Deere 3000 series vs 4000 series backhoe?? 485 vs 485a (3520, 4120, 4044r and others)

[Shawk]

Hey guys! I have a 3120/300x that I've had for a handful of years that I absolutely love... easily handled the tasks around the 6 acres we own. I mow just 2-3 acres right now with a ZT so no need for a mower at this point. We now have 80 acres... 60 tillable and rented... the other 20 acres has 2 ponds, a creek and a lot of trees and rough fence lines that need cleaned up. Much of the work will require much larger equipment I don't have and won't ever have. Our tenant is fabulous and has both a full size backhoe and small dozer... they've already been amazing with the cleanup.

So... I want (more than need realistically) a backhoe and will purchase shortly. I've been shopping and I'm ready to purchase. In the long term it'll be used for occasional mowing on the property and continued maintenance of course... in the short term, there is a lot to do to get waterway, fencelines and ponds cleaning up. Speed would be nice but not a priority. Both the 485/485a have reach of 8' so I plan to tinker a bunch around the ponds to clean up shore lines and so on. I thought about a 110tlb and keep a 3000 series, but I think the tractor combo will be better long term and just the one machine.

I'm leaning towards a 4120/4044r with fel/backhoe (485/485a)... I may have the opportunity to buy a basically new 3520 pretty close to what I may be able to sell my 3120 for... That would add some horses for PTO work. I would probably put my 300x loader on it and add a new 485 backhoe which could then be switched over to a 4x20 later if I find the 3000 series doesn't quite do what I need from it. So I'm wondering just how much better is the 4000/backhoe than the 3000/backhoe? I'm leaning towards just getting a 4000 series now, but I love the 3000 series versatility at home still while still being able to work on the 80 acres. I know the FEL alone has a 1000 lbs +/= capacity on the 4000 series...

The land is 20 miles from home so the tractors will be trailered most days which of course comes into play keeping with a 3000 or 4000 series as well.

btw... I've looked through the archives here... tons of good stuff on everything!! Just looking for a little more insight... hopefully this thread can be useful to others too.

 

[beenthere]

I'd add another tractor with backhoe, as you already like the 3120 with FEL, so avoid the situation where you don't have to switch out attachments just to do one job.. that gets old in a hurry.. just my thought..

 

[Shawk]

Thanks... I'm certainly giving that some serious thought. :thumbsup:

 

[kevinwak]

If you love your current 3120 keep it, or upgrade to the 3520 if the cost difference is small and you are confident that it is in good shape.
Then invest the backhoe money into a mini excavator. So much greater digging capacity and much more versatile.

 

[texasranger556]

So many options. Are you going to retain access to the full size backhoe and dozer in the future? How much are you planning to finish mow and/or brush hog?

 

[Shawk]

If you love your current 3120 keep it, or upgrade to the 3520 if the cost difference is small and you are confident that it is in good shape.
Then invest the backhoe money into a mini excavator. So much greater digging capacity and much more versatile.

Boy... that mini excavator has been on my mind and I've thought hard about that. I'm 20 miles from our property and don't plan to put any buildings/storage on it for now. So every time I run equipment, I'll trailer it out.... that rules out a full size backhoe for now (as well as larger tractors). My tenant will run his full size backhoe & dozer here and there, but I want to get in there to clear and work as well. I would have no problem keeping a 3000 series and adding the 2nd tractor or mine excavator. Mini's seem to pull a pretty good chunk of money unless you take a gamble on the high hour ones. I know nothing about them... The 4000 FEL's are 1000 lbs better than the 3000 series... so that's a big difference. I can't quite put my finger on whether the 4000 series running a backhoe will be that much better than a 3000 series backhoe?? Thanks!!

 

[Shawk]

So many options. Are you going to retain access to the full size backhoe and dozer in the future? How much are you planning to finish mow and/or brush hog?

Yeah, my tenants are fantastic so they said the equipment is there if I need it... but of course I have zero interest in over stepping a what appears to be a really good thing. So I don't plan to take them up on that often.
Yeah, there's probably more mowing there than I realize as a new land owner. We have lanes going back to each pond so I'll be maintaining those which I still haven't mowed this year. There will be a lot of brush hogging as well. Then... down the road I plan to do food plots and put a few acres in either set aside or CRP. So... the 3000 series likely would be good for that as well as nice to have around home... hmmm... you guys are likely talking me into 2 machines!

 

[BrokeFarmerJohn]

First off there's not 1000lbs lift capacity different from the 300x loader to the 400x loader.

The 300x loader has a lift around 13xx lbs and the 400x loader lift is 17xx lbs.

So you would gain 400 more pounds lift. if you found a 400cx loader they can lift 21xx lbs, all are at full height.

The jump from a 3 family tractor to a 4 family tractor wouldn't be that great, you would have to jump to a 5 series to notice a substantial gain. The 4 family would be a tad bigger, tad heavier and could do a little more work than a 3 family tractor.

If you need a TBL that badly I would look at a JD 110 of comparable, the backhoe would be more useful than a bolt on for a smaller unit.

It all depends on your needs, if it's a weekend warrior type usage, a bolt on for your 3 family machine will be fine. Again I wouldn't think a 3 family backhoe and a 4 family back hoe would be much diff.

 

[texasranger556]

4120 vs 3120 hydraulic flow is 12 vs 8.5 GPM, so almost 50% more. My 4400 is 8.3 and it digs fairly well with a 48 hoe, so I wouldn't put a huge emphasis on flow. The selling point for me would be a heavier tractor better able to take the abuse of brush hogging and less likely to break in half with heavy backhoe work (digging stumps, rocks). Could also run less RPMs while digging to achieve same speed.

Do you already have a trailer and if so what is capacity? 7.5-8k lbs is about max machine weight you can get onto a 10k trailer to avoid combination plates (depending on state). That usually means you're safe up to 50 HP or so with backhoe and loader. Shouldn't be your limiting factor, but a consideration.

 

[Shawk]

First off there's not 1000lbs lift capacity different from the 300x loader to the 400x loader.

The 300x loader has a lift around 13xx lbs and the 400x loader lift is 17xx lbs.

So you would gain 400 more pounds lift. if you found a 400cx loader they can lift 21xx lbs, all are at full height.

Take a peak at the attached... maybe I'm missing something??

The jump from a 3 family tractor to a 4 family tractor wouldn't be that great, you would have to jump to a 5 series to notice a substantial gain. The 4 family would be a tad bigger, tad heavier and could do a little more work than a 3 family tractor.

If you need a TBL that badly I would look at a JD 110 of comparable, the backhoe would be more useful than a bolt on for a smaller unit.

It all depends on your needs, if it's a weekend warrior type usage, a bolt on for your 3 family machine will be fine. Again I wouldn't think a 3 family backhoe and a 4 family back hoe would be much diff.

Am I missing something? Take a peak at page 6... loaders for 3r vs 4r... Looks to be 1,000 lb jump across the board... thanks BFJ! Here's the direct link to JD loaders John Deere