Do I just get rid of my 4010 and buy a 4630?

Hey all,

So putting a torture box (aftermarket cab) on the 4010 is out, as I figured. Putting a SG cab on my 4430 OS is still gonna be around $5000, so that's undesirable. Just flat adding a tractor is not justifiable (Last year, I put 10 hours on my 60, 75 hour on my half 2040, 100 hours on my 4010, and 75 hours on my 4430, and I just picked up my grandpa's 3020)

How about I sell my 4010, put 16.9-38s on 14 inch rims on my 4430 for cultivating 30 inch rows on contour strips (so much heavier than my 4010...), and buy a 4630 cab tractor as my big hoss for 10K at a local jockey's place? My big tractor needs to pull a 14 foot BWF with 18 foot spring tooth harrow and 5-18 IH plow. These are EVERYTHING my 4430 wanted - they work it hard. It also needs to run a 375 bushel spreader and Degelman dozer blade on occasion.

Big problem with this plan is I just got done spending beaucoup bucks on my 4010 - 30 series front end, rebuilt hydraulic pump, newer diesel engine out of a 4430, new clutch, new rear rims, new hydraulic valves, new brakes - everything but the tranny (knock on wood). I'll never get back out of it what I have in it and I've hit all the bad parts in the tractor, so it [b:03e02d0583][u:03e02d0583]should[/u:03e02d0583][/b:03e02d0583] be dead reliable.

All this decision making to get a cab to give my 4 year old boy a relatively safe ride in a tractor...

Put a set of Carharts on him and bolt a safety seat to the fender,,I spent the first 5 years of my life setting on the floor board of a 60 one foot on each side of the shifter box...

I agree with Tim. I grew up on a 4020 and an IH 1206. I sat on the fender and was told to hold on with both hands as hard as I could. Hell, I driving the 4020 when I was 3 years old across the yard. If things got rough in the field, dad either told me to get off or I sat between his legs on the seat.

If I were going to trade I would get rid of the 4430. The
only problem with the 4630 is it only has a 1000 rpm pto.

I like how you guys think!!!

I floated that idea by my wonderful wife and she vetoed it. When she was little, she had a very close call on the 4430 (the same one) with her dad driving and her on the fender. She's a sweet girl, but has laid down the law - the kids will NOT be riding on open station tractors. I thought bolting an old car seat to the fender and to the ROPS would be adequate, but she will not be swayed. I'm sure she's right. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if "something" happened.

BUT a kid recently fell out of a cab tractor here. Dunno what tractor it was, but it surely couldn't have been a SG cab. I'm betting it was a newer tractor with the easily opened large side doors, not the front door on a Soundgard. Frankly, there's no way to keep a kid absolutely safe on a tractor, but there are reasonable precautions that can make an unsafe ride into a safer one.

I'm gonna go look at that 4630. the 1000 only PTO isn't an issue with plows, disks, even spreaders (1000 was an option on these and easily retrofitted - or just run half throttle with an adapter).

Those old cabs and sound gards had no good place for a
rider or to hang onto. I fell out of a 4230 cab. Lucky the
loader frame was there to bang into.
Spent alot of hours sitting on flat top fenders and hanging
on.
Never been in new tractors,don't know if they have buddy
seats or not?

I think a SGB that has a good operating latch with the metal door frame is a whole lot safer that the newer tractors with a GLASS door. Newer tractors can have a buddy seat as a factory or field installed option.

(quoted from post at 16:04:41 06/14/13) Those old cabs and sound gards had no good place for a
rider or to hang onto. I fell out of a 4230 cab. Lucky the
loader frame was there to bang into.
Spent alot of hours sitting on flat top fenders and hanging
on.
Never been in new tractors,don't know if they have buddy
seats or not?

Click to expand...

Hey Mike,

Dad bought a 4430 brand new in the mid 70's. I came along in 80. As soon as I was old enough to toddle to the steps, I spent many hours on the left hand arm rest. The cloth in-cab seat armrest folds down flat and makes a sort of bench seat. Since then I have noticed that earlier soundgards had the original "deluxe" seat found on the 4020s. Maybe that's the seat you were thinking of...

You are right, though, that the newer models are about living room sized versus the little soundgard.

Been there and just done that....I just traded off a 1020 and 2040 and modernized with a 990 which serves my purpose better than both the other...now reason...I"ve had the letter tractors over a period of 50+ years...I really enjoy tractors but I found that the trend was hanging onto a certain generation calling it antique. I"ve had parts at times but now they are getting near non existence for 80 year old tractors and when you find them they are so so. Our whole tractor club decided to change so we now have a farm fest with any and all tractors people enjoy both new and old...it sure turned our club around and we offer all types of side entertainment. As one goes through life everything changes whether you recognize it, like it or accept it or not. An elderly friend of mine said things need to circulate and he was right...time to move on....

A four year old is plenty small to spend much time on a tractor,so take your time and make a plan before you buy something.When my children were that age I would haul them on the seat or standing on the patform (betweeen my knees) of our 3020 and 4020"s for one round or load then they had to go back to the house.If I was doing something that took lots of attention(chopping silage or baling hay) I would drive a gear slower for their ride.We later put a year-round cab on our 4020 but it is hot and noisy.There was a rather nice looking 4630 on the Madison Craiglist today.

So I went to the sale today. The tractor wasn't TERRIBLE, but it had been used hard. One hub wedge was destroyed with only one bolt holding it in. The other had clearly been subjected to waaaay too much heat and was actually melted in spots. Tires were mismatched and bald, remotes needed rebuilding. The sediment bowl and fuel filters looked like someone had dumped hay chaff in them. No Weights, no toplink

BUT it started right up, shifted decent in all gears, had upgraded air that blew cold, and had a decent interior. i couldn't detect significant blow-by. It had triple hydraulics.

I'm just not sure it would have been a GOOD replacement for the 4430 (which I had decided I had to sell to justify the 4630 - the 4010 is just too valuable in my operation to get rid of).

Anyway, final bid was $9500. I had decided to go to 9000, so it didn't go home with me.