My first tractor I used for 11 years with no FEL.. so I know How it is to get by without one, however there were many times I would say to myself how much easier it would be if only I had a FEL, Never really give much thought on how much easier having 4wd would been,
I guess by me learning to use and manipulate a 2 wd tractor with no FEL set ground for me to use my next 2wd tractor with a FEL and without the assist of 4wd. the key thing is
ballast and traction to the rear of the tractor, as would be even for a tractor with 4 wd. I remember about 25 years ago when hired a man to dig out/ level the ground for our above ground swimming pool, It had rained the day before he was to do the work, I though he would call to cancel, although he showed up as scheduled, I advised him that it may be to wet for him to dig, His reply was "Nawww! I'll get it done" and showed me his Cut Kubota was 4X4 ... Now I have experience with owning 4X4 trucks and I know what a mess of things they can make playing around in mud, I was still a bit skeptical that he could do the job as wet as it was, As I watched he began to slip and slide but none the less still was able to get enough traction to dig, after about 1 hour he'd gotten the wet surface soil off and was down to the dry and only took about 1 hour more and he was done, So yes I know how useful having 4wd can be in certain situations and would have been no way a 2wd tractor could have done the job, I know! Example: early this past spring I was hired to spread out dirt that had been brought in from digging out a pond, was about 5 dump loads, very moist soil but not real soggy wet... at least wasn't to start out with, after breaking down and leveling out only one of the mounds the soil began to get mushy and packed to the tires I lost all traction, in fact I had to bucket my way out of the mess, I remember thinking how nice it would be if had a 4x4 tractor, But on second thought I said to myself, I would simply not take on this type of work again,
for the most part my 2wd tractor has done anything I put it up against even digging a 4 ft deep into a bank-side x 30 ft area for a above ground pool, ( in Ga, red clay ) I might add:thumbsup: Though I did have to cut up the area with my disc-harrow first and several time after removing the clay 6" deep at a time,
Many examples and comparisons on how much more a 4x4 tractor With a FEL can do is hands down over a 2wd tractor with FEL, But comparing a ( 4x4 tractor only) to a 2wd tractor with a FEL ( for the money spent) But I must be wrong:, could'nt we do more everyday farming task with having a FEL, 4x4 is only a traction feature, Right! and I know some will say without traction what good is a tractor, we all know for hundreds of years our ancestors did their farming without the use of 4X4 tractors
and got the job done,
I'm sorry if it sounds like I'm defending the use of 2wd tractors, I'm just surprised that most folks would choose 4x4 over having FEL, But I'm sure the choice is of necessity, Now that I brought up the ancestor's tractors, Does anyone watch the classic tractor show? I happen to catch one yesterday, where this well known man , forgot his name, was hired to take factory built tractors and beef up the engine to produce more HP. before they were sold to the AG farmers, What I noticed about this particular tractor was that it had tandem rear wheels, I'm sure this was what they did back in the day to overcome traction issue, not too mention stability by it's oversize width,
