What purpose narrow wheels vs wide spaced wheels?

[Ledgemere Farm]

The one thing I really like about a NFE tractor is it's turning radius. You can't beat them for raking hay. We have owned several through the years and the biggest drawbacks were that they tended to sink the front end when the ground was soft and the front end sometimes slides dover when you drive across the face of a hill.

 

[Slamfire]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">(
I have to plug the Farmall ["regular" that is; even some of the Fs came with wide option, with all the things Farmall tried, maybe even some regulars had wide...] for really firing up the the "tricycle" [a few guys will only apply this term to single wheel] craze. I think it was my great uncle who recalled the salesman proclaiming "It will turn on a dime and leave a nickles worth of change!" )</font>
Maybe your uncle was right, but them single wheel front ends loved to become a rubber plow in soft ground. Then there were only the brakes to steer with. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[kensfarm]

"but them single wheel front ends loved to become a rubber plow in soft ground"

It'll def. teach you to turn w/ the brakes.. the double wheel narrow fronts do the same.. I found that out this winter on my MF65.. ground was frozen until the sun came out.

 

[Spiffy]

<font color="blue"> "but them single wheel front ends loved to become a rubber plow in soft ground"

It'll def. teach you to turn w/ the brakes.. </font>

I'll concur with both statements, but while getting mudbogged stinks, at least braking techniques learned are invaluable. I even find plenty of occasions with wide front machines where brake steering is important. Maybe the 4WD guys don't have those problems, else I claim lessons worth learning. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[Ledgemere Farm]

Sometimes, when you are pushing snow with a loader, the front end comes off the ground so you have to steer with the brakes.

 

[Birdhunter1]

One other good thing about the trike front ends is they were easier to store in tighter places and if done correctly you could store two trike fronts in the same amount of space where two wide front tractors were stored, or three trikes in the space of two wide fronts.

And I wouldn't only say the trikes were on smaller tractors, I have seen 4010 John Deeres with em, if I remember correctly I have seen a few 4020 JD's had them.
Also Alllis Chalmers had a D21 with a trike front to it and maybe a 210 model had it too.

 

[Soundguy]

The guy that delivered my JD-B trike brought it on a trailer with a farmall trike. They were loaded nosees side by side.. rear wheels for and aft. Used about 6' less of trailer to do it that way... Couldn't have fit 2 wide fronts onthat trailer..e tc.

( The fellow also unloaded the trike with 2 ramps.. as soon as the rear wheels hit the ground he spunt he front wheels over and walked them down the right side ramp... Iron nads i guess... /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Soundguy

 

[Ledgemere Farm]

Does your "B" have a Roll-O-Matic? Those are really cool. My brother's "50" had one.

Supposedly, you could have ordered a 4030 or 4230 with a NFE. I have never seen one though. I doubt many people would have bought one.

My brother-in-law used to have a Farmall 706 with a NFE. That tractor was BIG.

 

[Indydirtfarmer]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Does your "B" have a Roll-O-Matic? Those are really cool. My brother's "50" had one.

Supposedly, you could have ordered a 4030 or 4230 with a NFE. I have never seen one though. I doubt many people would have bought one.

My brother-in-law used to have a Farmall 706 with a NFE. That tractor was BIG. )</font>

A couple books on Deere history I have in my library state the last narrow front Deere was a 4040, built in 1979. There were THOUSANDS of 4020 NF's, a few 4230's I've seen a couple 4520's, a couple 4430's and a 4030. With the demise of the mounted corn picker, the need for narrow fronts slowly faded away.

I have my dads 1971 4020 diesel. It was originally a narrow front. Dad bought the factory type wide front when his only son wouldn't quit getting the 4020 stuck in the mud EVERY time he got on it..... /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[Ledgemere Farm]

I have seen them on the 20 series also. I did not know that you could buy them on the 40 series.

I think the NFE on a ROPS or Hineker cab tractor look really weird /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif. I saw either a 2520 or 3020 last summer with a ROPS canopy and NFE. /forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif