Model 4220

[dharris894]

Model 4220

Hello. I am a new member. I have been shopping for a tractor in the 30-40hp range. I was looking at a Kubota 3350 when I came across an add for a Yanmar 4220B with a Loader and Backhoe for $16,000.

I've been trying to research it but there is nothing out there about the 4220. It sounds like most of the models in this forum are smaller. Is Yanmar a good choice for a mid-size tractor like this? Any idea if the price is right?

Why have some of you gone with a Yanmar instead of a Kubota or John Deere?

Thanks for the info...

 

[cfoxmd]

Re: Model 4220

The reason that people buy the yanmars is that they are much less expensive for a good tractor. The tractors are sold in the Japanese market--generally to Japanese rice farmers. The rice farmers get subsidies to get new tractors every so often. Therefore there is a big oversupply of used good quality tractors in Japan and not much of a market. Therefore the better ones are bought, containerized, and shipped here where the importer takes care of the minor problems and sells them.

They do not have the safety features (i.e. no ROPS, the throttle is opposite of US models, and there is not protection for the PTO) of the US tractors. Yanmar used to sell tractors in the US and generally these have 3 digit model numbers.

Yanmar itself does not support the grey market tractors and parts are harder to come by. The dealers here are pretty good about getting parts. Some models, however, are not common (see the thread about orphans).

All of the tractors are good design, but you are right that ones as large as the 4220 are more unusual. I have a FX28D (FX models are newer) which is 33 hp (28 at the PTO).

In terms of a backhoe, most of the smaller yanmars use the transmission as the frame. A good backhoe should attach to a subframe not a 3 point hitch--as apparently it is easy to break the tractor.

In terms of how common it is, there are likely to be only a few out there so parts may be hard to come by. A few dealers here may be able to tell you more.