John Deere 4020

[deerefan]

A good friend of mine is a cattle farmer and is selling his 4020 after he replaced it with a kubota 90hp cab and air tractor. I have about 50 acres and already have 2 tractors, a 8N and a 05 5103 but no loader. The 4020 has a loader and I can get it for 8k. I spent several hours on the machine a few months ago bushhogging w/ a 15ft cutter and it ran fine and is in pretty ggod shape. What should I look for on these tractors? I think the price is good. Thoughts?

 

[jenkinsph]

If it is in good shape the price is fair. I have seen them sell for alot more than this. About the only problem I see alot is the position control for the hitch can be erratic, check it out to see how well it works. Not a deal breaker though, I had one for years and really liked it.

 

[Bigfoot62]

I had a late 60's vintage 4020 for several years. A "bull" of a tractor. Mine easily pulled a 14' disc and a 10' hog. Great old tractor.

Sounds like the price is reasonable.

Only a couple of things that I think you need to consider.
1. Physical size. These tractors are huge. Mine came from a South Louisiana rice farm, so it had the "rice & cane" flotation tires. It was so wide that it would not fit through the doors of my shop. It had a two-post canopy on it, so it was too tall to go under my hay barn.
2. Fuel consumption. Just remember, that under a load, that 6 cylinder beast will drink 2.5-3 gallons of diesel per hour. (and the gas-burners are much worse)

 

[Mace Canute]

Nebraska Tractor Test #849 has some interesting data for the 4020.

http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1401&context=tractormuseumlit

 

[deerefan]

Man, they got technical. It looks like that thing can drink some fuel too. For 8k and being it is in real good shape, I will more than likely buy it.

 

[jenkinsph]

While it will consume some fuel a good woriking 4020 can get a lot done in return. I wouldn't be concerned about fuel consumption since you have smaller tractors to handle the little jobs. On fifty acres handling tillage and fel work it will certainly shrink those jobs down to size. In todays world with everyone's time being limited I think you will be very happy with what you can accomplish with this tractor in a short period of time.

There are lots of times I wish I still had mine but my smaller 4520 will handle the majority of the tasks I have now. Hope this tractor is in good shape and good luck with it.

 

[eepete]

This is a picture of what I think is a 4020 from 1969. That's my sister on it. It was on my grandfathers farm in upstate NY.

Just posting it 'cause I hear everyone likes pictures .

Pete

 

[doall]

one of the best tractors ever made I think.

 

[Mace Canute]

The *010 and *020 tractors were a huge leap ahead of JD's previous line of tractors and their competitors also. It's nice to own a little bit of history. Did I mention I have a few JD tractors? A 70, an R, a 3010, a 420 crawler with loader and a 2010 crawler with loader. All gassers except the R of course.

 

[deerefan]

I was able to run it again yesterday for a while and it runs great. It has a few things that need repair, such as a new fuel gauge and the fender lights are not working. It is going to take me a little while to get used to the synchorange and the size of the tractor. I called JD about putting a loader (quick attach) on my 5103 and the price came out to 6800 plus tax. For 500 more (8000), I can buy a sound 4020 with a loader. Everyone I have spoken to about the 4020 either knew someone with one or has experience operating one. It seems as if it is the most popular tractor JD made. Truly, it is bigger than what I need, but I am sure I will appreciate the extra power. I will post some pics when I get it later this week and get it cleaned up.