I totally agree man. Those old John Deeres are the best. I grew up the same way on a 4840 with my dad. And also riding on the finder with him on a open station 4430. I would ride all day with him. He passed away last may and i miss him so much.
I came up on 4455 the farmer to this day still uses the 4455 the 4960 was the first tractor I ever plowed up peanuts and picked peanuts with I fell in love with it the muffler was not in the center of the hood, and it had front wheel assist we thought we was in hog heaven it was the first tractor we used to pull eight row kmc ripper bedder with the 4960 is hands down the best in my opinion
My daddy has planted many thousands of acres with 12 row planter hooked to 4960. I will never understand why it took JD so long to move the muffler, air intake, and door/windshield junction out from directly in the operator’s line of sight.
Great content! I too use to ride on the tractor with my dad in South Carolina working tobacco, butter beans, cucumbers, peas, soybeans and corn! I don't farm anymore left home to serve in the military; now that I am retired in Virginia, I reflect on the pureness of farming and providing for yourself and family! Keep'em coming and you have a newly subscribed fan of your work!
Amen on several counts. We had a 4440, a 4450, and a 4955, and they were pretty much indestructible. And you said "IF you can find somebody to drive them!" That was our biggest issue. Labor got impossible to find, and when we did find somebody to work, they'd half-ass do everything and keep everything tore up.
My Grandpa farmed a lot more acres than I and had abundant cheap labor and a barn full of (relatively) inexpensive tractors. My dad increased in acres with less labor and less but bigger (way more expensive) tractors and equipment. My route is a little different than either of theirs in that I cut out all the labor. I farm the amount of land I can by myself. Don’t have to maintain a bunch of equipment for the laborers to use/break
I can’t afford the new stuff ,so I’m running jd 10 and 20 series but I’m not tending that much acreage like you . I’ve been watching your videos today and fella you got some humongous fields ! Thanks for sharing your videos with us,enjoyed watching them southwest Georgia Farming .
Patrick, I learn quite a bit from every one of your videos, plus enjoy all the remote camera action shots. Thanks for all the honesty and effort. I’m afraid modern day equipment is being over complicated to the detriment of the owner. Current production automobiles cause me great concern. To your point on the John Deere row crop tractors you mentioned, a few stats for comparison: 8R 410: 410 horsepower, 549 cubic inches displacement. Engine is pushed to produce 74.7 hp/100 ci. Your engine life estimate ~ 6-7,000 hrs. 4960: 200 hp, 466 cid, specific output: 42.9 hp/100 ci. Engine life ~ 15,000 hours. The 8R is being pushed to an unreasonable power level, it should have a bigger engine. I know emissions and fuel consumption are factors, but I value longevity also. A tractor engine should not be ‘disposable’.
Thanks for watching/commenting Mark, but more importantly thanks for the info/research. The main reason the engines are not lasting is because of the forced regin technology. Politicians decided all diesel engines have to regin to “save the planet.” Of course, it does the exact opposite. The engines burn up and we have to produce more engines to replace them. The act of producing 4 temporary engines in place of one durable one is far more impactful on the environment. Top Gear did a study around 10 years ago. They broke down every part of production and proved with hard numbers that you could drive the least fuel efficient Land Rover ever produced for your entire life and you would still consume far less fossil fuels than is required to build one Toyota Prius.
@@PatrickShivers Unfortunately, the US EPA pretty much dictated the cooled exhaust gas recirculation system to minimize NOx. Running a diesel without excess air makes soot, which is bad for everything inside, including the now required diesel exhaust (soot) filter. Mike Mitchel (another youtube channel) farms in Canada. Every winter his DEF freezes, the engine goes into idle power mode, and expensive repairs follow. This leads me to the following: 1. It should be law that any legislation requiring new equipment/systems also require the government to make it workable before adoption. Thrusting the pain and cost onto consumers should not be allowed. 2. The NOx emissions are really only a problem for smog in cities. Farming takes place in open countryside. Farm equipment should be exempted in every state outside of California. Railroads refused to accept new locomotives with DEF and new tier 4 railroad engines were approved without it. BTW, the stats in the first post came from tractordata.com
Your passion is commendable! Unfortunately you hit the nail on the head, when you said they'd probably go out of business. Who knows maybe China will buy one, copy everything down to the last nut and bolt. Oh by the way, those pivot pins that don't last very long, get all-thread same or larger dia. and coupling nut or steel threaded bushing welded in square or rectangular tubing. Now thread rod through outer brackets thru coupling nut, finish by welding all-thread to outer brackets only. Installing zerk fittings on threaded coupling nuts or threaded bushings is recommended. Good luck, take care 👍
I concur with what you're saying about the 55 & 60 series. Same could be said for the 20 & 40 series. They were built to last. I just ran across your channel. I'm from Pavo Georgia in Sowph Jawga. Where do you call home? Thanks for sharing your thoughts and experiences with us.
