Thanks to all who advised!

[ahvatsa]

I am surprised with what I ENDED UP ORDERING! When I started this venture, I was quite sure the NH 55 was right for me. Switched to HST and considered Deere 4720 and Kubota L5740. Drove with wife and she insisted on more POWER. Bees, wasp, dust and allergies opened the door for a cab. Identifying our goals and needs the L5740 cab seemed like a posibility. (Great for wife, not my 6'3''s though). We drove a Montana 5740c and were impressed. The 200 cu" had a lot of power. Before buying I wanted to drive a Kubota 200 cu" and the dealer had a M6040 (cab) brought in for us to try. (Deere kept trying to place me in a 5 cyl). There was a M7040 there but my wife, all 5'3" and 115lbs., had a hard time with the steps. The 5040 cab lacked slightly in power. 6040 arrived, OMG, and pricing was too close to the Montana. Here's the package:
M6040 cab R4s loaded and multisealed ATI 4in1 Armstrong HBB7 boxblade Woods 840 cutter.
Hopefully ready in 2 weeks, picts to follow. The dealer only offered $400 trade-in for factory bucket, I believe I'll just have it delievered and keep as a spare. Looking for a gear HEAVY DUTY tiller...any suggestions?
All comments appreciated, and thanks again to all who answered my PMs and posts.
al

ps This is next on my list: 35D

 

[DVR]

my buddy has a jd cab tractor in the 70hp range.
he has a rhino tiller. he is a farmer, uses it often and it has held up well.

 

[ahvatsa]

I will look at Rhino. Do you think they are less expensive than this:
eBay: Maschio Hvy Duty 143" 3 Point Rotary Tiller,Roto Tiller (item 320082227599 end time Jun-12-07 21:27:36 PDT)

 

[DVR]

yes, much cheaper!

 

[froggy]

Look at the tillers CCM is selling: http://www.ccmachinery.com/tillers.

The Rhino and Woods tillers are more than twice the price of CCM.

 

[ahvatsa]

Well, finally had a chance to post some pics. 40 hrs. of learning enjoyment!

 

[Grizz]

Very nice tractor

 

[MarkV]

Fine looking set up you got yourself. I sure would like that 4in1 bucket and will be interested to hear how you like it. Sounds like the dealer was trying to grab a few extra bucks with the stock bucket trade. The 72” stock bucket for an L39 was credited as $1000 when I switch to a skid steer bucket at the time of purchase on mine. That was 11/2 years ago and steel hasn’t gotten cheaper.

MarkV

 

[Bill Barrett]

You sure have a bunch of nice stuff.

 

[ahvatsa]

Kfan
Sorry to disappoint you! lol
Mark
The 4in1, even for a beginner, is one of the best features. Road work is a breeze. I used the dozer function with the boxblade and smoothed in a single pass. If there is an excess of material the dozer function helps smooth before blade hits it. After brush work it smooths in a snap. The grapple function makes for fast cleanup, even for a novice. The bucket does NOT have the capacity of the origional so it may come in to play if alot of material has to be moved.
Bill
thanks. I am having a Woods SGT88 (Super-duty tiller) delievered next week and will see how it performs. It is so wet here may be a week until I get to try it out.
Super-Duty SGT Series Rotary Tillers by Woods Equipment Company

 

[swampvol]

Drool...........

 

[Qrazy]

Congrats

 

[ahvatsa]

swampvol, Qrazy, this tractor thing can be addictive! 5:30am Sun. and I am heading out to see if it's dry enough to work. Wife gave her blessing to miss church today. Says she feels competition from the "orange" girl.
I stopped by dealer Fri. and the Woods tiller looks awesome. It was larger than expected. Dealer says it's from Italy. It looks "heavy-duty"! Looking forward to trying out. Several warnings in owners manual about "hot" areas to avoid after working, and to let it "cool" down. This will be interesting to see.

 

[lawn_king]

Beautiful machine, seems to me texas & cabs are the way to go. Whats the gvw of that rig?

 

[bones1]

Very nice!.That Woods mower is bigger than my yard

 

[frank_f15]

I THINK I AM IN LOVE VERY NICE RIG

 

[ahvatsa]

Lking
I am guessing around 7000 lbs. Tractor and fel 5000ish loaded tires 1000ish and rear boxblade ( I leave on most of time) 800ish. The cab was a smart (lucky) investment. I did it more for safety and I now could not imagine an open station in our area. I'm NOT tough enough.
Bones
I will be looking for a 15' in the fall ($ permitting). I have a 30 and a 40a field and the 7' got small quick! It's great on tight roads and around the ponds.
frank
I am TOO

 

[Hogzillanator]

Any woman who insists on "more power" and gives blessings to miss church in order to spend time with the "orange" girl is a keeper!

Actually, my wife was very happy I finally took the plunge and got mine.

She figures I won't spend hours surfing Fastline and Tractorhouse and drooling over brochures in the can any more. She's even insisted on my getting a training seat and belt so she can learn how to drive it.

The cab is a must have if you are going to spend time in the hot Texas sun.

After 27 years of crawling through cockleburrs, blood weeds, johnson grass, sucking dust and dirt and getting baked by the sun, I'm soooo ready for that cab.

Congrats on yours. She's a beaut!