Comparison A Question most of us ask when we're looking to buy a tractor,
- Thread starter deepNdirt
- Start date
Neat 1500
Platinum Member
well knowing what i know now i should have bought a 4x4 with FEL, but i have a 2WD instead. still it has served me well but it would make the tractors life a little easier if it was 4WD.
OP
deepNdirt
Veteran Member
Now that's a good way of looking it, Having a FEL makes life easier for us, But having 4Wd makes life easier on our tractors ....
I'll go with that :thumbsup:
stormpetrel
Gold Member
I have 4wd, well did until it stopped working! A lever in the drop box is bent, I cant get a new one. So I've done without 4wd on my hilly property. The only real issue has been bushhogging down steep slopes, as someone pointed out. the front wheels don't act as brakes....so the rear wheels can slide. I recently finished clearing brush on the entire (5 acre) property. I had dug out a pit to burn everything in. Now that it's done and needed filling in, I thought to myself "dang! it's gonna be near impossible using the FEL w/no 4wd!!". Not at all....with the 5' bush hog mounted, I easily scooped the somewhat moist dirt. Now that I am used to dealing with it, it's not too big a deal. I would much rather have the loader than 4wd.
Having a grapple on the loader allowed me to load TONS of brush into that fire, and burn I don't know how many tons in one (long) morning. When I went back five days later to knock the ash pile down and fill the pit in, there were still live coals, which caught fire again....wow!
Oh. One (very embarrassing) problem? I pushed a bunch of brush downhill into the fire, and overran the brush, getting stuck with the loader over the huge brush fire!!! I raised the loader up, and RAN for the truck and the chain. I got back real quick, as I'm sure you all understand! The loader was fine, but the front left tire was burning away.....that's right, it was ON FIRE. I put it out with the long hose I had down there to satisfy the powers that be when you burn, and towed the tractor out. Looking back at it, I'm not certain the 4wd would have gotten the tractor back uphill over the large brush pile. The valve stem was leaking air cause it was a little melted. I put the rest of a can of fix-a-flat in the tire, and it's fine!!
It has been real interesting to see why people like what they do, and for what reasons. There should be no problem finding a decent 4wd machine with a loader for 10K, the Mahindra that was posted being a nice example......
Having a grapple on the loader allowed me to load TONS of brush into that fire, and burn I don't know how many tons in one (long) morning. When I went back five days later to knock the ash pile down and fill the pit in, there were still live coals, which caught fire again....wow!
Oh. One (very embarrassing) problem? I pushed a bunch of brush downhill into the fire, and overran the brush, getting stuck with the loader over the huge brush fire!!! I raised the loader up, and RAN for the truck and the chain. I got back real quick, as I'm sure you all understand! The loader was fine, but the front left tire was burning away.....that's right, it was ON FIRE. I put it out with the long hose I had down there to satisfy the powers that be when you burn, and towed the tractor out. Looking back at it, I'm not certain the 4wd would have gotten the tractor back uphill over the large brush pile. The valve stem was leaking air cause it was a little melted. I put the rest of a can of fix-a-flat in the tire, and it's fine!!
It has been real interesting to see why people like what they do, and for what reasons. There should be no problem finding a decent 4wd machine with a loader for 10K, the Mahindra that was posted being a nice example......
California
Super Star Member
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I agree, with a $10k budget there are lots of tractors out there with both. My neighbor bought a 80 hp Hesston (Ford/New Holland) for that price with loader and 4x4. No it isn't as pretty as a VN repaint (or probably that over-budget $11k Mahindra) but its capability is awesome. He says its twice the tractor compared to the several MF 135's (2x4 w loader) he also uses. I think the buyer mentioned in the original post has 'look pretty' as an unspoken need. It's a tractor, the work it can do is more important than that new or near-new tractor aura.
clemsonfor
Super Member
Pertrol, can you not remove that lever and bed it back, or make one out of some round stock, or take it to a machine shop and have them make one? Sorry for the hijack.
clemsonfor
Super Member
not to mention parts 2210s. i know where there was on about a month or 2 ago. was thinking a guy on here also had one, dont remember? also hoye may have one if you have not checked?
stormpetrel
Gold Member
Hoye doesn't have it. It looks like it was fabricated to begin with. I put it back together (with some new bearings) and it worked fine for about two weeks, then the lever slipped out.
The guy that had the 2210 had a 2wd.
I always relied heavily on the 4wd....I thought the guys that said you didn't really need it were foll of it. But I get along just fine without it. Would I rather have it? Yes. Can I do just about everything I need to do without it? Yup. I would be in a much bigger hurry to get the 4wd back if I couldn't do without it.....
TripleR
Super Star Member
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My father in law tried to save a few bucks with a FEL on a 2WD on our hill farms and within a couple of months traded it in for a 4WD with loader. I had a 2WD up here without a loader and after sliding down a hillside running over trees one time too many, I moved it to our flat land farm. Even without a FEL a 2WD is almost useless up here unless it has dual on the back and a LOT of weight on the back.