Is 4WD necessary?

[foreman Etexas]

I've been tractor shopping for almost a year now. Looked at most major brands new and used. I'm leaning toward the Mahindra and in particular the 5525. I'm still new to tractors, though I've managed to pick up a few things along the way of this year long quest.

I think I need something north of 50 engine horsepower to mow about 50, mostly flat acres and to groom and snowblow a long driveway. I picked up an MF model 41, 7' sickle bar mower this past summer and plan to purchase a brush hog and box blade along with the tractor. The FEL, and blower will likely come later as I feel like I'm biting off quite a bit at this point as it is.

I've been undecided about whether or not 4WD is necessary. I plan to keep the tractor for the duration so my sense of it is, if 2wd does the job, resale won't be an issue. But while the added cost of 4wd is significant, I don't want to lean too hard on cost and get something that's not completely up to the tasks at hand. I'm very comfortable operating the manual gear transmission.

My next door neighbor farms a few hundred acres of potato and grain. He says absolutely no need for 4WD. What say you?

TIA.

What size tractors is he using? I am going to guess north of 80hp,totally different tractors(frame size,weight) than a 50hp. I mean you could move up to a 80/90/100 hp and 2wd may serve you well. Just curious what he is running for your him to say no need in it. We have used 2wd on the farm for along time and got by yes but now only run 4wd and like said may not use it all the time but the times you do NEED it,it is there. For loader work it makes it so much better,were sometimes we get the front tires down into a hole and couldnt back out would have to dump load and use bucket to push yourself out,4wd just backs out. And were we would have to get a running start to get under hay bale(3point) in the sand and then turning sometimes the front tires on the 2wd would kinda slid on top of ground,these 4wd just turn. I think that the best thing I can see from moving to the 4wd's is the ease of the everyday farming duties,with less ground impack in areas before.

I cant say you need one in your area but just hearing using loader and snow blowing,I think it would benefit having it. But you will always have a neighbor that can pull you out if needed

 

[BobG_in_VA]

There's and old addage about 2 and 4WD...it just depends on how far you want to get into the swamp before you get stuck.....NOW...if you have mainly flat acres...you will be fine with 2WD...However, if you get 8 ft of snow, 4WD will be mucho easier to negotiate...(grin). BobG in VA

 

[Jim Dodgins]

The 5525 is a heavy tractor with tires loaded and chains in the winter you can push alot of snow ( brake steering ). All I had for years was a small two wheel drive tractor in the hills of West Virginia and did fine, even in over 3 foot snows. A rear mount snow blower will add weight to your tractor, a real help in the snow but steering could again be a problem with two wheel drive. If your fields are not to wet ( swampy ) you should not have any problem mowing. I have a 4x4 Mahindra (3316) and it manuvers in the wet and the snow much better then my 2x2. Most of the times that I use 4x4 is when it snows, in wet fields, and doing loader work.

 

[keegs]

Thanks guys for all the feedback on this.

If it's a reasonable comparison, I've owned a few 4wd pickups over the years and think I understand the virtues of 4wd. As far as price comparisons go, it's not quite apples to apples but the delta between the 5530 4wd and the 5525 2wd is about $7k. To me that's allot of money but if push comes to shove I could do it I suppose.

I don't have a crystal ball but I see myself using an FEL to move snow in winter and every few years move fresh gravel around the driveway. The primary tractor activity as I see it would be running the sickle bar, pullng a brush hog and a box blade and at some point a plow and pushing a blower...but again, I'm new to this.

The neighbor is running larger IH Case tractors and my guess is they're in the 150+ HP range. It's funny that when we were talking about this he mentioned getting calls from time to time to pull another neighbor's 4wd out of the swamp.

My property is relatively flat. There's a steep wooded slope down to a stream at the rear boundary, but I doubt even a 4wd could manage the grade down to the stream. There was a wet spot that would form along one section of the driveway during the spring thaw and in heavy rain but I had someone a few years ago cut a trench and install a culvert pipe under the driveway to take the water down to a pond.

http://i829.photobucket.com/albums/zz215/keegsbucket/_052911_0826a.jpg
http://i829.photobucket.com/albums/zz215/keegsbucket/mainehouse2.jpg
http://i829.photobucket.com/albums/zz215/keegsbucket/_081709_0941c.jpg
http://i829.photobucket.com/albums/zz215/keegsbucket/pond.jpg

 

[Gary Fowler]

I used 2 WD tractors all my life and never even thought about 4 Wd till I bought my first tractor after moving back to a farm after about 40 years. If you want to see the advantages of 4WD over 2 WD just forget that you have it in 2WD when using the loader. "Wonder why the tractor is spinning and not pushing into that dirt pile? Why am I just spinning the tires and it wont back up this little hill with a small load in the FEL? NOW What, I am crossing this little ditch at an angle and 3 tires on the ground and I am not moving, what's going on? Shucks, forgot I had it in 2 WD. I would say that fully 60-70% of pulling capacity is in the front wheels when you have a FEL on your tractor. Too me 4 WD is worth the price, but each to his own.
P.S. There is a reason for most farm tractors using 4WD today and that is fuel savings due to less tire slippage, that and also the tractors have so much more HP today that you need dual fronts and rears to handle the traction needed.

 

[Gary Fowler]

One other thing to consider: by getting a 4WD over a 2WD, you can use a smaller tractor and do the same amount of work. The exception being that smaller tractor wont lift as much as larger tractor will but for pulling, pushing (traction requirements) a 30 HP 4 WD CUTwill out pull a 50 HP CUT in most instances. That may not hold true for some of the old iron farm tractors that had much more weight per HP than todays CUTs but it certainly does for all of todays CUT tractors

 

[k0ua]

Keegs, it looks pretty flat from your photo's, so You could probably get by with a larger 2wd tractor with loaded/weighted tires and lots and lots of ballast on the rear. I moved a lot of dirt with a large 2wd tractor with a loader with loaded tires and ballast.. Of course when I got a much smaller 4wd CUT it would outwork the much larger tractor for loader work but you can get by, and if $7K is what you would save, then you could buy a lot of implements for that. It is up to you, but where I live (no flat ground) 2wd just does not work as well.

James K0UA

 

[MF1433V]

Does the 2WD have a locking rear diff? That is a huge difference to me. Like others have said, 4WD is not necessary but personally I wouldn't go without it on a multipurpose tractor. If you were just going to use a tiller or plow 2WD has worked well for decades. But if it is a long term investment and needs to do it all, don't try and save a few bucks by omitting 4WD. I am certain you will regret it down the road.

I would rather buy a used 4WD than a new 2WD. Let us know what you get, how soon are you planning on buying?

Nice photos too, looks like a great place to live!!

 

[sweettractors]

We have never owned a 4 wheel for our farms. I have seen a couple times in the last 50 + yrs that one would have been handy. Ken Sweet

 

[Jim Dodgins]

Chains on a 2x2 work wonders in snow but you may have to brake steer some times. Nice place.