Big tractor syndrome

[IgroRockwell]

With me it's all about time. I'm not getting any younger and the things I need to do don't get any easier. For quite a few years I had a Farmall Super A and a John Deere M to do the farm chores and got by with them. Then I bought an MX5100 Kubota and the time I spent on tasks dropped dramatically. A field that took all day to plow was done in two hours. Then I got a big tiller and cut the time disking way down. But the MX5100 was taxed to the max by the tiller, so I got an M6800. Now I can prepare a piece of ground in 4 hours that It would have taken me 4 days to do ten years ago. I am now shopping for a 125hp tractor! By the time I am done I want a machine that I can just barely turn around on my 135 acres and can do all my field work in 20 minutes.

 

[ovrszd]

With me it's all about time. I am now shopping for a 125hp tractor! By the time I am done I want a machine that I can just barely turn around on my 135 acres and can do all my field work in 20 minutes.

It's a viscious road we travel isn't it.....

 

[k0ua]

It's a viscious road we travel isn't it.....

Yeah, but it is a good feeling to have all the power you need right when and where you need it!

 

[ovrszd]

Yeah, but it is a good feeling to have all the power you need right when and where you need it!

I'm with ya James. I'm a self admitted HP junkie!!!

 

[murphy1244]

There is no substitute for Horse Power! :thumbsup:

 

[nwphil]

Haven't read some of the middle pages, so maybe the safety aspect has been mentioned a few times already. A bigger tractor may be less tippy on average, especially when operating a loader. Doesn't take a big op to stretch the limits of a small tractor. I bought my JD 4700 (largest CU frame, most HP) when I was just mowing and doing odd lifting. Now I am loading a soybean drill and have to be exactly on the level as I left 1500 lb bags 9 feet. Wish I had a slightly bigger loader tractor for that. But the maneuverability of the 4700 definitely fills a niche, and it is an essential part of my little 130 acre corn/ soybean op.

 

[smitesmash]

You are not the first person to say I am thick headed.....

(I am in the process of installing InfoPath....man it takes forever)

I don't know about anyone else, but I got a laugh out of these two...

 

[MHarryE]

Haven't read some of the middle pages, so maybe the safety aspect has been mentioned a few times already. A bigger tractor may be less tippy on average, especially when operating a loader. Doesn't take a big op to stretch the limits of a small tractor. I bought my JD 4700 (largest CU frame, most HP) when I was just mowing and doing odd lifting. Now I am loading a soybean drill and have to be exactly on the level as I left 1500 lb bags 9 feet. Wish I had a slightly bigger loader tractor for that. But the maneuverability of the 4700 definitely fills a niche, and it is an essential part of my little 130 acre corn/ soybean op.

Know what you mean. Our 6230 with loader is in use almost all the time so sometimes I had to load bales with our L5740. First tier on the bale hauler no problem but up to the top tier frightening, and slow, especially that last bale when it needs to come off the rear spear and get loaded on top. Now we added the M135GX which feels rock solid with or without the rear bale.

 

[ovrszd]

Know what you mean. Our 6230 with loader is in use almost all the time so sometimes I had to load bales with our L5740. First tier on the bale hauler no problem but up to the top tier frightening, and slow, especially that last bale when it needs to come off the rear spear and get loaded on top. Now we added the M135GX which feels rock solid with or without the rear bale.

We have several Cattle operations scattered around my area. 10 years ago when FWA tractors started showing up here I thought it was amusing that a rancher would buy a $80K 130HP FWA tractor to handle hay bales. But I kept an open mind and paid attention. Now I get it. That tractor will handle all of the hay processing equipment plus feed the big bales in the Winter without issue. And it'll do it for decades. No ballast required.

 

[Cherokee140]

I don't know about anyone else, but I got a laugh out of these two...

Yea, InfoPath is a Microsoft server form share thingy....and a royal pain.

I have not commented on stuff here lately, just watching the thread grow and evolve.

So far the machine I bought has 20 hours on it, I have had it 3-4 weeks now I think. It has done everything I asked it to do, and some things I did not think it could do, the 3 RR ties shocked me. It has been small enough I can squeeze in in between some pretty large trees to dig out old fence posts, or just knock them over. So far I am very happy with the machine, but it is only 20 hours....this spring (if it ever gets here) I will be out and really start using the machine more. I have not seen anything in this or any other thread that has made me second guess my choice on the small machine.

That is really (going back to the start again) what this thread was about. How much machine do YOU need. Rockwell has a far different use then I do. And he makes his living with his machine it sounds. I don't. I am sure that people doing the same jobs he is doing now did it with horses at one time, and then it moved up from there. That does not mean that the horse could no longer do the same job, it would just take longer and be harder on both animal and man. Then in the 40's I bet the same job was done with a 2cyl JD, or 8n and the like....and that was much better then the horse. I bet he could still do the job on a vintage machine. And I have seen videos of people really using the old tractors to do what they are built to do all those years ago. Sure they may only do it as a hobby, and for fun, but they are doing it....and I am sure he could do it with a vintage machine if he wanted to.

I am not trying to compare new vs. old machines, but I think it fits. If Rockwell was not making a living at this, and was doing this as a release, yes he is getting work done...work that has to be done, but he is not in any hurry to do it. The big tractor syndrome is so many say that the small machine will just not do the job, or do it SO SLOW and inefficient it will not be worth it and be a frustration to the user. I do not think this is accurate for many hobby/home on small acreage uses....and actually suggesting the larger machine is not the best tool for his job, thus the big tractor syndrome....go large or go home.

But I am getting wordy again and likely burning bridges...so I will sign off for now.