# Massey Fergusen 7720 review



## Teslan (Aug 20, 2011)

So last fall I rented/demoed a Massey Fergusen (7760). It was nice, but they had too narrow of tires on it. But anyways they got what they wanted with that demo. A sale. This April I traded in our JD 7810 for a Massey Fergusen 7720. 185 HP 160 PTO hp. It is the deluxe cab. Meaning it is suspended and has an upgraded seat plus CVT. It also has a suspended front axle. So far I've put 110 hours on it and everything has been good. No break downs or warranty issues at all. For baling with my 3x3 it uses very little DEF. I think I've put in maybe 5 gallons all summer. When I was doing some tillage with it when it first arrived it used more DEF and seemingly alot of fuel. But maybe it had a break in period. Because now fuel use seems less then the JD 7810 for baling. I was told by the dealer service manager don't be surprised if it doesn't use much DEF during baling. The cab is very quiet. Which is good, but also bad as you can't hear anything outside. It would have to be something pretty loud and expensive coming from the baler to hear it.

The other night I baled alfalfa about 3 hours with it then got into our 2008 NH T6030. I used to think the NH was quiet. It seemed very loud compared to the 7720. The suspended front axle is excellent. I can't even feel a pivot track with it. Not that I go flying over them, but still not even a slight bump until the back hits. Our NH has suspended front axle also, but it isn't nearly as smooth.

The seat is very comfortable to me. The JD 7810 seat would cause me back aches for a couple days if I sat in it more then 2 hours. But my back is weird. It doesn't like Ford seats and apparently 1998 JD seats. I haven't had that problem at all with the 7720 seat.

It took me a bit to get used to the CVT, but I really like it now. But I still once and a while let off the clutch and expect the tractor to go. I like that the tractor can go 30 mph on the roads. It also can find the perfect speed for baling. Many times with the JD it was either to fast or too slow.

I was nervous about the DEF system. Just because I really don't know how it works so I asked the neighbor who is a diesel mechanic who works on Semis. He said he didn't like the DEF systems on trucks, but the biggest problem with them was when the engine idling a long time he said. And sometimes those trucks idle for hours and hours. Now a tractor or at least mine is rarely idling. It's either off or working. So no problems so far. I was told most of the problems with the DEF systems are fixed by draining the DEF tank. Which appears to be a straight forward process.

The manuals and there are 3. Are fairly well written. Much better then the manual from our MF 6290. The tractor does have this thing that allows me to track the tractors use, location and a bunch of other things from an Iphone App. I haven't activated that and I'm not sure if it costs anything extra or not. Sounds interesting though. I guess you can put a boundary in the app and if the tractor goes outside of it you will get an alarm. Or if the tractor is sitting still to long you would get an alarm. I guess a way to keep an eye on employees.

I didn't get a GPS system with it. No need for one baling hay. And I don't really do a lot of tillage to need it.

It's also nice that my baler just plugs into the tractor now and uses the tractors monitor. Not a big thing, but nice to be integrated.

Something interesting though. I have duals on it. And my hired man and cousin have both hit the dual tire to the guard on the baler by turning to short. The dealer warned me about that and suggested I not have the duals on. I figured I never came close with the JD why would I come close with this? I guess JD PTO and drawbar stick out further in the back from the wheels then a MF. At least the 7810.

A couple reasons I decided to trade. I'm not that mechanically inclined or have time in the summer and the JD in a couple of gear ranges I use for baling was developing quite a whine. Where it used to be quiet. Also the top of the engine was dripping a slight amount of oil. I know little things. But my worse nightmare would be for the transmission on the JD to go when I had a bunch of hay down. Then either they would get me for thousands to fix it and since I have no relationship with the JD dealer would probably take a month and to buy a new tractor at that point the trade value would be terrible. Plus equipment is only going up in price. So if anyone wants to buy a JD 7810 it's at G and M implement in Greeley CO. I have no idea what they are asking. They gave me $50k in trade for it.

So there you have it. I didn't visit the JD dealer to get an idea how much a comparative JD would be. All as I know the list price on Deere's website was $70k higher then MF's list price. I didn't look at NH either as I've been kinda disappointed with NH lately and its a good thing because in a month the NH dealer will no longer be a NH dealer. And for now there will be no NH dealer in the state.


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

No NH dealer in the entire state? Kinda boggles my mind, we have three within an hours drive, but also have a butt ton of amish to the northeast, east and southeast of us.

