Plusses and minuses of tricycle tractors

[Cliff_Johns]

Ignoring the 4WD issues for the moment, what are the advantages and disadvantages of tricycle tractors for ag work? Are wide front ends always better?
What about for haying?

Cliff

 

[RonR]

My 2 cents:

I personally don't like tri's.

I believe tri's turn shorter, making haying and some field work easier.

I think four gives you more stability.

Some tri's like the old farmal's you can buy after market kits to convert them. If I found a great tri and an only average four, I'd get the tri...........

ron

 

[Farmwithjunk]

The biggest plus WAS narrow fronts made it possible to use mounted corn pickers on tractors. They're extremely manuverable. That makes for a good "barn tractor" around a feed lot. It's easier to watch one narrow set of wheels than it is two wheels when cultivating.

See where this is going?

Most all the reasons why narrow fronts were around are past history on the farm

Narrow fronts are HORRIBLE in mud. Dad had an old Allis Chalmers WD. By the time I was 15, I was permanently banned from it. I got it stuck every time I got on it.

The jury is still out on their being more of a roll-over hazzard.The fact that MOST narrow front tractors were high clearance (row crop) tractors made them "tippy", But the narrow front only played a minor roll in that. You see just about as many wide front tractors rolling as narrow. That's all about "operator error".

I'm looking to fill out my collection of Masseys with a MF 50 NF. Might not ever use it for anything, but why not have SEVERAL old tractors that I don't use?

 

[JoeinTX]

Narrow front tractors don't really have many advantages over regular wide-front units.

They were intended for a time when front mounted implements (cultivators, pickers, etc) were popular and when the tractor was the general form of propulsion for ag applications.

I've spent some time on "row-crop" tractors and about the only two advantages they have are somewhat better visibility toward the front and not needing a jack when a having a front tire problem. Otherwise, they are less stable and less useful for virtually all applications.

They don't turn very well, especially in loose soil, and they are no good for loader work.

All of this, they are unique and I do have a fondness in my heart for them. Unless it's in extra good shape and extra cheap, just look for a conventional tractor....

 

[Spiffy]

I won't give narrow fronts a bad of a rap, but for loader work the wide front (also with power steering) is very nice.

That said, it wasn't just the mounting of the implements, but also the turn radius, [especially for two and four row planting] you didn't need very many endrows to accomodate a narrow front . The narrow front when used with cutting brakes (the original Farmalls even had them cabled to the steering) will "turn on a dime and leave a nickel's worth of change" in almost any soil conditions.

I have the same loader on a narrow and a wide. I can get the narrow into places the wide just won't go, but you can sure feel it and really need the cutting brakes if you have a load on.

When you consider a wide front pivots on the center, on paper a narrow front is actually slightly more stable; however in real use (when going across ruts etc.) the wide will feel more stable because it splits the difference.

Anyway, you'll need to judge your uses and your own inclination to the learning curve, but I'm not afraid of them! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[KJO]

It seems both wide fronts and narrow front tractors have a place and a need. Depends upon what they are being used for. Most of my tractor time is spent mowing grass. I have mowed with both types and prefer the wide front mostly because I mow ditch banks and a levee. I wouldn't think of using a narrow front on either of these two areas.

 

[Birdhunter1]

When farmers used them they could park 3 tri's in a barn in the same or less space that only two wide's would fit.