Red, Green or Orange??

[PatMc]

The weight comes into play if you will be doing field work (ground engaging work). If you are plowing, discing, planting, etc. where you are having ground engagement, weight becomes important. Grandpa use to farm his 80 acres with a 35 HP Massey (actually his first few years were with horses), but as money allowed he moved up to larger tractor 75HP range, which is small for most farms, but his farm was small also.

It would be nice to buy a nice large tractor with all the bells and whistles, but remember to save money for the implements. Without implements, your tractor's usefulness will be limited. If your primary need is mowing, look to see what the PTO requirements are for the mower size you are looking at. Rhino has a 12ft batwing that would work on any of those tractors. I believe the MX5400 has around 45PTO HP which is well within the range of the 12ft batwing (Rhino also as 10ft batwing with a min 25 PTO).

I would encourage you to make sure you leave enough money in your budget to buy the implements. Yes, you need to get enough tractor to meet your needs, but if you spend all your money on the tractor and nothing leftover for implements, you will have a pretty tractor to drive around in, but your work will be limited.

PS-don't forget to add the rear remotes to use a batwing. If you plan on using a grapple, you will want to add in the 3rd function valve on the loader.

Boy that is a true statement.....that is one reason I am not really considering baling hay myself. The cost of the equipment is too prohibitive to offset the price of selling 50 bales of hay a year.

and yes, I am struggling with whether to pull behind bat wing or a 3-pt hitch cutter.

 

[UpNorthMI]

That is a very good question....I am hoping to have someone else bale the hay on the majority of the open fields. We are planning on building a lake and I would use the tractor to keep the grass cut and clear out some of the woods (we have a lot of dead wood laying around). When we get a couple head of cattle I can also see me moving around hay bales for feeding. I am not advocating for a larger tractor, rather questioning whether the extra weight of a tractor with similar HP is worth the extra few thousand dollars.

I think you will be very happy with a cab MX5400 for the use you describe. You do not need any extra weight or lift capacity, save the extra money. I run an open rops MX5800 for all my heavy work on over 300 acres, mainly woodland and have yet to find anything it will not do well.

You should spend your savings on 3rd function front hydraulics and 2 rear remotes for hydraulics, get them as you order your tractor, front for grapple, rear for hydraulic top link and other uses.

the MX will handle a grapple of 500 - 650lbs well, look for a twin lid 2 cylinder model, check out MTL attachments for great value. I recommend you fill the rear tires and run R 1 ag tires.

good luck with your new tractor and welcome to the forum.

 

[PatMc]

I think you will be very happy with a cab MX5400 for the use you describe. You do not need any extra weight or lift capacity, save the extra money. I run an open rops MX5800 for all my heavy work on over 300 acres, mainly woodland and have yet to find anything it will not do well.

You should spend your savings on 3rd function front hydraulics and 2 rear remotes for hydraulics, get them as you order your tractor, front for grapple, rear for hydraulic top link and other uses.

the MX will handle a grapple of 500 - 650lbs well, look for a twin lid 2 cylinder model, check out MTL attachments for great value. I recommend you fill the rear tires and run R 1 ag tires.

good luck with your new tractor and welcome to the forum.

Thank you so much for your input. Always good to talk, er, I mean TYPE with someone who has been there before!

 

[SDT]

I'm not sure you are comparing like for like, I would suggest going to visit your local Kubota dealer, the weight difference tells that you are not comparing the right Kubota series, maybe you should be looking at Kubota M series not MX.

Agreed.

The MX is not in the same category as the other two.

SDT

 

[SDT]

Orange and green are both good in that size class, but i would absolutely substitute the red to a Massey Ferguson.
I'm a big fan of the big IH ag equipment, but those Case IH compacts are just rebadged LS's. And from everything I have ever read the only ones that aren't are the CVT transmission models, and those CVT's seem prone to problems.

Here's a review found interesting.

I've had multiple VERY bad experiences with Massey Ferguson (both AGCO and dealers) and will never again buy anything from AGCO.

