Please help total rookie on MX5200

[Dewy12]

Hey. Brand new to forum and in need of help. I think I have been bitten by the orange. Seriously considering an MX5200HST 4WD. I mow about 6 acres, including yard, and will mostly be mowing with an 84" Land Pride finishing mower. First question is what do you experts think about the choice of tractor? Never owned a 4WD before but wondering if it will tear up the yard if I put R4 tires on it? Also, what do you think about the ride/seat? I broke my neck several years ago and really have to watch the bumps. Can you get it with an air suspension seat? Really would appreciate your help.
Thanks,
Dewy

 

[DBCSteve]

See this recent thread that may offer some advice regarding several Kubota models and R4 tires:

http://www.orangetractortalks.com/forums/showthread.php?t=20121

With only 6 acres, depending on slope and what else you want to do with the tractor, an L series might be a very good fit and would likely be less expensive. 4WD only needed for steep slopes (or very wet conditions, in which case you'll tear up some ground anyway -- so best to stay in the dry).

No idea what to advise regarding seats, but assume you can always get an after-market one to your liking if the stock seat doesn't work for you.

 

[TripleR]

To get an air ride seat as OEM, you will need a Grand L60, on an MX only a suspension seat is available. You can get a Grammar air ride aftermarket, but the cost is high.

The MX is a very nice tractor for the money, but "may" be a bit heavy for yard work, I use a GL, same weight, but have heavy clay soil.

I too have a neck injury and am not comfortable on any tractor that size without air ride.

Good luck.

 

[85Hokie]

Hey. Brand new to forum and in need of help. I think I have been bitten by the orange. Seriously considering an MX5200HST 4WD. I mow about 6 acres, including yard, and will mostly be mowing with an 84" Land Pride finishing mower. First question is what do you experts think about the choice of tractor? Never owned a 4WD before but wondering if it will tear up the yard if I put R4 tires on it? Also, what do you think about the ride/seat? I broke my neck several years ago and really have to watch the bumps. Can you get it with an air suspension seat? Really would appreciate your help.
Thanks,
Dewy

Dewy,

thats gonna be a lot of tractor! , now when you mention "yard" - some call the yard around their house and some call the "yard" everything that is on the lot. I would not get that big of a tractor with turfs......and I dont think you want R1's .....R4's will work great, but as others have said.....if wet - it is gonna mire up, and as for the 4wd - that will be a game changer, it is truly something else to have them thar little tires up front push or pull you. Makes a HUGE difference! When you turn with 4wd - the front end will tear up grass - you will need to plan to make wide turns and/or throw it out of 4wd when not needed.

As on the seat - you might ought to drop back to the "L" series as others have mentioned and spend the money saved on "mo-better" seat.

No tractor will impress you if you are in pain !!!

by all means - show us pictures when you make your choice!

 

[virginiavenom]

I just don't understand why an option for an upgraded air ride seat is not an option on the MX.....I shouldn't have to go aftermarket for something that should at least be a factory option.

 

[Shadow]

MX's are a no frills, basic workhorse, where as the Grand L's have more options.

 

[TripleR]

The MX is one of several "Special Utility" models which are essentially economy models with less options to keep the price down. Look at the options available on a regular M7040 as opposed to a M7040 SU.

 

[Dewy12]

I wasn't very clear in my 1st post. I would only need the 4wd for pushing snow off 1/4 mile lane. Most of the mowing is flat and I just wondered about the bigger tires in front for turning in yard. If I'm right my current tractor (MF 35 diesel) probably weighs as much or more than the mx5200. It will also be used for some discing and for cutting alfalfa. Do you all still think L series would be better and if so which one? Thanks for your help.

 

[sheepfarmer]

I have the L3560, mostly because I needed something that was easy to manage due to arthritis and general decrepitude . It is very user friendly, with ground level fuel fill, adjustable steering wheel position, comfortable seat that has several positions and will swivel so you can look back easier. It is perfect for what I do.

It has the industrial tires, loaded, and it is ok on the lawn, but it has compacted the barn bank going in and out because it is pretty heavy. I skinned up a chunk of lawn last winter one day more because of the power steering than anything else, pulled forward and went to back up and cranked the steering wheel and peeled a piece of turf right off. I would not like to mow tne back yard with it, it is too big. But I have a flail mower ordered for mowing pastures etc.

I looked in my owner's manual, which covers up through the 6060, and for an 84" rotary cutter you would need an L5060 or bigger. Disc max widths run from 72 up to 84". If you can, go and sit on a couple of these models to see if you like them.

 

[Wayne64SS]

I have an MX5100HST to maintain my 55acres of woods / trails with a very long driveway. It's far to heavy to put on my lawn at home (1.5acres) though. Every time it digs in (ag tires), luckily I'm not a lawn guy. It'll be a hoss for mowing open field, but you need something lighter with turfs for mowing lawn. How much of the property is lawn anyway?

