4 Series In The Field

[mstockdale]

Hello,

I would like to get a 4044r to do some minor haying work (square bale - 15 acres at the most per year) has anyone used a 4 series tractor in this capacity? Would also be looking to use this tractor for various other tasks around my property such as snow removal.....lots of snow removal, bushhogging, landscaping, firewood hauling, loading sawmill etc...

wondering what your experiences have been with your 4 series and do you wish you had gone bigger?

 

[beenthere]

Limited response may be that no one else can answer your quest for "a tractor to suit my needs". just sayin.....

Wish you the best, and someone may come along and give you an answer, but it will not be other than what works for "their needs". You'll have to decide if theirs are a match for your needs.

Good luck..

 

[mstockdale]

Limited response may be that no one else can answer your quest for "a tractor to suit my needs". just sayin.....

Wish you the best, and someone may come along and give you an answer, but it will not be other than what works for "their needs". You'll have to decide if theirs are a match for your needs.

Good luck..

Thanks for the input, i certainly struggle with expressing what i mean in written word not a word smith by any stretch. But yes i am looking for how peoples tractors suit 鍍heir needs as their experiences will hopefully guide me in choosing a tractor.

 

[Ortimber]

I had a 70HP Kubota tractor (kind of a 4 series size?) and replaced it with a bigger 5 series JD. The only thing that I lost was a slight amount of agility in tight forested areas. I only have 50hrs on the new machine and so far it's better for everything, which includes loader work, grapple work, chipping, and feeding round bales. Haying is just around the corner and I can't wait to see how things go.

 

[Wagtail]

What's the maximum weight of a log that you'll be loading onto the sawmill?

That sounds like the biggest task that you'll be wanting your new tractor to perform.

 

[mstockdale]

What's the maximum weight of a log that you'll be loading onto the sawmill?

That sounds like the biggest task that you'll be wanting your new tractor to perform.

I found an online calculator that spit me out a number for a Maple log 8" at the small end and 20" at the butt 16' long would weight around 1200lbs (approx.544kg) that would be about the heaviest since I mostly process softwoods (spruce, pine fir).

 

[sloeffle]

Personally, I'd buy hay before spending 40k ( including tractor ) on equipment to bale 15 acres worth of ground. Every ton of hay you harvest takes roughly 75$ worth of nutrients out of the ground. If you can buy hay for $100 - $125 per ton you are money ahead. I can buy round bales all day long for $90 - $125 per ton.

If you really really want to avoid the rain showers, equipment breakdowns and make your own hay I wouldn't have a machine that is less than 100 PTO HP. My buddy and his dad make hay on my ground and they use a JD 4230 and an IH 880. I have a 60HP Fordson ( 6k lb tractor ) and I don't think it has the weight nor the HP to pull a fully loaded hay wagon and baler, let alone a 12 foot haybine in 3 foot tall grass. If you do get the 4 series tractor and plan on using it to make hay I would not get the hydrostatic model. IMHO hydrostatic tractors are not built to lug like a geared tractor.

 

[CobyRupert]

Sloeffle makes some good points on the economy of baling yourself.
Can you "get away with" a 35 (PTO) hp compact utility tractor on a baler? Eh.. maybe, probably, many have.
The questions are:
How hardened (long term life span) is the pto to take the shock/surging of a baler's plunger? (Dependent on: How big is baler's flywheel, how fast are you feeding hay, type of grass, etc...) Not sure if todays compacts are as hardy as the old Farmall H's or Deere A's of similar horsepower.

Does baler have a kicker or thrower? Are you pulling a wagon? Is terrain flat?

Others may have comments on the pros/cons of smaller windrows (less leaves knocked off / but longer baling time / many bale flakes, etc..)

It's easy to spend other people's money, so the usual advice here is to tell people to buy bigger than what they think they can get away with.
I don't think the 5 series is that much more expensive (if at all) and you get a lot more capacity for other tasks like loading sawmill etc...

 

[mstockdale]

Personally, I'd buy hay before spending 40k ( including tractor ) on equipment to bale 15 acres worth of ground. Every ton of hay you harvest takes roughly 75$ worth of nutrients out of the ground. If you can buy hay for $100 - $125 per ton you are money ahead. I can buy round bales all day long for $90 - $125 per ton.