I’m about an hour and a half west of you in between Fort Gaines, Bluffton, and Blakely, Ga. Just a few miles from the Chattahoochee river. Thanks for watching. I have several 4020 & 4430 videos as well. I’ve been making these videos for almost 2 years now & I currently have 160+ of them on my channel
I agree the 47s 49s are the best. Patrick what is your opinion on the 8000s 8010s that replaced those. I have never been around any of those. Most farmers here kept their sound gards.
The 8400 tractors were really good. Hard to find one now that isn’t worn slam out. They were an improvement on the 4960, but they all eventually wore out (unlike 4960s). The current tractors ware out much quicker than the old 8400s did. I saw an 8400 (25 year old tractor) sell for $130,000 last year at auction.
Field cultivators (at least in the southeast) are always lift type. They are used after a deep tillage to do final seed prep so they must be pulled with a lighter (non soil packing) tractor and themselves also be as light as possible.
My dad has a tongue pull John Deere field cultivator. It doesn’t do nearly as good of a job. Typically in this area field cultivators are lift type and pulled with lightest tractor possible to get job done as they are run behind subsoiling and we don’t want to re-compact land.
3am in the morning, I thought I was the only one awake this time of the morning. Do you find many arrowheads on your farm? When I was little we use to walk the fields after they were plowed looking for them.
Video started uploading around 8:30 (they usually take 3-6 hours). I got up to give Mercer a bottle around 3am and saw the download was complete so I hit publish. I am an active amateur archaeologists and paleontologist. Each weekend I collect arrowheads, stone tools, and pottery as well as 40-60 million year old marine fossils such as shark teeth, Thoracosaurus teeth, Mosasaur teeth, & plesiosaur teeth
We have a 4455 4440 and 4430, love em all! Do have an 8430 mfwd deere as well it's been damn solid! Case ih 7130 also. Wouldn't give em up for nothing!
I have had this conversation with others. The 4020 is the most iconic (in my opinion) tractor JD ever made. It was a HUGE leap forward for the entire industry. Just a few short years later JD introduced the 4430….which is far superior. I have and still regularly use both a 4020 and a 4430 that my grandfather purchased new. The 4430 is far more reliable and has 75 more HP. 4020 rubber fuel line boots (4430 design eliminated them) need replacing every 12-18 months in our climate. Rear load seals last 10-12 years. PTO often becomes permanently live on 4020s, and the hydraulic oil fill is in a position (under the seat) inaccessible by 5 gallon bucket without use of a special funnel. None of those problems exist on 4430. I love my 4020 but it can not compare to a 4430
I still use a 1968 4020 Poweshift on the farm that my grandpa purchased brand new. I believe it to be the most iconic tractors JD ever made. That said, they aren’t near as reliable as the 4430, the 8400, or the 8530. The rubber fuel line boots have to be replaced every 18 months, the hydraulic oil fill is almost under the seat and impossible to fill with 5 gallon bucket without special long funnel. The rear load seals last 5 or 6 years on average, and the battery boxes rust out and need replacing every 10 years. The 4430 is less than 10 years younger, has none of those issues (original 1977 battery box) and half again the horsepower.
GPS is nice, I have it on other tractors, but it’s not necessary on every tractor. I was stating that if JD would ever make these again the only possible way to improve them would be for them to be greenstar ready from the factory. Everything (except the AC) on this model tractor is far more reliable/durable than the comparable parts on new tractors.
The implement is level when lowered to ground position. If I let out on top link now it will start shallowing up first line of S tines. The Unverferth has a system of holes and bolts that lets you remount the baskets in different positions per your down force requirements, as where the KMC version has easy to adjust spring/chain system. My baskets are in good contact with ground, this system just doesn’t work as good as the twin pivoting basket system that KMC uses.
We’ve made awesome technological advancements while simultaneously regressing reliability. Home appliances are the best example. I built a new home 11 years ago. Purchased all new “high end” appliances. They have all already been replaced….meanwhile my mom’s 30 year old fridge that still works fine.
Excellent example. The appliance manufactures greed is opening the door for foreign competition to grab their market. Enter Samsung and LG. Hope someone like Elon Musk buys Whirlpool before they go bankrupt.
My Favorite Tracktor of all time! I have done everything with the 4960💯👍
I totally agree man. Those old John Deeres are the best. I grew up the same way on a 4840 with my dad. And also riding on the finder with him on a open station 4430. I would ride all day with him. He passed away last may and i miss him so much.
Riding shotgun on open station is dangerous! We learned a lot more growing up on those fenders than these kids today on their devices.
You got that write. I feel sorry for them to here missing out on so much.
Thanks Patrick for the video and taking the time to explain some of the features. Nothing runs like a Deere !! lol
Thanks for watching and commenting!
I came up on 4455 the farmer to this day still uses the 4455 the 4960 was the first tractor I ever plowed up peanuts and picked peanuts with I fell in love with it the muffler was not in the center of the hood, and it had front wheel assist we thought we was in hog heaven it was the first tractor we used to pull eight row kmc ripper bedder with the 4960 is hands down the best in my opinion
My daddy has planted many thousands of acres with 12 row planter hooked to 4960. I will never understand why it took JD so long to move the muffler, air intake, and door/windshield junction out from directly in the operator’s line of sight.
Great content! I too use to ride on the tractor with my dad in South Carolina working tobacco, butter beans, cucumbers, peas, soybeans and corn! I don't farm anymore left home to serve in the military; now that I am retired in Virginia, I reflect on the pureness of farming and providing for yourself and family! Keep'em coming and you have a newly subscribed fan of your work!
Thanks for watching/subscribing Rob, & more importantly thanks for serving.
You’re right about a 4960. It’s my favorite as well.
Love that 4960 and 4755..I'm looking for one this season..awesome video Patrick..
Tractorhouse.com is a good place to start your search
Amen on several counts.
We had a 4440, a 4450, and a 4955, and they were pretty much indestructible.
And you said "IF you can find somebody to drive them!"
That was our biggest issue. Labor got impossible to find, and when we did find somebody to work, they'd half-ass do everything and keep everything tore up.
My Grandpa farmed a lot more acres than I and had abundant cheap labor and a barn full of (relatively) inexpensive tractors. My dad increased in acres with less labor and less but bigger (way more expensive) tractors and equipment. My route is a little different than either of theirs in that I cut out all the labor. I farm the amount of land I can by myself. Don’t have to maintain a bunch of equipment for the laborers to use/break
Good job Patrick ! Keep it up !
Thanks for watching Jeff!
Love the smoke out the exhaust my friend. Newer tractors they generally don't do that. Happy Easter an God bless you and your family.
Happy Easter to you as well! Thanks for watching & commenting!
Awesome 💪💪 happy Easter Patrick and family!!
Thanks Julian!
When I hear"Hey yall, today on the faaaaarm" I know there's something good coming up!
I can’t afford the new stuff ,so I’m running jd 10 and 20 series but I’m not tending that much acreage like you . I’ve been watching your videos today and fella you got some humongous fields ! Thanks for sharing your videos with us,enjoyed watching them southwest Georgia Farming .
Thanks for watching and commenting Scott. I scanned through your catalog. Cool stuff, keep doing your thing!
Patrick,
I learn quite a bit from every one of your videos, plus enjoy all the remote camera action shots. Thanks for all the honesty and effort.
I’m afraid modern day equipment is being over complicated to the detriment of the owner. Current production automobiles cause me great concern. To your point on the John Deere row crop tractors you mentioned, a few stats for comparison:
8R 410: 410 horsepower, 549 cubic inches displacement. Engine is pushed to produce 74.7 hp/100 ci. Your engine life estimate ~ 6-7,000 hrs.
4960: 200 hp, 466 cid, specific output: 42.9 hp/100 ci. Engine life ~ 15,000 hours.
The 8R is being pushed to an unreasonable power level, it should have a bigger engine. I know emissions and fuel consumption are factors, but I value longevity also. A tractor engine should not be ‘disposable’.
