FEL and 4WD - How necessary?

[john_bud]

I have 3 tractors and 3 FEL's.

2 are 2wd. One is 4wd and that one has the smallest engine, smallest weight and smallest bucket (9 cu ft vs 20 cu ft), yet it can move more dirt in the same amount of time. Part is the 4wd, but a bigger part is the HST. I maintain close to 300 acres and do all the chores you listed and more. Hold out until you get the 4wd and loader. I would hold out for that combination WITH hst transmission.

 

[buickanddeere]

The old timers went without 4WD because it either did not exist or they were raised in the depression and too cheap to order 4WD. Wasn't that long ago that tractors equipped with PS, cabs , heaters, radio or AC were for wimps and spoiled softies.
A 2WD tractor on a hill or soft ground with a heavy load in the bucket is a useless tool of a thing.

 

[vwnotrunning]

You might want to consider an aftermarket loader to put on a used tractor. I added a rhino to my dads JD1050. It came with a front blade that was nice - nothing close to the usefulness of the loader. You might search for coldwater loaders, they are less than some of the original (maybe not as good). I did not knife of them before I purchased the rhino. You will always find a use for the loader around your property, even if it is just a riding wheel barrow on occasion!

 

[TomSeller]

You can do a lot of lifting with the 3 point hitch using booms. No, it is not an FEL, but you can lift with it. Like others have said, our grandparents and many parents farmed without FELs and did quite well. I have 11 tractors and only 4 have FELs. You don't need an FEL all the time.

 

[GManBart]

You'll never know how handy an FEL is until you have one, then you'll wonder how you lived without it!

 

[vtsnowedin]

You can do a lot of lifting with the 3 point hitch using booms. No, it is not an FEL, but you can lift with it. Like others have said, our grandparents and many parents farmed without FELs and did quite well. I have 11 tractors and only 4 have FELs. You don't need an FEL all the time.

This is a good point. Not every tractor needs a loader and at many tasks the loader is in the way, but if you only have one tractor that one should have one and FWD. After you have that in the garage then you can look at 2WD tractors sized to the tasks at hand, The FWD can pull them out when they get stuck.

 

[bandaidmd]

The non power steering and gear transmission were more of a decision to retire my B8200 FEL 2wd kubota than just being 2wd.
I dont know of any chore that it couldn't perform.
My b2620 4x4 can take a bigger bite with the scraper or box blade but scooping up a bucket of dirt is the same with either one.
Sure on a 2wd traction is the limiting factor, my 8200 has 500+ pounds of ballast in the rear tires and the turf tires needed chains for the loose dirt and the white stuff.

 

[dave1949]

You can do a lot of lifting with the 3 point hitch using booms. No, it is not an FEL, but you can lift with it. Like others have said, our grandparents and many parents farmed without FELs and did quite well. I have 11 tractors and only 4 have FELs. You don't need an FEL all the time.

That is a valid point, but the OP, like most CUT owners here, is not farming. Farming with ground engaging implements has different needs than building roads and hauling materials in and deer out. :laughing:

 

[PHPaul]

Newbury, what is a "PEC"?

 

[newbury]

Newbury, what is a "PEC"?

Pat's Easy Change