[AT] 4020's coming back?

[Greg Hass]

Speaking of 4020's, I have often wondered how this new tractors 60 hp. or 
so would hold up if used like we used the old ones. Our most used tractor 
was an IH Super C tractor. In the spring I would harrow with it day after 
day, plus once the field was worked my dad would plant with it ( early on 
it also did the plowing but by the time I can remember we had a IH 350 
utility that plowed). Once crops were in the Super C would start 
cultivating at 8 a.m. until 10 when we took the ciltivator off and put the 
mower on and cut hay until noon then put the cultivator back on until 2 
p.m. at which time we put it on the blower (belt drive) to blow chopped hay 
into the barn. Now that I'm much older, I'm getting tired just thinking 
about all the switching of machinery which we did day after day for much of 
the summer. During the summer this same tractor pulled an IH number 64 
combine with Cub engine to harvest the grain. In the fall we used it to run 
a 1 row corn picker, in fact one fall, and I still don't know how we did 
it; we picked 110 acres with this tractor. In the winter this was the 
tractor put on the manure spreader (the 350 had the loader on it). Also 
because it was the only tractor with a belt pulley it ran the hammermill, 
grinding 120 bags of cob corn a week. During all this time it was only 
overhauled once.
We had this tractor for about 30 years before trading it. How I wish we had 
kept it but at the time we couldn't afford to. It didn't have an hour meter 
but I have often wondered how many hours were on it; I'm thinking it had to 
be around 15,000 but thats only a guess.
        A few months ago, my brother bought a brand new Case-IH tractor and 
loader with front wheel assist. It's around 60 pto hp.; is a 3 cylinder, 
turbocharged engine. Just looking at it and driving it I've got to wonder 
how it would hold up if used like our Super C. He looked at a different 
model which had a little more hp. and was actually a little cheaper; his 
cost 43,000; but the dealer told him not to buy it as it was only meant to 
be used less than 100 hrs. per year. During the summer he plowed 15 acres 
with a 3-16" plow, and while it worked ok he said it sure wasn't a fuel 
efficient tractor as he used just over 2 tanks of fuel. Before this, he had 
a JD 5200 with about 40 hp.. One time the dealer sent out a guy to replace 
a couple of parts as part of a recall. As he was working, he told my 
brother; " this tractor is no 3020". I took that to mean that it would 
never hold up to hard work. My brother never put any of these tractors to 
heavy work (he has a 1066 IH for that, set at 150 hp.)
       My point is , I guess, is would these new compact tractors or 
whatever they call them, hold up to the kind of work we used to do with our 
old tractors?
Greg Hass
Michigan