SDT

 

[ItBmine]

I guess everyone can get a lemon from every brand SDT. That's too bad. Because I am friends with many very happy Massey owners.

But I can also say for sure.....there are a ton of bad dealers out there. Everything from tractors, to autos to class 8 trucks. I've changed brands many times just because of poor dealers.

 

[SDT]

I guess everyone can get a lemon from every brand SDT. That's too bad. Because I am friends with many very happy Massey owners.

But I can also say for sure.....there are a ton of bad dealers out there. Everything from tractors, to autos to class 8 trucks. I've changed brands many times just because of poor dealers.

One is forgivable. Two in a row is not.

Neither MF nor two different dealers treated me fairly.

Never again.

SDT

 

[Ikc1990]

Think this way a few thousand extra now or upgrading after you find out it's not what you needed later will cost much more. Also was the kubota not loaded tires but others were? That would be a decent weight difference. And if you will be using for loader alot weight can make or break you. And for pulling logs weight will help. I would ask some farms mabey someone with a farm would let you use there comparable tractor for an hr working it to see what it feels like. You can drive at a dealer but not same as working. Show room floor or parking lots not the same as in the feild or woods.

 

[Bmyers]

That is a very good question....I am hoping to have someone else bale the hay on the majority of the open fields. We are planning on building a lake and I would use the tractor to keep the grass cut and clear out some of the woods (we have a lot of dead wood laying around). When we get a couple head of cattle I can also see me moving around hay bales for feeding. I am not advocating for a larger tractor, rather questioning whether the extra weight of a tractor with similar HP is worth the extra few thousand dollars.

One thing size does for you is the amount of time it takes to get a project done. You can mow 120 acres with 28" push mower, but all your time would be in mowing. You could use a BX to move several tons of work or you could do it quicker with a larger machine. So, the time vs cost comes into factor. At this point I haven't seen you list anything that requires a large machine. The range you are looking in, 50-75HP, sounds like the right range for the projects you have listed.

The 3rd function valve and rear remotes will make whichever tractor you select more flexible in the long run. I added my 3rd function after purchase because I didn't see a need for it, but wish I had because the grapple has become my most used implement.

We share crop at ~60 acres of our land. It has kept us from having to invest in new/modern equipment and we still make a little income of the ground and the local farmer makes a little money and dad and I play around with the other ~20 acres.

When the grandparents were alive, we raised pigs, cows, and chickens. Lots of work and time, which we are just no longer willing to invest that much effort at this stage in our lives.

Looking forward to see what you decide.

 

[FUSE]

Aftermarket support seems strongest for deere and kubota. Something to consider......

 

[Henro]

I am buying my first tractor. I have 120 acres, 70% rolling fields and the remainder in woods. I plan on having a few head of livestock and doing general clean up and maintenance duty with this tractor. I have been comparing the John Deere 5055E, the Case 55A and the Kubota MX5400, all with cabs, all with front loaders and rotary cutters.

All three have about the same HP and PTO HP.

One difference I see is the weight each tractor. Case - 6834 lbs, JD - 6702 lbs and the Kubota is 4251 lbs.

The lifting capacity of the loaders also vary. Case - 4299 lbs, JD - 3192 lbs, Kubota is 2310 lbs.

Of course the price for the Case and the John Deere are very similar (Case is $1200 less expensive) and the Kubota is about $5k less than the Case.

Is that extra weight worth the extra money?

What else am I missing in my comparison?

Thanks for any input.

I would add $5 to $6K to what the original Kubota quote was, and see what that would buy from Kubota to compare to the others.

That way you would at least have a fair comparison. As to what your needs are, I do not have a clue really. But you should at least compare apples to apples...in my opinion anyway...

 

[PatMc]

One thing size does for you is the amount of time it takes to get a project done. You can mow 120 acres with 28" push mower, but all your time would be in mowing. You could use a BX to move several tons of work or you could do it quicker with a larger machine. So, the time vs cost comes into factor. At this point I haven't seen you list anything that requires a large machine. The range you are looking in, 50-75HP, sounds like the right range for the projects you have listed.

The 3rd function valve and rear remotes will make whichever tractor you select more flexible in the long run. I added my 3rd function after purchase because I didn't see a need for it, but wish I had because the grapple has become my most used implement.

We share crop at ~60 acres of our land. It has kept us from having to invest in new/modern equipment and we still make a little income of the ground and the local farmer makes a little money and dad and I play around with the other ~20 acres.

When the grandparents were alive, we raised pigs, cows, and chickens. Lots of work and time, which we are just no longer willing to invest that much effort at this stage in our lives.

Looking forward to see what you decide.

View attachment 54841
View attachment 54842 View attachment 54843

Nice pics....exactly how I am picturing my needs. Overall, I think this is a lot like buying your favorite brand of Pick up.....Ford, Chevy or Dodge, they are all good trucks but each can have issues.

 

[PatMc]

I would add $5 to $6K to what the original Kubota quote was, and see what that would buy from Kubota to compare to the others.

That way you would at least have a fair comparison. As to what your needs are, I do not have a clue really. But you should at least compare apples to apples...in my opinion anyway...

Agreed....I've been comparing pricing all weekend and my eyes are starting to cross! so many scenarios!

 

[PatMc]

Think this way a few thousand extra now or upgrading after you find out it's not what you needed later will cost much more. Also was the kubota not loaded tires but others were? That would be a decent weight difference. And if you will be using for loader alot weight can make or break you. And for pulling logs weight will help. I would ask some farms mabey someone with a farm would let you use there comparable tractor for an hr working it to see what it feels like. You can drive at a dealer but not same as working. Show room floor or parking lots not the same as in the feild or woods.

all tractor weights were with unloaded tires, which is why I was concerned in the first place.

 

[Magicman]

I have no "Red" experience but I have Green and Orange tractors comparable in size/hp. The Orange depends upon rpm's for it torque and does not have the low speed lugging power that the Green has.

 

[BigG]

I have no "Red" experience but I have Green and Orange tractors comparable in size/hp. The Orange depends upon rpm's for it torque and does not have the low speed lugging power that the Green has.

How old is your JD, 50 years old? It seams the older tractors, with heavy flywheels, pulled better then the new ones. I think I would take a new 1530 over the modern ones if I was doing ground work for sure.

Agco owns part of Case/IH now. My experience with Agco was thru a Massey Ferguson. A 2005 model 1528. It did not hold up very well. The front axle was not attached to the frame very well. It was very poorly engineered. It broke at a very low speed when the front tire dropped into a hole in a hay field. Then I was box blading around a pond when the rear axle housing cracked open. Not my favorite tractor company as it took months to get parts. And the parts were very pricey.

 

[Magicman]

Yup, the 1530 is 47 years old. It's rated probably 5 hp less but it has grunt. It's also a 3 cylinder where the M4900 is a 5 cylinder. It took me a while so realize that I have to keep the rpm's up on the M4900.

 

[Ikc1990]

I had good luck with orange and green and red case. Massey years ago was good but now we are like 4 hrs away from a dealer and they arnt reliable. So we have blue, red case ih and orange, and green round here lol

 

[PatMc]

I had good luck with orange and green and red case. Massey years ago was good but now we are like 4 hrs away from a dealer and they arnt reliable. So we have blue, red case ih and orange, and green round here lol

after all the input from everyone, I am pretty sure I could start this same conversation regarding Ford, Chevy and Dodge. Every manufacturer has good eggs and bad eggs and there are good dealers and poor dealers. From what I can tell, it seems the dealer is far more important than I first imagined. Looks like I am going to make another round to each dealer and see how it goes.

 

[jimh406]

Good that you are getting close. Be sure to take your time within reason. There will be less selection later in the year if you believe what Neil from Messick’s implied.

I guess it depends on the size of what you are buying too, but I think Good Works Tractor youtube guy saying don’t buy anything other than John Deere or Kubota is good advice. He said that the resale value is far better with those two brands. That’s what I found when I was looking. Used Kubotas for reasonable prices were sold almost immediately.

Have fun no matter which brand you choose.