105hp 2wd or 85hp 4wd for Tillage?

[Gary Fowler]

Heck go all out and get 4WD with triple tires front and rear.

 

[searcyfarms]

texasmark, what kind/size of implements are you using with that branson? I find it hard to believe it would pull large tillage w/out needing more power but then again clipping a grazed pasture with a 15' batwing is a far cry from pulling one through 8 to 12 foot growth in 2 yr old CRP. No way a 57hp tractor could do that so its all relative to the soils/implement/applications - I would love to have a mid sized 4wd with a cab to replace my 706 ( saving up for that ) and I have already considered dropping HP and using the 5088 for the BIG STUFF

 

[Tx Jim]

That 85hp 4WD must have helium in its rear tires. My 2009 M6040 with grapple, Rim Guard in the rear tires and rear blade tips the grain scales at 10,100 pounds.

My '11Kubota M7040 HDC-1 mfwd with cast rear wheels,liquid filled rear tires,FEL,bale spear weighs 8888#s

 

[nwhittemore]

I have a 35hp 4x4 tractor and a 85 hp 2wd tractor. Obviously the bigger one has more power and it can do a lot more then the little tractor, but in the winter months, it's pretty much useless. 2wd and mud does not get along. What's worse is when you wait a couple weeks after it rains and then you hit a soft spot and bury the 2wd tractor. Sometimes I can get it out with the smaller tractor, a few times I've had to get my dozer involved to get it out.

I will never buy a 2wd tractor again!!!!

Amen you can sacrifice 30 hp and still pull the same equipment with a 4x4. Like I said in the very first post it all comes down to fuel economy and whether or not your equipment requires more than 85 pto horse power.. After running my 77 ford 9700 for 20 years and then jumping onto my 04 4x4 m9000 there is no comparison. Its not even a contest even though the ford is 135 hp vs 92 hp. 4x4 is just plain the way to go.

 

[DieselBound]

My truck does a pretty good job at pulling in 2wd UNTIL I hit wet ground, at which point it cannot even pull itself!

Everything I own (except my cars) are 4wd. I will tend to run in 2wd and then when needed switch to 4wd.

4wd also is better at maintaining traction while turning. 2wd will tend to result in the tractor's front wheels plowing away from where you're wanting to turn.

My Kioti -55hp- has to be over 6k lbs (with loader and loaded rears). Traction, even with R4s, never is much of an issue: if I use my box blade and drop the rippers into hard ground I can anchor the tractor- it's not really a traction issue at this point, it's a power issue (more HP would be required, though for me it's not work that I really have much of- I can manage by being less aggressive).

Lots of weight also results in lots of soil compaction, which requires more soil loosening: kind of a catch-22.

As noted, fuel consumption is something to really consider. However, that increased fuel consumption may be mitigated by getting more work done (have to compare the cost of the full job/work).

 

[Limbhangers]

Obviously not a lot of experience with tractors with duals on this board. A dual 105hp 2wd will walk off an leave an 85hp 4x4.

Larger machine, more weight and more traction (4 larger tires on the ground).

You shouldn't be in the field doing tillage in muddy conditions either way.

I've got about 8 tractors currently and a lifetime of using them to base this comparison on including 90hp Kubota 4x4 w/FEL. 2wd Ford 8240 with clamp on duals with walk off and leave it pulling a chisel.

 

[Texasmark]

my guess is its a tandem disk with smaller blades ? not an offset disk with notched larger blades? there are a lot of variables here that would affect things - any idea how much your disk weighs or how big the blades are on it?

Opinion based on BTDT: Small diameter discs don't do much for you. Reason is if you get into any kind of real work, the axle drags the ground. Over the years (40) I have always gone to larger and got better results.

 

[Texasmark]

texasmark, what kind/size of implements are you using with that branson? I find it hard to believe it would pull large tillage w/out needing more power but then again clipping a grazed pasture with a 15' batwing is a far cry from pulling one through 8 to 12 foot growth in 2 yr old CRP. No way a 57hp tractor could do that so its all relative to the soils/implement/applications - I would love to have a mid sized 4wd with a cab to replace my 706 ( saving up for that ) and I have already considered dropping HP and using the 5088 for the BIG STUFF

Soil is Houston Black Clay, (heavy). Sweeps are 10" for one of which I have a picture......and I can do it burning 0.047 gal/hp (65)/hr....just under 3gal/hr at 2600 rpm....no way could the 4230C do that.

Additional comment on small dia vs large dia discs: Here, initial plowing (sod breaking) is done with rolling blades and discs are commonly used as plows, including disc harrows. The blades need to be large in diameter to get some depth before the axle drags the ground. The implement in the picture only works on ground that has been softened up somewhat the previous season. Otherwise it would just bounce across (the top of) the ground.

 

[Texasmark]

Heck go all out and get 4WD with triple tires front and rear.

They make em, articulating and all. Matter of fact, TSC has toys of that design in blue and green.

 

[EddieWalker]

Obviously not a lot of experience with tractors with duals on this board. A dual 105hp 2wd will walk off an leave an 85hp 4x4.

Larger machine, more weight and more traction (4 larger tires on the ground).

You shouldn't be in the field doing tillage in muddy conditions either way.

I've got about 8 tractors currently and a lifetime of using them to base this comparison on including 90hp Kubota 4x4 w/FEL. 2wd Ford 8240 with clamp on duals with walk off and leave it pulling a chisel.

Every time somebody posts something like this, I wonder what the comparison would be like if you put duels on the back of a 4x4 tractor and compared that to a 2wd tractor with duels? Seems to me that 4x4 is gonna have more traction, and be able to get more done.