2wd vs 4wd

[cartod]

4WD or 2WD, the back tires should never come off the ground. Ballast always on the 3 pt if the loader is on the tractor...


Backing uphill with a full bucket is really bad on the front axle, especially a 4WD front axle...

wouldn't the ballast that you just mentioned protect the front axle?

 

[Bluegill2]

wouldn't the ballast that you just mentioned protect the front axle?

Yes, but backing uphill with a load in the bucket still puts a huge load on the front axle.

 

[buickanddeere]

Have you bought a MFWD drive tractor and not fessed up? I can't imagine that you've bragged on NEW MFWD tractor for years and your wife won't let you buy one. I even have a MFWD tractor and I don't have any regular snow fall like you. Only reason I got a MFWD was to get a hyd reverser trans.

I make do with the 2WD on my hobby operation. If the weather is wet or the tractor stays in the shed and the job is done another day.
Wife is getting a new deck on the front of the house this year and a front porch addition. Going out in a couple of minutes to continue excavating around the house with the 10A backhoe. Down to the footings to upgrade the drainage and insulate the basement walls.

 

[Skintback]

Some very good reasons for owning 4wd that had never crossed my mind. I was thinking more regional as we don't have many steep hills and certainly no mountains. Thanks for the observations; certainly saw a different point of view other than mine.

Oh and by the way, I do know about 4wd getting stuck deeper!

I don't have a whole lot of time for people who are proud of and tell everybody how little they need.

If this is directed towards me, I don't recall telling anyone how little they need. I simply asked a question wondering how many people truly needed 4wd. I am more or less a flatwoods man; never thought or would have thought of different geographic regions requiring 4wd. I enjoy this site and thought it might be a good discussion question; not trying to push anyone towards anything or dictate how someone should spend their money.

 

[Sysop]

If this is directed towards me, I don't recall telling anyone how little they need. I simply asked a question wondering how many people truly needed 4wd. I am more or less a flatwoods man; never thought or would have thought of different geographic regions requiring 4wd. I enjoy this site and thought it might be a good discussion question; not trying to push anyone towards anything or dictate how someone should spend their money.

I think it was more of a blanket statement by someone who has many needs and expects them to be fulfilled.

 

[coondle]

Thanks Skintback for raising the topic to provoke thought and discussion.
With thought and discussion there can be the acceptance of diversity and a recognition as you seem to have come to, that part of the diversity is the variation in conditions different members face.
If I did not want to hear other points of view I would not come on a forum.
Plenty of urban folks may think of us as just dumb farmers. Be that as it may, I think farmers can be pretty bright, and collectively if our brainpower was dynamite we could blow out all of the candles on the birthday cake and have some to spare.
By listening to the views of the members on this forum I may get a good idea that I can use and I haven't tired myself out trying to think of it.
Keep up provoking thought and discussion the forum is richer for it.

 

[buickanddeere]

Some very good reasons for owning 4wd that had never crossed my mind. I was thinking more regional as we don't have many steep hills and certainly no mountains. Thanks for the observations; certainly saw a different point of view other than mine.

Oh and by the way, I do know about 4wd getting stuck deeper!



If this is directed towards me, I don't recall telling anyone how little they need. I simply asked a question wondering how many people truly needed 4wd. I am more or less a flatwoods man; never thought or would have thought of different geographic regions requiring 4wd. I enjoy this site and thought it might be a good discussion question; not trying to push anyone towards anything or dictate how someone should spend their money.

Just making sure were not one of those who are proud of how humble and modest you are.

 

[dstig1]

1. How many people really can't get by without 4wd?

This alone is me. First time I got my first 4wd tractor I was going back and forth from the road through the ditch (before we had a driveway) into my land. I would put it in 2wd when I was on pavement, and then back to 4wd as I went up the rather steep ditch. One time early in I forgot to go back into 4wd and I stopped dead going up the ditch. Couldn't figure out why this "so called amazing 4wd tractor" couldn't make it up this little hill (dry weather but still damp from rain a few days earlier). Until I realized that the lever was not in 4wd (it took a while, as I thought I was). Shifted and walked up the ditch like nothing. Since then, a lot more experience, and a number of occasions where I couldn't move and immediately realized I wasn't in 4wd. So yeah, I'd be toast without it on my slopes and very slippery when wet dirt.

A friend in the area said "a 2wd tractor is nothing but a cruel joke". And my type experience is why..

 

[Skintback]

Just making sure were not one of those who are proud of how humble and modest you are.

Not sure what the deal is but this is two in a row. I made an observation; didn't realize it stepped on toes. And where does this humble/modest stuff come from?

