2706E Wide Stance?

[TheFarmerInAdell]

I'm in the process of buying a new 2706E and I asked about making the rear wheels wider. I can't seem to find any info about how wide they go. It would cost $300 to go wider, but I don't know if it is worth it or not. I don't have really steep hills, most around 10 degrees grade. Should I pony up the extra for this or leave it? I'm having the tires filled so I'm thinking I don't need it. Opinions?

Edit: Corrected from 10% grade to 10 degrees grade.

 

[repete]

If you have a front loader I would go with weight. Especially if you have any grades.

There have been times that I have failed to remember to be in 4WD coming down a slight hillside with a load in the bucket and lost traction on the rears even with filled tires. Cannot imagine how it would have behaved with empty tires. It is hard to get it in 4WD when you are already sliding in gravel.

Remember if this happens to DROP THE BUCKET to the ground and do not travel with the front bucket edge down on grades. You want to get control by removing the weight of the bucket, not have the bucket dig in and break something.

 

[TheFarmerInAdell]

I am more concerned about side-hilling. I am getting a loader and I am filling the tires. Just not sure if the wide stance is necessary or if it will be more trouble than it's worth.

 

[cglaser104]

I am more concerned about side-hilling. I am getting a loader and I am filling the tires. Just not sure if the wide stance is necessary or if it will be more trouble than it's worth.

It's worth it to prevent any sort of rollover should the worst of scenarios prevail. If you'll be working on that grade consistently then you'll want to make sure you've afforded yourself every safety measure. 1 wrong step down the road is more expensive than 300 up front

 

[TheFarmerInAdell]

My other concern is will I be too wide for my 7 foot implements if I go wide?

 

[cglaser104]

My other concern is will I be too wide for my 7 foot implements if I go wide?

The tractor is 6'2" wide as is. You can basically add 5" width to each side to be at 7'.

 

[jacew]

If I had a time machine I would get the 16.9-24 rear tires on my 2705E, 13.6-28 hold almost 200 lbs less rimguard per tire.

 

[TheFarmerInAdell]

I got the R4 tires so they're 17.5L-24. Not sure how much rimguard they hold, but I know it's quite a bit. I ended up going standard width because after looking at it the standard width is still quite stout and I don't have extremely steep inclines to go on. I also don't want to have to go with 8 foot implements, as 7 foot are expensive enough as it is.

 

[JWR]

I'm in the process of buying a new 2706E and I asked about making the rear wheels wider. I can't seem to find any info about how wide they go. It would cost $300 to go wider, but I don't know if it is worth it or not. I don't have really steep hills, most around 10 degrees grade. Should I pony up the extra for this or leave it? I'm having the tires filled so I'm thinking I don't need it. Opinions?

Edit: Corrected from 10% grade to 10 degrees grade.

Buying new, your owner's manual should show you what your options are for mounting the tires/wheels to get more or less rear width. I bought a 2660HD in 2011 and the owner's booklet gave a pretty good rundown on that. Your dealer should be happy to show you what your mounting options are and deliver the machine exactly the way you want it. I see from your later post that you are getting 17.5 x 24 tires. Nice, wide beefy ones. Your 10% grades do not make for a need to widen your rears heroically at all. Filling the rear tires is a good idea (for traction) but it won't make much difference on the tippy nature of the tractor.


I have an endless job cleaning up an old farm that is steep in places. I clip pasture/cut brush on about 56 acres of it with the other 44 ac being meadows or else too steep to put a tractor on, or woods. I always cut at least some 40% slopes every work trip. I stay off anything over about 50%.

Tire width plan that works best for me is to run the outer edges of the rear tires 8 ft. apart. (18.3 x26 R1 tires.) I set the front tires such that the inner edges of the front tires match the inner edges of the rear tires. That has worked well for me the whole time I've had it. My bush hog is 7ft and my flail mower is 7.5ft cutting width but the flail is offset probably 3ft. Trailering is sometimes a consideration for how wide you want your rear wheels too.

Puzzle: why would it cost you anything to put your rear wheels out wider ? $300 !? Surely being brand new the dealer will mount those wheels what ever width you say initially at no extra cost. I certainly don't know the width range available to you but the manual should show you.

Enjoy the new machine !

