My 4020 Story: Homecoming

The date was October 14, 1971 when our new John Deere 4020 arrived. Can you think of a better birthday gift for a 15-year-old farm boy than delivery of a new 4020? While I was sad to see the 3010 I learned to drive on leave with the trade deal, I had convinced my dad to keep grandpa’s last John Deere A (which is still on our farm awaiting its turn for restoration) and I was allowed to put many of the first hours on the 4020 pulling in wagonloads of corn during harvest that year. 

That 1970 John Deere 4020 continued to be the “big tractor” on our farm for the next few years until Deere introduced the 30 Series with more horsepower – and a cab. While we did trade into an early 4430, the 4020 continued to earn its keep pulling the planter, cultivator, and sprayer, and doing other utility work as needed. However, both implements and the farm continued to grow, and soon enough the 4020 just wasn’t used enough to justify keeping it around. 

With just over 2000 hours (I remember that because we replaced the hour meter at 1600 hours), the 4020 was still in great condition and ready to go to work for someone else. We listed it for sale and almost immediately had an interested buyer willing to pay our asking price which was more than the tractor cost new. I remember the day he came to the farm to pick it up, although I did not remember his name or where he was from.

Today, we are still farming the same land where my father started in 1955 and where he passed away in May 2018 at 89 years of age. Many tractor trades have taken place over the years, but I always appreciated the quality and ability of the 4020. 

In the fall of 2018, I received a Sullivan Auction flyer for the Terry Brown retirement sale at Lexington, Illinois. In the lineup was a 1970 John Deere 4020 with a 148 loader and 4653 hours. It looked like a real nice tractor, but I wasn’t really in the market and didn’t think much of it. 

Several weeks later, I received a phone call from a high school classmate who now farms in the area. He asked if I’d seen the 4020 on Terry Brown’s sale. He was looking for a nice 4020 to use around his place, and went to look at this one. After asking a few questions, Terry shared he’d purchased it some years ago from a farmer near Benson, Illinois, by the name of Bob Haas. My friend immediately made the connection, and kindly informed me he’d found the last 4020 my dad had owned. 

We drove to Lexington and verified the serial number – 239923, from the original invoice from R.S. Jolliff and Sons of Lacon (now Prairie State Tractor), which is now framed on my office wall. My wife and I were out of town on December 5, 2018, but my son went to the auction and kept his hand in the air until the tractor bought more than 15 years before he was born came home with him. 

Not only did the tractor return to the farm, we also got back the original owner’s manual with some of our handwritten service notes inside. I even rummaged around our used parts bin and came up with that original tachometer with 1600 hours we’d saved for more than 40 years “just in case.”

Video from the Terry Brown auction. Be sure to check out the 1:35 mark to see the 4020 getting purchased! Thank you for Amy Brown for bringing this video to our attention.

Story written by Alan Haas and Karen (Haas) Jones. Have a 4020 story to share with Prairie State Tractor? We're collecting John Deere 4020 tractor stories to help promote our new 4020 special inspection program. Plus, our favorite entry will get their 4020 inspected for free. Click here for all the details on how to submit your own story. To schedule a 4020 special inspection for only $195, click here and complete the form.