I just dragged home an 82 B7100HST for mowing duty as it has a 60" deck. I can mow easily twice as fast as I could with my Deere GT225 garden tractor.

 

[Rodeo hunter]

I would recommend a grand l 5060 I think. Models might have change. I ran a rhino tm 72 finish mower (it's their heaviest model 800lb) on my l4400hst with r1 and it would leave dents in the grouND. I think r4s woukd have helped a lot. If ride comfort is a big factor then do not fill the tires as you will sacrifice a lot regardless of seat design. Have you thought about a bx model with turf tires and a 60" deck ? And use the other cash for a dedicated hay tracto .

 

[WFM]

I would think the Grand L 3560 or 4060 would be plenty for 6 acres. I have 5 acres with my L3800 and its plenty of tractor. As others have said, mow the lawn with a lawn mower.

 

[CaveCreekRay]

Dewey,

-From another fairly new guy...

4wd in a tractor is a MUST. The very nature of the machine means you are changing the CG while using it. Tractors are fairly high CG and you can get stuck in 2wd doing the simplest things. I amaze myself in dry winter AZ dirt on a slight incline with a bucket full of dirt I am trying to get into a washout... and the rear tires just spin. Pop it into 4wd and back out. Problem solved. They are goofy machines that love to get stuck, but invaluable once you use one. Like most users, I use 4wd to get me out of an issue and rarely otherwise. Using 4wd on pavement eats your tires.

I always feel bad for new guys who jump on and proclaim they just bought a "nice used 2wd Kubota with no loader but they want to put a loader on it someday." Really? Good luck with that in 2wd.

I have an L3800 and it does most of what I need in a pretty small footprint, which I like. If you go with the MX definitely go 4wd and get a loader. I use my loader like a diesel-powered wheelbarrow hauling all kinds of stuff: dirt, rocks, boxes of stuff, odds and ends to the barn, you name it!

Happy shopping!

Ray

 

[DocGP]

Yep, pretty much overkill, but picked 150 ears of corn yesterday, drove them to the house in the bucket, shucked them and hauled the corn husks back to the garden with the bucket......yup, a 50 horse wheel barrow !!

Love it.

Doc

 

[CaveCreekRay]

Doc!

Hope you're not still under warranty! Abuse like that might void it!!!

The articulated bucket is probably the one human invention that makes my work on this small ranch possible. My barn is 300 feet from the house, across a wash (ravine). My driveway meanders about 500 feet around the wash to the barn. When we were unpacking and hauling boxes stored at the barn to the house and flattened boxes back to the barn, the bucket made it so nice. I am tiling now. How did I haul my tile? You guessed it.

If I really need my trailer, I can hook it up. With the Polar 1500lb trailer and the bucket, I can haul quite a load of stuff. We have 30 desert trees on our property and trimming them every year is so easy with a bucket and trailer to haul the huge trimmings (mostly thorny) to the dumpster. Nice thing about the Polar is its soOoo light you can unhitch it and roll it right down to the tree to pick up clippings. If I was harvesting corn, the bucket would be the first thing I'd think of to use... just like Doc did.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

I would recommend a grand l 5060 I think. Models might have change. I ran a rhino tm 72 finish mower (it's their heaviest model 800lb) on my l4400hst with r1 and it would leave dents in the grouND. I think r4s woukd have helped a lot. If ride comfort is a big factor then do not fill the tires as you will sacrifice a lot regardless of seat design. Have you thought about a bx model with turf tires and a 60" deck ? And use the other cash for a dedicated hay tracto .

When you say filling the tires gives you a less comfortable ride, fill them with what, foam?

I have my tires 75% filled (covering the rim) on both my 75hp and 32hp tractors. I have found that the ride is FAR superior than with just air, besides making them far better dirt working machines..

 

[Grateful11]

On the seat, the seat on the new MX5200 is suppose to be better than the one on the MX5100. I can tell you that the one on the 5100 sucks big time, there's nearly no suspension, no seat back adjustment and no arm rest and if you try to soften the ride you bottom out on ever bump. My son recently bought a new MX5100 to avoid the DPF, it took me about 3 days to locate one for him with HST and it was still 3 1/2 hours away. Anyway the tractor is great but the seat has to go eventually. I've read that some have recommended this seat from Northern Tool, it's not air but it's not $1000 either, it gets good reviews. I feel certain some fabrication is going to have to be done to get it to fit but if one reviewer got it fit a BX surely it can be made fit an MX.

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200268424_200268424

 

[Tallahassee Kubota Man]

When you say filling the tires gives you a less comfortable ride, fill them with what, foam?

I have my tires 75% filled (covering the rim) on both my 75hp and 32hp tractors. I have found that the ride is FAR superior than with just air, besides making them far better dirt working machines..

I agree with liquid filled tires giving much better traction, but my experience has been just air filled are more comfortable than liquid. Reason being air compresses better than water.