Heavy medium-duty tractor options? Massey 67xx, CaseIH Maxxum, or Kubota M5-111?

[Sid Post]

Pre-COVID, I was going to buy a Kubota M5-111 but, COVID hit before it could be delivered and all they got were "chicken coop" tractors which wouldn't work for me. Supply chain shortages and general price gouging due to limited supply and huge demand seems to be subsiding so, I'm back in the market again.

I'm good on PTO horsepower with anything ~75hp or more. I'm mostly looking for good tractor weight for heavy loader work, think heavy round bales, and similar usage. I occasionally move full pallets of sacked concrete and steel which are in the 3,000lb range as well with my pallet forks. Hand unloading 80lb sacks of concrete so I can move them with my smaller tractor gets old fast and, the big steel lifts just aren't possible with an L-series Kubota. Heck, I can't even reliably do a maximum lift with my L4600 because the rear end is so light (have beet juice in the tires and something heavy on the 3-pt) and, I'm concerned about those lifts breaking my front axle or rolling my tractor on the ground around my property. I also need more "wet field" ability so, larger tire footprints matter to me!

Used tractor prices seem to be getting softer and new tractors are becoming more available. The Kubota M5-111 I was looking at pre-COVID is now $25K more expensive so, I'm looking at other options. I am trying to stay around $100K or less but, that is not a hard limit.

The only tractors I have seen in person recently are CaseIH Farmall 75C's and New Holland PowerStars. New Hollands around where I live have a bad reputation for emissions problems so, I have been steered away from them. I am not opposed to getting a properly maintained used tractor under 1,000 hours either so, that opens up some options.

How do the CaseIH Maxxum tractors compare to the Massey 6700 series? Are they even in the same class? How do their transmissions compare? Are their loaders good for high lifts on heavy Alfalfa bales? Will tractor stability on rough ground be a concern?

Limited research so far shows CaseIH Maxxum used tractors are in the ~$80K range and some new Massey 6712 options are in the ~$87K range. This doesn't really account for things like a Dyna-4 transmission or other big ticket options!

I am avoiding Green because of the proprietary software issue and the "big box" store dealership model where I live in East Texas. Sorry, I'm not buying a ~$100K tractor to be treated like some dunce at the Walmart automotive departing looking for hydraulic oil!

TIA,
Sid

 

[Farmer495]

CaseIH 75C isn't 75 PTO HP, closer to compare with a M7060 or M4-071 for price. I did look at the then current 75C years ago and it was more money than an M7060.

Anything red is basically something blue painted red now. While I like both red and blue my first pick is now orange.

There is a big price jump between a new M7060 and an M5-091. M5-091 offers some savings over an M5-111

 

[Sid Post]

Locally, the Farmall 75C class tractors are pretty wide spread but, are smaller than I am looking for.

Agco and Fiat seem to be the dominant players and market tractors under different brands and paint colors.

 

[Hay Dude]

I would go onto Tractor Data and compare them. they have a comparison tool.
See which one weighs more. See if one model has closed center load sensing hydraulics. Look at drawbar HP. A Dyna-4 transmission is nothing special.
If I had to guess, I’d say the Massey will be better tractor. It has a little more power and weighs more just for starters. Engine has more displacement.
The CaseIH is a smaller tractor.

Nice thing about AGCO dealers is they are farm based. They will bring a lot of knowledge. I love my 2 AGCOs. They have been great to operate.

 

[workinonit]

I like that MF you have.

 

[5030]

I'd be looking at a used, well maintained pre 4 in any brand. Tractor House has a bunch on their site.

 

[Sid Post]

I would go onto Tractor Data and compare them. they have a comparison tool.
See which one weighs more. See if one model has closed center load sensing hydraulics. Look at drawbar HP. A Dyna-4 transmission is nothing special.
If I had to guess, I’d say the Massey will be better tractor. It has a little more power and weighs more just for starters. Engine has more displacement.
The CaseIH is a smaller tractor.

Nice thing about AGCO dealers is they are farm based. They will bring a lot of knowledge. I love my 2 AGCOs. They have been great to operate.

I'm looking pretty closely at the MF "Global series" 57xx/67xx tractors right now.

The CaseIH Maxxum series are priced pretty close though so, even though it is a bigger tractor, I'm thinking it over pretty hard too. On the gently used market side though, very few of them have loaders so finding a good match for me is not going to be easy.

 

[Sid Post]

I'd be looking at a used, well maintained pre 4 in any brand. Tractor House has a bunch on their site.

Pre Tier4 tractors seem to carry a hefty premium. Not a fan of some of the early Tier 4 emissions systems but, the newer ones don't seem to suffer the issues the earlier ones did.

Common rail fuel injection systems seem to have helped lighten the impact of emission hardware.

 

[Wagtail]

It sounds to me that, for what you've described your needs, you're looking more for a telehandler.

 

[LouNY]

As far as I know any of the tier 4 are common rail 90 Hp and up.
I would certainly stay pre tier 4 myself the PUMA 125 or larger will do what you want.
Some of the pre tier 4 Pumas are common rail also with no DEF, DPF or DOC.