New 5R or 6M

My cousin came to pull me out of a bog with his fairly new 6330R. What a nice machine. I must say if you are row cropping that is definitely the way to go. It has the built in navigation or whatever JD calls it and all the whistles and bells. But as he was driving off, I noticed the best thing about it for row crop applications, run out wheels. With those you can change rear tire spacing in a few minutes. BTW, he cuts roadside grass on a contract basis. Mostly interstate highways.

we have 4s,5s,6s,7s, and some other older JDs like 2140, 4440 etc......each has a niche......but if your row cropping 6+ is the way to go .......since trucks were mentioned ......6s are like 1 tons....a 5r is like a 3/4 ton denali ....LOL .....the question is will it pay for itself or does it even matter the 4440 has paid its way 10 times over and is worth as much as it cost if sold today .....

intrestingly i keep a eye on the local JD dealers lots.......see plenty of 5s n 6s .......but 4s are rare.........see a lot of 5085 size tractors in our area doing ranch farming and light hay work usually in the E config

I think folk’s buy the E models after they go through the pros and cons of the 5 series models and the kinds of work they need to get done.
When you balance the cost against how one model versus another will get the work done better, faster, more comfortably, etc. People realize some of those extra features don’t make enough of a work difference to justify the cost.
I spent time crawling all around the E’s and M’s and wanted a tractor that would be on the farm for the next 30 years. So, I spent a little more money. Maybe $6-8,000 more than a 5100E.

I grew up around farming and spent on and off years doing that while in college. Away from it directly for 30 yrs but watching what relatives were up to for that time. They’re still gettin’ along raising cattle and crops.
(Gotta say sittin’ behind the wheel of a JD 7810 is a whole lot different than a 5115M!)
I’m retired now and this hobby farm pays for our expenses and feeds my wife’s horses!
Rereading my last post - I meant to say 5100M not E... The extra 15hp cost $7,000. 5115M vs 5100M. There were other differences between the tractors, too. 310H MSL loader vs 260H MSL loader. Cat II quick hitch on the 5115. HD 85” bucket vs standard 72”. Deluxe cab with skylight, etc. vs standard cab.
However, after using the tractor for the past 4-5 years, I really think I could have been just as happy with a 5090E or 5100E as I’m only working the tractor ~125hrs a year.
Dropping down to the E and 15 less hp probably would have saved me $15K - just as you noted!!
Of course, after the fact - it’s a 20-20 view.. But, that’s also why it’s real hard to justify a $110,000 - $125,000 5R series tractor.

AKfish said:

I grew up around farming and spent on and off years doing that while in college. Away from it directly for 30 yrs but watching what relatives were up to for that time. They’re still gettin’ along raising cattle and crops.
(Gotta say sittin’ behind the wheel of a JD 7810 is a whole lot different than a 5115M!)
I’m retired now and this hobby farm pays for our expenses and feeds my wife’s horses!
Rereading my last post - I meant to say 5100M not E... The extra 15hp cost $7,000. 5115M vs 5100M. There were other differences between the tractors, too. 310H MSL loader vs 260H MSL loader. Cat II quick hitch on the 5115. HD 85” bucket vs standard 72”. Deluxe cab with skylight, etc. vs standard cab.
However, after using the tractor for the past 4-5 years, I really think I could have been just as happy with a 5090E or 5100E as I’m only working the tractor ~125hrs a year.
Dropping down to the E and 15 less hp probably would have saved me $15K - just as you noted!!
Of course, after the fact - it’s a 20-20 view.. But, that’s also why it’s real hard to justify a $110,000 - $125,000 5R series tractor.

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...mirrors my ussage...hobby.....wife ..horses...family horse hay...etc.......(its always good to have access to a full range of equipment should i need it) ...........

i agree 100k is a lot to justify if you need to justify it .........my 5105m was pre "r"s so it was top of the line at the time......hp is at least 20-30% more than i use with a moco n baler ..........of all things i would hate to give up the air "rocking chair" seat to go to a "e" level machine ....

Oh, my E has the air ride seat. I would have gone to a 7 series if that's what I had to do to get that seat. That thing is a back saver. I can't complain about what I got for the money. I would have bought a low hour R or M machine but instead I decided to finance 10 grand so I could get the free insurance for 5 years and they added in the extended warranty. My only regret is that I didn't keep my 5310. That was a good 20+ year old tractor. Had just over 1000 hours. My financial dictator told me it wouldn't be a prudent move to keep it. But I must say she has been really good about letting me buy some other things I "needed".

IMHO the M's and R's are very overpriced machines. Very nice and IMO the R's are likely the best tractors in their respective categories, but they are high dollar items. I look at a 5E as a different class of tractor than a 5R as a 5R has several thousand lbs on it among others things. The 5M's are in between and not really good comparisons either as they are noticeably bigger than a 5E and smaller than an 5R

Compared to an E the M is overpriced. Is it a better and more capable machine? Sure. Just look at their weight, tires, wheelbase, 3PH/FEL specs, etc. Are they $18K-$20K better? No, not IMO. When I bought my 5075E the dealer wanted about $18K more for a 5075M. That's $48K or so for an open station, MFWD, no FEL machine without any options. I could of gotten a cabbed 5075E with a FEL for $4K less than that, plus I like the size and nimbleness of the 5E with its 80" wheelbase. The 5R on the other hand seems closer to the 5M's cost than the 5M to the 5E's cost, and the 5M never crossed me as being much nicer than an 5E, just a heavier duty, and more capable machine than an E. The 5R on the other hand is noticeably nicer while also being a heavier duty tractor than a 5M. A 5R with wheel weights and a FEL is about a 11,000-12,000 lb machine from my understanding. That's old 6030 kind of weight.

Also when you start getting into all the fancy transmissions with ton of electronics and things that they took off the 8R tractors like GPS systems that drive themselves or whatever kind of things they have on them, then things start getting expensive really quick.

IMO if you are set on a 5R then don't just buy what the dealer has on the lot unless it's a really good deal. There are so many options and ways to get the 5R built that having one built to get exactly what you want and waiting a few months might be the best way if you're already going to be spending that kind of money. Just something to think about.

I would love a 5R if money wasn't a factor. It would make an awesome machine for hay farming.

BTW if you just want a nice/strong tractor that appears to be well built and gives you much better bang for your buck than a green and yellow tractor look at the MF 4700 series. For a 100 HP tractor in its size a MF 4710 looks like a lot of tractor for the $. Also MF is owned by AGCO which is an American company. MF is an overall good tractor IMO. Not as fancy as a comparable Deere, but they give you what you need without giving you a bunch of unnecessary, cost adding items.

stubs said:

MF 4710 are made in China, I wouldn't have a problem with that as long as they aren't manufactured in a plant that uses forced labor. I don't think that would be the case with some of the components.

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The MF 4700 series are now also made in Brazil so you can get one made in either country. But, yes they started as being made only in China, but at a AGCO plant.

The difference between a JD made in India and say a MF made in India is the Deere is made in a JD plant, whereas the MF is not made in a AGCO plant but instead at TAFE. JD is going to hold their own facilities to a higher QC standard than a large Indian company who builds tractors for many companies that sell all over the world. Same with the AGCO plant in China. It's quality is superior to the MF's made by TAFE or any other large Asian tractor manufacture who builds tractors for many different tractor brands.

I just bought a left over 5115r last month. Didn’t need a 6 series to big for my needs. Wanted the IVT trans but not available on the 5 series that was my only real reason for wanting the 6 series. I got the command 8 so 32 16 trans as close to IVT as I could get. Deere financed the whole thing for 0 percent. Hope that helps.

AKfish said:

I don't know what work you've got planned for your 5R or 6M. So, it's a stretch to say what you should be buying. However, I've had (still have one) a couple of 5M's. The 5075 had a 87-88in wheelbase and the 5115 has a 90-91in wheelbase. They both ride rough. Short wheelbase. The 115 is better than the 75. IMO - for pretty similar cost, the 6110M and the 6120M would be what I'd be looking at versus the 5R. Deere made an effort to design the 6110-6120M with a 94.5in wheelbase and sloping hood for a pretty good loader machine. LED package, air seat, nearly all the bells and whistles that the R has. This model 6M is an updated version of the older, 6430 Premium tractor.
The 5R is an 88in machine. Deere is offering that tractor with the optional ILS front axle. I don't think I'd buy a 5R without that Independent, Link System front axle. (I get grouchy when I do a face-plant into the front windshield...)
Once you start adding the optional stuff to the 5R - the 6M starts looking better and better - IMO.

Best of luck,
AKfish

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Unless you want a tighter turning radius.

Just out of curiosity. I did a build and price with the 6R 120 hp ultra deluxe cab 5 SCVS 3 scv electronic loader IVT, front suspension, auto 4wd. etc etc. it pushed up into $250k range.
I had never really looked at the 6R.
Had no idea they jumped up that much money from the 5M/5R class machines with like HP.
Tech and features on the 6R is impressive, but so was the price tag.

Almost all of the 5 series tractors I've seen new on dealer lots, for sale used, or being used are 5Es. I've seen exactly one 5R (5125R) and it was indeed priced right at 100k. I've seen a few 5Ms, and hundreds of 5Es. The area I live in is a big beef cattle area. There are a lot of tractors the size of a 5 series and four-cylinder 6 series machines, the 5 series sized machine is used to pull a rake and often to handle bales, the 6 series machine sized runs the hay cutter, baler, and sometimes is used to handle bales. There's not a real reason to drop ~$100k on a 5R or ~$70k on a 5M to pull a rake or handle bales when a $30-50k 5E will do that job. If they have a fancier tractor, it's the larger one that runs the cutter and baler that's fancier- there are a number of 6Ms around here and fairly few 6Es (very few 6Rs.)

I personally buy the most basic machine available in a size and power class if I am buying new or not-that-old used, as even a "basic by modern standards" machine would have been considered high-end only a few decades ago.

mo1 said:

Almost all of the 5 series tractors I've seen new on dealer lots, for sale used, or being used are 5Es. I've seen exactly one 5R (5125R) and it was indeed priced right at 100k. I've seen a few 5Ms, and hundreds of 5Es. The area I live in is a big beef cattle area. There are a lot of tractors the size of a 5 series and four-cylinder 6 series machines, the 5 series sized machine is used to pull a rake and often to handle bales, the 6 series machine sized runs the hay cutter, baler, and sometimes is used to handle bales. There's not a real reason to drop ~$100k on a 5R or ~$70k on a 5M to pull a rake or handle bales when a $30-50k 5E will do that job. If they have a fancier tractor, it's the larger one that runs the cutter and baler that's fancier- there are a number of 6Ms around here and fairly few 6Es (very few 6Rs.)

I personally buy the most basic machine available in a size and power class if I am buying new or not-that-old used, as even a "basic by modern standards" machine would have been considered high-end only a few decades ago.

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dont forget the 6Ds around here........seems to me to be 6Ds or 6Ms ...a few 6Es and yet to see a 6R....... The lots are covered with 5Es and a rare 5M....yet to see a 5R in person but heard a few rumors LOL