 

[TheFarmerInAdell]

Puzzle: why would it cost you anything to put your rear wheels out wider ? $300 !? Surely being brand new the dealer will mount those wheels what ever width you say initially at no extra cost. I certainly don't know the width range available to you but the manual should show you.

Enjoy the new machine !

Shop time apparently. They're a small dealer with low volume so they need to recover their time somehow. I went with standard width because it seemed wide enough like that. I would think that adding fluid to the tires gives a lower center of gravity with having weight below the axle in the tires. Seeing that the tractor is only about 4,000 lbs the extra 1,000 lbs or so below the axle should help. It definitely helps with lifting. Without the weight the loader would pick up the back wheels. With the weight it still gets light in the rear.

Trailering is no concern as I have a deck-over gooseneck. My concern was how wide would I need my implements to be, specifically a rototiller.

 

[JWR]

I guess every business/dealer has different profit levels and room to do things. They might not have charged extra if you asked for a particular wheel spacing before the deal was closed.

I'm surprised that you feel "tipsy" when your slopes are 10% or so. Part of that is "feeling and confidence." I know on my B2150 I was NOT confident and felt very "tipsy" at times when it was probably not really close to tipping over. Of course none of us should ever be close to tipping over if we can help it. The PA Ag Progress Show annually does a demo with a remote controlled Ford tractor where they go around a slope sideways, purposely catch a hole on the downhill side, and roll the tractor. It is VERY instructive to watch that !

About the fluid filled tires and center of gravity: You have fluid filling probably 80% of the tires, not 100%. As a result approx. 30% of the fluid is ABOVE the axle centerline. (Not sure where your c.g. is but not too far above the axle center if any.) Thus only a fraction of the fluid is below the c.g. helping to reduce tipover force. The fluid above the c.g. subtracts from the anti-tipover force so you do not gain a whole lot with fluid -- a little but only a fraction. The larger effect is on traction.

 

[oosik]

Are you telling us that the selling dealer was going to charge $300 to set the rear tires out wide. As I can see in a search of the web - the MF 2700 series have agricultural rear rims. This would mean that there are up to eight various widths that the rear tires could be set too. It is simply a matter of loosening a few bolts and moving the rims on the hubs.

If your tires are still "dry" it would be a doable DIY project. Look at your Owners Manual. It will show the options available as far as rear tire width. If your tires have been filled - then it's a project that becomes a whole lot more difficult. Not something I would recommend for a first timer.

 

[TheFarmerInAdell]

My last tractor was only 5 feet wide with about the same height and weight. I would slide in my seat, but that might just be the slippery seat. My "seat-o-the-pants" meter is very conservative. I have more confidence on this tractor than the last one, mostly because it is wider and just feels more stout. I also have critters that like to dig holes in the side of the hill so I always have to anticipate that.

Tires are already filled, and I gave up having 2 loaders to get a new tractor so doing it myself ins't an opiton. The tractor was already on the lot when I bought it, so it wasn't just a different set-up at assembly. Supposedly they needed to actually remove the tires from the rim to swap to the wider stance or something of that nature. I thought it was just moving the rim to the other side of the tractor. Either way, I forgot about it before negotiating the price so it wasn't part of the deal. The tractor originally had R1's on it on the lot so they had to swap to R4's for me upon request.

I was on the fence about it but just decided I didn't need it so it wasn't a big deal that they wanted extra to do it. I did get other stuff thrown in on the deal like swapping to the R-4's for just the cost difference and filling the with rimguard, as well as a bolt on cutting edge. I wasn't disappointed in the deal and I am not disappointed I didn't get the wider stance. It is stable enough as-is on my slopes. And even so, if it seems uncomfortable I know I could always go at it the correct way instead of side-hilling it.

 

[JWR]

I'm still confused whether you DID get the rear tires moved out OR just that you could have at a cost of $300 extra ?? For $300 "my cousin and I" would do it ourselves, even with fluid in the tires if you have a good flat concrete spot to work in.

How about some "as delivered" pictures ? We always like pictures. Enjoy that new machine.

 

[TheFarmerInAdell]

I did not get the tires set out. Just the factory setting at 6 feet wide. I could have them do it at $300, but elected to not have it done.

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