 

[Skintback]

To all the replies, I say thank you. I definitely see more reasons for 4wd than I did before. I wasn't even thinking about the differences in location being such a factor. Keep the observations coming.

 

[dragoneggs]

To all the replies, I say thank you. I definitely see more reasons for 4wd than I did before. I wasn't even thinking about the differences in location being such a factor. Keep the observations coming.

Yep... I was ready to jump on this thread right after the original post (wondering what the heck is Skintback thinking) as I have a almost zero flat land on my steep hill that I live on. I resisted popping off... but I have to brag... my trusty BX is making flat land (terraces) on my view property so it is more useful and manageable. I am 100% sure I would have rolled or slid down the hill and probably hurt myself already if I didn't have 4WD. Can't imagine not having it. But I can imagine... on relatively flat land and depending on your particular needs (just like cars) 2WD would suffice for many!

 

[Skintback]

Yep... I was ready to jump on this thread right after the original post (wondering what the heck is Skintback thinking)

Ha! I wonder what I'm thinking sometimes too:confused2:

I got to thinkin (which is dangerous) about why people around here buy a 4wd. I mean, I bought one too and absolutely love it. I'm not downing 4wd at all; just wondering if most really needed it. I think the populace has answered my question

 

[JOHNTHOMAS]

Here is a bit of video help for you flatlanders.:cool2:
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/kubota-lawn-garden/280786-f3080-mowing-hillside-video-2.html

 

[MHarryE]

Compaction is something I haven't seen people talk about in their posts. I have pulled into a few fields with a disc or cultivator this fall and one thing I have forgotten to do beside lowering and unfolding the implement is shift into 4WD. A few times I haven't moved anywhere but down but in some others I have noticed although I am in my normal gear I am going a lot slower than normal. The tractor tires are cutting in so deep that the disc blades, cutting in 6 inches deep, are not getting to the bottom of the tracks. Punch the 4WD button and it is like climbing out of a hole and shifting up several gears. I no longer have deep wheel tracks that the disc or cultivator can't reach. And- it is like a major power boost since the front wheels are joining the fight instead of acting like another anchor. Even planting - this was an unusually wet spring. My cousin and I use MFWD tractors and we were planting more frequently after each rain than my nephew using his 2WD, and in his fields you could see every wheel track as the crops grew because of the compaction from his tractor tires while our fields had no such problem. Sure it may be at least partially our soil type but I read enough farm magazines with articles on testing that backs me up in much of the Midwest. Those instances are with our larger tractors but even with my CUT I can brush hog through our ditches where I couldn't go when I had 2WD. Yes back in the old days we got by with 2WD but it took more people more time to cover fewer acres. We could dual up but there was no tillage in the morning and baling in the afternoon once we struggled to get the duals on. As for power train maybe we just don't work the tractors hard enough today to see the problems but in fact we had problems with the 2WDs we have not seen with our 4WDs. So I guess its soil type, terrain, and weather that really dictate which tractor. Oh, almost forgot trade in value. Up here there is not much trade in value on a 2WD so a person who wants used and can get by with 2WD can get a heck of a bargain. The price difference on a 10 year old tractor is much greater than the original cost of the MFWD option in the first place.

 

[sfloggie]

Skin,
I use to live in MS near a creek and now live in VA. When in MS we had a 2WD and a mule so got stuck a lot, but my grandpa and the mule got me out. Now years later, Grandpa is gone as is the mule. I still get into situations where I need the 4wd and it is everyday at some point. When I plan, I have the 4WD set and when I do not, it is great to have. So I say 4WD from my experience. Good day!

 

[sfloggie]

Good points MHarry! Thanks

 

[buickanddeere]

Not sure what the deal is but this is two in a row. I made an observation; didn't realize it stepped on toes. And where does this humble/modest stuff come from?

You have never heard somebody brag about how holy they are in their poverty or modest level of living?

 

[Tx Jim]

Not sure what the deal is but this is two in a row. I made an observation; didn't realize it stepped on toes. And where does this humble/modest stuff come from?

Aw don't worry Skintback that humble/modest stuff is a just Canadian nuclear electricians view point. Isn't that right b&d?

 

[k0ua]

Skint, it was a good thread, and provoked a lot of thought.. Thanks for starting it.

James K0UA

 

[joshuabardwell]

Given the size of my property, a larger and heavier tractor wouldn't be a plus. A smaller tractor with 4wd is right. Also, I have R4 tires, which are not the best for traction. I reckon near all 2wd tractors have R1s. I need all the help I can get!