opinions sought on 2855

Okay- I am slowly coming around to the possibility of looking to increase the size of my tractor. The topic I started seeking advice on operating my JD 920 MoCo leads me in this direction. I haven't given up on using the 5400, and am actively adjusting and experimenting.

I cut a couple of acres over behind a neighbor's the other evening, and he and I were discussing my dilemma. Bigger tractor (4020, 4040, 4240, etc) is always cool, but limited use on small farm with small implements, with grape vineyard as true cash crop.

Then, he says I should come look at the 2855N MFWD he has. He is a collector, mostly 2 cylinders, but anything rare. He feels this 2855N is rare. Original, not restored, and definitely not perfect. JD loader- old style, missing panels, etc. I don't have the numbers written down or any pictures yet.

I read the opinions some of you have of the 2955, and especially noted how fond Tim S is of them! I certainly don't need to get into yet another POS. What do you guys think?

I did find another one just like it at the local MF dealer (not my favorite), for $14,500 without the loader, worn out rubber and 5K hours (can't be too rare, right?) There is no factory cab for the Narrow units of the XX55 series, my 5500N has a cab, but I plan to leave that hooked to the sprayer. And I'm not sure the N is best to operate that mower with, PTO angles and such. I just knocked the three point ball and pin out the other night. grrrrr.

And, I found this awesome looking 1978 4040 open station with under 2000 hours over in Ohio the other day, price says CALL, must really be cheap!!!

Sorry, tl;dr, but thanks for your thoughts. Oh yeah, also, how do I pay for this and three kids in college next year all at once?

K effective: That JD 4040 open station will NOT be cheap. The seller is saying call because it is NOT cheap. He wants a chance to explain what it is, over no one calling when they see his price.

As for your true needs. The JD 2855N IS Not the tractor to use on the JD 920 MOCO. The long and short of it is you need 100 PTO HP to use that mower right and safe. A cab would be best but you can put a screen on and be OK (thrown rocks by the cutter bar) A JD 2955 with 5000 hours would be OK if it has been maintained. That is about as small as I would want on a JD 920.

Your wanting to use the JD 920 MoCo with these smaller tractors is not going to work very well and may get you hurt. Your JD 5400 or JD 5500N, and the JD 2855N are all too small to run that JD 920 MoCo. If your want to stick with the smaller tractors then consider switching to a side disk mower only or if you need conditioning then go back to a sickle machine as they pull easier. A good NH 488 will mow a lot of hay with good guards and a new sickle. Your tractors will pull it OK.

So maybe you would be better off switching hay cutting machines rather than picking up a larger tractor if you would have limited use of the larger tractor.

A 4040-4240 is the tractor you need for that Mo-Co,,"Skip" the 2950 Idea,,you are going to need 2 different tractors for what you are doing,, the little narrow unit for the Vineyard work and a 100 HP Waterloo unit for the mowing, The "One size does all" won't work with what you are doing..