JD 4320, is it enough tractor?

[cjtinkle]

Back in 2007, we bought a JD 4320 for a current property we own. Life changed, and we ended up moving to 5 acres on the edge of town, so the tractor gets used for an occasional project, but has mostly been idle in the shop these last 7 years.

2 years ago we purchased 70 acres to build our retirement home on. There's maybe 12-15 acres in pasture, the rest is wooded and has trails. So there's not a ton of brush hogging, and we don't plan on making more pasture.

We will be doing extensive gardening and have a tiller, a row planter, hipper, row maker, box blade, wood chipper, grapple bucket and brush hog. There's also going to be 1/2 mile of gravel road down to the house. The first 1/4 miles stretch has been built, and we're waiting on our dozer guy to start the next stretch. The trees (a significant amount, because the utility company news a 30 foot easement in addition to the driveway) will be laid along side the clearing as the dozer goes, so we'll have those to contend with (probably a lifelong project).

Is our tractor going to be enough for these projects? Oh and we also have a backhoe attachment for it.

We'll be hiring out the road construction, ground clearing and pad building. So the tractor will just be needed for maintaining the property and gardening.

TIA!

 

[Gordon Gould]

I would say you will be fine. I do all the same kind of work and extensive small scale logging on our hilly 170 acres with a 30 hp L3010. It sounds like you are well equiped for what youu will want to do. I would not switch tractors until you find that there is something that it can't do that you really want to do yourself.

 

[Gary Fowler]

You have plenty of tractor for maintaining your new property. A 40 hp @ PTO is perfect size for bush hogging and can even move large round bales in most cases especially if you use a QA bale fork. I do an amazing amount of work with my much smaller B26 TLB removing unwanted trees, digging out stumps etc. I think you will be pleasantly surprised by the capability of your JD.

My brother in law maintains 32 acres of pasture with his 40 HP New Holland 2310 with cab mowing with his 6 foot bush hog, moving round bales with ease, lifts and can unload 1500# super sacks of ground feed from his pick up and move them into his barn under an 8 foot door.
Upgrading to a cabbed tractor would be the only reason to trade for a new tractor.

 

[JMER817]

I'm maintaining 25 acres with my 4120 which is the same size with less hp (35 pto) and have yet to run into a job where I didn't have enough tractor.

 

[TripleR]

Pretty much what everyone else said, I don't see the real "need" for a different machine. After using it a while, you you may "want" something bigger/cab etc., but maybe not; I'd wait and see.

 

[chevy]

I have a 4120 & use a backhoe on it.
Based on what I can do with it, I see no reason to upgrade tractors, unless you just want to.

 

[rekees4300]

We'll be hiring out the road construction, ground clearing and pad building. So the tractor will just be needed for maintaining the property and gardening.

I have 42 acres similar to yours and JD4300 4WD. It's plenty tractor for brush hogging, pushing snow, FEL work and other light to moderate tasks. You have the good sense to hire out for heavier projects. Many folks try to use a small tractor for large projects and end up breaking the tractor. I think your 4320 will be a good machine for your needs.

 

[JMER817]

I have 42 acres similar to yours and JD4300 4WD. It's plenty tractor for brush hogging, pushing snow, FEL work and other light to moderate tasks. You have the good sense to hire out for heavier projects. Many folks try to use a small tractor for large projects and end up breaking the tractor. I think your 4320 will be a good machine for your needs.

The older 4300 is similar to the current 3000 series. The 4320 is a larger tractor

 

[cjtinkle]

Oh thank heavens, I was so hoping you guys would all say that! A bigger tractor really isn't in the budget. When we bought the place, we considered it, but instead put that cash that could have gone to a larger tractor into a Gator, as we figured the pair would give us more options and we could get more done. The Gator has surprised us with it's work capacity, and we felt like we made a good choice, but we're not living there yet using both all the time... I keep second guessing myself

 

[rekees4300]

The older 4300 is similar to the current 3000 series. The 4320 is a larger tractor

Oh okay, it hard to keep track of JD's ever changing numbering system, that means there's even less reason to trade in the 4320.

 

[boggen]

which tractor did you buy? you said bought, but didn't say new/used...
TractorData.com John Deere 4320 tractor information
TractorData.com John Deere 4320 tractor information


tiller,
row planter,
hipper, (grass seed spreading?)
row maker, (potatoe hiller)
box blade,
wood chipper,
grapple bucket
rotatory cutter ((name bran brush hog))
backhoe ((make sure you have a sub frame for it so you don't destroy your 3pt hitch))

1/2 mile gravel road, plus trails.... box blade has ya part way there. but most likely you will want something extra to make things easier and quicker at certain things.
3pt rear blade, 3pt land plane (LPGS), and/or 3pt landscape/york rake,

R1 / ag tires, would most likely be suggested, vs R4 tires. more so in mud/slop
you may want to get some rear tire chains.

some sort of "12v electrical spot sprayer say 20 to 40 gallons in size" myself prefer pull behind or skid (that i could fit in FEL (Front end loader), back of truck, on atv, on 3pt hitch carry all))

misc things... find a way to hang a couple 5 gallon buckets from tractor to carry some misc tools or mount a box to carry some misc tools / extra pins / wire / rope around with you.
upper lights on the ROPS (assuming the newer 4320 tractor) for front and rear lighting.

=============
with you being mostly woods, having a CAB might get ugly on low branches and taking windows, mirrors, lights, out on a cab. but since ya in the 4 season zone, (spring, summer, fall, winter) and see all the worst of each one, a CAB might be worth it, from snow plowing, to keeping the dust off ya, to other. cab is about the only reason why i could see you swapping tractors... upgrading or down grading in HP. but it would also mean possibly swapping out backhoe and Grappel bucket, that alone may make things costly to change tractors.

 

[OZisKTB]

Echoing boggen:

My 4:1 bucket is invaluable. Per W.R. Long they "bulldozes, grapples, grades, loads and more." My hours in my 3720 Cab are few, so just getting the knack for some of these capabilities. I can pick-up better, and clean up after my loader work much better with the 4:1. Your grapple may be good enough, though they are different capabilities.

I don't see any limits on your tractor unless you are going to convert the pasture to cropland. What limits are you experiencing?

The 3pt should lift sufficiently, do you plan on any logging, or skidding timber? Look at Wallenstein's skid plates, winches and grapples.

I think you are right that you need both a tractor and a get around work vehicle (Gator).

 

[cjtinkle]

Boggin, we have the newer 4320, we bought it new in 2007. The backhoe is the JD model and attaches to the subframe.

I'm not really familiar with what a rear blade, land plane, or york rake do in comparison to the box blade. I'll have to ask hubby if he's familiar with them, but meanwhile I'll do some research, thank you for the suggestions.

We have filled R4's I believe, but I won't swear to that.

A sprayer is on the want list, but probably for the Gator versus the tractor.

I don't think we want a cab. It'd be nice in the summer for sure, but we don't get any snow here and I'm just sure it would get damaged with all the trees everywhere.

 

[boggen]

Tractor Attachments And Skid Steer Attachments For Any Tractor Or Skid Steer has video and good amount of text for everything they have listed, good starting point to familiarize and see what is available and what it might do better vs other attachment.

 

[cjtinkle]

Thanks, I'll check it out!

 

[RaydaKub]

which tractor did you buy? you said bought, but didn't say new/used...
TractorData.com John Deere 4320 tractor information
TractorData.com John Deere 4320 tractor information

Yeah, I was envisioning the 2nd one, wondering how 115hp tractor wasn't enough for 70 acres. We farmed with a Case 730 (67hp) for a long time on 3 times that much land.