FEL & 4wd

[Lidger]

Good Afternoon,

I am a new owner of a recently installed FEL, and so far I cannot believe I had the tractor for 7yrs without one.

I have been moving quite a bit of dirt, and in 4wd I can really dig into a pile of it. In 2wd it seems to kinda stop, so 4wd almost seems obvious.

I was told by a co-worker that using 4wd with a loaded FEL is a bad idea. Is this true?
Would I have to fill the FEL in 4wd then put it in 2wd to move the dirt to its new home?

Opinions/experiences are appreaciated. I do not want to un-intentionally be damaging my tractor.

Thanks!

 

[SPYDERLK]

Good Afternoon,

I am a new owner of a recently installed FEL, and so far I cannot believe I had the tractor for 7yrs without one.

I have been moving quite a bit of dirt, and in 4wd I can really dig into a pile of it. In 2wd it seems to kinda stop, so 4wd almost seems obvious.

I was told by a co-worker that using 4wd with a loaded FEL is a bad idea. Is this true?
Would I have to fill the FEL in 4wd then put it in 2wd to move the dirt to its new home?

Opinions/experiences are appreaciated. I do not want to un-intentionally be damaging my tractor.

Thanks!

No. Not using 4WD when the FEL is loaded will be dangerous because the back end will be light and the only way to couple brakes to the front is 4wd. You could easily slide down the smallest incline in 2wd - or be unable to back up after filling the bucket. It is a balancing act where you must consider several things. It is possible to turn your tractor on its nose in 4WD with brakes and heavy bucket ... or by popping the clutch in reverse in the same loaded condition. Rear counterweight, low bucket, and discretion with the controls is the ticket.
larry

 

[Gary T.]

Congrats on your new addition. I think your co-worker is referring to the added stress on the drivetrain components when you are in 4wd. When you make a turn in any 4wd vehicle, the front tires follow a larger circle than the rear tires. Because most part time 4wd vehicles don't have a center differential to allow the front and rear tires to travel at different speeds, something has to give. If you are on a hard surface like asphalt or concrete (high traction), it becomes much harder for the tires that are turning slower to slip, the higher the traction, the greater the stress. Something else you want to remember about 2wd and 4wd. Most compact tractors do not have brakes on the front wheels. Always use 4wd when going downhill, especially when you have a load in the front of the tractor. Just remember, going straight on any surface you won't hurt anything, turning on high traction surface in 4wd, you add stress to drivetrain components. Turing on your lawn in 4wd will damage you lawn, Going downhill in 2wd may cause you to lose control.

Have fun with your new toy.

 

[RoyJackson]

I strongly suggest you use ballast of some sort (I prefer a ballast box) mounted to your 3PH. More ballast, more traction. You may not even need 4WD. Also, up the pressure in the front tires.
As far as using 4WD, I normally do for any loader work...depends on if I need the extra traction. As Gary wrote, 4WD on hard pavement (unless it's slick with snow or ice) isn't good. You can get axle wind up. However, I've found that occasional lifting of the front wheels off the ground (using your loader's dump function) seems to alleviate that axle wind up.

 

[snpower]

The two previous posters are right on. With my BX2360 I use 4WD a lot when loading the FEL and grading. When carrying material I switch to 2WD to traverse the property unless on a slope.

Adding a box blade really improved the % of time I can work in 2WD; it is almost a different machine.

 

[TripleR]

Pretty much in agreement with the others. If I am going to be on dirt, I leave it in 4WD, but if I will be running on pavement which I often do from one part of my farm to the other, I put it in 2WD.

I have gotten distracted and left it in 4WD for the 1/2 mile round trip without incident, but I try not to.

 

[LBrown59]

Good Afternoon,

I am a new owner of a recently installed FEL, and so far I cannot believe I had the tractor for 7yrs without one.

I have been moving quite a bit of dirt, and in 4wd I can really dig into a pile of it. In 2wd it seems to kinda stop, so 4wd almost seems obvious.

I was told by a co-worker that using 4wd with a loaded FEL is a bad idea. Is this true?
Would I have to fill the FEL in 4wd then put it in 2wd to move the dirt to its new home?

Opinions/experiences are appreaciated. I do not want to un-intentionally be damaging my tractor.

Thanks!

I have a BX23 i got new in 2004.
Been in 4WD ever since .
No issue.

 

[Gary T.]

I have a BX23 i got new in 2004.
Been in 4WD ever since .
No issue.

Kubota builds very strong reliable equipment. Being in 4wd on high traction surfaces probably won't break anything right away, but it will cause added stress and premature failure of drivetrain components. The other thing to remember is the heavier the machine the greater the traction. A fully loaded BX??, will not have the same amount of drivetrain stress as a fully loaded L45 or M59, but a BX's drivetrain is also not as stout as the L's or M, so you should still be careful.

 

[Deano]

The two previous posters are right on. With my BX2360 I use 4WD a lot when loading the FEL and grading. When carrying material I switch to 2WD to traverse the property unless on a slope.

I do the same here.

Be careful on slopes!

Deano

 

[Lidger]

Thank you for all of your responses, I feel a bit better now using 4wd with a loaded FEL.
I do in fact have loaded tires and I also have my boxblade on the back for added traction.
I will keep in mind as to what type of terrain I am on when in 4wd.

Thanks again everybody!