I purchased a used 2019 Deere 5100E over a Massey Ferguson 4710 and Kubota M6S or M5-111. My first pick was the Massey. I had a deal worked out for a 4710 for $58k but it was sold out from under me. The only thing I was worried about on the Massey was the 3 cyclinder 3.3L engine compared to the 4 cylinders of the other tractors in its class. The reviews were good and the price was right so I thought it was worth a shot. After the unit I had signed a deal on was sold, I couldn't find a single tractor like it in all of the Southeast. The only other open stations available were setup as poulty house tractors (small tires, downward exhaust etc). I started looking into getting a cab since that's all that was available but they were an extra $20,000 which is outrageous for some glass and an AC compressor. I'm using the tractor on a cattle ranch so I'm in and around trees all the time mowing pastures so I really didn't want a cab.
There was a Kubota M6S available locally but it didn't have a loader and it had a smaller wheel/tire package. The M6S is bigger than the Massey and somewhat comparable to the Deere. I really liked the Swing-shift transmission. However, they wanted almost $80k for the open station M6S and couldn't tell me when the loader would be available. There's other posts on TBN that say there are some 8,000 loaders on back order from Kubota.
I almost gave up searching for tractors when I remembered a used Deere 5100E I had bookmarked a while back. I pulled it back up and it was still for sale for $56k. Its a 2019 model with 42 hours for sale at a Deere dealer. I called up the salesman and had a great convo. The only downside was the dealership was about 7 hours away. However, they offered a very generous price on our Kubota 7060 on trade which made the deal about perfect. The 5100 was owned by a frequent customer of the dealership which owned several tractors, this one being his largest and he just didn't use it enough. I had heard that the E series was more for the hobby farmer and the M or R series was better suited for heavy farm use/tillage etc. I believe in the open station, there really isn't much different in the 5 series. I looked at the 6105E but that is a much larger frame tractor and you lose a lot of maneuverability. I feel like the current 6 series is closer to the older 7 series like our 2004 7230.
The Deere 5100E has a 4.5L 4 cylinder and you can tell as soon as you start it up. It is in a much different class than the Massey or the Kubota 4 cylinder 3.3L V3307 on the 7060. The Deere already came equipped with three rear remotes, front end loader, and third function on the loader with a grapple. The loader and the third function both have the Faster multicoupler which is the cat's ass. Using one lever to connect and disconnect is a real game changer. I frequently take the loader off when mowing so that will be helpful.
The transmission is a 12F/12R PowrReverser. It has three ranges and 4 speeds. Range A is a crawl and Range C is pretty much road speed only. Running 540 RPM PTO speed is 4.0 mph in B2, 5.5 mph in B3, and 7.5 in B4. If I use the PTO overdrive (PTO E), B5 drops to about 5 mph since its only ~1700 rpms. The dash is very clear and informative. The electric hand throttle makes it easy to fine tune your PTO speed.
When I got home I immediately hooked up the Rhino 4150 15' batwing. This tractor has 85 pto hp compared to 64 on the 7060. I was a little worried it wouldn't be enough of a difference but it is a noticeable upgrade. I used to run 4-5 mph with the 70HP Kubota and would have to raise the height and/or take less than a full swath. I now run at 7.5mph and take a full swatch all the time which equates to mowing 11.3 ac/hr compared to 6.5-7 ac/hr. The tractor test data showed about 5 gph consumption and I would tend to agree based on my initial usage. I'm able to cover so much more ground I think total fuel usage will be about the same. I used to crank the Kubota up to 1800-2000 RPMs to turn on the PTO to keep the tractor from stalling. The Deere only needs to be at 1500 or so. I could probably use a lower RPM if the PTO control wasn't electronic. The old cable PTO lever allowed me to slowly feather the PTO on which helped with the shock to the drive line.
The three hydraulic remotes all allow float. The first remote has flow control as well which is nice. The remotes and handles are color coded which is very handy. The levers are a little stiff but the tractor is still new. It seems like these hydraulics work the batwing much easier (can raise and lower at the same speed regardless of tractor RPM). I have not used the loader much yet but it seems to be underrated. We have a skid steer that handles the heavy lifting and most loader work anyways.
There was a Kubota M6S available locally but it didn't have a loader and it had a smaller wheel/tire package. The M6S is bigger than the Massey and somewhat comparable to the Deere. I really liked the Swing-shift transmission. However, they wanted almost $80k for the open station M6S and couldn't tell me when the loader would be available. There's other posts on TBN that say there are some 8,000 loaders on back order from Kubota.
I almost gave up searching for tractors when I remembered a used Deere 5100E I had bookmarked a while back. I pulled it back up and it was still for sale for $56k. Its a 2019 model with 42 hours for sale at a Deere dealer. I called up the salesman and had a great convo. The only downside was the dealership was about 7 hours away. However, they offered a very generous price on our Kubota 7060 on trade which made the deal about perfect. The 5100 was owned by a frequent customer of the dealership which owned several tractors, this one being his largest and he just didn't use it enough. I had heard that the E series was more for the hobby farmer and the M or R series was better suited for heavy farm use/tillage etc. I believe in the open station, there really isn't much different in the 5 series. I looked at the 6105E but that is a much larger frame tractor and you lose a lot of maneuverability. I feel like the current 6 series is closer to the older 7 series like our 2004 7230.
The Deere 5100E has a 4.5L 4 cylinder and you can tell as soon as you start it up. It is in a much different class than the Massey or the Kubota 4 cylinder 3.3L V3307 on the 7060. The Deere already came equipped with three rear remotes, front end loader, and third function on the loader with a grapple. The loader and the third function both have the Faster multicoupler which is the cat's ass. Using one lever to connect and disconnect is a real game changer. I frequently take the loader off when mowing so that will be helpful.
The transmission is a 12F/12R PowrReverser. It has three ranges and 4 speeds. Range A is a crawl and Range C is pretty much road speed only. Running 540 RPM PTO speed is 4.0 mph in B2, 5.5 mph in B3, and 7.5 in B4. If I use the PTO overdrive (PTO E), B5 drops to about 5 mph since its only ~1700 rpms. The dash is very clear and informative. The electric hand throttle makes it easy to fine tune your PTO speed.
When I got home I immediately hooked up the Rhino 4150 15' batwing. This tractor has 85 pto hp compared to 64 on the 7060. I was a little worried it wouldn't be enough of a difference but it is a noticeable upgrade. I used to run 4-5 mph with the 70HP Kubota and would have to raise the height and/or take less than a full swath. I now run at 7.5mph and take a full swatch all the time which equates to mowing 11.3 ac/hr compared to 6.5-7 ac/hr. The tractor test data showed about 5 gph consumption and I would tend to agree based on my initial usage. I'm able to cover so much more ground I think total fuel usage will be about the same. I used to crank the Kubota up to 1800-2000 RPMs to turn on the PTO to keep the tractor from stalling. The Deere only needs to be at 1500 or so. I could probably use a lower RPM if the PTO control wasn't electronic. The old cable PTO lever allowed me to slowly feather the PTO on which helped with the shock to the drive line.
The three hydraulic remotes all allow float. The first remote has flow control as well which is nice. The remotes and handles are color coded which is very handy. The levers are a little stiff but the tractor is still new. It seems like these hydraulics work the batwing much easier (can raise and lower at the same speed regardless of tractor RPM). I have not used the loader much yet but it seems to be underrated. We have a skid steer that handles the heavy lifting and most loader work anyways.
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