55HP Tractor

[sea2summit]

You loose HST when moving up to a utility.

I'd upgrade my MX in a heartbeat if they started offering the small utilities with a HST.

Have you test driven something with shuttle shift?

 

[sea2summit]

Thanks, I will be getting a loader for the tractor and I am trying to use the specs of the MX series as my basis for any other tractors I look at. Availability is the biggest question right now. I did a little more research last night and it looks like Kioti may be a contender also. JD makes a good tractor but I have had some issues with one of my JD dealers plus their tractors seem a little pricier than the others. I think I am gonna put Kubota as my first choice and Kioti as my fall back choice.

You mentioned Massey in the original post, I'd take a close look there. Cain Equipment is closer to you than it is to me but their prices beat everyone and they are the neatest little family business I've seen in a while, literally three generations handled my purchase there.

If you decide on Kubota call up to Barlow's and get a quote, another great little business and I actually drove almost 500 miles to get my MX from them because the price was that good. I support the local guys but I'm not made of money and when the price difference was 10-12K on the MX set up like I wanted I just can't justify it from the local guy, not to mention the local guy didn't want to order a BH thumb. I also work with Perrin Equipment down in Tifton, they usually have a lot of stock and offer good deals and my last two smaller orange purchases have been there.

My mentor bought his last Deere from Sunsouth and they have a lot of offices, the way they've treated him caused me to cut all ties there. They are the local stihl dealer for me and I wont even buy parts from them now. They delivered his equipment not in spec with the purchase agreement, they have improperly repaired and installed stuff, they constantly seem lost and don't live up to their word. Neighbors son is actually a pretty big name in ditch work and owns tons of $$ worth of JD equipment and contacted the corporate level about the issues which got a lot of it resolved but by that time my neighbor had already lost most of hay season.

 

[presnewt]

I have not drive the shuttle shift, my local MF dealer has one but I have not been on the tractor. I will take a look at the dealers you mentioned. I have dealt with AgPro (john deere) and am pretty disgusted with their service.

 

[rScotty]

You loose HST when moving up to a utility.

I'd upgrade my MX in a heartbeat if they started offering the small utilities with a HST.

Yes, losing HST and gaining a more heavily built tractor throughout have traditionally been the differences when moving from a compact to a utility.
I'm not sure that's a disadvantage though....especially for the kind of work a utility tractor does.
rScotty

 

[51allis]

Love my 2014 LS XR4046 and have absolutely beaten the crap out of the loader, still going, I use it for both construction/plow/till/woods work etc. no issues has shuttle shift/gear trans and I opted for R1 (AG) tires, its a beast of a machine, started with 12 hours and now has over 500 with just general maintenance/fluid changes...LS in my area is expanding, setting up a new dealership near Iron Mt. MI/Niagara WI area....

 

[mo1]

I have not drive the shuttle shift, my local MF dealer has one but I have not been on the tractor. I will take a look at the dealers you mentioned. I have dealt with AgPro (john deere) and am pretty disgusted with their service.

I would recommend test-operating that tractor as transmissions get a lot of discussion here but at least in my experience they are easy to operate if that is your concern. My unit has a conventional dry clutch transmission and I find it perfectly easy to operate.

 

[LD1]

Have you test driven something with shuttle shift?

I have no reason to.

Yes, losing HST and gaining a more heavily built tractor throughout have traditionally been the differences when moving from a compact to a utility.
I'm not sure that's a disadvantage though....especially for the kind of work a utility tractor does.
rScotty

Yes a heavier tractor is gained and certainly not a disadvantage.
I do 80% mowing and 20% loader work. There isnt a transmission out there better for what I do and how I use the machine.

 

[ljjhouser]

What? I thought the MX 5400 (55hp) and the MX 6000 tractors only came with HST. When they first came out, my dealer wanted me to try one. I drove it around the lot - it was hst. I first thought I may had forgotten. Went to Kubota website under "build your tractor" and with 4wd it seems to only have HST option. Maybe I missed something.

 

[airbiscuit]

I have a 21hp New Holland HST with a Mid Mount Mower. The Hydrostatic is perfect for that application
I have a 32hp Kubota with a GST (glide shift transmission = clutchless gear) that is fantastic for rough cut mowing (extra PTO power and easy speed change)
I have a 40hp New Holland with a Shuttle Shift that I use for loader work and road maintenance. I like having the extra power vs HST.

The point is that different transmissions are optimal for different tasks. Any of them would work for any of the tasks, but some are just better for certain applications. I will say that I didn't expect the shift on the fly GST to be as cool as it is.

 

[mo1]

What? I thought the MX 5400 (55hp) and the MX 6000 tractors only came with HST. When they first came out, my dealer wanted me to try one. I drove it around the lot - it was hst. I first thought I may had forgotten. Went to Kubota website under "build your tractor" and with 4wd it seems to only have HST option. Maybe I missed something.

5400 is available with a dry clutch partially-synchronized transmission (synchro on 3rd and 4th) or a hydrostatic drive. 6000 is hydrostatic only.

 

[jyoutz]

What? I thought the MX 5400 (55hp) and the MX 6000 tractors only came with HST. When they first came out, my dealer wanted me to try one. I drove it around the lot - it was hst. I first thought I may had forgotten. Went to Kubota website under "build your tractor" and with 4wd it seems to only have HST option. Maybe I missed something.

The MX5400 is available in 4wd or 2wd with either gear or HST. The MX6000 is only available in 4wd and HST.

 

[Andy1969]

I just bought a Mahindra 5155. New 55 horsepower Utility model. 12 by 12 shuttle. Very heavily built tractor with lots of lift up front and out back. Maybe something to consider depending on what you’re wanting to do with your tractor.

 

[hornett22]

I'd go Kioti , TYM , or Branson.

