JD555G pulling rippersttra

[CQGrazier]

G’day from down under, I am a Grazier from Qld in Australia, we run beef cattle across three properties and recently acquired another small block up the road. I have been considering purchasing another machine to base on the new block, there is a lot of mimosa (similar to mesquite) which I am brushcutting and poisoning, but the bigger trees need uprooting. Other duties would include grading tracks on the property, cleaning out small dams, making fire breaks etc etc. I think a Drott would be more versatile than a small dozer for general property use, however one job which needs doing now and repeatedly into the future is deep ripping of the paddocks to break up the hard pan, slow runoff and allow grass to return to the bare patches.

I have seen a JD 555G fairly cheap, with a five ripper single ram toolbar on the back. Think it is a TC model from the pictures.i have heard good and bad things about these machines, I think the G models were alright? The machine’s size seems about right for my needs but is the transmission/driveline on one of these good enough for sustained pulling of deep rippers? I realise being 90hp it would realistically only pull three rippers, which is fine, as long as it could handle that for hours on end. A tractor and yeomans would work of course, but these are rough paddocks and I prefer tracked machines when working in sticks, stumps and rocks. Hard to get a flat tyre on a dozer.

Thanks in advance for your input,

-Jim