JD 4020 for baling square bale hay

wally b

Member
I have an opportunity for one of these to use primarily for hay baling 60 lb sq bales 20-40 ton yr. Is this overkill of a tractor power? I will be using a JD 346 baler

wally
 
No, they are a great baling tractor. The extra weight will keep the full wagon and baler from pushing you around, the 6 cylinder will smooth out the baler surges.
 
I agree. It's amazing what we think we need these days. 2520-3020 would be plenty of tractor for the job.
 
I have used my son's 4020 pulling a 430 IH baler and Farmhand accumulator. Did a great job here in our hill country.
Richard in NW SC
 
The 2520 would be OK on flat ground, but it is night and day baling with the 4020. It just handles it much better.
 
I baled a lot of hay and straw over the years with a 4010 diesel and 347 baler. In heavy hay and on a couple of steep hillsides I was glad to have a tractor that big.
 
I've had a 2520 for 44 years now, and plenty of hills around here. For the first 25 years I had it, it balled a lot of hay pulling a baler with a kicker and high sided wagons without a problem. They're a lot of tractor, and probably the best baling tractor I ever had.
 
Don,

Have you ever baled with a 4020?

I bet you would not go back to a 2520 if you had used a 4020.
 
Overkill power-wise, but like the other guys said, that large of a tractor will smooth out the baler. If you have guys riding on the rack they will like the smoothness. One little downfall is the big tractor won't bog if the driver lets the clutch out a little too fast, making for more dancing back on the rack. Jim
 
I would rather bale hay with my 730 than the 4020. The 4020 gets pushed around and burns over 5 gallons a hour (diesel) 4020 is a ok tractor, I think they are way over rated. I would only purchase a side console, our locals mega jd store can't fix dash hydro controlls. Expensive to fix. Lots of pto hourse power. If you dyno at RATED engine rpm you will get 88-90 horsepower. All thesehigh horse power claims are from overiding the governor! Power brakes that have not worn through and the rivits and grind up everything are nice. I think 4020 are on average over priced 4000 dollars. If youare goinv to spend over 10,000 for a 4020, try something newer and maybe in a different color, just a thought. I had a 97o thatwould run circle s around my 4020. Let me be clear, the 4020 is ok, but they are not the so called prodigal son that fans make them out to be
 
(quoted from post at 06:24:42 04/05/14) I would rather bale hay with my 730 than the 4020. The 4020 gets pushed around and burns over 5 gallons a hour (diesel) 4020 is a ok tractor, I think they are way over rated.

4020's don't command the the prices that they bring just because they are in your mind an "OK tractor". Granted a 730 D will use less fuel but with the 2 cyl engine power pulse's VS a 6 cylinder I doubt seriously a 730( 6790 to 9241 pounds) @ 59 HP will outperform a 4020(8225 to 13980 pounds) @ 95 HP on the pto pulling a sq baler.
 
You wont find one much better and the good part if you can buy a nice 71/72 right and take care of it it will increase in value and that doesn't happen on many other tractors.I have many callers that would like to trade me some nice two cylinders for NewGen tractors.
 
(quoted from post at 08:01:51 04/05/14) I agree - the 4020 is not the prodigal son that some make out they are - a 730D is a better tractor.

I guess next thing you & TRACTORNUTJD will be bragging on is the 730 pto shaft that doesn't sit in line with the drawbar. I suppose you think that offset design makes u-joints on pto shafts have a longer life.
 
I will have to disagree with you Geoff,The 4020 "IS" the tractor that turned the tide for John Deere, and has continued to provide power and use on many farms,,near every one that I have ever dynoed had a strong 100-110 hp in their stock condition, I have farmed with 720's in the past and I do appreciate them but when we went on to the 4020's it became a new and better world for us, they are still in high demand because of their strong usefulness. Auction prices are a true indicator of a tractors real value and they are always a strong price,, a 1972 in original good condition went for $28,000 at a farm auction near me a couple years ago,,there were 5 strong bidders up to the $22,000 area. I know that was just one example,, but a documented one and Larry will tell you that any good 1972 4020 will be in the $15,000 to $17,000 range ....near twice their original price. And I write this with the greatest respect for all 2 cylinders...
 
