4wd vs. 2wd

[slowrev]

Grimreaper,
Don't get me wrong... I do not have LOTS of money. I usually buy good used tractors and attachments. And am fond of Old Iron which I fix up and keep, or accasionally sell to a family member or good friend that I know will give it a good home.

I fully agree with you on keeping track of our finances. I should be able to be debt free in a couple of years. HOO RAH ! I hate being in debt. Of course I drive 10 year old vehicles and such, but keep them in good shape. To me trading in a vehicle every few years is like flushing money down the toilet. I am not that impressed with appearances, its the real person that counts. Appearances and keeping up with the Joneses is quite expensive.
Even if I could pay cash for a lexus or the like I would buy a good used truck and a couple of used tractors instead /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Good luck to ya and have a good life.

 

[rdam]

I'm currently not even considering 4WD. I need enough HP to easily swing a 6 foot brush hog and a decent loader. JD5103, 5105, Kubota MX5000 or M4800SU, all in 2WD. I also have relatively flat pasture and find it hard to justify the cost of 4WD.

I would LIKE 4WD, but I would also like a cab. Ain't gonna happen. I have a friendly neighbor with a 60 HP, 4WD NH if the need arises.

I started out looking at JD790/NH TC30/Kubota L2600 all in 4WD. As the need for HP became evident, I looked at larger tractors and found 4WD to become an increasingly more expensive option and I have reached my financial limit. HP vs 4WD.....I think I need the HP /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

 

[cowboydoc]

You actually will gain hp with 4wd. A 4wd tractor will do much more than a similiar 2wd. If you need the big tractor for haying or such I understand that. But if you just need the tractor to run a 6' bushhog you're way better off to trade hp for 4wd. With the loader you will ten times the work of a tractor that is five or six steps above yours with only 2 wd.

 

[rdam]

Doc,

Most of the posts I've read say that people rarely use the 4WD for mowing, but find it handy for getting out of trouble in wet areas or for aggressive loader work.

I don't anticipate heavy loader work and the brush hogging will be mostly pasture. I don't understand how a lower HP 4WD tractor will be better suited for BH'ing than a higher HP 2WD? As most people have said, they generally don't use the 4WD to BH. If I did BH in 4WD, some of the "engine" HP has to be diverted to run the 4WD.

I agree that given equal HP, the 4WD tractor is certainly more versatile and capable. But, I'm trading 4WD for more HP. My theory is I can work faster with the larger, higher HP tractor. I just won't do some of the things that those with a 4WD tractor do.

You obviously have WAY more experience at this than me. If you can recommend a suitable machine in 4 WD, with at least 40 HP (Easily swing 6 foot medium duty BH) in the price range of the tractors I've listed, I'm all ears. Everything I've read recommends at least 40 HP for a medium duty BH.

By the way, I think it was you that got me looking at the 5103.

Rick

 

[cowboydoc]

Your hp has not only to do with how much hp the engine has but how much of that hp can you actually transfer to the ground. 4wd will maximize that power transfer. With a 2wd tractor you have alot of slippage, the 4wd limits that slippage. With my 4600 I can easily pull around an old heavy Woods 8' mower with no problems at all. I can't see how you couldn't pull the biggest 6' mower out there with it.

That 5103 is a nice tractor for the cash. Probably the best deal out there. If I needed to bale and move heavy weight I'd go for it. If all I had to do was use a loader with 1000-1500 lb. loads and mow no doubt I'd go with a 46 or 4710. I can do things with that 4610 that I can't do with my 4020. In the mud forget about moving round bales with the 4020. With the 4610 no problems. Going up hills and such with the 4020 I'll spin and have to get a run. With the 4600 no problems. Then on the other hand baling the 4020 goes right along without a hitch and the 4610 gets whipped around like a rag doll.

In your situation if I only had one tractor I'd want the 4wd. In my situation if I had to choose I'd take the 5103. From what you've said you don't need the bigger and heavier tractor. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[Libertine]

slowrev:

<font color="blue">I usually buy good used tractors and attachments. </font>

I would have preferred to have bought used too, but after looking, and looking, and looking everything decent used (liked the 2120 I liked real well) came up to within $5k or so of new by the time I added a BH. That doesn't give much of a cushion between new/used if you have to do an overhaul. Seems it's the same with implements - if you need something you need it for something you're doing. About the only place you seem to be able to get lucky on used implements is at auctions.

About debt, you're right. People, in their desire for immediate gradification, forget that when they buy something on time they are mortgaging their future. I suspect that most people are, in effect, indentured servants laboring away their lives paying off past purchases so they can get their debts down so they can re-mortage their lives some more. Ugh. I'd rather live in a tent and be my own person.

The purpose of life is not, it seems to me, to have the biggest estate auction. It is to maximize your yield of pleasure while minimizing the cost in pain (if I may paraphrase Freud).

JEH

 

[slowrev]

Grimreaper,
I agree with you fully. The best sources for used implements and tractors for me has been from contacts. ie people at the feed mill or farm store or places like that. I am also lucky to have a good country store nearby where farmers hang out. I usually just pass the word around and come up with a good deal on equipment.

 

[shady1701]

I think you better get a better subsoiler or harder ground. Mine stops my 4wd tractor cold and mine is fairly large with fluid in all 4's.

I think a larger 2wd is a better because tires wear outragously like 150 hrs or less. And if you need 4wd in the garden it's too wet i found that out this spring.
/forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif