when it comes to tractors. Everybody wants more weight on their tractor, not less. People load tires, add aftermarket weights, or even make their own (see another thread here on TBN). All that HP does you no good if your spinning your wheels, and if you are "light," that's exactly what will happen. Weight makes your translation of HP into work much more efficient because it increases traction/reduces slippage. Never ever heard a tractor owner complain his tractor was too heavy and he was therefore getting too much traction. I'm sure there is someone out there like this, but they must have some other considerations in mind (e.g. "ruts", etc.)

Am I saying the 5500 is overpowered? Certainly not. HP is good thing too - just like weight. For pulling a given implement, a 5500's engine will be less "loaded" than a lower HP engine. But this is not because of the 5500's weight (and similar traction as a 4500 - i.e. similar contact pads on the wheels) - it is because the 5500's engine is designed to produce more HP, hence it would be operating at a lower percentage of it's total potential HP.

Weight has nothing to do with the ability of the engine to move the tractor, (all tractors are "overpowered" in this respect considering their gearing) but it has everything to do with traction. When it comes down to it, weight is a lot like 4wd. Both help get more HP to the ground so you can work and don't just "spin out." Weight? Give it to me, I’ll take it!

 

[ebeacham]

I have to agree with Ranchman, I have about 950 lbs extra in the tires add that to the FEL and my tractor must be getting close to 6000 lbs. Every bit of weight extra helps.

 

[coronelli]

Your right in that respect, I definately wasn't being clear. The ezxtra power helps with lots of things though for the modest extra cost.

 

[honeyb]

OK guys thanks for all the input here.

I went to my Mahindra dealer and test drove a 4500 4wd and
a 5500 2wd tractor. Well to me the 5500 drives much better
and is smoother. I liked the shuttle shift on the 4500 4wd.

The dealer told me that the 4500 4wd is being re-done by
Mahindra. He said that they had encountered some problems
with it and were going to work the bugs out. He said the 4500
4wd was the only model that was affected. So he was kind of
leery to sell me one. He said the 5500 2wd would work for me
for what I needed to do.

I was wondering about the 4500 being under powered, as I
used to have a full size 4wd truck that had a V6 in it and it
just did not have enough HP even though it was a 4wd. So
now I will only have a 4wd truck with a V8. I was just wonder-
ing if the might be the case with the 4500.

I also went and test drove a Kubota MX5000 and a Farmtrac
60. Both of these tractors drove ery well, I would have to say
that the Kubota felt better, but it is a significantly lighter
tractor. These two dealers also reccommended a 2wd tractor
for what I told them I was going to use it for.

So as for now I am leaning towards the 5500 2wd. I just can't
justify spending the extra money for 4wd. Plus if I were to get
a 4wd I could not get any implements at all because my
budget would be shot. So whats the reason for getting a 4wd
tractor if you have not got any implements to work with.

 

[DiskDoctr]

Honeyb,

Another consideration between 4wd vs 2wd...

Tight turns in 4wd are more difficult. About 80% of minimum turning radius is fine, after that it struggles some (just like your 4wd pickup in 4wd on pavement).

Of course, most 4wd models can switch to 2wd, but it doesn't work the other way /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

As for budgets, sometimes shopping payments helps. A few $k seems like a lot, but when there are things like Mahindra's 3yr 0% interest, the monthly cost isn't that different. But a tractor without implements is very limited, so budgets do count...

I'm not sure what Kubota is offering for financing (?)

If you're like me, I wanted to pay outright, but took the 1.5%, got more implements, put the money away for it and will add to it to make up the difference before the end of the 36 months, and it didn't cost much in interest /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

But, as always, it is easy to spend someone else's money /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

As for me, 4wd allows me to have R4 tires (about halfway between Ag tires that tear up lawns and Turf tires that spin and have almost no traction). This makes a nice "good traction" and "easy on lawn" dual purpose tractor.

Just remember, you're going to have this for a long time (most for 10-20 yrs), so get what is right for you and take all our opinions as just that- opinions. Get the one that best meets your needs and is truly within your budget.

Hopefully these opinions were helpful to you.

Oh- welcome aboard!

-JC

PS- I was not aware of a problem with the 4500 4wd- does anyone have more details on this??

 

[RanchMan]

<font color="blue">The dealer told me that the 4500 4wd is being re-done by Mahindra. He said that they had encountered some problems with it and were going to work the bugs out. He said the 4500 4wd was the only model that was affected. So he was kind of leery to sell me one. He said the 5500 2wd would work for me for what I needed to do.</font>

Hmmmm. Could be, but I'd sure check in to it further with other dealers. Don't just take 1 salesman's "word" on something like this. I'd be VERY curious to see what the profit margin was on a 2wd 5500 compared to a 4wd 4500..... Perhaps there's another motivation in play.

<font color="blue">I was wondering about the 4500 being under powered, as I used to have a full size 4wd truck that had a V6 in it and it just did not have enough HP even though it was a 4wd. </font>

You're comparing apples to oranges here - tractors and trucks are nothing alike - it's all in the gearing and use. You need to remember that tractors aren't designed to go 80mph down the highway the majority of the time and "off road" a minority of the time. Most small tractors max out at 15-20mph and that's in their absolute highest gear. When it comes down to doing work, you would NEVER use those upper gears. The weight thing has been discussed as to why it is (a)good, and (b)not going to result in an "underpowered" tractor. The benefits of extra horsepower have also been discussed.

<font color="blue">These two dealers also reccommended a 2wd tractor for what I told them I was going to use it for. </font>

Owners of 4wd tractors (and even a 2wd tractor owner) have stated why they like 4wd. You remain "unconvinced" as to its value in your circumstance. That's OK, just remember that (a) these statements are coming from people who actually use their equipment, and; (b) they aren't trying to make money off of you by selling you a product. A someone told me once, "Always consider your source."

<font color="blue">Plus if I were to get a 4wd I could not get any implements at all because my budget would be shot. So whats the reason for getting a 4wd tractor if you have not got any implements to work with. </font>

A 2wd tractor with implements beats a 4wd with none. I'll agree with that. You gotta pull something to do any work, so if it came down to it and you had no more money you could spend, a 2wd 5500 with implements would be better than simply using a 4wd 4500 as a big ATV on your property.

 

[jwcinpk]

You'll regret not getting the 4wd regardless of size. I for one will never have another 2wd tractor.

 

[DiskDoctr]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I was wondering about the 4500 being under powered, as I used to have a full size 4wd truck that had a V6 in it and it just did not have enough HP even though it was a 4wd.
You're comparing apples to oranges here - tractors and trucks are nothing alike )</font>

Ranchman,

I see his point, as I often see it the same way. If a certain size "vehicle" (car, truck, tractor, etc) offers a larger engine, it usually is a result of customers wanting more oomph and the mfg believes the design will handle it.

Usually there is a reason customers ask for more. Either it feels a little sluggish (bad), or its potential uses exceed the original design (good). In either case, I usually opt for the larger engine.

Like I did in my '04 Toyota 4Runner. a V8 vs the V6 is a huge difference. It easily tows my trailer at 7k gross with tractor loaded (and other stuff). The 5 speed auto also helps on the highway, too. I think this is the comparison he was trying to make. I don't think he intended to compare tractors to trucks, nor am I. But I get the point.

Does this make more sense now, or did I just confuse the issue?

-JC

 

[RanchMan]

I completely agree as to why more hp is put in to specific cars/trucks. But I took his post very differently than you did. My interpretation was that he was basically saying that for a big (heavy) truck, more power = better, and the 4500 could be under-powered because of it's ‘size’ (i.e. weight)

Is this how he meant it? Maybe, maybe not - he's the only one that can tell us for sure, but it sure sounded to me like there was a direct comparison between the trucks and tractors - especially since the terms "under-powered" and "size" came in to play and he talked about only buying v8 powered trucks now because of his experience with v6 powered trucks.

Again, my point was that just because both machines (trucks & tractors) have horsepower ratings doesn't make them comparable items - e.g. it's an erroneous comparison because of all the major differences in designed usage.

 

[DiskDoctr]

Ranchman,

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Is this how he meant it? Maybe, maybe not )</font>

Maybe you're right and I misunderstood /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

I've been known to be confused before /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

-JC