Help - 4120 or 3520?

[Cidertom]

I'll weigh in with the following comments (your mileage may vary, Professional operator in a closed sandbox etc)

One issue I am finding going from my 4300 to the 4520: Torque. With the hp already up against the cat 1 -cat 2 boundary, finding stuff that is as strong as the tractor can dish out is becoming an issue. So far I have managed to: Pull apart a decent rear blade, snap a tow bridle when the drag harrow hung up, bend the moldboard in a box scraper when I found a stump that had been cut flush. 4520 with filled R4 tires takes a lot to stop it, I wasn't using speed and inertia to do these things, I just didn't notice that parts of the setup were still going while others were stopped.

If I didn't do so much pallet/ forklift work, I would ditch the 400CX. While the rollback doesn't seem that much different, the effective rollback is a lot less. With a typical FEL as you lift the effective roll back increases as the load is lifted, with the 400CX you stay the same. So loads that I could get to stay put in the old bucket now tend to dribble out with the CX. Of course the old rig would not have lifted 2800 lb concrete culverts either.

If our plan had not been to get a second smaller (2520 etc) tractor, I would have stayed with the 3000 series. I'm going to have a tractor that is too big and one that is too small.

 

[Dicky]

Well guys I have pretty much decided on the 4520. I number of factors have weighed in recently. The higher lift will allow me to get hay into the barn loft for one. I test drove one again at the dealer yesterday and I will get used to the size. The power is addicting. As is the turbo sound.

I thank all that offered their opinions

 

[Dirtboy]

Great choice !!!!! Enjoy. Mike

 

[Dicky]

UPDATE - My dealer allowed me to demo a brand new 4120 for a few days. Here are my observations: 1) Plenty of power. My 4300 seems way underpowered in comparison. I was expecting it to be low on power for an entry level 4000 series machine. I put it in C range and put my foot to the floor to go up my steep driveway and she chuggs along with very little drop in RPM. I can almost stall my 4300 doing the same thing.
2) Not particularly impressed with the 400x loader. Does not seem to have any more power than my 430 loader. 3) The 4120 honestly does not feel much bigger or more cumbersome than my 4300.

 

[jcmseven]

Dicky,

The 4000 series machines are manuverable for their size. They are, though, much larger than the 4300. This is, of course, good and bad. My 4520 would pull a 650# 72" box blade full of washed stone up my drive (30% in spots) in B range, which was impressive. It also nearly cost me my life as I nearly went 100' down an embankment when moving snow because the large heavy tractor started sliding sideways and I could neither get it straightened or turned due to its size and weight. My 3720 passes over the same area in similar weather without thinking twice. I am not trying to get you to buy smaller, just that the bigger machines might not always be better. Look at the smallest places you regularly need to put your machine and see which one fits. If the larger one does, then I would get it if price is reasonable, otherwise, please do not make my mistake, getting something too large for your property. That is almost worse than too small. I hope that one day I will have a plot of land suitable for me to get a larger machine again, but right now I feel the mid frame is the biggest I can use effectively.

John M

 

[jcmseven]

Dicky, I hope I am not speaking in past tense. Have you gotten a tractor yet, or are you testing the tractors still to see which one fits the best?? I did not want to venture advice if you had already bought because that would make no sense.

John M

 

[Dicky]

No I haven't pulled the trigger on anything yet. I am looking at 4520 a dealer is getting back from a lease return with 250 hours. It was used to pull carts so it never had a loader on it. I can buy this tractor with a new 400 CX for about 23500. I am still very open to all of your opinions.

 

[Cidertom]

No I haven't pulled the trigger on anything yet. I am looking at 4520 a dealer is getting back from a lease return with 250 hours. It was used to pull carts so it never had a loader on it. I can buy this tractor with a new 400 CX for about 23500. I am still very open to all of your opinions.

Good package, at a good price. If you get the 400cx, get the rear tires filled, consider wheel weights and either a heavy tool off the rear end or a ballast box. The manual says all three, and it means it. I have had my rears get light and they are filled, and I had the BH on. The 400cx is a good lifter.

Just remember you are outside the SAE spec on HP for a CAT1 so pick 3pt tools carefully

Have fun!