Combine choices.

My Deere 4420 laid down on me yesterday to the point of not fixing it. So do I take this opportunity to get a gleaner and if so what models would you guys recommend. I need to stick with a 4 row machine with no bigger than 13ft header. I have also thought why not buy another 4400 or 4420 and have almost a whole combine of parts available.

F2 or F3 would make you a good machine, but like the 4420, they are getting some age on them. They are a good machine and easy to work on.          MACK

I think an R-40 or R-42 would be a very nice replacement for a 4420 combine.

6600 would be older than a 4420 too.

If you don't buy another Deere, I would seriously look at getting a 1978+ F2 or F3.
These combines had the long walkers and cleaning shoe.
We have had a 1980 F2 here for 21 years now and just love it.

We love our Allis tractors and have several, but only one combine.   When taking off grain, time is essential, sometimes losing a day can be detrimental. We have thought several times about getting a Gleaner and something bigger than the 4420 w/15’ header. Ours has been very reliable and Deere has a lot of parts support around here. Not sure what you lost but, there are a lot of those machines out there with low hours. Seems like     the 6620’s always have a ton of hours and maybe not worth buying. I just saw a nice low hour 4420 on Craigslist local for 14k. Think I’d stick with it and save yours for parts. JMO

I don’t have much experience with the rotaries but I have spent hundreds of hours in an F2 and F3. In my opinion they are some of the most reliable combines I’ve ever been around.

My uncle had a 4400 Deere and there was no comparison. One year he had a broken leg and couldn’t run it so dad and I went to help. After a day in the 4400 with no auto header control we brought our F2 over and finished up.

Currently we run an L2 with 318 head and 6 row corn head. It’s a beast but I feel like it requires more TLC than the old F2.

We have since picked up a really nice F3 and use it for wheat and red clover and the occasional small bean patches where I don’t feel like taking the L and taking the head on and off. The controls on it make it a pleasure to run.

Done rambling. Good luck

Go with a gleaner and you'll be surprised how much easier they are to work on and keep in the field compared to a Deere. Our next door neighbor went from having to smaller older Deere machines then to one L3 and he loved the L3. He said he pawned those two Deere machines off to the first suckers to come alone. Very hard to work on and dinosaurs to operate compared to the Gleaner. Do pre maintenance and you'll be fine with one. For what they are selling for it would not be hard to find a nice R40 or R50 but a nice M2 or M3 would be great too and less little updates to make it perform vs early R series (though the updates aren't expensive to do or that hard to do). F series are gems and they made gobs of them but I'd take an M series over an F series and an R series over an M series.

A rock went in and broke the cylinder, concave, deflector and feeder house drive shaft. So anyway I'm planning on another one before next summer.

clarkscreek wrote: A rock went in and broke the cylinder, concave, deflector and feeder house drive shaft. So anyway I'm planning on another one before next summer.

Saw a F2 low hour both black heads 4 row on Indianapolis Craigslist for $2000. Wish I had a need for one!

Depends on what dealers are around you. and amount of money you want to spend. They all wear out and have problems!!! We use to rebuild a few older machines for farmers to use on smaller acreage. Around here it's all green now.

I know I'm late to the party, but we ran a Deere 6600. You couldn't pay me to run another Deere from that era. We purchased a Gleaner F2 (It's similar in size to your 4420) and we've never looked back. It's just a much better machine.  Any of the Gleaner models were rock solid, but we went with the F2 for it's size. I think that would be a great choice for you

Tbone95 wrote: Tracy Martin TN wrote: If you are looking at saving time, stick with the Deere, it will save you on sowing your next crop! Bah.....I can set my 4420 deere just fine.   To the OP, what happened to your 4420 to render it dead?

Yeah, I see the fields around here where the Deere guys set theirs just fine too! Anyone can tell them by the green strips in the fields after sprouting!

We had mixed results with our 6600 there, but that wasn't my complaint. Everything I hated about that machine boiled down to one word: Repairs. That's where I was extremely disappointed with the Deere