4wd vs. 2wd

[JerryG]

Three wheel or not, its the best thing sense sliced bread. I would not ever have a two wheel drive again unless it was just to restore and show. My father in law has always had 2wd and didn't think that he needed anything else. That was until he saw that my compact could go work in places that his big NH 2wd couldn't even get to. His next tractor will be MFWD.

 

[_RaT_]

Jerry, I was trying to think of a response to Slamfire's post that for many of us would not ring true, specifically "4wd isn't worth the money it costs or the added mechanical complexity" when I came across yours.
I am starting to to a light restoration to a relatively new (1973) 2WD International I have. While it is much more powerful, heavier and even has R1's, it cannot come close to performing the work of my compact. To be fair, in doing the things it does like mowing on relatively dry ground in forward and not on the hills going uphill, it performs as well and sometimes better simply because it sits so much lower being a saddle tractor. If ever I need to back up uphill because I need to do a Y turn or mow under a tree etc., the International simply digs in and will easily spin both tires. With the implement on the ground, all my weight goes off the rear end and onto the ground. The situation worsens dramaticaly with ground engaging equipment like my 72" boxscraper which at over 1000lbs, quicker anchors my 2WD. My compact being 4WD and having a loader can take advantage of the added weight over the front wheels and if thats not enough, I load the bucket. Even with R4's on my compact, the International with R1's cannot come remotely close to doing this job. There is no comparision. For loader work, I know from past experience using 2WD construction tractors and using my compact in 2WD, that 2WD can become 0 wheel driving very quickly, especially when exposed to backing up uphill.
For me it's not a matter of whether one gets stuck in the mud easier, thats a situation I always try to avoid regardless of which tractor I'm on, it's a matter of knowing the limitations of both 2WD and 4WD and using the tractor respective of those limits. The 2WD will limit you out much, much quicker. For myself, those contraints just would not do and the reason my International is going up for sale and why I spent all the money on a 4WD. I just hope there are enough folks out there like Slamfire willing to buy a very decent 2WD tractor which has some tasks it does very well as long as you understand where it's limitations are and understand that those limitations get quite frustrating after using 4WD. Rat...

 

[cowboydoc]

In the first place it is really only 3 wheel drive when one wheel slips there is no differential lock to engage. As a consequense you only go a little farther with the 4wd before you get stuck

Not necessarily true. On most of the utility, the TN 65, and row crop tractors they have limited slip. The 5420 I had would spin all four tires. When you hit the diff. it locks all four tires.

 

[jlemon]

Yup, that's definitely the case on my 3830. Traversing a ditch at an angle, I ended up in a situation where (in 4wd), I was spinning the left front and right rear wheels. (Okay, I probably shouldn't have been in this situation in the first place, but that isn't the point... /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif )

Engaging diff locked all 4 wheels so I was able to crawl back onto the roadway. And to think that before this, I was wondering, "what is the differential lock lever good for?"

 

[mytoys]

4WD tractors look cooler /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

 

[40Kchicks]

I started out looking at a 2wd TN65. No one around here had one. The dealers would ask me, "you sure you want a 2wd?" For my uses it probably would have worked but I went with the 4wd due to the added resale value. One dealer actually told me he wouldn't trade in a 2wd or a tractor without a ROPS. He said he just couldn't get rid of the 2wd and didn't want the liability of selling one without the ROPS. The truth is most buyers out there want the 4wd so those are the easiest to sale. That was enough to get me to go for the 4wd.
Eric

 

[Hambone]

If 4wd isnt worth the money for the mechanical complexity, what about power steering? Sure makes things nicer, but adds to the mechanical complexity.
What about the fel, go back to the trip bucket?
I would say most have power windows and locks in pick up trucks and cars.

 

[cowboydoc]

/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif My thoughts exactly Hambone. I mean it works just fine going outside to go in an outhouse too but I doubt very few people want to give up their indoor plumbing.

 

[F350Lawman]

In my humble and evidently minority opinion, 4wd isn't worth the money it costs or the added mechanical complexity. In the first place it is really only 3 wheel drive when one wheel slips there is no differential lock to engage. As a consequense you only go a little farther with the 4wd before you get stuck. Generally just beyond the reach of the winch cable you have to pull yourself out.

I can prove that 4wd drive works. I have been stuck several times in my 4wd tractor and couldn't work myself out. No chance of rocking it out and the FEL wasn't doing much in the mud. I was stuck good....oops, then I remembered I have 4wd and I hit the lever and crawled out at idle. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Of course I am half joking but that has been the situation, get stuck in 2wd and then engage 4wd and continue working. Sometimes I forgot to use 4wd before I started and other times I will try in 2wd knowing that eventually parts of the job will require 4wd.

3 wheel, 4 wheel who cares? I have completed many jobs with the aid of 4wd that just CANNOT be done in 2wd. No theory or speculation if I had a 2wd or if I decided not to hit the 4wd lever it is time to go inside and have a cool drink and forget the job. I habe tried to push a big pile, drag something large through loose soil, back heavy FEL loads on slick stuff, traverse thick mud, etc. all thes jobs NECESSITATED my switching into 4wd and would not have gotten done otherwise unless I went with smaller loads or took another route where possible in 2wd. Sometimes no other route was possible so it would have meant waiting for several days of dry weather (*not happening most of this summer).

I undersand YOU are talking about the cost. Is anyone really saying they prefer 2wd to 4wd no matter what? I find it hard to believe that ANYONE would take a 2wd over a 4wd at the same cost, as one of the original posters seemed to suggest.

As far as complexity and problems I have had other 4wd vehicles and broken almost every moving part but I can't remember any of the 4wd components going out. That reasoning for NOT getting 4wd sounds to me a bit like my buddy who cheaped it on crank windows and locks because "they have so many problems" Yeah right, maybe when they were a big breakthrough in the 60's. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif I think I broke more handles off the cranks and stripped more door lock knobs then I have had problems with the power stuff ! Same thing with 4wd it's now a perfected system that causes little if any increased problems let alone enough to outweigh the benefits.

Do you drive 2wd cars as well or is just a tractor thang? /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[pruntyc]

Yep, I drive all 2 wd cars and trucks, never have needed 4wd. But I came from the country in the hills, and found how to drive on it then. And I have most never needed pulled out of anywhere, I think maybe 2 times, that I needed help. Not worth getting 4wd. Then I drove for a living for a number of years, after I left the farm, with 2 wd. And I'm from snow country to. I'm not from the BIG city. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif