2WD vs 4WD Food plot and slopes

[Gary Fowler]

I also prefer a disc for tractor. Folks with tillers usually overtill and get the soil so laden with air that it dries out too fast and generally is not usefull for planting when in that condition. A dics wont do that no matter how many times you go over it. Tillage should be done to the minimum to chop up all the vegetation and to a usuable depth loosen up the soil which doenst need more than 6-8 inches of working depth.
A 40 HP 2WD tractor should pull an 8 foot disc in all but the most demanding conditions. One can alway raise up the cutting depth to lighten the load if needed.

 

[jenkinsph]

Gary,
I have had good luck with tillers, no problem with their use for seedbed preparation. My point is that while disks are fine they are better suited to heavy tractors since the big requirement is to have enough draft to utilize them properly. The modern CUT's are light tractors which is suitable for using tillers and at the same time is better for mowing tractors too. When I had 4020's and a Case 1370 I used chisel plows and disks but that is a different world from today's small 1 ton tractors. Using the pto power to get the work and hp to the ground via a tiller just makes sense.


First picture is my rear lawn and the second and third are one of my customers lawns. Tilling seems to work for me.

 

[super55]

I have both a tiller and a disc. Both have there pluses and benefits. For doing a garden or soil where I know there's nothing to break my tractor the tiller is great but for doing my food plots the disc gets that chore. I don't need a refined seedbed, can roll right over stumps and don't have worry about unwinding barbed wire or anything else buried in the soil.

 

[Armands]

Forgive me for my bad English, I use translator.

In my case, is clearly better than 4x4 2x4. For example, I was working in a small town being accessible their allotments but also in neighboring gardens and even as I have created a small business. Was working the land for those who call me and are willing to pay for the service.

Every client is different circumstances, different cultivable fields. Another is wetter and purvaināka land, another bigger hill or valley. Viemmēr is right at your fingertips when a lever with which you can switch on the front axle.

If the front axle does not use the fuel consumption and tire wear is not so great. I have a Yanmar F155 4WD

 

[dntfxr]

I have both larger 2wd and a smaller 4wd tractor, also a disc and tiller. I have to agree the disc is the right tool for fields and foodplots, the tiller is better for gardens IME. As far as the tractors go, the larger 2wd works circles around the small 4wd in almost every way. I've only stuck the 2wd once and that was when I first was learning its limitations with a very large load in soft saturated muddy ground.That said the small 4wd is great for very tight quarters, such as at my deer lease on small trails, or mucking out stalls. These tractors are on opposite ends of the spectrum, yet they cost very similar money. All said, I'd recommend a nice older 2wd in the 40-50hp range and spend the rest on implements.

 

[jenkinsph]

How small a plot needs to be to utilize a tilller depends on the size of the tiller. If you use a large tiller you can cover alot of ground, if all you have used is a small tiller you think garden only. Same with a disk, a small one can't get as much done as a large one.

For the small property owner it isn't always practical to have both a disk and a tiller. I do most of my work now in small plots of about 5 acres or less so a small tiller works well. My point though is that a large tiller about 13' wide can cover alot of ground and is capable of more than just a home garden. It seems that most members think of a tiller only for little jobs and I am just dispelling this myth.

 

[newbury]

<snip> My point though is that a large tiller about 13' wide can cover alot of ground and is capable of more than just a home garden.<snip>

And how big a tractor is needed to run a 13' tiller? 100HP? And how much would a 13' tiller cost? 13K?

I think most of the discussion here was oriented to lower cost solutions.

 

[dntfxr]

A disc is pretty foolproof too, easy to maintain and in unfamiliar ground much less failure prone. I've hit big roots, rocks and chunks of concrete with both and the disc is much less trouble. But there is definitely a lot of overlap between the two implements and ain't nothin purtier than fresh tilled ground! Best solution? Get the bigger 2wd and get both implements!

 

[jenkinsph]

And how big a tractor is needed to run a 13' tiller? 100HP? And how much would a 13' tiller cost? 13K?

I think most of the discussion here was oriented to lower cost solutions.

I think you are missing the point. The point being that tillers are not just for your home garden.

Large disks and large tillers are both expensive as are large field tractors. Small tillers and small disks are quite a bit cheaper and similarly priced.

 

[jenkinsph]

A disc is pretty foolproof too, easy to maintain and in unfamiliar ground much less failure prone. I've hit big roots, rocks and chunks of concrete with both and the disc is much less trouble. But there is definitely a lot of overlap between the two implements and ain't nothin purtier than fresh tilled ground! Best solution? Get the bigger 2wd and get both implements!

Dntfxr,
Don't get me wrong as I like both disks and tillers and have found that both do a pretty good job. Growing up in Louisiana with so much rain I remember how often disking had to wait for the ground to dry out enough so that we didn't get stuck. Didn't have a tiller back then but now wish we did. We had an Amco offset wheel disc and a Deere 100 series disc harrow for the smaller tractors Farmall M and 3020 diesel. These did a good job for us and no complaints.

Today having to use my 4520cut, 110tlb and 820 traversing finished lawn areas on a frequent basis the heavy tractors with filled tires would be a problem. Along with being easier to transport to and from jobs and not needing the high draft is a good choice for the lighter tractors. I should also mention that it is alot easier to change a tine that a disc blade if you were to break one. I have broken more disk blades than tines but would say that both a tiller and a disc are tougher than most think.