I agree with Tim S, the 4020 is the tractor that turned the tide for JD. I would bet a strong majority of farms still have one around, there is a reason for it.

There is practically zero surge running a baler with the tractor.
 
We ran a 24T baler with a 730 gas all through the 60's. We replaced one and sometimes two PTO crosses a year. We blamed it on the offset PTO but maybe it was a combination of the offset and two cylinders pounding away. Then the 730 was traded for a 4020 and we never worked on the PTO again with the 4020 on it. Jim
 
Yes the off-set PTO was a bit of an issue, we always matched the draw bar to the PTO,, and the PUTT=PUTT does carry on through the PTO to the implement. We had a neighbor that ran the old 70 on the generator once and a while,, it would make the lights flicker,, the 4020 on the gen set would not flutter the lights....It is just simply a different kind of power,,not actually a bad thing,,but different...
 
(quoted from post at 12:39:11 04/05/14) We ran a 24T baler with a 730 gas all through the 60's. We replaced one and sometimes two PTO crosses a year. We blamed it on the offset PTO but maybe it was a combination of the offset and two cylinders pounding away. Then the 730 was traded for a 4020 and we never worked on the PTO again with the 4020 on it. Jim

I agree that the offset pto shaft on 2 cyl's was a bad design for u-joint longevity.
 
Been using them for over 30 years. Pulsing theory is
bs and never took aout a ujoint. Some people just
don't know how to run them. NEVER rebuilt the ptos
in 720, 730, 70,60 or the 80. Seen numerous 4020
take out the synco range pto clutch running a 3940
or equivalent chopper. Just saying 4020 is way over
rated. They are ok but more problematic
 
(quoted from post at 14:54:10 04/05/14) An intelligent operator knows to swing the drawbar

If you swing a 730 drawbar to the left then you'll need to spend hours moving the RH wheels of tractor in so they don't run on the windrow while pulling the sqq baler. :wink:
 
It's more than you need, but not crazy more. We used to fill 4 barns per year with a 4020 or 4320 running the 336 baler with a kicker. I'd rather have too much than too little.
 
We bale with a 4440 and a 328 baler,,in heavy hay and pushing it the governors will work a bit, and stacking on a wagon pulled behind it we will do 1800-2000 bales after lunch..yes that is a little more than needed but it all depends on what you want to achieve for the day,,and how smooth you want things to go,,as far as comparing a 2 cylinder PTO system to a 4020... there is no comparison,,a 4020 PTO system is smoother and longer lasting than any old style PTO will ever hope to be...
 

We baled for years with two 336 kicker balers and a 3020D & 4020D. We always stacked the basket racks to get more bales on them for long distances between field and barn. The 4020 was traded for a 4020D Power Shift at one time, then traded for a 3020D. We traded to 346 balers for a long time, the switched to NH575 balers as they had a foot wider pickup than the Deere, which helped when you wanted to make the winrow as wide as possible for good drying. We still have the 3020D's and you won't get them from my Dad until we're both long gone, but my brother has switched us to 3'x3' square bales. I think the baler is a Vermeer. You have to pull that with a good sized tractor. Right now he uses the 7830 with the IVT. It has a 5 bale accumulator so it gets to be a load at times. We still have one NH575 left to do small bales if needed, and for small custom jobs. For the small square baler a 3020D or 4020D will be perfect. Gas, better go with a 4020. We tried a 3020G one summer. It did not handle the baler near as well as the diesel. The powershift works great if you're not the guy riding on the rack, as the shifts can be a little abrupt, but great for varying speed for uneven winrows.

Adrian
 
i dissagree, seen too many 4020 split for the pto idler gear, and pto clutch. never understood the so called "smooth" thing, and i have run 1600 hydr swing, 718 new holland chopper, and ag bagger, filled 24ft x 70ft silo with grass to name a few on my 720 and 730 diesels and on a far less fuel than a 4020. NEVER have had to adjust my ptos on my 2 cylinders. yes pto horsepower is greater with the 4020, dashboard hyd controll was just stupid.side consoles were nicer to use and had less hyd problems. I have found over the last 30 years that people just don't know how to run those old two cylinders and base the opinions on that. 4020 is a good tractor but people put them up on a pedistal and pay absurd prices for them. I wish I had a few to sell
 

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