2wd Always?

[RobJ]

Rob, How about an aftermarket accessory that is an electronically controlled lock with a USB interface that prevents putting the lever into 4wd position. Then if you are in a situation where 4wd might be considered, you post your situation on TBN and if the GODS of all things tractor then concur by majority vote you download the code into a dongle and attach it to the lock to open it. The lock automatically locks if the tractor is shut off or 30 min passes, whichever comes first.

This removes your self doubt as to when/if to employ 4wd and ensures you only do it when it is politically correct.

Of course if you don't mind modifying the stock tractor, you can remove the lever and put it under lock and key. The truly brave and mechanically inclined may opt to remove front wheel drive components and hang them on the back of the tractor as ballast to improve the FEL capabilities.

Pat

Man I just have a gear tractor you know. But the whole GODS's thing has me worried. I'm sort of a 1 God dude. But I trust you!!

 

[SPYDERLK]

Now see larry this isn't funny, you forgot the on the previous post indicating you were funnin around. Usually your posts are full of technical info that requires your thought and time to type. I don't think we'd expect a joke. My wife does this sometimes...she'll make a joke (we're not sure) and me and my 15yo and 18yo will look at her like we are looking at a stump. Mom doesn't make jokes...usually...so we don't laugh because it might be real. Not worth the risk of upsetting momma!! You know the old saying, momma sneezes and the rest of us catch a cold!!

I'll be on my guard next time you rascal!!

I wasnt making a joke. In post # 119 I was trying to show the applicability of that thread to this thread based on posts in this thread that you had had some involvement in.
larry

 

[Bob_Young]

I refuse to read another 15 pages on this too often rehashed subject. I would, however, like to make one point:
Many of the full-featured MFWD Ag tractors of 100HP on up have the ability to sense the need for FWD (through wheel slippage) and automatically switch into and out of FWD as needed. The process is completely transparent to the operator.

If running in FWD all the time is such a good idea, why would the designers of these tractors go to the trouble of developing and marketing such a system?

If the Ag crowd sees the value in a tractor that only uses FWD when needed, why wouldn't these same values apply at our level? These are people who aren't frivolous with their money.

Maybe the next bell/whistle that needs to be added to the generation of Deluxe CUTs that's just over the horizon is automatic FWD....for those who prefer not to be troubled by yet another decision.
FWIW
Bob

 

[daTeacha]

Has anyone here watched a big Ag tractor doing serious work? Tire slip is normal. The rear tires often are spinning faster than the tractor is moving. No, not a lot, but enough to notice from a side view. Radial tires reduce the slippage some, but not entirely. If the fronts are also driving, there is less slip, but some still occurs. The automatic 4wd systems simply have a preset amount of rear slip allowed before engaging the fronts since it's a little hard to tell from the seat how much slip is going on.

As Pat so eloquently pointed out, the proportions between tractor mass and implement mass or driving force needed are very different for our little machines than for the big stuff. Size does indeed matter. When I had that episode with the hickory tree over my fence this winter, the guy who moved it finally did so with a piece of mining equipment -- a front end loader with a bucket that can lift around 15000 lb if I recall. That machine, with tires about 7 feet tall and 3 feet wide, was unable to get to the location due to lack of traction until the ground dried out some, but my little tractor had no problem. That machine could lift the tree and my little tractor at the same time, but it was helpless when there was a few inches of mud over frozen ground.

The point is, as has oft been stated herein, everything we do or try depends on the circumstances at hand. One of those circumstances is the operator, another is the ground conditions, another is the tire type and degree of wear, another is the balance of the tractor at the time the task is attempted. There is no final solution. So just keep tossing out those anecdotes and sooner or later we'll all have a storehouse of different degrees of success in almost any situation we might encounter and this thread will live forever, or at least until it takes off and flies away over a recirculating river.

 

[RobJ]

I wasnt making a joke. In post # 119 I was trying to show the applicability of that thread to this thread based on posts in this thread that you had had some involvement in.
larry

THIS link isn't working either..

