Thanks to all who advised!

[ahvatsa]

I am surprised with what I ENDED UP ORDERING! When I started this venture, I was quite sure the NH 55 was right for me. Switched to HST and considered Deere 4720 and Kubota L5740. Drove with wife and she insisted on more POWER. Bees, wasp, dust and allergies opened the door for a cab. Identifying our goals and needs the L5740 cab seemed like a posibility. (Great for wife, not my 6'3''s though). We drove a Montana 5740c and were impressed. The 200 cu" had a lot of power. Before buying I wanted to drive a Kubota 200 cu" and the dealer had a M6040 (cab) brought in for us to try. (Deere kept trying to place me in a 5 cyl). There was a M7040 there but my wife, all 5'3" and 115lbs., had a hard time with the steps. The 5040 cab lacked slightly in power. 6040 arrived, OMG, and pricing was too close to the Montana. Here's the package:
M6040 cab R4s loaded and multisealed ATI 4in1 Armstrong HBB7 boxblade Woods 840 cutter.
Hopefully ready in 2 weeks, picts to follow. The dealer only offered $400 trade-in for factory bucket, I believe I'll just have it delievered and keep as a spare. Looking for a gear HEAVY DUTY tiller...any suggestions?
All comments appreciated, and thanks again to all who answered my PMs and posts.
al

ps This is next on my list: 35D

 

[DVR]

my buddy has a jd cab tractor in the 70hp range.
he has a rhino tiller. he is a farmer, uses it often and it has held up well.

 

[ahvatsa]

I will look at Rhino. Do you think they are less expensive than this:
eBay: Maschio Hvy Duty 143" 3 Point Rotary Tiller,Roto Tiller (item 320082227599 end time Jun-12-07 21:27:36 PDT)

 

[DVR]

yes, much cheaper!

 

[froggy]

Look at the tillers CCM is selling: http://www.ccmachinery.com/tillers.

The Rhino and Woods tillers are more than twice the price of CCM.

 

[ahvatsa]

Well, finally had a chance to post some pics. 40 hrs. of learning enjoyment!

 

[Grizz]

Very nice tractor

 

[MarkV]

Fine looking set up you got yourself. I sure would like that 4in1 bucket and will be interested to hear how you like it. Sounds like the dealer was trying to grab a few extra bucks with the stock bucket trade. The 72” stock bucket for an L39 was credited as $1000 when I switch to a skid steer bucket at the time of purchase on mine. That was 11/2 years ago and steel hasn’t gotten cheaper.

MarkV

 

[Bill Barrett]

You sure have a bunch of nice stuff.

 

[ahvatsa]

Kfan
Sorry to disappoint you! lol
Mark
The 4in1, even for a beginner, is one of the best features. Road work is a breeze. I used the dozer function with the boxblade and smoothed in a single pass. If there is an excess of material the dozer function helps smooth before blade hits it. After brush work it smooths in a snap. The grapple function makes for fast cleanup, even for a novice. The bucket does NOT have the capacity of the origional so it may come in to play if alot of material has to be moved.
Bill
thanks. I am having a Woods SGT88 (Super-duty tiller) delievered next week and will see how it performs. It is so wet here may be a week until I get to try it out.
Super-Duty SGT Series Rotary Tillers by Woods Equipment Company