If you really really want to avoid the rain showers, equipment breakdowns and make your own hay I wouldn't have a machine that is less than 100 PTO HP. My buddy and his dad make hay on my ground and they use a JD 4230 and an IH 880. I have a 60HP Fordson ( 6k lb tractor ) and I don't think it has the weight nor the HP to pull a fully loaded hay wagon and baler, let alone a 12 foot haybine in 3 foot tall grass. If you do get the 4 series tractor and plan on using it to make hay I would not get the hydrostatic model. IMHO hydrostatic tractors are not built to lug like a geared tractor.

Great info thanks...Yes it would be a little foolish to spend 40k on a tractor and hay equipment for 15 acres (My neighbor currently has all the equipment so no need to purchase). Haying will be only a small component of what I will be doing with the tractor but want to make sure the 4044 will do the task....which from my reasearch should not be a problem to run a sickle bar mower, tow a tedder and rake, and run a square baler (we usually pick up the bales by hand...no thrower :thumbdown.

Might be a better idea to go with a 3 series and find an old David Brown, Ford or something to do the haying with.

Good call on not getting a hydrostatic...I like hydrostatics but prefer the geared power reverser.

 

[mstockdale]

Does baler have a kicker or thrower? Are you pulling a wagon? Is terrain flat?

No Thrower, would only be pulling a wagon to pick up bales, terrain is gentle slope with a gully at the end.

It's easy to spend other people's money, so the usual advice here is to tell people to buy bigger than what they think they can get away with.
I don't think the 5 series is that much more expensive (if at all) and you get a lot more capacity for other tasks like loading sawmill etc...

Haha yes certainly understand...I received a quote on a 5075M from my local dealer for $66,000..approx $825 per mth....a hard one to swallow.

 

[aczlan]

We have been pulling a New Holland small square baler (a 273) with a belt kicker behind a Kubota L3830 for at least 10 years. It has been big enough to run it. When you are going downhill with a full haywagon you need to keep the speed down or it feels iffy, but we have never had issues with a lack of control.

Aaron Z

 

[mstockdale]

aczlan

Since you have a kicker i'm assuming you are also pulling your hay wagon while baling.

 

[aczlan]

aczlan

Since you have a kicker i'm assuming you are also pulling your hay wagon while baling.

Yes we are. We can fit 150-200 bales in our wagons.

Aaron Z

 

[sloeffle]

(My neighbor currently has all the equipment so no need to purchase)

I'd try to work a deal out with the neighbor to bale the 15 acres and save your money. Most people do it on shares or a fixed per bale cost. I was doing some googling last night about how much PTO HP it takes to run a square baler and came across this topic.

This post sums up why I wouldn't use anything besides a bigger machine pretty well:

It not only comes down to HP, it has a lot to do with weight of the tractor. It's recommended ( by NH) that your tractor at least equale the weight of your baler. Add a thrower, full wagon and a good hill..... Make sure your ropes is up and seat belt is on and get ready to have that baler and wagon hooked up in a much different configuration than you started. With that said, hills should be a big part of you future planing.

 

[CobyRupert]

Looks like 4 horsepower is enough!
(...and that's without a pony motor)

Jump to 1:30:

 

[charleyfarmall]

I have a 4520 so basically the equivalent. I have used it for 5 years to mow rake and bale 15 acres. It works fine. HST is great for running a sickle mower and an older square baler. If the field is rough you'll have a rough ride, otherwise it's fine and has plenty of weight and horsepower. We have also used it quite a bit for loading logs onto a sawmill using a grapple. It will certainly do the work.
For last year I added 5085e and used it for the baler but I still cut with the 4520 because I like it better with the sickle. This year we have been offered my neighbors fields and will be baling 50 acres so I am now looking at disc mowers to increase efficiency. In dry grass though I can run the sickle at 6mph though. It gets too rough above that speed. The bigger tractor and disc mower will let me mow faster than that with the longer wheelbase, plus I can cut when its damp in the morning or evening.

 

[dsb5610]

I have a 4720 HST. It has rimguard in the rears and fronts are foam filled. 400cx loader. I've used it on a 9' haybine and square baler (not a kicker) with wagon. Worked well. Ran the same with a 4010 diesel ag tractor (84hp PTO). Prefer the 4720 due to HST and cab.

I use it for mowing (Woods BW12 and NH455 sickle), firewood tasks, hauling brush, snow removal, etc. The HST is very good for these tasks.

dsb

 

[popsie]

Have 4720 i run a new holland 311 baler with and have run many tractors on baler. 4720 with hydro is a dream with it. Set pto speed and go.