New to mid size tractors. Looking for some opinions.

[DaBear3428]

Sounds like you already know what you're going to buy and you're just looking for validation. It's your money, spend as much as you want.

Bill, I have not interacted with you before, but I'm wondering why you even commented on this thread?

 

[airbiscuit]

If Bill is right, the OP has pretty much decided on Mahindra. If Bill is wrong, and the Op is open to other brands, I would suggest looking at the Kioti NS or NX series. In my opinion they are better quality and more refined than the Mahindras made in India.

 

[Acethe3rd]

You are correct. I posted to a Mahindra forum, because I am interested in Mahindra tractors. As of now, they are on the top of my list. You are incorrect in assuming a 35hp will suit my needs. A 35 won't budge my truck, or even things that I have pulled with my truck through the same terrain. That being said, again, thank you for your input.

Mine will.

 

[streamin]

I have the 2013 5035, I owned 2 kubotas before that, 35 hp and 50 hp. Comparing same 50 hp on each the Mahindra is much better because it was 1500lbs heavier and the front tires are bigger. I was always burying the fronts in mud and that was a huge selling point for me. I've been very happy, does everything I ask of it.

 

[6Scorpion7]

I think that the Mahindra 35 series has been discontinued, I just bought the 5145 it is a cross between the 36 series (replaced the 35 i think and has also been discontinued) the 55 series and the old school 45 series. It is heavy, close to 7000# with FEL, the FEL will lift 3100# at the pins to full height, it has a 12f 12r shuttle (no hydrostat) it is built like a tank and the cost is verrrrry good. The 51 series is more basic with no electric over hydr stuff not power shuttle so the price is less than the 2660 and less complicated for stuff to go wrong. the 51 series is the largest tractor that Mahindra makes that is still considered a CUT so it is still small enough and maneuverable enough to get into tight spaces.

I stuck with the 45hp 5145 version because it is $4k cheaper than the 5155 and does not have a turbo. The 45 would be good for most of the things you are listing that you want to do but I would think that the 5155 would be better for you, mostly the mowing large areas of pasture, my dealer tells me that the 45 is marginal when you go up to a 12' rotary cutter but with 80 acres to mow you might need the extra hp / cutter size. The 51 series is a very heavy and stable frame with a solid drive line.

As far as pulling some thing out of the mud hp is not the answer, weight and traction are, so you may want agg tires not the r4 industrial tires and a heavy 4wd tractor. It looks like you have the equipment to haul a 7K tractor so IMO go big on frame size and Mahindra will give you lots of that.

I have no experience with the backhoe, so I will let others fill you in on that.

I spent a lot of time researching everything that was available in my area. JD and Kubota were about 2x the price for what i was wanting, TYM, Koti, Branson all had competitive offerings but no real dealers in my area, LS has the MT342 which was my second choice but the engine is a turbo which I wanted to avoid, the dealer was 100 miles away (but a nice guy) the killer was that LS will not allow a customer access to the service manual (at all even tried to get the dealer to make some kind of a deal but no go, I had the factory Mahindra service manual before i got the the 5145), that was too bad because the MT342 would have been at least $5k cheaper for a tractor with all most as much capability (LS has a very strong offering with lots of premium features for less money).

The best for last, IMO the most important thing is how the tractor and the dealer fit you, so spend some seat time on the tractor you think you want and talk with the dealer, I spent a few more dollars going with my local dealer instead of the big dealer that is 120 miles away mostly because the local dealer did not act like a used car salesman. Also the tractor i ended up with, I love but it was not even the tractor i was looking at until i sat on some.

The 51 series is new (may be a con but most of the assembly's are carried over from the models it is replacing) here is a thread on it:
Mahindra 5155 Anyone?

Good Luck and i hope that i have been some help.

