# 4720 John Deere



## eastsidehayguy (Aug 12, 2013)

Ok, I am thinking of buying a 4720 John Deere compact tractor with Hydrostatic trans to pull my NH 326 baler. This tractor would also be used to rake and ted my hay. It is rated at 56 pto hp, I think it would be enough but, wanted to get a few opionions before i drop 30k. I will not be pulling a wagon behind the baler as I will be dropping the bales to pick up with my nh 1037 stacker wagon. Thanks in advance


----------



## deadmoose (Oct 30, 2011)

Don't do it.


----------



## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

Does not weigh 4000 pounds....extremely light for agricultural work....short wheelbase....spells very rough ride in fields and dangerous working. For 30K you can buy something larger(frame)....the 4720 has enough ponies for square baling but not near the weight to handle loaded hay wagons etc...if you are looking at JD, look at the Mseries...like a 5065M for 30K.

Regards, Mike


----------



## Fossil02818 (May 31, 2010)

Listen to the above advice. The 4720 has enough hp and could certainly work in an emergency situation if a larger tractor was temporarily out of service. However, unless the ground was very level with no hills the baler and its flywheel will be pushing that tractor where it wants to go. Also, I've regularly used a JD 4600 series tractor with hydro trans for raking and tedding. The fuel economy, tight turning and hydro trans are a good match for those functions. But, the short wheel base and small front tires make for a rough ride on anything but the smoothest fields. I'm in agreement with the others, get a 5000 series JD or similar other make tractor for this application if you intend to be doing this for awhile. For $30K there are lots of used low hour machines out there.


----------



## Hayman1 (Jul 6, 2013)

Vol said:


> Does not weigh 4000 pounds....extremely light for agricultural work....short wheelbase....spells very rough ride in fields and dangerous working. For 30K you can buy something larger(frame)....the 4720 has enough ponies for square baling but not near the weight to handle loaded hay wagons etc...if you are looking at JD, look at the Mseries...like a 5065M for 30K.
> 
> Regards, Mike


Totally agree. Having a hard time understanding why we keep talking about trying to bale with light duty tractors. Either get an old one that is cheap but has the butt or like Mike said, one of the M series. I would go for the 5075M 2wd with 15-38s. It is a horse for 60hp and has a wet clutch and reverser. good tractor for newly built.


----------



## eastsidehayguy (Aug 12, 2013)

Well you guys have pretty much confirmed what I was afraid i would hear. The only reason, and yes it is the only reason I was even considering a 4720 was for my son. My son has downs syndrome and drives our 4700 b kubota, at times rakes with it but, mostly just plays around on the farm, taking hay to the cattle in the bucket, pushing snow, using it to pitch calve pens, drives it to the main farm, as he has no liscense, he has a very strong sense of pride in being a farmer and being part of the team, and I also have alot of pride in him for being so proud and being part of the team. I DO NOT want to take that from him!! the problem with the kubota is it is too small to rake hay and is getting old so I was just hoping to purchase a 4720 hydro that he can run, and I could put it into the hay operation, doesnt sound like a good idea tho  I have been looking at a jd 5100e for the haying operation and trading the kubota and was gonna pull the trigger but started to think the 5100 was too light to pull the 1034 bale wagons. so I opted out on that Idea and was moving towards the 4720 but, now I have no idea what to do.... This will be my second year of haying last year I rented my brothers tractors but would like to invest in my own tractors as I also am doing more crop farming also. I also need 85 pto hp for my diskbine if I do go e,or m series


----------



## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

Welcome to haytalk eastsidehayguy, I agree with others on the tractor choice, best of luck with your haying and kudos to you and your son....


----------



## Grateful11 (Apr 5, 2009)

Hi eastsidehayguy, I kinda understand where you're coming from. Our youngest son had Muscular Dystrophy and once told me he wished he could help with the haying, but he didn't have the strength to handle any of the equipment. Sadly we lost him almost 3 years ago. The best therapy in my opinion that your son could receive is for him to continue to help around the farm. That's awesome that he is able and willing to help out. My gut feeling is you're looking for something Hydro with either twin pedal like the JD or treadle pedal operation like a Kubota uses. I was going to say look at the new Kubota L6060 but it's not much heavier than the 4720. Even though the 4720 is lighter than what most on here would want to bale with I feel sure there are people out there baling with tractors of this weight class, but probably not on very large scale. If you would go with something like the 4720 do not put R4 tires on it as they will just compound the rough ride in the field. I'm not exactly sure what is out there, if anything, in a heavier tractor that would have hydro pedal operation. You've inspired me to try and find out what's out there if that's what you are looking for. I could make a few phone calls and see there's what's out there, I'm pretty decent friends with 3 different dealer managers. There are also organizations out there that help farmers with disabilities that can provide special equipment and advise to help keep them running their equipment. Good luck in your search and do chime back in with anything you might need help with.

