Zetor 4341

[TnWV]

I have an opportunity to purchase a 2001 Zetor 4341 4X4 with loader that has 312 hours on it. The only tractor I have owned so far is a 1975 MF150 2WD that I inherited from my father. I need a 4X4 to safetly mow some of my steep land and a loader to do cleanup and I will eventually be cutting hay on the flat part of my property. Can anyone comment on how good these tractors are? I have limited funds and want to spend them as wisely as possible. I really like the look and size of this tractor. It is a one owner and seems to be like new. Can anyone comment on whether or not this tractor will pull and 8' brush hog without problems? Any comments are appreciated.

Thanks,

Tony

 

[mattellis2]

8' is probably too much for that tractor. 6' is probably more realistic.

 

[rScotty]

I have an opportunity to purchase a 2001 Zetor 4341 4X4 with loader that has 312 hours on it. The only tractor I have owned so far is a 1975 MF150 2WD that I inherited from my father. I need a 4X4 to safetly mow some of my steep land and a loader to do cleanup and I will eventually be cutting hay on the flat part of my property. Can anyone comment on how good these tractors are? .
Tony

Sure can comment. I've been around tractors for years and we have four other makes of tractors right now. We don't have a Zetor, but I've used them them and friends own them and I'm impressed. Looks to me like Zetors are darn good tractors and certainly built right. Everytime I look one over I come back thinking it is a nice piece of equipment and made to last. The Zetor loader and 4x4 mech. is a brute.

Some things I've found out is that Zetor has stuck by one design for a long time so they have the time to just keep working to make it better and probably to lower the costs. Maybe they've done it too well, because for some reason they never have been popular. Loggers and ranchers tend to know about them. You see a lot of them in remote areas doing both. If you are a mechanic, you can probably tell by looking and listening that they are good. Upsides are that it is about as bulletproof as you can make a tractor, lots of convenience features, good in cold weather, and improvements are almost always retrofittable. Downside is mostly low resale and surprisingly low popularity for how well they work. Mechanical problems tend to be rare and when they do have one they typically put out an upgraded part that is an exact replacement and bolts on. Nice engineering backed up with especially nice manuals. Nice machines.
rScotty

 

[TnWV]

rScotty - I'm glad that you decided to comment, I was starting to think that no one would chime in. Your comments are very encouraging and seem to be exactly what those who own them around me say. I really like the tractor and hope that I end up with it. I left the dealer a message today with my offer and hope to hear back by Monday. If the offer is accepted I will be borrowing a 5th wheel trailer and heading to PA to pick it up next Saturday. Hope it works out, I am going crazy thinking about it. Thanks again for the comments.

 

[dgl24087]

At 56 PTO HP, I think it would handle an 8' brush hog. Rough rule of thumb is 1 ft per 5 hp.

 

[rScotty]

rScotty - I'm glad that you decided to comment,

You'r welcome. good luck with the purchase. I sent you a private message too. Look for that.

Basically I like tractors and like helping people find one that fits. Everyone has to have a hobby....., and I still remember how excited I was to get our first tractor. BTW, my library down at the office has a small collection of shop manuals and among them are a couple of Zetor shop manuals there we can use for reference. Like most good shop manuals they are big heavy tomes about the heft of an unabridged dictionary.

As for handling an 8 foot bush hog....It depends. Doesn't it always? But an 8 footer can be a monster. That Zetor certainly has enough HP, but horse power isn't the whole picture. I think our own bush hog on the big JD is close to that size.. though it might be a six or seven footer. It's heavy built...I'll have to go check. But whatever size it is, even that one can require first gear going in thick wet hay or dense brush.

Having a live independent PTO that is clutched and engaged independently of the tractor's drive clutch can be important in heavy going or against fence lines. A live PTO is less important in the open or in dry grass.

Also more important than HP is the category and capability of the tractor's three point hitch. For an 8 foot bush hog I'd want a true Category II three point 3 pt hitch in order to handle the weight and twisting of that size bush hog. The Zetor has that. Any heavy hog over six feet will usually have a trailing wheel on a boom and it's got to handle that too. Smaller tractors have a Category 1 size 3 pt hitch and that's a bit light. The Zetor hitch is massive and will do all the lifting and stabilizing easy enough. The Zetor also has a beefy enough PTO transmission to handle the angular momentum of the large rotating parts on such a large bush hog.