I think you hit the nail right on the head. I probably don't need a high horsepower tractor, but just a heavier framed. My only real tractor experience is from bigger tractors from the 70's. HP equals size. Lol. I also like the idea of naturally aspirated if I can get away with it. I definitely love a turbo diesel in a truck, but some are also known to be unreliable. I also don't need a lot My land is separated and the biggest parcel is about 34 acres with half being woods. I don't necessarily need a 12ft mower. I was thinking an 8ft would be fine. I did look and I have pretty much most of the brand's dealers within a somewhat comfortable drive, except LS. I will start shopping the dealers, once I am done working out of state.

If Bill is right, the OP has pretty much decided on Mahindra. If Bill is wrong, and the Op is open to other brands, I would suggest looking at the Kioti NS or NX series. In my opinion they are better quality and more refined than the Mahindras made in India.

Bill is wrong. I am very open to many brands. Kioti is definitely on the radar, as is TYM, LS, and of course JD and Kubota, but the latter two are probably going to be out of my comfortable price range.

Mine will.

Maybe. I always hope to not get stuck, but when I have, a 25hp and 35 hp couldn't do it, so I don't know. Fortunately I only needed about 30 ft of chain and a 30 ft towing strap, to winch out, that particular day.

 

[DaBear3428]

hook up any modern 4wd tractor to any stuck object, put it in low range low gear rev it up to rated speed and pull. 1 of 3 things is going to happen:
1. The tractor loses traction.
2. Something breaks.
3. The stuck object becomes unstuck.

more HP will not change any of the 3 outcomes except #2

In a 4wd truck/jeep more hp will allow spinning of larger tires to clear the treads on them to provide more traction but not much and on a tractor with agg or R4 tires spinning the tires does not help much

 

[DaBear3428]

I love my Mahindra, but would agree with airbiscuit, there are other brands with better/more features, better fit/finish, better price. The bottom line for me is different than the bottom line for someone else and my local conditions are different. For me the Mahindra 5145/local dealer provided the best balance of price/capabilities/features/dealer support that fit me personally. YMMV.

 

[oosik]

I have 80 acres and a mile long gravel driveway. I started out with a brand new Ford 1700 4WD in 1982. It did most everything just fine. In 2009 I traded it in for a new Kubota M6040 4WD.

I got tired of having to use a rear mount snow blower to clear my driveway, mailbox area and yard. Something about having blowing snow showering down on me for the three or four hours required to clear it all - got VERY old.

Now with the heavier M6040, my rear blade does this job just great. No blowing snow and any berm formation is easily cleared.

I have slowly but surely converted all my implements from Cat 1 to Cat 2. Cat 2 implement will get the job done without any futzing around.

Plus- I now have the power and weight to get the bigger jobs tackled and completed.

 

[3gunr]

I have two mahindras and have hads good luck with both, Shortly after getting my 2538 a fellow buried his F150 4x4 in the cut cornfield in front of my house . He asked if i could pull him out, I was skeptical because of the mud. My tractor has R4s on it and i pulled him out no problem. The 2665 mahindra is a very nice machine , made by tym in korea, The new 5 series is a beast as others on here have said , My friend has an Ls xr4140 It is also a very well equipped tractor and he is very happy with it ,

 

[Xfaxman]

I think you hit the nail right on the head. I probably don't need a high horsepower tractor, but just a heavier framed. My only real tractor experience is from bigger tractors from the 70's. HP equals size. Lol. I also like the idea of naturally aspirated if I can get away with it. I definitely love a turbo diesel in a truck, but some are also known to be unreliable. I also don't need a lot My land is separated and the biggest parcel is about 34 acres with half being woods. I don't necessarily need a 12ft mower. I was thinking an 8ft would be fine.