Welcome aboard!


----------



## FarmerCline (Oct 12, 2011)

I agree with others that it would be too light weight to bale with but you should be able to run a rake or tedder with it just fine. You could get a tractor like that so your son could still help put up hay by tedding and raking and get another larger tractor to mow and bale with. I raked and tedded with a compact tractor for 2 years and while it was not the smoothest ride the rake or tedder did not have enough weight to push the tractor around. A square baler would push that light weight of a tractor around and could be dangerous on hills.


----------



## Hayman1 (Jul 6, 2013)

eastsidehayguy said:


> Well you guys have pretty much confirmed what I was afraid i would hear. The only reason, and yes it is the only reason I was even considering a 4720 was for my son. My son has downs syndrome and drives our 4700 b kubota, at times rakes with it but, mostly just plays around on the farm, taking hay to the cattle in the bucket, pushing snow, using it to pitch calve pens, drives it to the main farm, as he has no liscense, he has a very strong sense of pride in being a farmer and being part of the team, and I also have alot of pride in him for being so proud and being part of the team. I DO NOT want to take that from him!! the problem with the kubota is it is too small to rake hay and is getting old so I was just hoping to purchase a 4720 hydro that he can run, and I could put it into the hay operation, doesnt sound like a good idea tho  I have been looking at a jd 5100e for the haying operation and trading the kubota and was gonna pull the trigger but started to think the 5100 was too light to pull the 1034 bale wagons. so I opted out on that Idea and was moving towards the 4720 but, now I have no idea what to do.... This will be my second year of haying last year I rented my brothers tractors but would like to invest in my own tractors as I also am doing more crop farming also. I also need 85 pto hp for my diskbine if I do go e,or m series


If you want a newer tractor that will serve you for a long time, I would stay away from the E series and go with the M-Not sure what discbine you are pulling but if you need 85ptohp, I think you are looking at the 5100M or you could look at the 6100D or 6115D JD. Only problem with them is the trans is only 9 speeds vs 16 in the M series. I have both. Really wish I had the gearbox that was in my 2755 with highlow-that was a cutting and baling miracle.


----------



## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

eastsidehayguy said:


> Well you guys have pretty much confirmed what I was afraid i would hear. The only reason, and yes it is the only reason I was even considering a 4720 was for my son. My son has downs syndrome and drives our 4700 b kubota, at times rakes with it but, mostly just plays around on the farm, taking hay to the cattle in the bucket, pushing snow, using it to pitch calve pens, drives it to the main farm, as he has no liscense, he has a very strong sense of pride in being a farmer and being part of the team, and I also have alot of pride in him for being so proud and being part of the team. I DO NOT want to take that from him!! the problem with the kubota is it is too small to rake hay and is getting old so I was just hoping to purchase a 4720 hydro that he can run, and I could put it into the hay operation, doesnt sound like a good idea tho  I have been looking at a jd 5100e for the haying operation and trading the kubota and was gonna pull the trigger but started to think the 5100 was too light to pull the 1034 bale wagons. so I opted out on that Idea and was moving towards the 4720 but, now I have no idea what to do.... This will be my second year of haying last year I rented my brothers tractors but would like to invest in my own tractors as I also am doing more crop farming also. I also need 85 pto hp for my diskbine if I do go e,or m series


If you think your son would feel comfortable operating the 4720....go ahead and get it.....and maybe get yourself a older 90 hp tractor to pull loads with and operate your discbine. May cost you a extra 15K for a older reliable tractor but in the grand scheme of things, we do what we have and need to do. Glad to have you aboard. P.S. as Hayman mentioned, the E series has been problematic for JD.

Regards, Mike


----------



## rajela (Feb 15, 2014)

Hayman1 said:


> If you want a newer tractor that will serve you for a long time, I would stay away from the E series and go with the M-Not sure what discbine you are pulling but if you need 85ptohp, I think you are looking at the 5100M or you could look at the 6100D or 6115D JD. Only problem with them is the trans is only 9 speeds vs 16 in the M series. I have both. Really wish I had the gearbox that was in my 2755 with highlow-that was a cutting and baling miracle.


What's the low down on the E series. I have a 5093E and have had good luck with the tractor.


----------



## slowzuki (Mar 8, 2011)

I will go against the tide here. I have 2000 hours on my L5030 hstc Kubota. It has done about 5000 bales per year with a JD 336 behind it for almost 10 years. On flat ground it pulls a wagon with up to 280 bales on it behind it. On hills it only pulls a bale basket of 100 bales max. Rear tires loaded, loader on or off depending on mood.

