M5040 (2WD) vs MX5100 (4WD)

[powerstroke444e]

If you have never used a 4wd tractor & loader vs a 2wd its hard to explain but the long and short of it is that our M5400 is in 4wd 80% of the time. If you have any rolling ground @ all you will have a time that you will try to back up and it will not back up till you put it in 4wd. Going forward on flat level ground with nothing in the loader you will not need 4wd, but other than that you will wonder why you even thought about buying one with out 4wd.
Good luck shopping & I doubt you will find anyone that has traded a 4wd for a 2wd.

 

[ljh2]

One more point that I forgot to mention. You say you plan to move round bales with it. I do that too, hauling from the field up to the barn. But the lean-to hay barn where I store my round bales has a kindof low roof-line and the tractor-loader boom goes too high while lifting. I can't use the tractor to stack the bales in there, I have to use the neighbor's skid-steer to stack them. One more thing to consider.

 

[ljh2]

Front end loader with 2WD? Useless! Mine spent most of it's life detached until I traded it on a newer one with 4WD.

If you get loaded tires, I suggest that it NOT be loaded with calcium! Dealer put that in my new tractor. I'm having it removed. It ate through the valve stem in less than a year.

Ken, your dealer should have installed stainless valve stems if filling with CaCl. Mine's been over 5 years and not a bit of corrosion.

 

[Ken45101]

Ken, your dealer should have installed stainless valve stems if filling with CaCl. Mine's been over 5 years and not a bit of corrosion.

That makes sense. But they didn't. I was in the dealership today looking at an MX5100 and they now offer Rimguard as an option! ;-)

Personally, I don't want any calcium. I've seen what small leaks can do to rims. I have too many honeylocust trees here (Free firewood if someone wants to come get them and make sure that all thorns are removed from the property!)