 

[RobJ]

I refuse to read another 15 pages on this too often rehashed subject. I would, however, like to make one point:
Many of the full-featured MFWD Ag tractors of 100HP on up have the ability to sense the need for FWD (through wheel slippage) and automatically switch into and out of FWD as needed. The process is completely transparent to the operator.

If running in FWD all the time is such a good idea, why would the designers of these tractors go to the trouble of developing and marketing such a system?

If the Ag crowd sees the value in a tractor that only uses FWD when needed, why wouldn't these same values apply at our level? These are people who aren't frivolous with their money.

Maybe the next bell/whistle that needs to be added to the generation of Deluxe CUTs that's just over the horizon is automatic FWD....for those who prefer not to be troubled by yet another decision.
FWIW
Bob

Sort of like a traction control on cars and a few Polaris ATV's if I recall. Sensors on the wheels like an ABS system. Dunno if I'd want all that extra wiring and stuff on a tractor that I beat up in the woods clearing trails.

But Bob there is some good and fun reading in all 150 or so posts!!

 

[daTeacha]

Hmmm. Let's think about the traction control a bit. On most cars with the cheapie system, they work by simply cutting engine power until the wheelspin stops. On other, more sohisticated systems, the computer applies the brake on the wheel that is slipping, sort of like lightly applying the footbrake in a non-automated 4x4 system to stop the spinning on one axle and let both of them drive together.

On a CUT, none of which have anything resembling a motion retarding device or brake of any kind on the front wheels, how would you make the thing work? Apply a brake to the front driveshaft? Lock the center diff? Selectively apply the steering brake to the best wheel? Or would you cut power, which probably wouldn't be well received in the market? Final option would be to add mechanical/electrical/hydraulic brakes to the front wheels as in the automotive world, thus raising the cost of the machinery by a pretty good margin. Maybe that's what's coming, but then they might as well give them more road speed and headlights, too, to earn a HST (high speed tractor) rating.

That brings you almost back to something like the original issue Jeep with a FEL and 3 point on it. I have heard stories of folks using them to plow with after the war, but cannot personally verify that. Can anyone here?

 

[Egon]

Yup, we had a neighbour that plowed with a jeep. But then he bought a tractor.

Two wheel drive in snow:

YouTube - Ford 8n tractor Stuck in snow

 

[AchingBack]

Hmmm. Let's think about the traction control a bit. On most cars with the cheapie system, they work by simply cutting engine power until the wheelspin stops. On other, more sohisticated systems, the computer applies the brake on the wheel that is slipping, sort of like lightly applying the footbrake in a non-automated 4x4 system to stop the spinning on one axle and let both of them drive together.

On a CUT, none of which have anything resembling a motion retarding device or brake of any kind on the front wheels, how would you make the thing work? Apply a brake to the front driveshaft? Lock the center diff? Selectively apply the steering brake to the best wheel? Or would you cut power, which probably wouldn't be well received in the market? Final option would be to add mechanical/electrical/hydraulic brakes to the front wheels as in the automotive world, thus raising the cost of the machinery by a pretty good margin. Maybe that's what's coming, but then they might as well give them more road speed and headlights, too, to earn a HST (high speed tractor) rating.

That brings you almost back to something like the original issue Jeep with a FEL and 3 point on it. I have heard stories of folks using them to plow with after the war, but cannot personally verify that. Can anyone here?

I can't read this thread without thinking of the numerous times I have seen wannabe 4 wheelers stuck in the mud, waiting for a tow. Now, to enlighten you, daTeacha, here is a beautiful look at the past. http://www.film.queensu.ca/CJ3B/Photos/Farm/KW1706Thousands.JPG
Mahindra & Mahindra Limited - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
I don't know about the rest of you, but I am on the look out for one of these old farm Jeeps.

 

[patrick_g]

If running in FWD all the time is such a good idea, why would the designers of these tractors go to the trouble of developing and marketing such a system?

Bob

All to often manufacturers have to build what matches potential buyers' expectations, even when the feature may not be the best choice from an engineering standpoint.

Pat