What is the biggest thing you've dragged with your MX5100 HST?

[Mirboo]

I've recently purchased a 40 acre block of land that is mostly pasture, but has about 5 acres of bush or woodland. There is a lot of fallen timber in the wooded area and some quite large fallen eucalypt trees. I want to clean up the wooded area, which will involve dragging or skidding some of the bigger logs out into the open where I can burn them.

I don't have a tractor at the moment but I'm looking to purchase one soon. I'm currently leaning towards a Kubota MX5100 HST with a FEL, the MX5200 hasn't made it to Australia yet. I think the MX5100 will be a good size for manoeuvring amongst the trees on my property while still retaining a reasonable amount of power.

Apart from skidding logs I'll want to be able to do a bit of slashing, or brush hogging, and I have a roughly 400 or 500 yard driveway to maintain. I won't be doing any ground engagement type work like disc harrowing or cultivating.

I'm interested in hearing about other MX5100 owner's experience with the types of work I want to be able to do with an MX5100. Particularly the tractors ability, or otherwise, to skid fairly large logs. Any pictures you have of your MX5100's pulling a heavy load would be greatly appreciated.

 

[ENC]

How big is a big eucalyptus tree? I have a l4600 just a little smaller than what you are looking at, and I have skidded out some good size trees. Lots of oak and sycamore about 12-18 inches across the base and 40 feet long. Haven't had the chance to try anything larger, but they could always be bucked shorter and drug out.

Bottom line I think you will be happy with a 5100

 

[Mirboo]

Thanks for the reply ENC. That starts to give me an idea of what these little tractors can pull.

Some of the fallen tree trunks I want to remove would be around 3 feet in diameter and perhaps 50 feet long. As you've noted, the length is not really the issue because I can always cut them down.

The reason I've asked the question in my original post is that I have no experience with either HST tractors or tractors that weigh as little as the MX5100. I grew up on a dairy farm where our tractors were heavier geared models.

 

[ENC]

That's definetly a big tree. I would cut the length down no matter what. Just because you can pull it doesn't mean you can stop it.

 

[Tx Jim]

That's definetly a big tree. I would cut the length down no matter what. Just because you can pull it doesn't mean you can stop it.

Not being able to stop a large load on wheels is one thing but a log dragging on the ground has a form of "built in brakes".

 

[the old grind]

How about pulling 8k lbs+ of JD 5420 MFWD from a manure pile (horse, of course) when its wheels had dropped between cut trees the pile had been built upon? Would have helped if the operator had shown up with a bucket attached or at least some rear ballast on the MX5100's 3PH, but ..... (filled tires would've been nice to have there)

More power than traction by a good ways, but power to spare for sure, and not obviously limited by being HST. Maneuverability seems considerable due to o'all size, gotta be a plus in the woods. Never wanted an orange tractor myself 'till I saw Dave's MX in action, and I imagine it would handle what either of mine could in any circumstance. Maybe it's just me, but the MX5100 seems to be one of Kubo's real sweetie-pies, esp for PTO vs ground engaging use. :licking:

Ballast can be added as needed for extra traction, removed for soft ground. Perhaps we could get a broader perspective if alternates were mentioned. btw: Note that many Tier 4A ('interim') machines (where still available) don't have the gadgetry and 'cleaning cycles' that Tier 4 'final' often includes. What else do you see 'down under'? :2cents:

 

[ENC]

Not being able to stop a large load on wheels is one thing but a log dragging on the ground has a form of "built in brakes".

I understand that but something that big once moving can still be hard to stop.

 

[FatTire]

Sorry no photos. I've skidded some large logs, but they were fir and not as heavy has hardwood. Typical lengths were 15 to 18 feet, 20 to 24" diameter, on a few inches of snow with the ground frozen underneath. I did it in Medium range (HST). Really a tractor this size can pull quite a lot, as mentioned above getting started is not the issue. I also had to pull a utility truck (probably about 12,000 lbs) a short distance up hill, on soft dirt, and that was easy too.

 

[Grandad4]

Well, I don't have an MX5100, but one of mine is pretty close in size, power, weight and other specifications, so its performance is probably also similar. The heaviest thing I've pulled with it is a 21,000 lb Kenworth tandem dump truck that had sat in the same spot for about 5 years and settled into the ground about 6 or 8 inches. We had to rock it a couple of times to get the tires out of the ruts but after that it was happy following the Kubota around. There is generally more power than traction with these larger compact tractors (say 40 hp and up... is that like "jumbo shrimp" ?). When we set the tractor up with the loader and the backhoe, it weighs maybe 7,500 lbs and you definitely know the weight adds quite a bit of traction. If you're towing logs, you won't want the backhoe, so some ballast in the tires and something heavy on the 3 pt will accomplish similar results.

 

[Mirboo]

Thanks everyone for the replies. It's useful information and my confidence that the MX5100 would do the job is increasing.

What else do you see 'down under'?

We have pretty much the same tractor brands here in Australia that you have in North America. Kubota, John Deere, Massey Ferguson, New Holland, Case, Kioti and Mahindra are some of the main ones. A lot of the models offered here are the same or similar to the US. There are some slight differences though. For example, the John Deere 5055e, 5065e and 5075e tractors being sold at here at the moment are the Euro spec models rather than the North American spec. We also have a New Holland TT series that I don't think is available in the US. The Australian version TT's, the TT55 and TT75, are made in India by CNH and are mechanically very similar (almost identical) to the Italian made Fiat 540 and 740 models sold here back in the early eighties.