Looking at utility tractors and started at the John Deere dealership since that all I have ever owned. Any opinions good or bad on the 5 series? I know I will want MFWD and FEL not sure on transmission type. Other good brands to look at? Kubota? New/used? Does Deere negotiate price or pretty fixed?

Thanks

I have a fwd 50 horse Kubota with fel

Mine is a clutch with a fwd/reverse shifter by my left side and 1-4 on the floor between my legs and I like it a lot

Dad has the shifter on the column on his last few Kubotas and I don't like it

Brother has some crazy hydrostatic pedal for forward and reverse with your left foot. I hated it the one time I drove it

You need to tell us how or what you will be using it for. You do not want a clutch for forward and reverse if you are doing loader work, box blades, grapple....unless you like paying for clutch replacement at earl and inconvenient intervals.

Mostly use for bush hogging. Will do some post hole digging and FEL work. Current tractor is 5103 2wd, tired of getting stuck...

IMO - these are the things we considered a few years ago

Low hour used will save you some money. Depending on the use, you will probably put only 100 hours or less a year on it going forward.

50 HP is a decent sized utility tractor and can do most of daily chores. Assuming you need a shredder, what size to do you want and can it pull it? Other implements?

Can/will you trailer it yourself for any major repairs?

What dealership is closest to you - Deere or Kubota.

4WD is almost a given and I rarely use it, but nice to have when I get in crap

HST transmission - easy to use and wife/kids/parents/etc can all drive it without too many issues.

Cab would be nice for the summer etc, but we do not use it enough and we could not store in under the shed.

I currently have a 6' shredder, 6'disc, 5'tiller, box blade, post hole digger.

Deere, Kubota / NH, Kioti, and Mahindra dealerships all within 15 miles. Can trailer myself.

My lifting device equipped tractor is a JD 6R series, so a bit larger than your target machine but the principle of operation is the same. As stated above, if you are going to do a lot of loading, some sort of directional shuttle will make the unit (and its operator) more efficient. I have a left hand shifter....click for fwd, click for reverse. IMHO, you do not want to be grabbing gears between vectors.

There are lots of used 5510s still out there for the hp range you want. Have you considered a 2nd tractor? I pickled up a JD 3038 and it meets my secondary needs, running 4WD where I wouldn't consider a larger 2Wd. Also, it's just large enough I could take round bales where it was to wet to take 2WD.

The 5065e is a good tractor. I would push the power reverser transmission. The 5075e is the most hp for the money as it is the highest hp 3 cylinder engine before you move up to the 4 cylinder at 85 hp.

5 series seems to be pretty well built from what I've seen. Bigger than what you want but the in-laws have a 5100 I've spent a little time in and it's a good machine. They bought used and saved quite a bit of money, that's what I'd do if I were you, look for something that has a few hours on it.

I did drive a kubota while working for the soil and crop dept at A&M as a student worker and they make solid machines too. Know of several people including big farmers that use their utility line of tractors and are very happy with them, row crop with JD or Case, but utility and smaller stuff use the kubota. So don't be afraid to buy one from them over JD, especially if they have a close dealership and if you happen to find a good deal on one.

Nothing runs like a Deere. And no other brand can regularly have most parts tomorrow morning at 8am if I order by 4 pm today. Only Deere.

If you look at used tractors, beware of the ones that flooded during Harvey.

For me, if I had to do it over, I'd go with a power reverser. I'm at 800 hours and the clutch is pretty much gone. I do almost exclusive grapple and blade work with the occasional shredding of 20 acres with a heavy duty shreddder. I'm going to run mine until it's completely gone because the fuggin mechanic wants about 4K to replace it. Seems high.

My experience with a 5065E (2013 unit) has not been a good one....basic transmission has to be one of the worst shifting POS on a "modern" tractor. Hydraulics are slow, compared to other Deere and Kubota units. Noisy, possibly due to exhaust location. This unit had not been stored inside, and after only 5 yrs both boots (transmission and range selector) had cracked, allowing water to contaminate the hydraulic fluid.

I mentioned the issues to a friend who had recently retired after a long career peddling Deere equipment; he replied the 5065E (and similar units) were Deere's response to Kubota competition, were about as bottom of the barrel as Deere ever went, and he tried to steer customers away from them.

Maybe they have improved them since 2013...have to hope so....

From what I have heard and seen, the E (economy?) models are pretty stripped down. Make sure you get feedback from other E model owners... M and R have a lot more features and may or may not even be comparable in terms of opeaton and maintenance.

I've driven similar JD offerings at the lower price points and was not impressed. Non-synchronized transmissions, plastic everything, akwardly placed controls, etc. Not saying that's the case for your model, but in my limited experience, JD makes expensive tractors very well, and does a horrible job at cheapening them up to sell at lower price points.

I would stay away from Mahindra tractors. I used to own one and had a lot of problems with it. I think it was just a case of you get what you pay for. I own a Kubota M and L series plus a Kubota skid steer. Have not had any problems with any of them. I would highly recommend a Kubota for a utility tractor. Very well made and a great dealer in my area (Ewald Kubota). I really can't comment on the John Deere tractors but I'm sure they are well made. I just think there is still a lot of nostalgic love for the Deere brand.

I have a 2018 JD 5055e. It's a 4wd with loader and has power reverser. Upgraded from a 1995 30 HP Kubota.
It's a big step up for me - I'm very happy with the tractor.

BrazosDog02 said:

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For me, if I had to do it over, I'd go with a power reverser. I'm at 800 hours and the clutch is pretty much gone. I do almost exclusive grapple and blade work with the occasional shredding of 20 acres with a heavy duty shreddder. I'm going to run mine until it's completely gone because the fuggin mechanic wants about 4K to replace it. Seems high.

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4k is about right, maybe even a little on the low end for a clutch job, especially if you have a front end loader. You have to remove the loader and split the tractor to do the clutch. i would assume 30+ hours shop time for that job plus parts. Parts and labor are going up in price so it may be cheaper to do it now rather than later. We also check the rear main seal while we have tractors apart.

I just went through pretty much the same decision process. I looked exclusively at JD and Kubota. Those are the only 2 I felt comfortable with buying used. Also ended up looking at new and was surprised that there were semi reasonable IMO.

The final call on New vs Used was a combination of new having a DPF and costs. I'm still not sold on tractors with a DPF, trucks I have warmed up to, not tractors. And for my expected seat time I couldn't justify new.

I ended up with Kubota over JD due to good past experience with the particular model I got as well as multiple farmers who run JD suggesting Kubota for a utility size tractor due to parts (wear and replacement) being cheaper.


Kubota M4900 MFWD with Kubota LA2001 FEL and one rear remote. ~1050 hrs. right at half the price of new similar JD.


There were multiple good deals on C-list for 50-70 HP Kubotas when I was looking. Traveled 3.5 hrs one way to pick up the one I finally decided on.


EDIT: I can echo the statements above about the JD operating station being better laid out. But again, for my expected seat time, couldn't justify the extra cost.

Go with a new or used Kubota M51000
or MX5100 with 4wd and FEL, shuttle shift. .
Workhorse of a tractor you will never regret.

Unless they've changed them appreciably, I would stay away from the small MX kubotas as they have the B-series rear end components (cheapened up for a price point) and are much, much lighter than the M series. M series are really well made for what they are.

SWCBonfire said:

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Unless they've changed them appreciably, I would stay away from the small MX kubotas as they have the B-series rear end components (cheapened up for a price point) and are much, much lighter than the M series. M series are really well made for what they are.

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This is what I found as well. Also, I kept running across 50ish HP L series Kubotas. Looked decent but much lighter than the M series.

I think the translation of this to JD is stay with the 5 series (M series) and not the 4 series ( L Series)

Not a bad deal M5700 Kubota

If I was spending your money that LaGrange M5700 would get it. That teacher is easy get on and off as you age!

Meant tractor not teacher! Arthritic index finger.

allMondjoy said:

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If I was spending your money that LaGrange M5700 would get it. That teacher is easy get on and off as you age!

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"Rumors goin' round, about that Texas Town...about a teacher on a Kubota..."

I have one. Like it.

John Deere tractor manufactured in India. WTH has this world come to.

We're you a Soil & Crop major?

FortWorthAg said:

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John Deere tractor manufactured in India. WTH has this world come to.

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Yea that's what steered me away from them

I have a 2012 Deere 5055D. Bought used in 2015 with 65 hours on it. Put a Deere FEL on it.

I'd never owned a tractor, so this was my first. Despite being an agricultural engineer, I don't know much about many of the features. I have a gear shift transmission. For a utility tractor, I kinda wish I had hydrostat. I worked for a landscape company when I was in school and the maneuverability gained with a hydrostat when moving piles of dirt or mulch was awesome. You can keep your hands on the wheel and loader stick.

I've never had any issues with it. It does what I need to do, even though it only has 2wd.

I do believe I was lucky to find a tractor without all of the diesel emissions crap on it.

All that said, my BIL bought a new Kubota 45hp 4x4 hydrostat a couple years ago. He's happy as a clam.

No. Just worked for them, specifically out at the turf grass field lab, for a couple of years. I'm an Ag Econ major.

You get a lot of bang for your buck with a Zetor. Czech made. The new Major 80 4wd is about $40,000

Ft Worth

I thought the JD 5 series were built in Georgia.....

The 5045E, 5055E, 5065E and 5075E are all manufactured in India. The 5085E (80 HP) and larger are manufactured in Georgia.

FortWorthAg said:

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The 5045E, 5055E, 5065E and 5075E are all manufactured in India. The 5085E (80 HP) and larger are manufactured in Georgia.

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Deere loves to keep it confusing...the 6120x (120HP) tractors are made in Mexico (E), Germany (M), and the US(R).

Not sure where you are located but give Jamey or Van a call at Vogel tractors - http://m.vogeltractors.com

Jamey is an Aggie and I was referred to them by the OB. Shipped mine from their shop in Fredericksburg to Fannin County sight unseen and would highly recommend them. If you don't see what you want on the website call them anyway

Good luck