New 5425

[wkpoor]

Man do I envy that tractor. Nice!!!
Someday I would really like to upgrade to 4WD but for now my 5400 2WD will have to do.

 

[ddivinia]

Nope, not as fancy as the 5x25 series, but still a very fine tractor. I don't think the air ride seat is an option.

I have never used an air ride seat - it was not an option when I got my 5525. I did add the extended seat back - that was a huge improvement.

D.

 

[tjkadar]

I think I'll be adding the extended back to mine too. The air ride seat is pretty nice. I like it a lot. Tractor should be back on the farm Friday morning.

 

[ddivinia]

I think I'll be adding the extended back to mine too. The air ride seat is pretty nice. I like it a lot. Tractor should be back on the farm Friday morning.

Cheapest accessory I have bought and it makes a big difference. Your upper back will start bugging you if you are in seat for a long time. Easy to install - pull out 2 plugs and throw it on.

D.

 

[tjkadar]

Cheapest accessory I have bought and it makes a big difference. Your upper back will start bugging you if you are in seat for a long time. Easy to install - pull out 2 plugs and throw it on.

D.

Just got done bush hogging about 5 acres. Ran in 1st gear high (6.5 mph) with the PTO in the economy mode. Would liked to have gone faster, but the field is too rough. All the land around here has been row cropped for 200 years or more. It is taking awhile to convince them they're now pastures.

The tractor is superb. The cab is quiet, the AC is excellent, the motor never strained, hiccuped, or bogged, and best of all, the rockshaft worked exactly like it was supposed to. The cab is very comfortable! I love it. The dog loves it too because now he can ride with me.

I need to adjust the forearm rests. They are bit too short in their current setting. Other than that... all I can say is WOW.

 

[msengstock]

What ended up being the problem with the rockshaft?

 

[tjkadar]

They replaced the rockshaft valve. The one that came with the tractor will be sent back to John Deere to determine what the failure was.

 

[tjkadar]

Put 8 hours on the tractor today. The air-ride seat is nice. I agree with Darin, the back extender would be a great addition. The arm rest aren't all that comfortable to me. I need to try and adjust them tomorrow and see if they'll feel better a little lower. The windshield washer was only shooting out the barest trickle of fluid. That turned out to be a slightly pinched hose by the washer reservior. A little tug, and everything was fine. I also added a couple more zip ties to the FEL's hydraulic lines. I hope that'll keep them from rubbing the front tires durning sharp right hand turns.

Got 5 acres mowed and about 10 acres dragged. Have another 20 acres to drag tomorrow. Man, I hope it rains.

We are considering turning about 5 acres into a hay field. That would give us all the hay we need and maybe even allow us to sell some. If this drought keeps up, there will probably be a lot of barely used haying equipment up for sale.

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

Glad to hear you got your tractor back and are enjoying it. What are you dragging your fields with?

My buddy just bought a brand new Kubota MX5100 and the PTO acted up after a week. The dealer came and got it. I haven't heard yet what the problem was.

 

[tjkadar]

Just a plain old 10' drag harrow. It was originally for smoothing the arena, but the Reveal 4-N-1 does that now. Now the drag spends its time busting up manure.

 

[ddivinia]

Put 8 hours on the tractor today. The air-ride seat is nice. I agree with Darin, the back extender would be a great addition. The arm rest aren't all that comfortable to me.

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They suck - I broke mine on the right side today. 12 hours in the tractor today, I would have like to use it. I am going to see if I can put some like my z-track has.

My long day on the 5525 today makes me wish I had an air seat setup.

D.

 

[tjkadar]

Put 8 hours on the tractor today. The air-ride seat is nice. I agree with Darin, the back extender would be a great addition. The arm rest aren't all that comfortable to me.

-----


They suck - I broke mine on the right side today. 12 hours in the tractor today, I would have like to use it. I am going to see if I can put some like my z-track has.

My long day on the 5525 today makes me wish I had an air seat setup.

D.

That is the one thing the Kubota had right. The arm rest were in the position, wide enough to be comfortable, and long enough to support my whole forearm without getting in the way. Let me know if you are successful with your retrofit.

 

[ddivinia]

Will do - check on straight replacement parts, but I think I will be taking these up a notch or two.

Going to pick up parts today. Busted a right hand window out cutting hay. I guess I had the front of the mower a tad low...

D.

 

[tjkadar]

I like those longhorns you are raising. Pretty cool looking cows. Years ago, we wound up with some steers that must have had delusions of being longhorns. Their horns were so wide, we couldn't load them on the trailer going forward. We had to load them backwards and left their heads sticking out of the rear.

I'm done with my fields. If we don't get any rain, all I will be doing is dragging them to bust up manure. I haven't had to mow the yard in over two weeks.

I just finished putting the arena drag on... we'll see how that goes. I'm a bit worried about taking down half the arena with that big of a tractore.

Currently, I've just folded the armrest in the up position. At least the don't get in the way now.

 

[Harold_J]

The 5603 comes in one configuration- cab, 542 NSL FEL, MFWD, PowerRverser, 2 mid SCVs, 2 rear SCVs, and standard hitch control. The price was $39,999 and the only financing available was 5.5% fixed for 60 months. Still a good deal on a lot of tractor!

It does sound like a great deal. That would be with 18.4x30 bias rear tires?
If you don't mind saying, how much more $ was the 25 series you ended up with?

Hope your other problem is solved. Did they have to replace an internal control valve?

 

[tjkadar]

That is with the 18.4 x 30 bias tires. My tractor set me back about an extra $6,000.

They replaced the rockshaft valve. I believe that mounts on the exterior of the rockshaft cover on the right side. Haven't had an issue since they did the repair. Tractor works great. I can finish my fields in far less time then it took with the M6800, plus I'm running at a lower rpm burning a little less fuel.

 

[farmguy]

Tjkadar, how does the 5425 compare with the M6800 power wise I noticed that it's only 3 hp difference on the PTO, but the Deere looks like a much heavier tractor.

 

[tjkadar]

In my opinion, measured solely by seat of the pants, the John Deere has a lot more power. With the M6800, I could not use the chisel plow portion of our 8' Reveal 4-N-1. It would either bog the tractor down or cause it to sit and spin. With the 5425, I can drop the chisel plows all the way down and run in 4th gear, low range. Huge difference in grunt power between the two.

Even handling implements like the Reveal or a 8' bush hog, the John Deere comes out ahead. Either implement would put a strain on the M6800 when lifting it to transport height. It would make the M6800 squat in the rear and light on the front. Doesn't bother the 5425 at all. Both are done with the FELs on.

I can bush hog with the 5425 in the economy position through stuff that would make the M6800 drop a few revs at 540 PTO rpm. The 5425 is a lot more tractor. But then again, the 5425 does cost a lot more money. You do get what you pay for... both machines are great tractors. The 5425 is just a bit more capable.

 

[farmguy]

Thanks for the real world info, it helps me understand a little better why the Deere's cost a little more and weight is just as important as horsepower when choosing a tractor. For example a 5425 4wd with Pwr Reverser open station costs around 31 grand, that's about the same as a M9540 equipped the same way.

 

[tjkadar]

I really enjoyed my M6800. It was a very good tractor, and after driving a friend's New Holland, I thought it was also a very refined tractor. Now that I have a John Deere, I realize how 'rough' the Kubota was. Remember, I'm only comparing an open station Kubota to a top of the line utility cab John Deere... the John Deere's controls are laid out very intuitively. Within 15 minutes of driving the John Deere, I could already place my hand on all the different controls without looking. It is a nicely laid out cab.

The gear shift on the John Deere has a nice tight pattern with a light throw. The first time I drove the tractor I was shifting from 1st to 3rd and wound up grinding gears. I had to stop, look at the shift pattern and try again. The problem was the Deere's throw between gears was much, much tighter than the Kubota's. Where 3rd was on the Kubota was where park was on the Deere!

The ride is very comfortable. The steering also has a better, lighter feel. It really feels like I'm driving a large car rather than a tractor. Cycle time on the loader is quick and in general, it has a lot more hydraulic power than the Kubota.

John Deere does command a higher price tag. Part of that is the John Deere name. The only other vehicular brand name I know with the recognition of Deere is Harley Davidson. I don't know of any other brand (selling planes, trains, boats, helicopters, cars, bikes, or tractors) that has a John Deere or Harley Davidson type store that sell nothing but swag.

We got a pretty good price on our John Deere and I'm very pleased with the product. There were some teething pains, but the dealer bent over backwards to fix them. That is a lot more than I can say for any Kubota dealer I've ever dealt with (local issue only and not a reflection of Kubota as a whole).

The Kubota is a good tractor. John Deere is a good tractor. In this case, the 5425 is a much better tractor than a M6800. That might not be the same depending on which model is compared to which across the manufacturers' line-up.

I think we're all very lucky. There are a ton of good tractors out there which means we have a lot from which to choose. That isn't a bad thing. For me, the 5425 was the best fit. For someone else, it might be a McCormick, Mahindra, New Holland, Duetz, Kioti, Jinma, Massey, Montana, or some other brand. I wouldn't mind owning one of each!