IMHO, any tractor using a large bush hog should also be equipped with an internal "over-running" PTO clutch. There I don't know if the 4341 has such. I'd imagine it does, but check it out. When I get to the shop manuals I'll look too. Just in case it does not, an over-running clutch can be added to the PTO driveline. In fact, it doesn't hurt to have two.
Good luck on the tractor hunt, rScotty

 

[TnWV]

The 8' brush hog I am looking at is a Kodiak HD8. It seems to be a medium duty cutter and has a min HP of 38 PTO and weights 1125 pounds according the the specs on Kodiaks website. It it the two blade setup, so it doesn't hang back as far as a single blade. Looking at the specs I would think that the Zetor 4341 would pull it. I will only be using it on fields of mostly fescue grass. There really isn't any brush as I have been able to keep them clean with my 2WD, but it is a real chore on the steep parts, I tend to slide downhill alot. My main purpose of the bigger 4X4 is to make my mowing safer and more efficient. It takes forever with a 5' hog, especially when you have to go down and then all the way around the hill to make another swipe due to traction. The 4X4 would eliminate this as I would be able to go up and down all of it.

The dealer called and rejected my offer this morning. I'm kinda bummed out at the moment. I offered 1500 less than the asking price and cannot believe they didn't accept it. When I sell something of that magnatude I also ask about 2k more than I am willing to accept for it. Unfortunately I have hit my budget limit, so I may have to keep looking. I really like the tractor and want to buy it, so maybe I'll find a way to come up with the cash before they sell it. The tractor is about 7 hours away and I have to borrow a truck and trailer to go get it. I'll keep pluggin away at them and see what happens I guess. I have been looking for a couple of years and this tractor seems perfect for my property, so I hate to let it get away and have to search forever for another one close to my price range. I was hoping for better news....now I will be agravated all day.

Thanks for the comments and keep them coming.

 

[rScotty]

Thanks for the comments and keep them coming.

Lets see....you've been looking for years....this one has everything you want and is late model 300 hrs/one owner.... and your old mower would fit just fine. Frankly I could find reasons to do/not do any deal, but that amount of money wouldn't be one of them.

Of course this is also the same line of reasoning that explains why I have 4 tractors right now .
rScotty

 

[TnWV]

Well, today was the day. I finally worked out the deal and bought the tractor. It is a 2003 Zetor 4341/FEL one owner with 312 hrs. The check should clear and the tractor be delivered to me by next Thursday or Friday. I am going to absolutely go crazy waiting for its arrival. I will likely use my current 5' brush hog at first, but will be purchasing a larger one in the very near future. Thanks for all the comments and suggestions to everone, and I will certainly post pictures upon its arrival.

 

[czechsonofagun]

When I worked in the hops harvest - long story, don't ask - over in Czechoslovakia we would drive only Zetors. Naturally, there are made there and we had a scale of them to pull wagons. Some of old 3011 and some newer and new. In spite of the logistic problems associated with the east block, they were ok machines back than and they took a lot of abuse without wincing.

Here is more on the history of the brand:

History - ZETOR TRACTORS a. s.

The name Zetor actually relates to CZ - as CZ guns

 

[rScotty]

Hello Prokop. Thanks for the link and the Czech info. I first became a fan of Czech manufactured goods back when our motorcycle shop imported some Jawa's, CZs, and some sidecars for BMWs. The quality was astonishing at any price....and the price was shamefully low. Later I was to find the same thing was true in machine tools and air rifles.

Frankly I was hoping to buy a new Zetor this time around and I'm no longer as much concerned with price. But our only dealer within a two day drive closed up. Zetor's problem in the US has always been distribution and dealerships. I wonder why? In fact now that I think of it that's the problem with their motorcycles and machine tools too. But not so much with the air rifles. What else do they build that is so good?
rScotty - BTW, I'm growing hops this year.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

Well, today was the day. I finally worked out the deal and bought the tractor. It is a 2003 Zetor 4341/FEL one owner with 312 hrs. The check should clear and the tractor be delivered to me by next Thursday or Friday. I am going to absolutely go crazy waiting for its arrival. I will likely use my current 5' brush hog at first, but will be purchasing a larger one in the very near future. Thanks for all the comments and suggestions to everone, and I will certainly post pictures upon its arrival.

I bought the 3 cyl version (40+HP) in 1992 but my business ate it in 1996 and it was a sad day to see it go. I used a 6' mower and it was just fine weight/power wise. It was a top notch tractor that under full load burned less than a gallon of fuel per hour.