 

[Blue Mule]

Looking to get a 55 hp or so tractor with loader. I want 4WD and HST. Use will mainly be bushhogging and box blade/land plane work. Dealers near me include Kubota, JD, Case and Massey Ferguson. Availability will probably be an issue as Case dealer will have no more for quite a while. MF may be several months, same for Kubota. What other brands are worth looking at? I am not familiar with Kioti, Mahindra, Yanmar etc and would rather wait a few months rather than settle for sub par quality. Thanks.

Messick's just did a video on the New Holland 55 horse offering. Would be my first choice.

 

[Andy1969]

Messick's just did a video on the New Holland 55 horse offering. Would be my first choice.

I like many of Messicks videos. But I also take them with a grain of salt just as I do any video or other form of presentation when the person doing that presentation is financially tied to it. So what I’m saying here is that Messicks is a Kubota and a New Holland dealer. So while both of those manufacturers make fine products, Messicks would not go out of their way to point out anything negative about those products. And I’m not saying that’s wrong. I’m saying he, just like all other equipment dealers are in business to make money. That money comes from selling the products they represent. To the original poster, I would highly recommend looking at as many tractors in the size range you’re thinking of buying. And while it’s difficult in these times, try to test drive as many as possible. Research the features and see how they line up to what’s important to you. Just my thoughts.

 

[sd455dan]

I just bought a Mahindra 5155. New 55 horsepower Utility model. 12 by 12 shuttle. Very heavily built tractor with lots of lift up front and out back. Maybe something to consider depending on what you’re wanting to do with your tractor. View attachment 736136View attachment 736137View attachment 736138

That is a beefy looking 55 hp tractor.

Is that based on what was the 30 series?

If it is an updated version based on the older 5530 it is at a 6000 lb tractor "before" mounting the FEL.

I Like the heavy duty aspect for sure.

 

[EddieWalker]

I consider Yanmar and Kubota, both Japan based, equal in quality.

There is a Kubota dealer within a reasonable distance of almost everyone. Kubota has important manufacturing plants in Georgia. Kubota parts will likely arrive at Georgia Kubota dealers overnight.

Yanmar dealers are widely spaced.

In Korean tractor brands I rate Kioti and Branson at the top. Near to Kubota and Yanmar in quality. Due to lower labor costs, Korean tractor brands are somewhat less expensive than Japanese tractor brands.

When shopping minor brands such as Yanmar/Kioti/Branson you must evaluate dealer viability/history carefully.

Branson HQ is located in Rome, Georgia, so Branson may be a brand to consider.


Others will differ with my recommendations.

This is very solid advice for other brands to consider if you can't find what you want in your first choice of tractor brands.

In my opinion, Kubota is the standard that all other brands try to be as good as in the 99hp and less category of tractors.

I started looking for another tractor over the summer and started with Kubota. My goal was to find what I wanted from Kubota, then see if I could find the same tractor for less, or something with more features for less money, that was similar to Kubota quality.

After going to multiple dealers, looking at both new and used, I decided on Massey Ferguson. I placed my order in November, and I'm hoping it arrives in the next month or so. A tractor purchase is like marriage, you really want to get it right the first time and not have to live with something you're really not in love with.

For my needs, I wanted something big enough to handle round bales, powerful enough to pull a 12 foot batwing, and comfortable to be in no matter how hot or cold it was. 4x4, 2 remotes, a really nice seat and a camortable cab are must haves. The other big thing for me was to not have DEF or deal with REGEN. Massey and NH where the main two that had everything that I wanted, but I just can't stand that shade of blue, so Massey became the easy winner for me. Massey also has more weight then NH and remote 3 point controls on both rear fenders. There are a few other things that Massey includes that the other brands don't that also led to choosing them.

Finally, look at what financing is being offered if you are not paying cash. There will be two prices, one is for cash, the other is for the financing. The cash price will be lower, so do your math to figure out where it works out best for you. Massey offered 84 months with zero interest, but was a few grand more than their cash prices. For me, the math was easy, and I went with that offer.

 

[presnewt]

This is the OP. Thanks for all the good advice. Based on the dealers near me I think I have narrowed it down to Kubota, Kioti and Massey Ferguson. I still want the HST option and I want R1 tires instead of R4 tires (which seem to be standard on some of these tractors), so it is probably gonna come down to availability. I am gonna continue to look at low hour used tractors also.

 

[jezreel]

This is the OP. Thanks for all the good advice. Based on the dealers near me I think I have narrowed it down to Kubota, Kioti and Massey Ferguson. I still want the HST option and I want R1 tires instead of R4 tires (which seem to be standard on some of these tractors), so it is probably gonna come down to availability. I am gonna continue to look at low hour used tractors also.

Can NOT go wrong with that attitude. You're going in with the right thought process. You're gonna be happy with either of those 3.

 

[Andy1969]

That is a beefy looking 55 hp tractor.

Is that based on what was the 30 series?

If it is an updated version based on the older 5530 it is at a 6000 lb tractor "before" mounting the FEL.

I Like the heavy duty aspect for sure.

Yes it’s a beefy tractor. My understanding is that it’s a clean sheet design. So it’s not really a derivative of the 5500 series. The 5500 series went away according to my dealer even though Mahindra still has them listed on their site. The 5100 series is right between the 4500 series and the 5500 series in terms of weight. But it has more advanced features and creature comforts than either one. Empty the tractor weighs in around 5,600-5,700 as near as I can gather because the specs on Mahindra website and their owners manual differ somewhat. But with the tractor plus loaded tires and the loader I’m sitting a little over 8k lbs. I really like it so far for the bigger stance, the ergonomics, and the very smooth controls. It’s built like a large ag tractor. Lots of big castings front to back and lots of grease fittings.