Tractor growing prior to purchase, M6060 or MX6000

[choctawroseranch]

So started looking at the MX5400. keep inching up in the cost and looking at getting most long term tractor for the $. About a $4,500 delta in the cost between the 6060 and 6000. Have 80 acres with someone taking care of baling for me so won't be doing that in the future. roughly half/half pasture to woods. Main uses will be brush hogging, some disking/tillage work w something like the LP 1572 , lots of moving dirt & loading wood etc with bucket, food plots, lots of tree grappling and cutting trails as needed. Land is fairly firm so the extra 1000 lbs on the 6060 doesn't concern me (or should it). If possible would like to by a tractor once and don't want to gave the tractor shrink when I get it on the ranch. thoughts?

 

[bcp]

Land is fairly firm so the extra 1000 lbs on the 6060 doesn't concern me (or should it).

I would want that extra 1000 lbs. It's not "extra."



Bruce

 

[sea2summit]

Could have gone either way until you mentioned disking and tillage. 6060 all the way. I would also go with an 84” disk so you can widen you stance and still cover it with the disk.

 

[Goose1776]

People on here love spending others people money……
For multi use;
home owners, hobby farm, type tractor usage
a tractor with a hydrostatic transmission, just makes everything easier, especially for people with little tractor experience.
The MX6000 will perform all your tasks with ease.

 

[kneedeep]

You will regret not buying more hp

 

[kthompson]

Depending on how many acres you are disking or mowing every hp will help. If you are mowing say 40 acres with a six foot cutter or ten feet big difference time it takes and depending on what you are mowing (rough cut, heavy grass or such) I think you will benefit by the higher hp. If you are pulling disk the "extra" weight is a plus for traction and loader stability.

 

[Jchonline]

So started looking at the MX5400. keep inching up in the cost and looking at getting most long term tractor for the $. About a $4,500 delta in the cost between the 6060 and 6000. Have 80 acres with someone taking care of baling for me so won't be doing that in the future. roughly half/half pasture to woods. Main uses will be brush hogging, some disking/tillage work w something like the LP 1572 , lots of moving dirt & loading wood etc with bucket, food plots, lots of tree grappling and cutting trails as needed. Land is fairly firm so the extra 1000 lbs on the 6060 doesn't concern me (or should it). If possible would like to by a tractor once and don't want to gave the tractor shrink when I get it on the ranch. thoughts?

Have you put eyes on these 2 machines side by side? You will instantly understand. They have very different use cases. The issue you have is the MX will probably be better in the woods. The M60 will be better in the field. As long as you have the clearance (M60 is really tall) in the woods then I would probably still go that route. If things are tight and you feel you will be in the woods most of the time, the MX still might be better.

It’s a dilemna for sure, but hearing what you say I would probably still go M60…it will be much better for mowing and moving bales. If you have livestock especially moving round bales the M60 is the way to go.

 

[mo1]

So started looking at the MX5400. keep inching up in the cost and looking at getting most long term tractor for the $. About a $4,500 delta in the cost between the 6060 and 6000. Have 80 acres with someone taking care of baling for me so won't be doing that in the future. roughly half/half pasture to woods. Main uses will be brush hogging, some disking/tillage work w something like the LP 1572 , lots of moving dirt & loading wood etc with bucket, food plots, lots of tree grappling and cutting trails as needed. Land is fairly firm so the extra 1000 lbs on the 6060 doesn't concern me (or should it). If possible would like to by a tractor once and don't want to gave the tractor shrink when I get it on the ranch. thoughts?

A heavier full-sized utility tractor would be a much better option than a large compact like the MX6000 based on what you said. You mentioned cutting about 40 acres of fields, running tillage equipment including a disc, and moving dirt, wood, and logs with the loader. A regular gear transmission like a full-sized utility tractor has is preferable to a hydrostatic drive such as the MX600 has for running a cutter for hours at a time. For all of the other tasks, more size and weight give more stability, loader capacity, and traction, and this would give you an advantage in doing those tasks over a smaller, lighter unit. The major advantage of a smaller unit would be use in tight quarters but you didn't really mention anything where that would be an issue, unless it's unusually tight in the woods.

 

[choctawroseranch]

thanks for the feedback. The woods aren't as tight as I am used to seeing so shouldn't be a big consideration for me.

 

[jyoutz]

A heavier full-sized utility tractor would be a much better option than a large compact like the MX6000 based on what you said. You mentioned cutting about 40 acres of fields, running tillage equipment including a disc, and moving dirt, wood, and logs with the loader. A regular gear transmission like a full-sized utility tractor has is preferable to a hydrostatic drive such as the MX600 has for running a cutter for hours at a time. For all of the other tasks, more size and weight give more stability, loader capacity, and traction, and this would give you an advantage in doing those tasks over a smaller, lighter unit. The major advantage of a smaller unit would be use in tight quarters but you didn't really mention anything where that would be an issue, unless it's unusually tight in the woods.

I won’t disagree with your post, but I see no issue with running a hydrostatic transmission for hours on end running a cutter, especially with cruise control.