GOAT (Greatest of All-Time) John Deere Tractor?

[jdmeth]

We owned 4 3020's, a 4440, and two 4250's. All great and had over 10,000 hrs each when we had to sell them. All but the 1971 3020 my dad bought new, my brother still has it. Needs a new fuel tank, oil seal on engine and PTO clutch repaired.

 

[oliver1555]

I keep my 4440 in the machine shed. It’s in pristine shape for its age. I can’t count the number of times someone has said, “If you ever decide to sell it…”
Same with my 2000 Dodge CTD. Pristine shape, many offers “if I ever decide to sell it.”

 

[Lineman North Florida]

4040 with cab was IMHO the best tractor we ever had on our place.

 

[Creamer]

Going to go with the 4010. Without the 4010 there would have been no 4020. My second would be all the 2 cylinder diesels. Held the fuel efficiency record for a long time. They started with the R, 70, 80, 720, 820, 435 (not a JD engine) 730, 830, 840.

There is a lot of truth to these statements. JD made a major change in thinking going to a radical new style of tractor that proved itself very well in the second iteration. Deere has a history of this the 10s were a good prototype for the much improved 20 series. The 30 series was a good prototype for the 40 series which , as someone, said was nicknamed the Iron Horse, even though it used much of the same platform as the 30 series which were a weak follow up to the 20 series. Then when Deere made the next major platform change to 7000/8000 series the first models were pretty bad. The tweaks took care of the issues and the new 20 &30 series have been pretty strong tractors.
My family has owned various models including 4010, 4020 PS, 4230, 4440, 4250, 4450, 4855, 4960, 7800 and a couple newer ones. Most were purchased new. Of those the 4010 was a good solid tractor but near as good as the 4020. The 4230 was a handy tractor but had many issues that hampered its usefulness. The 7800 once again had many issues and after a couple thousand hours we found no dealer really wanted it traded in to them - at least by the way they were pricing it. My brother decided to go orange at that point if the JDs would not hold resale value.
The family still has the 4020 (and a second one) with who knows how many hours because the meters have long been broken, the 4250, the 4450, 2 4960s, the 7800 and the newer ones. The 4450s had 22,500 hours before it went in for a major tuneup and is still used daily on the feed wagon.

 

[FFSXKT]

Hello friends I am excited to be here engaging with you all. tractor is the most useful agricultural as well as transpirting equipments. I have been through many info about different equipments
Agriculture equipments

 

[m1garand762]

I’m partial to the models wide front that I cut my teeth on in the early 80s working for my grandparents after school after that the 4020 would be second. My dad still has them both we don’t use them much anymore but they made a ton of money for our family when we were big in the nursery business

 

[Cougsfan]

All those old John Deere's were truly great tractors. I might cast a vote for the model A, but could easily be swayed to vote for numerous others. Too bad John Deere isn't the same company that it was back in the day. Like many American companies are today, John Deere has been taken over by bean counters who have slowly changed the company's #1 priority from making the best possible product to making the best possible profit.

 

[beenthere]

If JD doesn't make a profit, they will cease to exist. Other tractor companies of "days of yore" do not exist as such.

And if JD doesn't make the best product, their sales will show that quickly. Agree on the model A, but have a liking for the model G I grew up on. It was a beast.

 

[Cougsfan]

If JD doesn't make a profit, they will cease to exist. Other tractor companies of "days of yore" do not exist as such.

And if JD doesn't make the best product, their sales will show that quickly. Agree on the model A, but have a liking for the model G I grew up on. It was a beast.

Making a profit and maximizing a profit are substantially different things. More often than not, maximizing profit in the short term generally means the company is turned into what we used to call a milk cow. You under-invest in the root items that make your company viable in the long term, and over-pay shareholders and company executives.

If you ask many American company CEO's, "Who do report to?", they will respond; "The shareholders". I'd prefer the company CEO place the customer on equal emphasis as the shareholder. If it isn't, design "improvements" such as plans to monopolizing the maintenance of your tractor and designed obsolescence might become the primary focus for development.

Unfortunately, John Deere these days rely on the rock solid reputation created by their incredibly well made old tractors to sustain sales of their newer equipment. To date that has been working fairly well, but I wouldn't count on that working forever.

 

[beenthere]

I'd disagree, and don't believe you know what you are talking about.

The customers are the ones ultimately making the decision. Don't be jealous. Enjoy your Branson.

 

[rScotty]

Making a profit and maximizing a profit are substantially different things. More often than not, maximizing profit in the short term generally means the company is turned into what we used to call a milk cow. You under-invest in the root items that make your company viable in the long term, and over-pay shareholders and company executives.

If you ask many American company CEO's, "Who do report to?", they will respond; "The shareholders". I'd prefer the company CEO place the customer on equal emphasis as the shareholder. If it isn't, design "improvements" such as plans to monopolizing the maintenance of your tractor and designed obsolescence might become the primary focus for development.

Unfortunately, John Deere these days rely on the rock solid reputation created by their incredibly well made old tractors to sustain sales of their newer equipment. To date that has been working fairly well, but I wouldn't count on that working forever.

Those all seem to be very good points, and I feel the same. But given the excellent returns in recent years, shareholders are unlikely to complain about JD's monopolization of repair and maintenance - or about the current design goals.

And as you point out, the customers have no voice.

So I don't see any reason to expect JD to change their new way of doing things. It's interesting that by making their recent changes in manufacturing and design, JD has opened a well-defined path for their competitors to follow. It's a very well known path - being the same route that JD used to get to where they are today.

rScotty

 

[mwayne]

A local ag mechanic shop has an annual tractor pull and anyone can bring their tractor. This 520 was punching beyond it size and never did stall out, the tires dug a hole and he was finished. So for now the 520 is my favorite John Deere. Notice there is only one front tire.