5225 or 5303

[bairman]

I went yesterday to pick up a 5303 mfwd from the dealer to demo, but when I got there I noticed a 5225 mfwd they had. Both are rental tractors with few hours on them. The 5303 was a plain jane with not many options other than the one rear remote, and the mid mount with joystick, but I liked the pto hp it had. The 5225 just caught my eye the way it looked. It appears to be a more modern tractor. It had the telescoping draft links, and had the mid mount with the new joy stick, and it also had two rear scvs on it. The dealer said the 5225 would take the 542 loader, while the 5303 takes the 522. They appear to be about the same size (both have same size tires on them), but looking at the books it appears the 5225 weighs a little bit more. I brought the 5225 home instead and tried it out some today. It is a good running tractor, but it feels like to me it is lacking the hp i need to run my 840 dual wheel woods brush bull cutter, or is it just me being spoiled from my old 5400 tractor that had 60hp. I can not make my mind up on which tractor to get. The 5225 has more goodies on it, but only has 45 pto hp. The 5303 has 55 pto hp, but is just a plain tractor. They are wanting $20,000 for the 5225, and $18150 for the 5303, plus $778 for the draft links, which puts me with in 1000 of each other. Is it possible to have the hp turned up on the 5225? I think I still might get the 5303 and demo it also. Both are being sold as new tractors at reduced prices. Any feed back to help out would be greatly appreciated.

 

[AKfish]

Sounds like that 10hp at the PTO makes a real difference to your needs. But, the creature comforts of the 5225 are a strong point.

The 542 FEL is alot more loader than the 522. So, there's some $$$ differences as well as performance.

Is the 5225 tranny a 12x12 power-reverser? If so, there's some added performance (and cost) over the 9x3 on the 5303. Having the added flexibility of the transmission for field work can be a real improvement in getting the job done in less time.

But, a better comparison might be the 5325 vs the 5303. Or, the 5225 vs the 5203.

More apples to apples and you can better judge whether or not the tranny, FEL, SCV options, etc. are worth the extra $$$ and it's not a simple question of hp to run your mower.

My $0.02.

AKfish

 

[bairman]

They both have the 9/3 syncshuttle transmission. There is no doubt the 5325 would be better but they do not have one.

 

[tjkadar]

I believe the 5225 and 5325 use the same motor. It is likely you can turn a 5225 into a 5325, but I do not know what that would entail. I have heard of a 5425 being turned into a 5525 with some new parts - injector pump, injectors, etc. Not sure how cost effective that would be though.

 

[Turkeyman]

There is a 5325 at a dealer in Scranton, FWD, power revereser, loader package with 131 hours. I assume you want FWD? you may want to look at Machine Finder too. I wonder how the torque is on those 2 tractors.
My 4720 is 50 pto hp but only has 120 lbs of torque while a 5325 is only 55 pto hp but has 180 lbs of torque.

 

[unreconstructed]

I have one of the older 5203 in 2WD with crash box tranny. I have just bot a 5325 but have not got to use it in the field.

I kept the 5203 and really like it. However, the 5X25's are heavier tractors with more hydraulic capability. Unless something has changed, you can only get one rear remote with a loader on the 5X03. Without the loader you can get two. My 5325 has three rear remotes. Seems like the 5325 in 4wd is about 1800 lbs heavier than the 5203 in 2WD.

These two machines compared have altogether different feels to me and as another poster said the 542 is much more loader. They do look similar in size sitting side by side, but I think that is deceiving.

Have not operated one of the 5X03 in 4WD and as I said have not gotten to work the 5325 so I cannot say for sure one over the other. The 5203 was a good starter tractor for me, after being gone from the farm for 40 years, but I can say now that I have refined what I want in a tractor, I would pick the 5325 over the 5203 in the configuration that I own them if I knew then what I know now. (that was a mouthful--sorry). My 5325 has the power reverser also. I definitely bought the 5235 to upgrade the tranny to the 12x12 power reverser as I seem to find more loader projects.

You may have more torque with the 5225 over the 5303--I don't know. If PTO horses are equal, I guess you are looking at more rear remote potential, a little heavier tractor, and a stronger loader with the 5225 for a 1000 bucks. I think faster loader time too.

Best I can do.

 

[RollingsFarms]

I have one of the older 5203 in 2WD with crash box tranny. I have just bot a 5325 but have not got to use it in the field.

I kept the 5203 and really like it. However, the 5X25's are heavier tractors with more hydraulic capability. Unless something has changed, you can only get one rear remote with a loader on the 5X03. Without the loader you can get two. My 5325 has three rear remotes. Seems like the 5325 in 4wd is about 1800 lbs heavier than the 5203 in 2WD.

These two machines compared have altogether different feels to me and as another poster said the 542 is much more loader. They do look similar in size sitting side by side, but I think that is deceiving.

Have not operated one of the 5X03 in 4WD and as I said have not gotten to work the 5325 so I cannot say for sure one over the other. The 5203 was a good starter tractor for me, after being gone from the farm for 40 years, but I can say now that I have refined what I want in a tractor, I would pick the 5325 over the 5203 in the configuration that I own them if I knew then what I know now. (that was a mouthful--sorry). My 5325 has the power reverser also. I definitely bought the 5235 to upgrade the tranny to the 12x12 power reverser as I seem to find more loader projects.

