Buying Advice 4720 or 5085m

[corey9212]

Hello, I'm shopping for a bigger tractor and am in a toss up between a 4720 cab tractor or a 5085m.

I have 5 acres of lawn to mow and 48 acres or pasture to take care of with the possibility of bailing some of it. I have two riding arenas to maintain plus about 300' of lane way to maintain.

I plan on getting all the options available for the tractor. Does anyone have any experience with these tractors, pro's and con's of both. Which one do you think would be best for me and why.

Thank you.

 

[jd670]

Easy answer...M

 

[BigMike50]

48 acres is too much to bail and maintain with a 4720. I vote the m as well. don't buy too small a machine just to have to trade it in the following year and lose money.

 

[RollingsFarms]

You could easily handle all those chores with a 5075m or an E series with a cab. Sounds like you enjoy tons of features though so the M might be a better fit for you.

 

[corey9212]

How well does the m handle tight areas and turns?

 

[AKfish]

Hello, I'm shopping for a bigger tractor and am in a toss up between a 4720 cab tractor or a 5085m.

I have 5 acres of lawn to mow and 48 acres or pasture to take care of with the possibility of bailing some of it. I have two riding arenas to maintain plus about 300' of lane way to maintain.

I plan on getting all the options available for the tractor. Does anyone have any experience with these tractors, pro's and con's of both. Which one do you think would be best for me and why.

Thank you.

I went through the same decision process that you're in the middle of - 2 years ago. I ended up buying a 5075M and in all honesty... should have bought the 5085M!

The tractors you're looking at are not really in the same "functional" ballpark - IMO. Frame size, weight, maneuverability, etc. the tractors are night and day from one another! It's sorta like comparing a Toyota Tacoma versus a Ford F-350 dually.

They'll both haul loads and trailer your boat...

But, if your riding arenas are less than 100'x250' don't consider the 5085M. That tractor needs some room to maneuver! And mowing a lawn (even 5 acres) is pretty much over-the-top for a 5085M! :laughing: I could only imagine the compaction you'd have after 2-3 seasons...

The flip side is baling hay on the 48 acre parcel. Do you get 2 cutting's - maybe 3? Say, 75-100 50lb bales per acre? That's about 2 tons per acre yield. The 2nd and 3rd cutting would be less. Maybe down to just over a ton on the last cutting. So, that's somewhere in the neighborhood of 200 tons of hay per year.

That's a lot of pounding on 56hp @ pto and less than 6,000 lbs with the 4720!

So, what's most important? How are you going to cover those areas that one tractor or the other won't reasonably handle?

What finally pushed me over into the 5000 series tractor was the realization that the dollar per horsepower ratio ($$/hp) for the smaller frame tractors; including the 4000 machines is way, way out of line! When you configure the 4000 tractor with the options that you want -- the price is within striking distance of the more powerful 5000 machines! Crazy..

Good luck with your decision. It's a fun process and journey!

AKfish

 

[RollingsFarms]

I would suggest getting the 32 speed transmisson if you go with the M! Nothing at all wrong with a 16x16 power reverser but I love all the gears I can get and I think the 32 speed gives you a road gear of up to 25mph. You said you were gonna get it all decked out anyways with options

 

[AKfish]

I would suggest getting the 32 speed transmisson if you go with the M! Nothing at all wrong with a 16x16 power reverser but I love all the gears I can get and I think the 32 speed gives you a road gear of up to 25mph. You said you were gonna get it all decked out anyways with options

X2 here. I opted for the 16x16 thinking it was enough of a step up from the 12x12 on the eLimited series of tractors. Hindsight... it'd sure be nice with a baler and heavy rototilling to be able to click that switch on the go and drop down a quick 20% in ground speed (or up) immediately! :thumbsup:

AKfish

 

[arlen4720]

I think the M is the clear winner for what you need....especially if you keep your existing tractor for lighter work. It's nice to have a couple machines for that much land.

 

[Edward. S]

I went through the same decision process that you're in the middle of - 2 years ago. I ended up buying a 5075M and in all honesty... should have bought the 5085M!

The tractors you're looking at are not really in the same "functional" ballpark - IMO. Frame size, weight, maneuverability, etc. the tractors are night and day from one another! It's sorta like comparing a Toyota Tacoma versus a Ford F-350 dually.

They'll both haul loads and trailer your boat...

But, if your riding arenas are less than 100'x250' don't consider the 5085M. That tractor needs some room to maneuver! And mowing a lawn (even 5 acres) is pretty much over-the-top for a 5085M! :laughing: I could only imagine the compaction you'd have after 2-3 seasons...

The flip side is baling hay on the 48 acre parcel. Do you get 2 cutting's - maybe 3? Say, 75-100 50lb bales per acre? That's about 2 tons per acre yield. The 2nd and 3rd cutting would be less. Maybe down to just over a ton on the last cutting. So, that's somewhere in the neighborhood of 200 tons of hay per year.

That's a lot of pounding on 56hp @ pto and less than 6,000 lbs with the 4720!

So, what's most important? How are you going to cover those areas that one tractor or the other won't reasonably handle?

What finally pushed me over into the 5000 series tractor was the realization that the dollar per horsepower ratio ($$/hp) for the smaller frame tractors; including the 4000 machines is way, way out of line! When you configure the 4000 tractor with the options that you want -- the price is within striking distance of the more powerful 5000 machines! Crazy..

Good luck with your decision. It's a fun process and journey!

AKfish

I agree with you, I hate the 3 Liter in the 5225. That's why I got the 5085M. The 3 liter takes some time to accelerate but the 5085M is right away. The little 3 liter doesn't have much juice in it.

A 5085M isn't that hard to move around. I can turn around with it on a headland that's 15 feet wide that goes on for a 1/4 of a mile. Can't be done with a 6000 series I wish it could though. Just slow and press of brakes if needed. It just takes some time and experience. I have a 1.5 acre lawn that I mow once and awhile and I wish I could have a finish mower with my 4700 to mow that. But then I just use a ride on so I don't tear up the grass and since the 4700 has Ag tires.

I wouldn't mind mowing a 5 acre lawn with a 5085M. It would be finished fast and it will look nice while mowing it too. Just don't have any low hanging branches or trees that are short.

 

[Chickengrower]

The tractors you're looking at are not really in the same "functional" ballpark - IMO. Frame size, weight, maneuverability, etc. the tractors are night and day from one another! It's sorta like comparing a Toyota Tacoma versus a Ford F-350 dually.

AKfish

Very well said.

 

[corey9212]

Well looks like the 5085m is the consensus, I will be going in on Friday to take a look at what's in stock at the dealership and see what happens from there.

 

[jenkinsph]

I went through the same decision process that you're in the middle of - 2 years ago. I ended up buying a 5075M and in all honesty... should have bought the 5085M!


AKfish

I remember that discussion well, but alas for most of us it is always about the cost. Bet you are glad you didin't go for the 5065M you were thinking about.

 

[corey9212]

One thing to add is that it will be replacing the BX with this tractor cause this last winter I was pushing snow and the lip of the loader got caught on a small piece of dirt and stopped the tractor dead in its tracks causing my spine to compress to the point I blew out my disc in my back (Cause there was no suspension in the tractor I was told my back became the suspension and took the force of the harsh stop.) So this tractor will be replacing the BX as well as it's new responsibilities.

 

[corey9212]

Ok, so I went down to my local dealer and got a quote,
5085m with deluxe cab
540/540e pto
32f/16r power reverser transmission,
instructional seat,
triple rear deluxe valves,
triple mid valve with joystick control,
electro hydraulic with remote LH fender control, 4wd,
cold weather package,
loader prep package,
telescopic mirrors,
front weight support,
rear fender extension,
drawbar hammerstrap and Chain clevis kit,
All the lights,
Rear washer,
Stationary front fenders,
H260 loader,
85" bucket
3function single point hydraulic connection,
Five tune round bale/silage grapple with grille,
RC2084 lift type rotary cutter,
8' boom mounted front blade with hydraulic angle

All installed, set up and delivered for $90,000 cdn is that a good deal?

 

[J F]

Holy crapola.

Sorry, I'm just not used to seeing the prices on these big machines, that might be a helluva bargain. :laughing:

 

[Nooodles]

Since I'm spending someone else's money, I think you should buy a fully load caterpillar challenger. If the local farmer chicks saw you cruising around on that in the winter time in a blizzard through town, you would get all kinds of action

 

[corey9212]

Since I'm spending someone else's money, I think you should buy a fully load caterpillar challenger. If the local farmer chicks saw you cruising around on that in the winter time in a blizzard through town, you would get all kinds of action

Rofl, the only local farmer chicks out here is old farmers' wives and livestock chicks, neither of which I want in my cab, and the only action I would get is lots of snow to plow, lol.

 

[Chickengrower]

All installed, set up and delivered for $90,000 cdn is that a good deal?

If you got a detailed quote just see how much of a discount they are giving you off the list price. If not you can go to JD's website and build it for yourself. You'll have to do the loader and tractor separately. IMO, with what i've read here on TBN, if they are 20% below list on the 0% for 48mo price they are trying pretty hard to sell you a tractor. You might try to get them to sell at least one of the implements at their cost to sweeten the deal a little.

 

[AKfish]

I remember that discussion well, but alas for most of us it is always about the cost. Bet you are glad you didin't go for the 5065M you were thinking about.

(You told me to get the 85hp - too! :laughing But, yep... it came down to cost versus any measure of expected return. Couldn't justify the expense based on the work I had lined up. Most definitely; I'd be very unhappy with the 5065M! No way, I'd hook that tractor up to a high moisture round baler!

AKfish