I have all New Holland hay equipment and thats it, New Holland combines have way too many belts, more on one side than our MF rotaries have on the entire machine. Did rent a NH tractor once, can't remember the model, FWA with supersteer and the 16 speed funk in it, around 210hp. Nice tractor but I thought the controls were chinzy, plastic levers even for the hydraulics.

Have decided though if I ever make the plunge into 3x3's it will be a Hesston/Massey baler.

Other than the three point sensor taking a dump last year and the hydraulic oil sensor this year our MF8160 has been very reliable, still goes an entire oil change without having to add a quart, the 32 speed is nice but wouldn't mind a CVT.


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## Teslan (Aug 20, 2011)

From what I'm told NH was trying to strong arm the NH dealer to carry at all times 40 NH tractors on the lot. Also to stop selling Kubota (which they sell way more of then NH) The owner said no he wasn't going to do that so NH pulled his dealership. All the NH stuff they had is sitting in the back of the dealer lot now. Probably when NH realizes they are being stupid they will give him it back. I guess they want dealers that only sell NH and nothing to compete against NH. I don't know who they would find to be able to do that here. The former NH dealer also sells CIH so it doesn't make sense why NH would pressure him but CIH isn't. And yes they are the only NH dealer in the state in 2 locations. Most ag dealers are in Northern Colorado an no where else. 2 Deere dealers, 2 MF dealers, 1 Challenger dealer. The next closest NH dealer is in Wheatland Wyoming.


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## Lostin55 (Sep 21, 2013)

The same thing happened here , and in Billings Montana. I will not buy anything from New Holland that I can buy a different brand of. My nearest parts store for bale wagon parts is Belgrade MT. That isn't exactly next door, by any means.


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

Guess a parts run takes a whole new meaning out west eh?

I can be at the closest NH dealer in less than 20 minutes, I can call our Agco dealer in Nappanee and if it ain't an emergency I can meet the parts guy at his house after work which is half the distance for me, still not far though, used to haul hay to the auction in Nappanee all the time. Plevna implement is our Agco dealer now, have been very good to deal with, when the closest store they had was still in Kokomo if we called before 2pm they'd have it on the UPS truck the same day and we'd have it in the morning.


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

NH is a fading presence in this part of the state, but with their recent reputation that is understandable.

Really nice looking tractor Teslan. I am definitely partial to Green but MF/Agco would definitely be my second choice in tractors now and it is my first choice in some equipment. 
Regards, Mike


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## Teslan (Aug 20, 2011)

Vol said:


> NH is a fading presence in this part of the state, but with their recent reputation that is understandable.
> 
> Really nice looking tractor Teslan. I am definitely partial to Green but MF/Agco would definitely be my second choice in tractors now and it is my first choice in some equipment.
> Regards, Mike


When I traded the JD in the salesman told me they weren't really sure what to offer me for trade so they got the values from tractorhouse.com. I figured they were going to offer me $45k for the 7810. So $50k was a nice surprise. They then told me they never have had a used JD that nice on their lot. I also don't remember them having many used JD tractors on the lot either. Probably tougher for them to make in roads into the JD customer base with Massey tractors.


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## r82230 (Mar 1, 2016)

Different area, different things, I also have a couple of NH dealerships within 20-30 minutes drive. One is NH / Kubota the other NH / MassF / ACGO. Begin to wonder if they are going to be forced to choose like in your area Tes. I hope not for my sake. Do most of my business with the NH / MF dealer, because more geared towards agriculture (Kubota / NH on edge of Flint, suburban 10A farming) and NH/MF dealer is 6 miles from JD dealership, comparison shopping purposes. If I increase my mileage by 10 miles (less than 50 total), I got 3 more NH dealerships to choose from (one is the sister to the Kubota however). At least I don't have a state that is void of NH. 

Larry


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## VA Haymaker (Jul 1, 2014)

Wow - That's a nice looking tractor!

Of course just a little step up from my old MF Model 50 diesel...... 

I can't say I've ever read any bad reviews regarding the Sisu diesels; I think they are a fantastic engine. Maybe Deere ought to be concerned with Kubota, but I see more and more new MF tractors around my neck of the woods. One dealer that sells both NH and MF told me that they (parts / service dept) prefer NH hay equipment and MF tractors.