It runs the baler extremely well. I run it up down and across every slope we have in 4wd. It is used to take wagons down our very steep hill to access the fields which has jackknifed countless loads behind large 2wd tractors over the years. I'm not sure what the grade is, somewhere around 15-20%.

I ran a 4x4 round baler with it for 2 years but only made about 100 bales a year with it. Worked ok but a little short on power when bale nearly done going up hill.

My complaint is for tedding and raking it is too rough. Simply too short of wheelbase to drive fast enough to get the job done quickly. We still use it but its rough. Borrowed a 2wd IH 584 last summer, much more pleasant.

I have run our JD348 with it as well, seems to be just fine but the 348 is not as tongue heavy as our 336 (the 336 has the offset axle for a thrower but no thrower) so I wouldn't be able to pull the 348 up as large of hills.


----------



## slowzuki (Mar 8, 2011)

I should say the hydro is so nice for baling, you can keep the baler fed perfectly with any windrow, hammer down on end rows so you aren't crawling then right back to right speed smooth as silk.

Pointless for tedding or raking.

On average running the 336 the little Kubota picks up 30-50 bales an hour over our gear tractor just by being able to adjust the speeds and speed up on end rows. The 348 baler is much less picky and some of that advantage falls away but the end rows are still faster.


----------



## Grateful11 (Apr 5, 2009)

My wife drilled 40 acres of Oats one with the Kubota L3940. She said it a bit rough but she liked having the lever-type cruise on it and digital speedometer. She was pulling a JD FB-B 7' or 8' drill. For a utility tractor around the farm it's hard to beat the hydro IMO. It can load the 155 bushel spreader in under 5 minutes, stack 4x4 round bales 4 high, it's even pulled the CaseIH Grinder Mixer in a pinch if fed moderately slow. If you do go with something like the 4720 or a comparable Kubota I'd go with R1 tires if you're planning on using it in the field for a better ride like I mentioned earlier.


----------



## eastsidehayguy (Aug 12, 2013)

I know I need to purchase two tractors, ideally a 5115m, or a for baling, cutting, and running the stacker wagon. I also need to get into a smaller tractor for the ted ding and raking but, ideally I would like to be able to hook to the baler once the raking is done and I could hook the 5115, once I buy one, to the bale wagon, I will NOT be pulling any wagons behind the baler, and I do Not have any hills to contend with pretty much all flat hay ground, new seeding all smooth land except for one field I do custom is rougher then heck. It sounds like the 4720 will run the baler but, will be a rough ride, and will not be fast doing it. I watched a video with a 4720 on utube running a 273 and seemed to do well. What tires do you guys recommend the ag, or the industrial, and why? Will adding rim guard to front and rear tires with a loader help with the "rocking" from the flywheel?

Grateful 11 sorry to hear about your son, for some reason, God seems to take his special angels back way too soon. But its those special angels that put a whole new perspective on life.


----------



## Grateful11 (Apr 5, 2009)

Thanks eastsideguy. They say when it's your time it's your time and that's the only thing I can think it was because he had the type MD that most live out a normal lifespan but will always be in a severely weakened muscular state. He had an undetected heart condition. He was never in any trouble, never met a stranger, had one more year of college to go and was already working at the college in the IT Dept. After he passed many of his friends told they never knew what a true friend was until they met our son. Some even told us that if it hadn't been for him they would have dropped out of college, they had gone to him for advise, I don't know what he told them but it must have been the right thing. I think God had a higher purpose for our son.

As far as tires I say R1 Ags because R4 have a very heavy sidewall for loader work. You should get a better ride and more traction with R1's. The L3940 here has R4's because it's used daily for feeding cattle on concrete and loading a lot of manure. I've always heard not to add rim guard to front tires.


----------



## slowzuki (Mar 8, 2011)

Sorry for the loss of your son Grateful11, I don't know what I'd do right now if something happened to mine.

I agree on the tires, R1 if doing field work. I have R4's, great for loader, good road life on pavement, bad traction.

I'll try to upload a video. Not sure if that works. Apparently not.


----------



## Bgriffin856 (Nov 13, 2013)

I'd go for it just wouldnt bale with it. From the sounds of it it would be money well spent for your son and seeing him take pride in farming and being able to help. Doing what one enjoys immensely is the best thing for anyone


----------



## GawasFarm (Jul 10, 2013)

If you are looking for something like hydro what about a bi-directional?? It is a hand lever and articulated but it is higher horse and weight. Don't know if it would fit in your operation but just throwing the idea out there in case you hadn't thought of it. You can find older ones for 30k


----------

