Branson 4520R New Owner

[coralhead]

No regen on a Branson, uses a DOC. I use mine as a normal tractor, no problems. Every couple of weeks I work mine harder, bushogging and such.

Same here. I now have approx. 150hrs and I have never seen the light come on except for the initial key turn and startup. I run it normal to medium without any issues. Hardest it runs is when I'm square baling or using the backhoe.

 

[1stDeuce]

Hmm... Blue - Out, Red - In ??
Ok, I had been looking at an LS XR4150 locally, which was TLB, but too expensive. I had a XR4140 quoted at ~$30,500 TLB. I'm not in love with the BH, and considered getting a 3pt and making my own sub-frame. Ansung and WoodMaxx seem like good 3pt hoes.

I called a Branson dealer and asked about the 4020R. VERY comparable tractor to the XR4140, though a little heavier. AND available with a more powerful 8' BH for the same price as the LS 7' hoe, and not a lot more than the WoodMaxx, which is also only a 7' hoe. Loader lifts a little less, but lifts 9" higher. (LS lift is notably lower than everyone else's)

While the LS 41 series tractors regen fairly infrequently, the Branson doesn't do regens at all, or so I'm told. Evidently instead of a DPF, they use a DOC, and it just gets replaced every ~1000 hrs. (More frequently if you don't run the engine at high RPM's all the time.) But replacement is covered under warranty for 5 years. Evidently the Branson engine is mechanically run, with a computer overlay for the emissions. Hmmm... Pretty easy to strip that junk off after the warranty expires??

The Branson BH860 is made by Ansung, and boasts some fairly high force numbers... I can option it with a 16" or 13" bucket, so I'd probably opt for the 13" to help get through the clay that we'll be digging in. Seems a good compromise for trenching too.

What else can y'all tell me?? Perhaps I'll be a new owner soon enough too!!!

 

[sidecarist]

I have a 4520R thats almost new... 3 weeks and 30 hours. I have the BH76 and am quite happy with it but wish I had gotten the 13" bucket, or even smaller. I am going to get a ripper tooth for it for stump work. I'm quite happy with it considering I had a Kubota L2900 for 20 years and thought I'd never buy anything else. The emissions stuff was a big part of the decision. I'm comfortable with the mechanical engine, and the DOC seems like a good compromise to me.

Over all the Branson isn't as refined as a Kubota, and there are a few things I miss like the Loader valve doesn't have any regen circuits in it so it will only do one function at a time. There is some bucket flop but I'll live with it, or put a flow control on the curl circuit to reduce it.

Its a MUCH heavier machine that my smaller Kubota was and I'm enjoying it. As of now I'm very satisfied. I'll have a grapple, landscape rake, forks, and a 2 bottom plow for it shortly and I'll post here or elsewhere how they work for me as I get them.

 

[1stDeuce]

I'm looking at the BH86... For $1000 more, it seems like a good deal... Then again, the specs on the 76 have it with slightly more bucket force, but slightly less dipperstick... I wonder if I'd ever need to dig 8' instead of just 7'... ??? Hmmm...

I'm not familiar with regen on bucket controls... On the LS, you can lift and curl at the same time, but it usually just does whichever is easier... Is that the same on the Branson? What happens if you off angle the loader control?

I was thinking I'd go with the 16, but with our clay, perhaps the 13 would be better since we'll be using it in a lot of clay and rocks...?? What's your reason for wanting the 13" bucket?

 

[sidecarist]

The regeneration on the loader control let's you curl and drop the arms at the same time. It speeds things up. With the Branson it will do what is easiest, rather than both simultaneously.

The 13in bucket or even narrower suits my needs better for mostly trenching for utilities, etc. The only holes I'll be digging would be for planting shrubs so no need for big volumes of dirt. The 76 also fits my needs for depth as I don't need to dig much past 4ft deep. I will be doing a bunch of stump removal so a ripper claw is in my future for sure.