Thanks for watching/commenting Mark, but more importantly thanks for the info/research. The main reason the engines are not lasting is because of the forced regin technology. Politicians decided all diesel engines have to regin to “save the planet.” Of course, it does the exact opposite. The engines burn up and we have to produce more engines to replace them. The act of producing 4 temporary engines in place of one durable one is far more impactful on the environment. Top Gear did a study around 10 years ago. They broke down every part of production and proved with hard numbers that you could drive the least fuel efficient Land Rover ever produced for your entire life and you would still consume far less fossil fuels than is required to build one Toyota Prius.
@@PatrickShivers Unfortunately, the US EPA pretty much dictated the cooled exhaust gas recirculation system to minimize NOx. Running a diesel without excess air makes soot, which is bad for everything inside, including the now required diesel exhaust (soot) filter.
Mike Mitchel (another youtube channel) farms in Canada. Every winter his DEF freezes, the engine goes into idle power mode, and expensive repairs follow. This leads me to the following:
1. It should be law that any legislation requiring new equipment/systems also require the government to make it workable before adoption. Thrusting the pain and cost onto consumers should not be allowed.
2. The NOx emissions are really only a problem for smog in cities. Farming takes place in open countryside. Farm equipment should be exempted in every state outside of California. Railroads refused to accept new locomotives with DEF and new tier 4 railroad engines were approved without it.
BTW, the stats in the first post came from tractordata.com
Amen brother luv a 60
Your passion is commendable! Unfortunately you hit the nail on the head, when you said they'd probably go out of business. Who knows maybe China will buy one, copy everything down to the last nut and bolt. Oh by the way, those pivot pins that don't last very long, get all-thread same or larger dia. and coupling nut or steel threaded bushing welded in square or rectangular tubing. Now thread rod through outer brackets thru coupling nut, finish by welding all-thread to outer brackets only. Installing zerk fittings on threaded coupling nuts or threaded bushings is recommended. Good luck, take care 👍
Top of the morning Pat
Morning Landon!
Awesome tractor
Thanks David. I’m pulling an Amadas 2100 with it right now harvesting peanuts .
I concur with what you're saying about the 55 & 60 series. Same could be said for the 20 & 40 series. They were built to last. I just ran across your channel. I'm from Pavo Georgia in Sowph Jawga. Where do you call home? Thanks for sharing your thoughts and experiences with us.
I’m about an hour and a half west of you in between Fort Gaines, Bluffton, and Blakely, Ga. Just a few miles from the Chattahoochee river. Thanks for watching. I have several 4020 & 4430 videos as well. I’ve been making these videos for almost 2 years now & I currently have 160+ of them on my channel
@@PatrickShivers I know Early County. I work there Wednesdays on my sales route. Early County Gin, Birdsong Peanut etc.
I agree the 47s 49s are the best. Patrick what is your opinion on the 8000s 8010s that replaced those. I have never been around any of those. Most farmers here kept their sound gards.
The 8400 tractors were really good. Hard to find one now that isn’t worn slam out. They were an improvement on the 4960, but they all eventually wore out (unlike 4960s). The current tractors ware out much quicker than the old 8400s did. I saw an 8400 (25 year old tractor) sell for $130,000 last year at auction.
Looks strong 💚
Great video what's the idea in a 3 point versus a drawn? And how wide is it
Field cultivators (at least in the southeast) are always lift type. They are used after a deep tillage to do final seed prep so they must be pulled with a lighter (non soil packing) tractor and themselves also be as light as possible.
Beast of a tractor
Patrick.. Good morning. I love seeing you breaking that crust. Have a great week.
Thanks Chris. It’s raining this morning and green beans are off to the races now. I plowed and hilled the potatoes friday morning
You guys ever run a pull behind field cultivator instead of a 3 point kind?
My dad has a tongue pull John Deere field cultivator. It doesn’t do nearly as good of a job. Typically in this area field cultivators are lift type and pulled with lightest tractor possible to get job done as they are run behind subsoiling and we don’t want to re-compact land.
3am in the morning, I thought I was the only one awake this time of the morning. Do you find many arrowheads on your farm? When I was little we use to walk the fields after they were plowed looking for them.
Video started uploading around 8:30 (they usually take 3-6 hours). I got up to give Mercer a bottle around 3am and saw the download was complete so I hit publish.
I am an active amateur archaeologists and paleontologist. Each weekend I collect arrowheads, stone tools, and pottery as well as 40-60 million year old marine fossils such as shark teeth, Thoracosaurus teeth, Mosasaur teeth, & plesiosaur teeth
We find them all over the cotton fields around the Tennessee river here in north Alabama.