You may have more torque with the 5225 over the 5303--I don't know. If PTO horses are equal, I guess you are looking at more rear remote potential, a little heavier tractor, and a stronger loader with the 5225 for a 1000 bucks. I think faster loader time too.

Best I can do.

on the 5003 series, you can now get two rear remotes(one comes standard). this doesn't include your mid mounts for your loader.

 

[unreconstructed]

Roger that on the rear remotes. That is indeed an improvement which makes the 03s more versatile of course.

 

[RollingsFarms]

Roger that on the rear remotes. That is indeed an improvement which makes the 03s more versatile of course.

also the transmission options you can get on them now are a great improvment. syncreverser on 2wd models and syncshuttle on the 4wd models. there is also an "e-pto" setting on the dash. i'm sure it's not the same e-pto as what's on the 5025 series but i have found it to be very handy and fuel efficient when i didn't need to run the tractor at full 540 pto speed.

 

[bairman]

The dealer said that the 522 loader would fit the 5225 tractor, and according to the deer web site they make the brackets for the 5225. I know there is a big difference between them but there is also a big jump in the price. Someone also told me that you could get the injector pump beefed up, and it would give it more horse power. Has anyone heard of this?

 

[RollingsFarms]

The dealer said that the 522 loader would fit the 5225 tractor, and according to the deer web site they make the brackets for the 5225. I know there is a big difference between them but there is also a big jump in the price. Someone also told me that you could get the injector pump beefed up, and it would give it more horse power. Has anyone heard of this?

not sure about increasing the injector pump output. i think you will be more then happy with the 522.

 

[bairman]

I tried out the 5303 on Friday and boy was I surprised by its performace. I felt like I was riding on my old 5400. This thing has got some power. It surprised me how much 10hp form the 5225 would do. The 5303 also had better lift capacity than the 5225. I liked both tractors for different reasons, but for the money, I belive the 5303 is the better machine. I took it back to the dealer and told him to go ahead and put the loader, and other stuff on it that I wanted!

 

[RollingsFarms]

I tried out the 5303 on Friday and boy was I surprised by its performace. I felt like I was riding on my old 5400. This thing has got some power. It surprised me how much 10hp form the 5225 would do. The 5303 also had better lift capacity than the 5225. I liked both tractors for different reasons, but for the money, I belive the 5303 is the better machine. I took it back to the dealer and told him to go ahead and put the loader, and other stuff on it that I wanted!

for the money and what you get, the 5003 series is hard to beat. you can get a LOTTA horsepower for not alot of $$$. i recently bought a 5203 MFWD. wasnt really ready to buy a tractor but my tractor needed a major repair that was gonna cost me a good chunk of change, and i was planning on buying within the next year or so anyways. combine that with 0% for 48 and my dealer knocked off $2,000 off the price, and gave me a shocking amount for a trade in. i would have been a fool to say no. researching the new tractors that are scheduled to come out in October, i didnt see much on them that made me want to wait or pay a 5% increase so i bought the 5203. my dealer told me that since i jumped in my decision earlier then i had planned, to just give the 5203 a chance and if i decided i needed more horsepower after the weekend, give him a call and hed bring a 5303 to the farm. needless to say the 5203 is doin just fine. didnt think i would ever need MFWD but man im glad i have it. really thought hard about a 5303, but saw that i wasnt going to need it so i couldnt make myself spend the extra 2,000. youll love your new tractor though, that im sure of. those 5025 series are really nice machines, but if your main thing you want in a tractor is all the power your dollar will get you, then a 5003 is the tractor for you. i'm amazed at what 56hp can pull in just 2wd, much less 4wd. dont forget to post some pics when you get yours! i didnt get the loader because i got an MX6 at an awesome price, but i got the tractor set up for a loader later.

 

[RollingsFarms]

heres my 5203

 

[Wombat125]

heres my 5203

My completely unbiased opinion is that you made an excellent choice.

Now go get yourself an iMatch quick hitch. Since I did, I giggle inside everytime I have to hook up a 3-point implement.

 

[unreconstructed]

Amen to that quick hitch. Best thing since sliced bread as they used to say.

You fellas are going to enjoy your 03's. Great little machine.

 

[JDPN]

heres my 5203

Nice tractor, just curious-is that big black rod under the tractor a driveshaft to the front wheels?

 

[RollingsFarms]

Nice tractor, just curious-is that big black rod under the tractor a driveshaft to the front wheels?

thanks! yeah thats the driveshaft. it's pretty beefy compared to other makes that i checked out with 4wd. it has a Dana front axle but i was told Deere is switching to a Cararro(sp?) this year.

 

[bairman]

How good are the Imatch hitches? I had one on my 5400 that I bought from Tractor Supply. The concept was good, but the hitch was not very durable.

 

[Wombat125]

How good are the Imatch hitches? I had one on my 5400 that I bought from Tractor Supply. The concept was good, but the hitch was not very durable.

I've been running around with a light 6' Frontier rotary cutter on my 5303 with no problems.

What was the durability issue with yours? I'm having a hard time imagining what would break on one of these hitches.