Buying Advice Need advice on what tractor to buy for 120 acres

[Kyle_in_Tex]

I'm lucky enough to have a 4310 and my FIL's 5420 at my disposal. If I only had to work with one, it would hands down be the big one. Main reason is the BIG WHEELS. These are best in a multitude of situations hands down. Ride smoother, go thru mud better, better traction to pull etc...

If you are on hillsides though, I'd reconsider to a smaller wheeled tractor.

I wish I had a cab for the heat down here. If you buy a cab, you can always get your money back for it if you sell. They really hold their value. The rest of the tractor will depreciate a bit, but the cab will help sell it and bring a higher price. Just don't plan on driving it through a forest.

Look at the 5083E JD.

 

[TripleR]

I am not familiar with the John Deere lineup, but I do similar stuff on our farms with a 50 and 85 HP tractor; both have their advantages. I agree that you can get by with a smaller tractor, but I personally wouldn't want to go under a 50 HP utility tractor. I have cab and open station tractors and much prefer the cab. It's a tractor, so if it gets scratched, it gets scratched, it's a TRACTOR.

As has been mentioned factors like time, transport etc. all need to be considered.

 

[jenkinsph]

I am not familiar with the John Deere lineup, but I do similar stuff on our farms with a 50 and 85 HP tractor; both have their advantages. I agree that you can get by with a smaller tractor, but I personally wouldn't want to go under a 50 HP utility tractor. I have cab and open station tractors and much prefer the cab. It's a tractor, so if it gets scratched, it gets scratched, it's a TRACTOR.

As has been mentioned factors like time, transport etc. all need to be considered.

I suggested a medium sized utility tractor, the 5085M for this sized property because it would be large enough to handle most of his jobs. The farmer using the 50 acres or so may bail at any time. I would rather buy the slightly larger tractor in the beginning and call it good. Upgrading is costly.

 

[TripleR]

I suggested a medium sized utility tractor, the 5085M for this sized property because it would be large enough to handle most of his jobs. The farmer using the 50 acres or so may bail at any time. I would rather buy the slightly larger tractor in the beginning and call it good. Upgrading is costly.

Yeah, I guess it is a tough call and probably dependent on your location. We have some small acreage for rent on one of our "farms" consisting of about fifty-five acres and there are people standing in line around here to rent even that small of a plot of row crop, so we never have to worry about a farmer bailing as that has happened and we got a renter the next week.

I farmed many years ago and will never do so again as the profit margin is just too small.

We have two primary tractors due to our terrain and uses. The M8540 is great and we are tickled to death to have it but it simply will not fit in some places, so we have to have something else. We have a Massey Ferguson 375 open station we use occasionally, but I really prefer the cab on my 5030.

The bottom line I guess for us is that if we had to, we could do everything with the L5030, but not with the M8540. I know this because my father in law tried it many years ago and we had to buy back a tractor we had traded in and lost quite a bit of money.

 

[endchiro]

I talked with the john deere dealer and he seems to think the 4720 would do everything I need to do. If I go with the 4720, I would get the hydro and if I go with the 5085 I would get the power reverser. I would like to know how I would like the power reverser vs. the hydro for MOST of my needs stated.

 

[Stormtruck2]

Buy as much tractor as you can afford. Buying more capacity later is very expensive.

 

[AKfish]

As you may have noticed from the past experiences of a number of the "old hands" that have replied - it's not possible to find a "perfect tractor" that does it all...

The simple fact is: that most of the experienced owner's - own - 2,3,4 different tractors!!

Do this long enough and you'll be right there with the rest of us - with more than one tractor! :thumbsup:

However, in the near-term.. a 4720 with cab is a very good compromise. Small enough footprint to work the small food-plots with enough horsepower to handle larger implements if necessary. That said; a better bang for your buck is the cab 4520. Check the Nebraska tests here: TTL test reports/JD Deere

The pto Hp of the new model 4520 is right at 56hp and the new model 4720 is a bit more than 59hp. That's not alot of useful Hp to pay an additional $2,000 for..!

AKfish

 

[TripleR]

I talked with the john deere dealer and he seems to think the 4720 would do everything I need to do. If I go with the 4720, I would get the hydro and if I go with the 5085 I would get the power reverser. I would like to know how I would like the power reverser vs. the hydro for MOST of my needs stated.

That is way too subjective as what one "likes" another "tolerates", there are hours of reading on this subject. My preference is HST, but we have no trouble using the hydraulic shuttle-shift which I am "guessing" is roughly the same as the JD power reverser. I personally wouldn't choose one over the other based on the transmission, but rather overall capability and your power/size needs. When I bought our M8540 I looked at the 5000 Series John Deeres and they are really nice tractors. I didn't look at the 4000 Series, but am sure they are really nice also.

As has been mentioned, it is next to impossible to find one "do it all" tractor which is why we have several and to be perfectly honest, I still have a spot open I could fill if it wasn't for $$$$$$$$$$$.:laughing:

Good luck, Larry

 

[jenkinsph]

I talked with the john deere dealer and he seems to think the 4720 would do everything I need to do. If I go with the 4720, I would get the hydro and if I go with the 5085 I would get the power reverser. I would like to know how I would like the power reverser vs. the hydro for MOST of my needs stated.

The ehydro will be easier to manuever with in close quarters that is why I have one. If you were to find your self mowing and or tilling the larger acreage the 3085M could handle a much larger mower or disk. In open areas the power reverser works quite well and is more efficient than the ehydro.

If you really think your tractor use will be limited to the small acreage jobs I would go with the 4520 cab like I have. Put the difference between the 4520 and 4720 into an additional implement.

The real question is whether you will later wan't to work the rest of the open land yourself. Only you can make that judgement and it is a tough call.

 

[gladehound]

If you will spend a lot of time in the woods and using your tractor to push over dead trees and such, I recommend some sort of protection on the tractor. I used to do this with no FOPS thinking I could just be careful but after 2 instances where I didn't account for everything I decided to have a FOPS built.

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

I talked with the john deere dealer and he seems to think the 4720 would do everything I need to do. If I go with the 4720, I would get the hydro and if I go with the 5085 I would get the power reverser. I would like to know how I would like the power reverser vs. the hydro for MOST of my needs stated.

I have both and like both. You will like whichever you end up with. Are your fields bumpy? Again, I like big tires. Would I like a cabbed 4720? Heck yes. 4720 has plenty of mowing power but you'll need to fill the front end loader with dirt for pulling a disc and putting the power to the ground. Reading your chore list, I'd recommend R1 tires for whatever you get. Be sure to get the FEL with either tractor.

 

[foggy1111]

If you will spend a lot of time in the woods and using your tractor to push over dead trees and such, I recommend some sort of protection on the tractor. I used to do this with no FOPS thinking I could just be careful but after 2 instances where I didn't account for everything I decided to have a FOPS built.

FOPS, ROPS or Cab.....Pushing over dead trees is asking for trouble. Way too often the tree is going to break and fall back toward you. It doesn't take a very big branch to kill you.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

FOPS, ROPS or Cab.....Pushing over dead trees is asking for trouble. Way too often the tree is going to break and fall back toward you. It doesn't take a very big branch to kill you.

They are called Widow makers for a reason. Our JD 310B backhoe has the four support with heavy metal top but I never want to learn its limit.

 

[jenkinsph]

FOPS, ROPS or Cab.....Pushing over dead trees is asking for trouble. Way too often the tree is going to break and fall back toward you. It doesn't take a very big branch to kill you.

Clearing out dead trees and high falling branches is one of the fastest ways to get hurt and beat the crap out of your tractor. Each situation is different some are easy to see what to do some aren't but it is important to stay out of the debris field. I have sawed some and pushed others with my dozer in the past, I have pulled other over with a cable that were just too dangerous to get beneath and work.

For the most part this isn't good work for a tractor anyway and not much real savings or benefit from doing it. Small stuff isn't too bad but for large trees you need the right equipment.

 

[endchiro]

Another big question is whether to buy new or used. My research seems to show that the used tractors sure maintain the upper price tag. Making me wonder if i should buy new. Was thinking used because of the use time being restricted to weekends but some new prices on the 4520 s and 4720 s are close to the used price. Even my jd dealer told me he'd buy the used 4520 on the lot and spend the rest on implements. It was an 08 4520, no cab, with cx loader and rear weights for 28,500. 350 hours. Seemed high by a few thousand. Also, I am still leaning towards a cab. What have others decided when buying used or new?
I do plan on keeping it as long as possible. Thanks, Eric

 

[Gale Hawkins]

Another big question is whether to buy new or used. My research seems to show that the used tractors sure maintain the upper price tag. Making me wonder if i should buy new. Was thinking used because of the use time being restricted to weekends but some new prices on the 4520 s and 4720 s are close to the used price. Even my jd dealer told me he'd buy the used 4520 on the lot and spend the rest on implements. It was an 08 4520, no cab, with cx loader and rear weights for 28,500. 350 hours. Seemed high by a few thousand. Also, I am still leaning towards a cab. What have others decided when buying used or new?
I do plan on keeping it as long as possible. Thanks, Eric

It boils down you what you want but I bet in 20 years from now your neighbors or you will be able to tell the 2008 from a 2011. :thumbsup:

 

[jenkinsph]

The 2008 is just about out of warranty too which is another consideration. I would also wonder why someone traded in this low hour tractor?

 

[AKfish]

I'm currently in the market for another tractor, too. Really been looking for 3-4 months now. After a hard look at the 5000 series machines (they're only a few thousand more than the 4000 series) - I've moved on to either a low-hour used or new - 4520 or 4720.

You're correct; the low-hour used machines are very close to new prices! :thumbdown:

When you throw in financing charges for a used tractor.. and no warranty - well, the balance is only about $2-3K in favor of a used machine!

I'm personally looking for a new machine at this point.

IMO - it makes more sense to get EXACTLY what you want on a tractor instead of ending up with a tractor that you'll be irritated with AFTER paying a near-new price for!

AKfish

 

[TripleR]

Another big question is whether to buy new or used. My research seems to show that the used tractors sure maintain the upper price tag. Making me wonder if i should buy new. Was thinking used because of the use time being restricted to weekends but some new prices on the 4520 s and 4720 s are close to the used price. Even my jd dealer told me he'd buy the used 4520 on the lot and spend the rest on implements. It was an 08 4520, no cab, with cx loader and rear weights for 28,500. 350 hours. Seemed high by a few thousand. Also, I am still leaning towards a cab. What have others decided when buying used or new?
I do plan on keeping it as long as possible. Thanks, Eric

We have bought new and used. An awful lot is going to depend on your mechanical abilities. My brothers are mechanics and the newest one they use is a mid 60's Case. I bought a 7 year old tractor this year and a new one; just depends on what I find and want to spend.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

I find the weight of the tractor is as important as any other feature in my experience.