What size tractor would pull this disc with ease?

[N80]

I was a Shaw AFB for a short time and have friends in Bishopville and Manning.

In any case, I agree with others who have recommended 4wd, especially given the types of demanding things you want to do.

 

[BamaRob]

You guys have me wondering if I messed up buying THIS disc in 5.5' notched discs front and back for my 26 HP Mahindra 2615 4WD. I just got it last week and haven't tried it out yet. KK's site says it's made from "heavy steel square tubing" and weighs 720 lbs. I'm sure that's nowhere near the weight of the one you're talking about if yours is made from solid steel. I got it for primary tillage (mostly fire lanes and food plots), but now I'm wondering if my little red workhorse will be able to pull it. I guess I'll find out. If it strains my Mahindra too much, I can pull it with Dad's Ford 5900 (72 HP).

Later,

BR

 

[wushaw]

Bama, my 29 hp tractor pulls my 630lb 5' disk with no problems so you shouldn't have any problems.

Rollingfarms, whatever tractor you get make sure it is fourwheel drive, they are much more usefull than twowheel drive.

 

[Z-Michigan]

I really like the 5105's. my friend has a 2WD and he loves it. does yours have a creeper gear? are the gears in yours low enough for disc-ing? If I decided on one, or a 5205 I would opt for MFWD and maybe a loader.

All the 5x05 series have an 8 speed transmission (2 range, 4 gears). There is not a true creeper gear but 1st only works out to about 1.8mph and has far more torque than the tires can put into the ground, even with MFWD engaged and filled rears. I think you could pull even that disc in 2nd or 3rd gear, no problem. A more normal disc you could probably pull in 4th or 5th.

I have a 5105 MFWD with the 522 FEL. Very happy with it. The 5205 might be worth a look for slightly more hp. The FEL has enormous lifting and breakout power, as much as the bucket can take, I think.

If you start looking green I would also look at the 5x25 series - the 9x3 for limited FEL work and the 12x12 transmission for extensive FEL work. They are very nice and also made in the US. FWIW, a 5125 configured with the 9x3 is practically the same in features and power as the 5105.

BTW, I have driven a lightly used (100 hours) Kubota M6800 back to back with the 5105 and I really didn't like it. The Kubota Mxx40 series look like a minor evolution but in terms of feel and user-friendliness are a very large upgrade.

 

[EddieWalker]

I'm having allot of dificulty believing that the disk in the picture is made from solid stock. As just mentioned, one built out of tubing weighes 700 pounds, then one from solid stock would be 7,000 pounds. It just doesn't make any sense to me, that it's that heavy.

A super heavey duty one should still be under 1,000 pounds and well within the ability of a 40hp 4wd tractor. The added weight will help it dig down, but not so much that it will be all that big a deal to pull it. A bigger tractor would always be nice, but then so would a decent sized disk. 5 foot isn't gonna do anything for a fire break anyway. He'll need to cut it 20 feet wide to have any effect at the very least.

With the amount of acerage you have, and the long term need for what you are doing, you really need to get rid of that small disk and get something allot bigger. Disking one acre of clay with grass cut short on it took me two days to get really cut up nicely. After that, I could do it in half a day with my 35hp 4wd tractor.

Good luck,
Eddie

 

[HomeBrew2]

If the basic framework was 8 4" x 4" x 4' bars, that would be ~1700 lbs ... seems to fit the scenerio to me

 

[Farmwithjunk]

I'm having allot of dificulty believing that the disk in the picture is made from solid stock. As just mentioned, one built out of tubing weighes 700 pounds, then one from solid stock would be 7,000 pounds. It just doesn't make any sense to me, that it's that heavy.

A super heavey duty one should still be under 1,000 pounds and well within the ability of a 40hp 4wd tractor. The added weight will help it dig down, but not so much that it will be all that big a deal to pull it. A bigger tractor would always be nice, but then so would a decent sized disk. 5 foot isn't gonna do anything for a fire break anyway. He'll need to cut it 20 feet wide to have any effect at the very least.

With the amount of acerage you have, and the long term need for what you are doing, you really need to get rid of that small disk and get something allot bigger. Disking one acre of clay with grass cut short on it took me two days to get really cut up nicely. After that, I could do it in half a day with my 35hp 4wd tractor.

Good luck,
Eddie

Ah, but they ARE real. Solid stock no less. They're built for specific use jobs. Forestry people keep them around, usually with a crawler tractor that has a 3-point hitch, to cut firebreaks in a hurry. One pass, deep enough to bring up moisture.... I'm sure a few filter in to a life outside it's intended market. Seen a time or 2 I'd liked to have had that rascal!

 

[SPYDERLK]

Eddie Quote:I'm having allot of dificulty believing that the disk in the picture is made from solid stock. As just mentioned, one built out of tubing weighes 700 pounds, then one from solid stock would be 7,000 pounds. It just doesn't make any sense to me, that it's that heavy.


Im with you Eddie- but maybe 1500#. Havnt I told ya a million times not to exaggerate.
larry

 

[N80]

Well, at my first glance at the pick my first thought was that thing looks tough and heavy. So you guys are saying that it has a solid steel frame and gangs? Seems nuts, even for its intended use. But still, if it gets the job done....

This is kind of funny though. This might be the first time in history a tractor purchase was made to fit around a 5' disk harrow!

 

[Gizmo36]

That harrows came with a ( CAT II ) three point hitch it was made to be pull with a 70 to 80 hp . And were made for Fireline maintenance and other heavy duty applications . They were made to cut deep and still be easy maneuverability around close obstacles . If you had the angle of cut set all the way I don't think the 5105 could do any thing with it.

