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JD 4020 Plows

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deereman18

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I have a 68 4020 and i'm looking to buy a set of semi-mount plows. I have looked at 4 and 5 bottom plows. Everyone i have talked to tells me a 4020 wont handle 5 bottoms. I have a lot of hills and i don"t want to buy a set that i won"t be able to pull. I need some suggestions on what size plow to buy.
 
In loamy or sandy conditions and slope less than 5 % you should be alright assuming the engine is in good well maintained condition with 5 - 16's. Most in those conditions around here can run 4th or 5th gear.
Start running in soil with a little clay mixed in or slopes 7% or more, probably 3rd gear with good tires.
Heavy clay will mean going to a 4 bottom.
Only saw one fellow with a 3 bottom and he admitted that was because he was too cheap and was too close to retirement to bother with any thing else. He did, though, buy his 4020 new in 1972 (diesel, synchro, 2 remotes). Wish I could have bought it at his retirement auction. 10,000 dollars in 1986.
 
Here in Iowa with sandy ground I can pull a 5 bottom all day in fourth gear. Even in the thick stuff I can pull in 3rd. Im running 107 horse in a rebuilt 404.
 
5 bottoms is good, depending on those hills. Weight that thing up, you should have no problem in 4th or 5th gear.
 
DAD BOUGHT A NEW 4020 IN 1970 WITH A 5 BOTTOM. HE HAD NO TROUBLE IN 4TH GEAR. NOW WHERE I NOW LIVE A STRONG 4320 WON'T PULL THAT 5 BOTTOM. I'D SUGGEST YOU FINDING A GOOD 4-16" AND PLOW ALL DAY IN 5th GEAR.
 
We run 5-16's on stock 4020's for years here in southeast Ohio,4th and 5th gear, the clay banks worked them some but they dealt with it okay, if you don't have a lot of plowing to do the 4 bottom would run smoother without fighting an over-load in tough spots,and you will have a little more wind hitting you in the face..
 
All depends on your soil. We plowed thousands of acres with 4020s........way back when. Had a F145H 6-bottom, same thing w/5-bottom and a 5-bottom 3-point, which I can't remember the model number of. All 14 inch; neither would gain a round in a hour, 'though we liked the semi-mounts better. Always ran in 4th.....synchro, 18.4 x 34.
 
We got a 3 bottom 3pt hitch plow that works the 4020 but we also have gray clay soil that is real hard to work, like said before, it is going to depend on soil conditions. I have noticed that it seems to do much better if you plow fast instead of slow. It seems like going fast enough for the dirt to fly off the end of the plow makes for a smoother field and easier disking than going slow and letting it roll of the plow in big clumps. If it were me I’d go with the 4 instead of the 5.
 
I live in south central minn, (heavy black gumbo)pull jd 2600 4 18's third gear ,no problem fourth gear and the low areas test the power but he pulls it. I would go with the 4 bottom. bob
 
I hitched a 4x 18 to my 4020 about ten years ago. It pulled fine in third gear, but between no weights on the front of the tractor and the hitch being on the high side, I couldn't keep the front wheels on the ground in central Iowa (Nicollet, Webster, Clarion soil types) in the lower damper spots. When they climbed up 6', I ripped the plows out of the ground and got out the big impact wrench. When I got done, I'd lowered the hitch height, added all the weights I had, and changed the 4x 18 to 3x18. I last plowed in 5th gear and the field came out nearly flat, only a few furrows showed. The dirt had turned over fast enough it had crumbled. 5.5 mph vs 3.3 mph (and not enough torque to lift the front end) 3 bottoms vs 4 bottoms, I plowed more ground in a day with 3 than with 4. I'm not going back to four.

I don't need the plow anymore. An Allis Chalmers 2000 monobeam. Needs a 3x8 cylinder for the rear lift.

It all depends on YOUR soil conditions. Sand is easiest to plow.

Gerald J.
 
When I was a kid we used to pull 5-16s with an R (about 45 horse) in third gear in sandy soil. Where I live now, 3-16s are all my 730 (about 58 horse) wants in third. My 4020 pulls 3-16's just fine, of course, but is short on traction in some cases. Would think even here 4-16s would be max. for the 4020.
 
Yes a 4020 will handle a 5 bottom plow in most conditions. However it always seems more enjoyable (and easier on the tractor) to pull one less. Just my thought.
 
Hay: deereman18 : I think a JD F145H or F145A plow would be a good match for your 68' 4020, buy a 5/16" it's easily reducible to 4/16" . they can have a hyd. ajustable side hill hitch (option) works great in uneven ground. As said in previous posts size of plow a 4020 pulls depends on soil type, moisture ,and amount of slopes you have to your farm..
 
F145H 4x16 is my suggestion. Here in the hills and clay of Western Wisconsin I can work my 4320 pretty hard with a 4x16.

How does this group feel about rear tire width vs. plow share width? On the right side hill my 16 inch plow will leave a little sliver of a ditch after the 18" rear tire. Paul
 
If the 3-point hitch isnt adjusted correctly that plow will pull like it has another bottom on it. Proper weighting is a must because if the front end is light the 3-point cant work. You need the base weights plus a slab weight for the tractor and one slab for each bottom to start.Then you weight the rear end for proper slipage.We had customers that pulled anywhere from 3/16 to 6/16 or 4/18 or 4/20's. depth any where fron 5-6 inches to 10 inches.Most common was 5/16 plows.
 
I've always ran F145 5x14" JD plows on our 4020s just fine. Sometimes it can pull like a bugger but 95% of the time I run just fine in 3rd or 4th gear. We have some clay areas. Our 4620 pulled the 1450 6x16s about the same. The 4620 was set to 150hp and the 4020s are factory set hp. I normally run the plow 10 to 12" deep, I did get 3 to 14 with the 4620 one year on some light river bottom soil and never knew I was running that deep until dad came out and looked, it was running nicely in 5th gear with that big plow and never lugged down. On the other hand I've had some dirt that dried up into concrete and 3rd was more than the tractor had.
 
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