@@PatrickShivers Awesome
The best thing about these older tractors is they don't throw codes ! Todays tractors are made for sales bonus's to executives, not build quality !
We have a 4455 4440 and 4430, love em all! Do have an 8430 mfwd deere as well it's been damn solid! Case ih 7130 also. Wouldn't give em up for nothing!
Those 8400 tractors were great!
@@PatrickShivers yes they are. It's been a really reliable tractor.
Tha greatest of all time.
Amen!
8400, 8300. Those were two good tractors.
The 8400 john deeres were some of the best ever made
Facts!!!
Aint no doubt I'll farm everything with those old horses
That was the last best tractor John Deere made
Amen!
Some people might say a 4020 or 4320 was the best tractor or 5020 and a 6030
I have had this conversation with others. The 4020 is the most iconic (in my opinion) tractor JD ever made. It was a HUGE leap forward for the entire industry. Just a few short years later JD introduced the 4430….which is far superior. I have and still regularly use both a 4020 and a 4430 that my grandfather purchased new. The 4430 is far more reliable and has 75 more HP. 4020 rubber fuel line boots (4430 design eliminated them) need replacing every 12-18 months in our climate. Rear load seals last 10-12 years. PTO often becomes permanently live on 4020s, and the hydraulic oil fill is in a position (under the seat) inaccessible by 5 gallon bucket without use of a special funnel. None of those problems exist on 4430. I love my 4020 but it can not compare to a 4430
I do like the 4960 but I’d say the best tractor JD ever made was the 4455 followed by the 4020.
I still use a 1968 4020 Poweshift on the farm that my grandpa purchased brand new. I believe it to be the most iconic tractors JD ever made. That said, they aren’t near as reliable as the 4430, the 8400, or the 8530. The rubber fuel line boots have to be replaced every 18 months, the hydraulic oil fill is almost under the seat and impossible to fill with 5 gallon bucket without special long funnel. The rear load seals last 5 or 6 years on average, and the battery boxes rust out and need replacing every 10 years. The 4430 is less than 10 years younger, has none of those issues (original 1977 battery box) and half again the horsepower.
Meant to say rake instead of take
4020 BEST
That's what everybody runs around here is Unverferth Perfercta II also known as Do Alls
Those heavy S tines are nice, but nothing I’ve seen competes with the KMC
Nothing like those old Deeres and no computer shit
Preach!
Howdy y’all
Why not put an ATU on it? That would at least give you greenstar capability.
GPS is nice, I have it on other tractors, but it’s not necessary on every tractor. I was stating that if JD would ever make these again the only possible way to improve them would be for them to be greenstar ready from the factory. Everything (except the AC) on this model tractor is far more reliable/durable than the comparable parts on new tractors.
9:28 John Deere has a R in the name of it.
Referring to the model names such as 4960 (in this video) vs. 8335R or 8R 310. R designates that it is a Regin engine.
You need to let your top link out ,so your take and rollers baskets do a better job bust clods
The implement is level when lowered to ground position. If I let out on top link now it will start shallowing up first line of S tines. The Unverferth has a system of holes and bolts that lets you remount the baskets in different positions per your down force requirements, as where the KMC version has easy to adjust spring/chain system. My baskets are in good contact with ground, this system just doesn’t work as good as the twin pivoting basket system that KMC uses.
I love the 4960 but I don’t agree 8400 all the way
8400, 10, & 20 are definitely strong pics. 8400 was near the peak of JD
Run into same problem with construction equipment. Just don't get it,great technology now but lousy mechanics.
We’ve made awesome technological advancements while simultaneously regressing reliability. Home appliances are the best example. I built a new home 11 years ago. Purchased all new “high end” appliances. They have all already been replaced….meanwhile my mom’s 30 year old fridge that still works fine.
Excellent example. The appliance manufactures greed is opening the door for foreign competition to grab their market. Enter Samsung and LG. Hope someone like Elon Musk buys Whirlpool before they go bankrupt.
Love our 24’ field cultivator
What brand is it?
@@PatrickShivers KMC this is our 3fd or 4th year using it. Put down herbicide with it in front of our tobacco bedder. Up here in NW NC.
@@Man-cv5ws KMC owns the field cultivator market. No other cultivators compare.