 

[RollingsFarms]

thanks for all the replys so far! the disk in question was acctually built to the specifications by Hardee to be used by the South Carolina Forestry Commission back in the mid 70's and was purchased at a farm auction by a local farmer. So it's not acommon disk you can just run out and buy at your local implements dealer i wouldnt think. He never worked with the disk because he never had the right tractor to pull it with (most of his tractors didn't have 3 point hitches *large crop tractors*). He just liked the uniqeness of the disk. My grandfather baught it from him in 1982(have no idea of the ammount). I have had several people offer to buy it from me, but have refused simply because I don't think I ould come accross another peice of equipment I REALLY needed like this disk. I asked my forester who does control burns once a year among other things to my farm and he thought it might have been pulled by an old 60-70hp tractor as well. He guessed the weight of it and estimated it to be 900+ lbs. because of its inteded use. Before control burning, they bring down a small 'dozer to make firebreaks throughout the section of woods they are getting ready to burn and my disk measures out perfectly to the width the 'dozer cuts. The only difference is the 'dozer makes a slight trench in the ground, pushing dirt out on the sides measuring about half a foot whereas my disk pilles the dirt up in the middle of the break. The width is perfect and yes its effective, just as long as you keep them clear. This is coming directly from the SC Forestry Commision and they have advised me to not get rid of the disk but if i preferred to buy another disk for other tasks to do so, as long as I keep my current one. I will be ok with just one disk, so I'm only looking for a tractor and bushhog. My 27 hp 950 will pull it, but I can't set it too deep and even then it still bogs it down quite frequently, also I have 250lbs of weight on the front(the max you can get for this size tractor) and it makes the front end dance around and very light(hard to turn...makes the front end want to slide forwards instead of biting and turning). If you 'pop' the clutch too fast you will stand the tractor straight up and the disk will bounce off the ground(I dont suggest this.haha). As I said, my friend admitted that his 5105 2WD knew it was back there when he pulled it so I'm thinking i might can get by with a 5105/5205 as long as its 4WD, but id rather have more then enough tractor then to just be getting by....not to say I want to go too big though because size of the tractor does matter when youre in the woods and having to make sharp turns with trees all around. Alot of things are coming into play, thats why I asked for everyones advice.

I welcome all models and makes that anyone has to offer so that I can research the tractor you suggest I consider. thanks!

 

[Z-Michigan]

If you want plenty of hp then I would say a JD 5325 or 5425 would be perfect. Only slightly larger than a 5205 in physical size, but decent bumps up in hp. Kubota's M7040 would be a good bet, but I'd avoid the M8540 as it is a somewhat larger frame and may start getting clumsy. I'm not an expert on the NH and MF options but I know that they are there. Take this with a grain of salt since I have yet to pull any kind of disc, but I find the pulling power of my 5105 totally amazing in 4wd - I can pull a full blade of wet heavy clay while going through deep mud that I can't walk in (boots would get stuck), and still have the throttle at less than half of full power! R1 tires with the rears filled with rimguard are probably making a difference in this situation.

 

[RollingsFarms]

If you want plenty of hp then I would say a JD 5325 or 5425 would be perfect. Only slightly larger than a 5205 in physical size, but decent bumps up in hp. Kubota's M7040 would be a good bet, but I'd avoid the M8540 as it is a somewhat larger frame and may start getting clumsy. I'm not an expert on the NH and MF options but I know that they are there. Take this with a grain of salt since I have yet to pull any kind of disc, but I find the pulling power of my 5105 totally amazing in 4wd - I can pull a full blade of wet heavy clay while going through deep mud that I can't walk in (boots would get stuck), and still have the throttle at less than half of full power! R1 tires with the rears filled with rimguard are probably making a difference in this situation.

I really do like the 5X05 models. The size would be very sufficient and if I decide to go that route I would also be getting R1 tires loaded, MFWD, loader(still kinda 50/50 on this), brush guard, and a canopy. I think the 4WD would make all the difference in assisting me pulling a disk through the conditions that i'll be facing (sand, lots of sand, some mud, and a few marginal hills). I've priced a few(new and used) but havent found any deals that made me want to jump all over it. They seem to hold their value well. The 7040 I would probably request a feild test to make sure it would fit around the spaces I needed it to at times without getting clumsy. Same with the 5325 and 5425.

 

[Gizmo36]

Go here Used farm equipment, tractors, combines, and other used and new machinery by Fastline Publications I get there book it has a lot of tractor in it.there number is (800-332-7854

 

[EddieWalker]

Im with you Eddie- but maybe 1500#. Havnt I told ya a million times not to exaggerate.
larry

Hi Larry,

Make it one million and one.

Eddie

 

[RollingsFarms]

Go here Used farm equipment, tractors, combines, and other used and newÂ*machinery by Fastline Publications I get there book it has a lot of tractor in it.there number is (800-332-7854

thanks for the heads up. a friend gave me a book from there today and i'm thinking of subscribing too.

 

[Gizmo36]

on edition 2- 2007 it has a farmall on the front ,and under it says 1958 john Deere 420w tractor of the month.

 

[RollingsFarms]

on edition 2- 2007 it has a farmall on the front ,and under it says 1958 john Deere 420w tractor of the month.

yep, that's the issue I have.

 

[bucmeister]

Personally, as a one tractor owner, a loader is a 100% requirement for me. Once you have one you will wonder how you ever got by without it. Weld a couple of hooks on the bucket and you will lift all kinds of stuff with it. The list is unbelieveably long.

 

[diyDave]

Rolling farms: I have a taylor-way disc very similar in design to that disc, and I pull it with a A-C D 12 series III. It pulls very well in our sandy ground, but you know its there when you hit the clay!