Ultimate Homesteading Tractor Review: Bad Boy 4035 Cab
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Last year, we bought a Bad Boy 4035 Tractor for our family homestead. We needed to do big gardening projects, mow pastures, and plow snow. After 100 hours on the farm, we have some initial thoughts to share! Check out our full review of this Bad Boy mid size tractor.
Grounds to Review a Tractor
I’ve been a mechanic all of my life. Over the years, I’ve work at a John Deere dealership working on tractors. I’ve spent over 20 years in the small engine industry. For a few year I was a full time equipment manager for a multimillion dollar landscaping company. I understand this tractor well enough to comment on its quality and how it functions. But I’ve also put 100 hours on it, so I’ve used it enough to share my opinion.
Specs on the Bad Boy 4035
First things first, let me mention that I worked in a lawn mower dealer ship for years. Generally speaking, the Bad Boy brand was a bit of a joke to our large dealership. We sold the top 5 brands in the world. But Bad Boy was known as a cheap box store brand.
When I first saw this tractor, I was a bit hesitant. I saw a lot of Bad Boy Tractor Reviews that had good things to say. As it turns out, the Bad Boy tractors are built by TYM and rebranded, which means they’re top quality machines without the big price tag!
There are some slight variations on the Bad Boy tractors versus the larger brand names. Mostly things like tires.
I know a big concern for people when buying a Bad Boy is the availability of parts. In the future, if Bad Boy stops selling these tractors, will parts be available?
I’ve done the research and have no concerns here. There are several companies that buy and rebrand these tractors, and TYM has great parts availability. I believe if Bad Boy stops selling them, I’ll still be able to find parts easily!
Grading with the Homestead Tractor
We haven’t done a ton of grading with the tractor around the homestead, but we have done some. We’ve moved some gravel and worked on a go kart track a little bit. If I planned to do much more grading, I would definitely invest in teeth for the bucket. The bucket does come predrilled with 5 holes on the front edge to mount teeth or other attachments. I would definitely recommend getting those teeth!
Bad Boy Tractor Review: More Thoughts about the Bucket
One thing that is not available on any mid size tractors, at least that I have seen, is a hydraulic disconnect for the bucket. I wish it had one. It can be a pain to remove the bucket and switch out implements on the front end. It would just make work a lot easier.
Currently, I have to stop, get out of the tractor, unlatch both levers, get back in the tractor. Then I have to drive the next attachment and do it all again. A quick connect would be ideal because I could operate it from the cab.
After using the bucket to move snow and building some jumps on our go kart track, I am happy with the bucket. The quality is great. There is no wearing so far. I’m confident that the bucket is good quality and will last through many homesteading projects.
Tractor Cab Exterior Review
Lights
We have the 4035CH, which includes the fully enclosed cab with heat and air. This Bad Boy tractor review applies to the standard CH model as well, except for this portion about the cab. This model has an extremely bright LED light bar. Now, I have been incredibly impressed with this light bar, as we do a lot of after-dark work on the tractor. The front lights on the hood are not bright at all and to make it worse, they’re caged in by the hydraulic arms. I would recommend getting some additional lights that mount somewhere higher on the hood but don’t interfere with the arms moving.
Brush Guard
I’ve seen a lot of people online that weld additional bars across the brush guard. I can understand why this addition is necessary. The brush guard doesn’t provide a lot of protection to the front end of the hood. Another issue I have with the brush guard is that the hood hits the brush guard. The guard needs to be mounted another half inch away from teh tractor so the hood will clear.
As it sits, you have to swivel the brush guard out of the way before you open the hood. There may a design issue that prevents that. The hydraulic arms may not leave room to move the brush guard. But that is one adjustment I would like to make if I could.
Rear Lights
On the back side of the cab, you’ve got brake lights, turn signals and some overhead lights. The overhead lights are not LEDs. They are nowhere near as bright as they need to be. These lights shine on the 3 point connection and allow you to see the implements. So it’s kind of important to have good light. I will definitely be replacing these with LEDs when I get a chance.
Review Maintenance on the Bad Boy 4035CH Tractor
Again, the brush guard is in the way of raising the hood. The hood latch can be a little tricky. But once you have the hood up, all of the maintenance points are very easy to access. In the past, I worked on Husqvarna machines for years and one of the highlights was the ease of access for maintenance. I believe Bad Boy has hit this point well too. However, I did break the pin on the screen release for the radiator, so I wish that was easier to use.
The oil dipstick is very easy to access. But a huge negative to me is that the fuel filter comes as an entire canister unit. You cannot replace only the filter. I feel that the paper filter should be replaceable. But it does remain easy to access. The belt is pretty accessible as well- in fact I need to change mine soon. The hydraulic filter sits at the back end of the cab. It is in a bad spot if you’re doing a lot of bush hogging. But it is very easy to access.
Overall, I’m very impressed at how easy it is to maintain this tractor. I don’t feel like anymore would have to take the tractor to a dealership for regular maintenance. To me, that’s a huge selling point because it will save me time and money in the years to come.
Cab interior Review
The cab interior is top notch on this tractor. Both doors open and close easily and seal well. You don’t want to be climbing in and out of the right side door with all the pedals and controls. As we look around the interior of the cab, I notice the foot controls are separated between individual pedals.
I love that the forward and reverse pedals are separate. It allows the driver to rest their foot on the floor and stay comfortable while switching between forward and reverse.
Steering Wheel
The steering wheel on this tractor is super comfortable. It tilts between three positions which makes it easy to get into the tractor. I like to use the highest position when my boys ride along to give them more space.
Steps
The steps are very sturdy. They hold up to lots of climbing in and out and seem hold quite a bit of weight without any issue.
Air Conditioning, Radio, Controls
This cab is built for comfort! In extreme cold, the heat blow hot and steady. In the heat of the summer, the 4 AC vents blow ice cold! The controls are easy to reach and operate. The radio is not great. The controls are fine and the bluetooth connections works great. The speakers are the big problem. They’re just cheap and need to be upgraded.
The controls for all the tractor components are spread around the seat. They’re all easy to access and easy to understand. This tractor has a 4 wheel drive lever, locking differential, arm and buckets levers, 3 gears for lo, mid and high speed.
I’ve use the high speed once when I drove down the road, but generally I use the B position for mid speed. This tractor has a turn-to-start key switch, an hour gauge, a parking brake, a fuel gauge, a PTO switch and cruise control. You’ll also find light switches, indication lights and more. I do wish the cab had a 12 volt outlet for a phone charger.
3-point hitch and Noise in the cab
The rear glass opens out for ventilation and easy access to quick disconnect the implements. But even with the glass closed, it’s pretty loud inside the cab. That being said, the implements don’t add too much to the noise. It’s too loud inside to make a phone call without turning the tractor off.
Final Thoughts: Should you buy a Bad Boy Tractor?
After my first 100 hours, I’m thrilled with my purchase of this tractor.
I have lots of homesteading projects planned for it. The quality of the tractor is great. They put a lot of time into making it easy to operate and easy to maintain. It is packed full of extra features. I’ll be adding a few upgrades in the coming years like a radio, more LED lights, and filling the rear tires for more weight. But I think every homesteading family should get a mid sized tractor. The Bad Boy 4035 is a great choice!