My out front 7ft mower is faster overall and more maneuverable than an 8ft on the back of a tractor:

Sold my tractor soon after I bought my first compact telehandler. Click to see what it can do: Compact telehandler

 

[6Scorpion7]

hook up any modern 4wd tractor to any stuck object, put it in low range low gear rev it up to rated speed and pull. 1 of 3 things is going to happen:
1. The tractor loses traction.
2. Something breaks.
3. The stuck object becomes unstuck.

more HP will not change any of the 3 outcomes except #2

In a 4wd truck/jeep more hp will allow spinning of larger tires to clear the treads on them to provide more traction but not much and on a tractor with agg or R4 tires spinning the tires does not help much

I'm going back to the weight again. Neither tractor had the weight to stay planted, and that was after almost getting stuck themselves. The winch drug them to me. The guy with the 25hp John Deere did not want to chain the two tractors together, which might have worked or might not have. Either way, that doesn't encompass my only need for the tractor. Just one of the things I thought of at the moment, when I thought I may be leaving my truck and riding a couple miles on the side of one of their tractors. Lol

 

[LouNY]

hook up any modern 4wd tractor to any stuck object, put it in low range low gear rev it up to rated speed and pull. 1 of 3 things is going to happen:
1. The tractor loses traction.
2. Something breaks.
3. The stuck object becomes unstuck.

more HP will not change any of the 3 outcomes except #2

In a 4wd truck/jeep more hp will allow spinning of larger tires to clear the treads on them to provide more traction but not much and on a tractor with agg or R4 tires spinning the tires does not help much

Not always there are many times, well actually I can't think of many when I used low range first pulling another stuck tractor or truck out.
I was usually in a gear that would give me 5 to 6 mph at least, and yes that was with enough horsepower to break traction at those speeds
even with a heavy tractor.
My last heavy pull out was my neighbor a couple of years ago, my "little" 8050 which is dressed out to close to 12,000 pounds with chains all the way around pulling on his stuck IH 966 with a tandem axle manure spreader in deep mud.

 

[DaBear3428]

Not always there are many times, well actually I can't think of many when I used low range first pulling another stuck tractor or truck out.
I was usually in a gear that would give me 5 to 6 mph at least, and yes that was with enough horsepower to break traction at those speeds
even with a heavy tractor.
My last heavy pull out was my neighbor a couple of years ago, my "little" 8050 which is dressed out to close to 12,000 pounds with chains all the way around pulling on his stuck IH 966 with a tandem axle manure spreader in deep mud.

I agree with all you stated, my point is that in none of these cases would additional HP have helped the tractor, with truck tires there is something to be said for tire spin clearing the lugs and providing better traction, that is not the case for agg tires or even R4s, tractors have so much gearing that for low speed tasks like pulling in mud does not help unless you want to try turning the stuck event into a mud drag race, but that just increases the chances of #2 on my list.

 

[hornett22]

I have 28 acres and a Mahindra 1626. I do everything with it except snow.

A heavier tractor may come in handy getting the truck unstuck but the heavier the tractor you get stuck, the more trouble you're in for.

 

[DaBear3428]

yep if stuck, a TOO heavy (to do what you need to do) tractor really sucks but conversely a TOO light tractor really sucks all the time.

 

[hornett22]

yep if stuck, a TOO heavy (to do what you need to do) tractor really sucks but conversely a TOO light tractor really sucks all the time.

I've used many large tractors. It's pretty amazing what you can get done with a 26 horse machine.

 

[Root Cause]

I scanned the posts here but still not sure if you have defined the goals of $, weight, and HP.
I am sitting at 6000 lbs with loader, backhoe, and filled tires and 37 HP.
I found it used last year for under 30k with 80 hours of use as a mower.

FB has a 2638 group and seems like almost everyone is happy with it.
A recent poll showed 90% would buy again if I remember correctly.
IF that is in your range, then it might be worth a look to investigate more there.

 

[DaBear3428]

I've used many large tractors. It's pretty amazing what you can get done with a 26 horse machine.

then I would say it was not TOO light to do what you needed to do right?

 

[hornett22]

then I would say it was not TOO light to do what you needed to do right?

No. I haven't had much issue with weight. I can't recommend filling rear tires enough though. I work on a lot of hills.

 

[DaBear3428]

No. I haven't had much issue with weight. I can't recommend filling rear tires enough though. I work on a lot of hills.

I hear you the 5145 is heavy to start with and my property is very flat so i'm avoiding the whole filled tires thing, but i am working on a counter weight, I'm thinking that i'm going to add weight to my box blade. It needs weight to work better anyway and most times when im using the FEL i need it anyway.