Deere 4020 Fitted With New Steps, Battery Box

2001 - Volume #25, Issue #6, Page #29

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Ronald Krueger, Sylvan Grove, Kansas, installed new steps on his Deere 4020 tractor that make it easier to get on and off.
  "We use this tractor during the summer to make hay, so we're climbing up and down a lot. It doesn't help that I've got arthritis," says Krueger. "The original steps were smaller and were also mounted higher and closer in. The new ones are bigger and mount lower and farther out."
  The bottom step is 10 in. wide and 6 in. deep and the top step 19 in. wide and 12 in. deep.
  Krueger used 1 1/2-in. angle iron to make frames for the steps and welded lengths of feeder chain slats from a Deere 55 combine underneath, facing the teeth up to provide good traction. The slats are spaced about 1 in. apart. Lengths of angle iron connect both steps. The back sides of the steps are welded to a 7-in. wide, 19-in. long piece of steel cut out of a truck frame. It bolts to the tractor frame using the same bolt holes as the original steps.
  Krueger's son Dale built a new battery box for the 4020 to hold two batteries. The box bolts onto the tractor frame, right beside the starter.
  "The original battery boxes were rusted out. Deere wants $180 for new ones," says Dale.
  He started with two 27-in. lengths of 2-in. angle iron and made a "U" out of them to form the ends. He cut two lengths of 21-in. angle iron and welded them between the two U-shaped angle irons to form the tray. He then welded lengths of 2-in. strap iron around the top edge of the box to hold the batteries in place. A piece of sheet metal was cut and laid in the bottom for the floor. A length of strap iron laid crosswise in the middle underneath the box helps reinforce the floor. He cut a couple of holes into a piece of 3-in. wide, 30-in. long, 3/8-in. thick strap iron and welded it to the box, then bolted the entire unit to the tractor frame. Old pieces of baler belting were laid in the bottom of the box to cushion the batteries.
  Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Ronald Krueger, Rt. 2, Box 96, Sylvan Grove, Kansas 67481 (ph 785 526-7118).

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Deere 4020 Fitted With New Steps, Battery Box TRACTORS Accessories 25-6-29 Ronald Krueger, Sylvan Grove, Kansas, installed new steps on his Deere 4020 tractor that make it easier to get on and off. "We use this tractor during the summer to make hay, so we're climbing up and down a lot. It doesn't help that I've got arthritis," says Krueger. "The original steps were smaller and were also mounted higher and closer in. The new ones are bigger and mount lower and farther out." The bottom step is 10 in. wide and 6 in. deep and the top step 19 in. wide and 12 in. deep. Krueger used 1 1/2-in. angle iron to make frames for the steps and welded lengths of feeder chain slats from a Deere 55 combine underneath, facing the teeth up to provide good traction. The slats are spaced about 1 in. apart. Lengths of angle iron connect both steps. The back sides of the steps are welded to a 7-in. wide, 19-in. long piece of steel cut out of a truck frame. It bolts to the tractor frame using the same bolt holes as the original steps. Krueger's son Dale built a new battery box for the 4020 to hold two batteries. The box bolts onto the tractor frame, right beside the starter. "The original battery boxes were rusted out. Deere wants $180 for new ones," says Dale. He started with two 27-in. lengths of 2-in. angle iron and made a "U" out of them to form the ends. He cut two lengths of 21-in. angle iron and welded them between the two U-shaped angle irons to form the tray. He then welded lengths of 2-in. strap iron around the top edge of the box to hold the batteries in place. A piece of sheet metal was cut and laid in the bottom for the floor. A length of strap iron laid crosswise in the middle underneath the box helps reinforce the floor. He cut a couple of holes into a piece of 3-in. wide, 30-in. long, 3/8-in. thick strap iron and welded it to the box, then bolted the entire unit to the tractor frame. Old pieces of baler belting were laid in the bottom of the box to cushion the batteries. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Ronald Krueger, Rt. 2, Box 96, Sylvan Grove, Kansas 67481 (ph 785 526-7118).

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