Thoughts on MX5100...a couple of questions

[KeithInSpace]

SUMMARY:
I have questions about the backhoe bucket width (18" or 24"), what length trailer, tire selection (R-1 or R-4), and backhoe thumb (hydro or mechanical)

ME:
I own a BX2230 with Woods BH6000 and am very pleased with the combination on my 2 acre plot.

THE LONG STORY:
My brother has moved back to Virginia after nearly 20 years "away from home" and has several needs that has driven him to need a tractor. Among them are the new-to-him house on 4 acres (with MIL Suite, 13+ garage bays and 1 RV bay big enough to play basketball in) and a 300 acre heavily wooded family property about 60 miles away.

After helping him with a great many tractor options including BX, B, L, and finally M, he settled on a very nice MX5100 Gear tractor with quick-attach bucket, pallet forks, PHD, BH92 backhoe, 7' landscape box, and a couple of other little widgets. He's thinking about the backhoe thumb right now.

The deal on the table is $35k and some change, which has checked out across a couple of dealers as a decent price with all the other items. I think that also includes the 4 years of Kubota insurance (required as part of the financing).

It being a geared tractor (vs. Hydrostatic) isn't a big deal to him since he comes from a contractor/superintendent background so driving geared backhoes is second nature to him.

MY QUESTIONS:

BACKHOE BUCKET:
The BH92 apparently comes with a 24" bucket. That's great for moving a bunch of material, but when I use my (toy) backhoe with 12" bucket, I'm always wanting a NARROWER trench, not WIDER. I would think an 18" would be a better width. Are there any thoughts? Anyone who has both?

TRAILERING:
I figure this beast will be knocking on the door of 6,000# all trimmed out. I put my eyes on a new 20' long 12k# capacity dovetail for $3,600. Going over 20 feet starts to get silly price-wise, so are there any concerns with the thing fitting on a 20' trailer with backhoe attached? Bro owns a 2007 F350 diesel dually so the truck isn't a limitation.

TIRES:
He's thinking R-4 to try and keep the tractor "light" on the ground. I think the R-1 tires are a little narrower and have, obviously, higher pressure imparted on the ground at the lugs increasing the chance to leave marks in the yard. He will be going through the woods, though. Any thoughts/concrens about traction of the R-4 tires in generally un-tended and heavilly leaved woods? R-4 would probably fit him a little better unless the overwhelming response here is that they are utterly useless traction-wise.

MECHANICAL OR HYDRO THUMB:
I've only considered a mechanical on my BX. Is a hydro thumb that much nicer? Given that it takes a handful of seconds to flip the thing out, is it a big deal to save the money and have a mechanical? Or is a hydraulic thumb THAT much nicer?

IN GENERAL:
Any specific concerns with the MX5100? My BX has the 'standard' air filter braket breaking, loader line rub, and a couple of other classic "traits" that are common to the BX line. Any of those on the MX? Good and happy stories are fine, too.

Thank you very much for your time, guys.

Sincerely,

Keith

 

[Grandad4]

Keith, I always figured the MX's were very similar to my older Grand L4610 in size, power and features, particularly if HST, so my comments are probably in the "sorta close, but not exactly" category. Maybe helpful to some degree regardless, I hope.

BH Bucket... yes to the 18", based on our BH. Good compromise between small for trenching yet large enough to move a lot of dirt when necessary.

Weight... That unit will be through the 6,000lb door and probably the 7,000lb door also. Tractor... pushing 4,000 with fluids and all, FEL... almost 1,500 including subframe, arms and bucket, BH... at least 2,000 (it's a heavy son of a gun). An MX owner will have better numbers than my off the wall estimates, but my setup tops 7,000 with the BH so I'd be surprised if a comparably equipped MX isn't also well above 6,000.

Trailer... 20 footer will handle the weight, but doesn't give you a lot of margin to balance the load.

R4's... They've been fine on ours. If we were doing serious ag work or mudding a lot, the R-1's would be better, but we really haven't lacked traction to any degree with over 1,000 hours of operation on R-4's. They are better when doing heavy FEL work also.

Should be one really sweet setup.

 

[Code54]

Have had r4's for years on 3 different machines, as long as you are not doing a lot of muddy field work they work very well.

 

[KeithInSpace]

...yes to the 18"...

Ha! I knew it!

That unit will be through the 6,000lb door and probably the 7,000lb door also.

Eeesh. Thought the 12k# trailer was going to be overkill, but it's starting to look right on the money.

...doesn't give you a lot of margin to balance the load.

Don't disagree. Greater than 20 feet starts to get into a whole 'nuther category of expensive.

R4's... They've been fine on ours.

Good. Good.

...r4's ...they work very well.

Pleased to hear the good responses on the R-4's.

 

[Kyle241]

Keith, I have the same setup as what your brother is considering. I went with the 18" bucket on the BH and R4's. If he is planning to do a lot of tillage work then I would opt of for the R1's. I have ploughed and disc'ed with my R4's and it had no problems, no spinning, etc. Overall I love my MX5100, plenty of power for my needs, very stable, comfortable and a very straightforward tractor. Weight will definitely be over 7000lbs, I would go with 7500 and that way you're 'safe'. The price he got is good based on my price (CAD$ though) and we are always higher for some stupid reason. The only item I did not get were the forks and now I need to shell out $800-900 for them.

The thumb, go hydro if he can afford it but it is a lot of money. I think it's somewhere around $3500-4000 which to mean is crazy pricing. I think I would prefer a grapple as you could get a decent one for less than that. So based on the cost, a manual thumb would work and be a lot cheaper. I have considered one but just haven't costed it out yet.

 

[bigbull338]

i can answer 2 of your qs.1.you would be alot better off going with a 24ft trailer as you want a safe fitt when the BH is on the tractor.an id go with R4s because if your working in rocky stumpy ground itll kill the R1s.

 

[reggiejr]

It sounds like you've got yourself one heck of a tractor picked out but if it were me it would be a hst tranny wouldn't even have to think about it.It looks like an extra 1000 bucks gets you hst.

Also as others have said if the hydraulic thumb is really that much$$ a loader grapple would be much handier to have around for half the money.

 

[OrangeToys]

I have the MX5100 with Loader, Brush hog, box blade, and grader blade. And I love it!:licking: and I tow it around. With the Brush Hog and Loader attached It fills up my 22ft (20+2) FULL. I bought a 14k trailer so I could load something on the trailer and not have to leave the tractor behind. The Brush Hog and Loader attached do weight the most, something like 9,500lbs.

Let me know if you have any questions.

 

[KeithInSpace]

This is all really awesome input. I am at my brother's right now and have been conveying the conversation to him. He is very appreciative.

96.2% chance he will pull the trigger on this rig next weekend.

 

[Martian]

Hydraulic thumb is the only way to go IMO. All else looks pretty good to me:thumbsup: