2WD vs 4WD Food plot and slopes

   / 2WD vs 4WD Food plot and slopes #1  

sirrobinhood

Bronze Member
Joined
Dec 27, 2010
Messages
51
Location
Bolingbrook,IL
Tractor
Kioti DK55
Hello all,
I am still trying to decide on a tractor. Money is key, I dont want to spend over 11K.
Anyway, I live in IL and have about 5 acres of my farm that I will plant in beans/corn and some small 1/2 acre areas of clover. The food plots will be on flat ground. I will use a bush hog,tiller,disk, and 3 row planter to work the ground. All of this will be done in drier conditions. I think the 2WD tractor would work fine.
The other use of this tractor, I will need to drive the tractor into my bottom ground which is dry ground but there is about a 20-30 degree slope to get down there. In these bottoms, I will clear some logs, push some brush and work some ground down there. Which is flat also.
I would think a 2wd would not be smart going down these slopes after a rain...But in dry conditions, would a 2WD work? I think in the 11K range I can get a 25hp-30 FEL...while a 2WD I can get a 35-40hp in a 8-10K range
Any thoughts would be appreciated!
 
   / 2WD vs 4WD Food plot and slopes #2  

Here's my 2 cents worth. Even though most of the use is on dry, flat ground, you also mention moving logs, pushing brush, and there is probably many more tasks not thought about yet. Even with what you mentioned, I would like to have 4WD available. It's the things that pop up unexpectedly that you'll be glad it there when you need it. Personally, I wouldn't have a tractor if it wasn't 4WD. It's helped me out of some jams, not a lot, but when needed, it was there.


Ron

 
   / 2WD vs 4WD Food plot and slopes #3  
Fifty years ago, the vast majority of all tractors were two-wheel drive. They were heavy and had AG tires. And they worked just fine in most conditions. I love four wheel drive, but if I had relatively flat land to work, I wouldn't sweat it. Buy a mid 70s 45 HP Ford diesel and put it to work.
 
   / 2WD vs 4WD Food plot and slopes #4  
I've been going thru a similar decision process.
One of my critical requirements is to be able to lift about 1 ton on the 3pt.
Lot's of good tractors with 2WD and FEL in the 40HP+ range for < 15K. Very few w/4WD. Few tractors much less than 40HP will lift a ton (= about a 10' x 24"DBH log) on the 3pt.

However I'm in the "hillls" of northeast Mississippi and virtually none of my land has extents of "flat" (that's probably why I got so much so cheap). This section of topo is just west of one of my parcels. Lot's of up and down.
temp.jpg

If all you have to do is go up and down a few slopes between large expanses of flatland you might get by with 2WD if you make good trails, and carry a good winch. But try and spec out how much you will hav to lift or drag.
 
   / 2WD vs 4WD Food plot and slopes #5  
If a slope is so steep that my tractor can't negotiate it in two wheel drive taking on the same slope in four wheel drive might be me pushing things a bit too far. I have slid a tractor down a steep slope or two. With a two wheel drive tractor the front will still steer while the back tires are sliding because the fronts are still rotating. With four wheel drive the fronts will be sliding along with the rears. Front tires that are locked in four wheel drive and sliding don't steer very well.
 
   / 2WD vs 4WD Food plot and slopes #6  
If I had this issue with the slopes in and out of the bottom land I would fix the problem. That is a good use for a tractor imo. Reminds me of the people with rough lawn areas thinking they need a tractor to mow with, fixing the lawn area and smoothing it out is a better answer.

About the tractor selection I would suspect a 25 to 30 hp 4x4 tractor will pull about the same as a 35 to 40 hp 4x2 tractor. The higher hp 4x2 will be able to operate in the fields with the same or similar draft loads at a faster pace. That said I would not recommend driving down a slope with a fel on a 4x2 tractor as this makes the rear end light and no brakes on the front axle. If you think about it a little the 4x4 with fel is a better choice. For most of my tractor work I really prefer a tractor without a fel as I find them cumbersome.
 
   / 2WD vs 4WD Food plot and slopes
  • Thread Starter
#7  
All are good pionts! So do all 4WD tractors have brakes on the front axles? I was looking at a 35HP Kioti also. I dont think I paid tooo much attention to the brakes.
 
   / 2WD vs 4WD Food plot and slopes #8  
All are good pionts! So do all 4WD tractors have brakes on the front axles? I was looking at a 35HP Kioti also. I dont think I paid tooo much attention to the brakes.

I don't know of any with front brakes, although I did read lately about some high end models with them. They are technically not needed, though. Because both the front axle and rear are mechanically linked when in 4WD, applying the back brakes slows and stops the drivetrain- as the back wheels slow down, so will the front wheels.
4WD does help. But, as was stated, tractors have been used for many years with 2wd, and still are. We live in the mountains, and until the last 10 years, never had a 4WD tractor. We used 2WD tractors for the same tasks that we now use a 4WD. You use common sense, and know the tractor limits and the tricks to using them. A 2WD will work fine, a 4WD will give you an extra measure of safety. It is your money and your call, but given your land and needs coupled with a budget, I would think that higher horsepower and weight would benefit you more than 4WD.
As far as going down the hill with the loader, you can have balast on the back, and if you start to slide, you can always lower the loader to the ground. Again, you learn the tricks to use what you have.
 
   / 2WD vs 4WD Food plot and slopes #9  
Since you have steep ground and want a loader I say you need a 4WD, it is not fun sliding down a hill on a tractor. Since you have steep ground a tractor with a ROPS would be a very good thing to have.
 
   / 2WD vs 4WD Food plot and slopes #10  
I'd go with the 4WD. I have 30 acres of hunting property with 2 large food plots (less than 1 acre each). Originally, I had a good, used 2 wheel drive Bolens tractor that worked well, but would not pull a plow point. With a newer 23 hp TYM T233 4 wheel drive and FEL, it pulls the plow point with no problem. You're not using a plow so might not need. I do feel safer with the 4 wheel drive however.
 
 
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