The FEL will outwork a JD, etc if the same as back then because they had the strongest lift system on the market I think. Getting hotg does not weaken the lifting power it seemed to me.

Enjoy your new Zetor. I would have had to gone to the bank and got the cash because the waiting would have killed me.

 

[TnWV]

The tractor arrived last Thursday safe and sound. I have only put about one hour on it so far. Turns out that it has a CAT 2 hitch, so I had to change the draw pins on my brush hog. Then I found that my current driveshaft for the brush hog is to short for the new tractor...so now I have to get another drive shaft or go ahead and splurge on the new brush hog I will be getting at some point anyway.

Gale - I would have gotten the cash out if that would have helped, but the tractor was 7.5 hrs and way, I overnighted a certified check through UPS, and I had to wait on the shipping company anyway. I actually never saw the tractor in person, and I used Uship.com to ship it, and everything went perfect for much cheaper than I expected.

Still working on getting pictures. At first my camera was dead, then once I charged it and took pictures, now I can't find the cable to transfer to the CPU. Will be posting soon though.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

That makes sense but glad you finally have it.

I did have to do that on my 6 footer. TSC has an PTO extension you can buy that goes on at the tractor.

I think all of that series are CAT 2. The transmission/rear end were the same in 1992 the 40-70 HP tractors. Did you get air hose with it that screws to the compressor?

If you have a box blade becareful when pushing backwards and lifting. I had to beef my up to handle the powerful lift system. They are very heavy tractors which is nice until you get stuck. With a FEL you will be able to push yourself out sometimes.

 

[TnWV]

I did get a air hose, it is still in the original unopened package in the tool box. This tractor seems to be barely used and definitely wasnt used hard for the 312 hours it had on it when it arrived.

I finally got some seat time this evening. Started digging a hole with the FEL to use as a burn pit to get rid of an unsightly old junk pile left to me by some relatives who use to live on my property. Took more pictures and will post them as soon as I can find my cable.

This tractor is certainly a beast. I dug about a 12X20 hole about 2 feet deep in no time. Plan to dig it a little deeper by the end of the weekend. My property will be clean as a whistle before long, as time permits that is.

I am interested in the extension you are talking about but not sure what to look for. I have been to TSC looking for something like that, but I guess I didnt know what I was looking for. Anyway you could post a picture of it?

Thanks

 

[TnWV]

rScotty - Luckily I have a dealer about 15 miles from me that has been a Zetor dealer for over 30 years. Now they only sell much larger Zetors, but still gets parts and service any Zetor you take to them. They also sell Mahindra now. I consulted this dealer before making the purchase. The owner has a 4340 which is very similar and said that it is his favorite tractor he has ever owned. He had a nice 2008 Mahindra for sale, but recommended that I buy the Zetor. I think that says something about this dealer as he would have made money if he talked me into the Mahindra. This dealer has worked on my Massey in the past. So far I am glad that I bought this tractor and in my limited experience with it, I would recomend Zetor to anybody looking for a tractor.

 

[czechsonofagun]

Hello Prokop. Thanks for the link and the Czech info. I first became a fan of Czech manufactured goods back when our motorcycle shop imported some Jawa's, CZs, and some sidecars for BMWs. The quality was astonishing at any price....and the price was shamefully low. Later I was to find the same thing was true in machine tools and air rifles.

Frankly I was hoping to buy a new Zetor this time around and I'm no longer as much concerned with price. But our only dealer within a two day drive closed up. Zetor's problem in the US has always been distribution and dealerships. I wonder why? In fact now that I think of it that's the problem with their motorcycles and machine tools too. But not so much with the air rifles. What else do they build that is so good?
rScotty - BTW, I'm growing hops this year.

Hello, Scotty. Thank you for kind words. With the east block fall, the situation in Czech industry changed and sometimes not for better - CZ and Jawa motorcycles are basically gone to obscurity, on the other hand CZ guns are on a roll - they now own Dan Wesson too - Skoda cars, the joke of 70ties and 80 ties are part of VW concern with Volkswagen, Audi, SEAT, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini and Scania.

But some of the tool making factories with hundreds of years of tradition could not face the competition of shiny fancy low quality tools coming from China and India and went down - similar to US. Oh well, you can not stop progress, right?

Are you growing hops to make beer yourself or for the market? I always joke that Czechs have three major exports: beer - for instance, crystal such as chandeliers and hockey players:thumbsup: