Thoughts on full time 4WD?

[Diggin It]

I've heard it's bad, maybe very bad to be in 4WD all the time. But that also seems to mean even when driving straight and level. I rarely do that. My property is almost all sloped to some extent. My movements are almost always positioning to do some digging, carrying dirt in the FEL, pulling a trailer or similar up or downhill, or mowing hills. All is at slow speeds. I find I have to be in Low and 4WD to do much of that at all.

Where am I in the risk of damage from using full time 4WD? If I mow the more level areas, I can go to 2WD with no problem. And I rarely if ever go on the road where I would be in High range and 2WD..

 

[RalphVa]

If you have slopes at all, always stay in 4wd. Without 4wd, you don't have 4 wheel brakes. The tractor can skip down a slope with no control. Been there; done that when I forgot to put it back into 4wd after going down our paved driveway.

Ralph

 

[ruffdog]

Happy reading..................................

https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/owning-operating/398368-when-use-four-wheel-drive.html

 

[atsah]

These SCUT's need to be in 4WD a lot of the time when doing work with them, I use it a lot, only time it's not a good idea is when on pavement and there is no "give" to the ground.. If they didn't have 4WD they wouldn't be worth much that's for sure..

 

[MossRoad]

Happy reading..................................

https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/owning-operating/398368-when-use-four-wheel-drive.html

No, it's devolved into a peeing match about semantics, with the occasional personal jab.

 

[ruffdog]

No, it's devolved into a peeing match about semantics, with the occasional personal jab.

That is why I put the link in. Maybe we could read and learn from our mistakes instead of repeating them.:drink:

 

[MossRoad]

That is why I put the link in. Maybe we could read and learn from our mistakes instead of repeating them.:drink:

HAHAHHAHAa! Thanks. :laughing:

 

[oosik]

Hmmm---- my land is kind of - - well, I can go there or heavens no, I can only get there by walking. I pulled out an old apple tree yesterday. Pretty hefty pull but not to the point where I needed 4WD.

I've owned a 4WD vehicle, pickup or Jeep type, all my life. It is pretty easy to cause damage to a 4WD system if used improperly. Damage to a 4WD system usually means big dollars.

My Kubota M6040 is heavy - 10,100 pounds - and gets good traction even in 2WD. It has to be a pretty serious situation for me to use 4WD.

 

[ruffdog]

There was a time that most trucks were 4x2 and 4x4 tractors were very rare. It required a different driving style and technique and chaining-up when needed. We still got the work done.......:thumbsup:

 

[CMV]

What a lot of people miss with a generic question like that is "it depends" really comes into play. If your perspective is from a much heavier, larger tire machine compared to an MT125, their need for 4WD is way more infrequent than yours. So to them, being in 4WD all the time is pointless.

Heck, on my XJ2025 I pretty much stayed in 4wd except on pavement. It was light enough that just letting a corner of the bush hog dig a little on uneven ground would anchor the thing! So staying in 4wd even for basic stuff like bush hogging relatively flat ground was more convenient. On a lawn you want to do as little damage as possible or on a paved road, 2WD. Otherwise if you're more comfortable leaving it in 4WD, do that. With anything in the bucket heavier than dry mulch always a good idea since on the smaller machines you can be a lot lighter in the back end than you think.