Good luck,

Bill


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## Gearclash (Nov 25, 2010)

Nice looking rig Teslan! When the IVT/CVT transmissions first became available, my first thought was that they would be perfect for big square baling. My experience has been that the capacity limit of a big square is much more clearly defined than the capacity of a round baler. So often, with a 16 speed trans, I find one gear is too slow and the next too fast. I would echo your feelings about NH having a noisy cab. My 2006 NH TM120 has a considerably noisier cab than my 2000 CIH MX135. Not intolerable, but definitely a step back.


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## Teslan (Aug 20, 2011)

Gearclash said:


> Nice looking rig Teslan! When the IVT/CVT transmissions first became available, my first thought was that they would be perfect for big square baling. My experience has been that the capacity limit of a big square is much more clearly defined than the capacity of a round baler. So often, with a 16 speed trans, I find one gear is too slow and the next too fast. I would echo your feelings about NH having a noisy cab. My 2006 NH TM120 has a considerably noisier cab than my 2000 CIH MX135. Not intolerable, but definitely a step back.


I had kinda thought about getting the Dyna 6 transmission as it makes the tractor significantly cheaper, but a neighbor wo has been big baling with a CVT for sometime told me I wouldn't want one without it.

I also forgot to mention it has an ECO setting for the PTO. Which means you can run the RPM of the tractor at about 1500, but still the PTO RPM stays at 1000. I haven't used it to much because it just makes the tractor sound like it's really working hard and surging. Plus my hired man is doing a lot of the baling this year and I'm not to sure he knows the difference between bad performance and good performance as he is new to baling and tractor operation.

I never thought before that the NH had a louder cab. It is about the same or a little better then our 2001 MF 6290. And I hadn't really noticed it this year. Maybe because I usually am in the new tractor after raking with the NH. But that night I was baling first then starting to rake another field I really noticed. Maybe I was just getting really tired, but I thought to myself why is this NH so loud? Maybe a door is open or something is wrong. But no it's the usual.


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## Gearclash (Nov 25, 2010)

I've been fixing a number of small problems that my NH had when I bought it and really get the impression that they are a "cheap" tractor. Don't forget that after 2002 or 2003 CIH and NH are the same thing! I am not impressed by CNH tractors, at least anything smaller than a Magnum.


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

Gearclash said:


> Nice looking rig Teslan! When the IVT/CVT transmissions first became available, my first thought was that they would be perfect for big square baling. My experience has been that the capacity limit of a big square is much more clearly defined than the capacity of a round baler. So often, with a 16 speed trans, I find one gear is too slow and the next too fast. I would echo your feelings about NH having a noisy cab. My 2006 NH TM120 has a considerably noisier cab than my 2000 CIH MX135. Not intolerable, but definitely a step back.


I've noticed that a lot even on our 32 speed 8160, seems like on our older 18 speed Oliver/Whites they had more gears in that sweet 2-7mph range. It was a huge step back last fall when I lost the clutch center out of my tedding tractor, had to drop from 12 speeds on the Oliver 1600 to 8 speeds on the JD401C. Granted the 401 is an industrial tractor, but one was too slow and the next way too fast.

CVT would also be sweet for pulling a grain cart.


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## Teslan (Aug 20, 2011)

Gearclash said:


> I've been fixing a number of small problems that my NH had when I bought it and really get the impression that they are a "cheap" tractor. Don't forget that after 2002 or 2003 CIH and NH are the same thing! I am not impressed by CNH tractors, at least anything smaller than a Magnum.


That's just it. The small little annoying fixes. A hood latch here. And small o ring leaking that requires the rear tire to be removed there, the cable from the gear shift (why should that stretch after 400 hours and rarely moving as I don't shift to low hardly ever). Sagging doors that have to be adjusted (and if you don't adjust it either the hinge can break or you can break the whole door by trying to slam it shut to latch. My cousin has had injectors go out, tachometers go out. Fuel pumps go out on his NHs of the same years as mine.

Now his 1994 7740 Ford/NH that we used to share has been bulletproof and is a great small baler tractor.

I did have a little plastic bushing go out in the MF 6290 a few years ago in the foot clutch so you couldn't feather it back and forth for loader work. The tech said Agco just got cheap there and they replaced it with a copper bushing. All things good since then. And as I've referenced in other threads the AC on the 6290 not the best. AC on the 7720 is excellent. Though I find it weird how MF has that set up. KInda two dials for cool and warm and then a shut off valve somewhere on the tractor to have the heater warm further in winter. Same on the 2001 6290 as the new 7720

I will say that the 7720 is much much higher quality then the little MF 1759 my dad bought a couple years ago. Though I believe all the little 45hp tractors from any brand are cheaply built.


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