How much tractor do I need?

[N80]

You won't notice ANY advantage with MFWD on flat fields OR the steepest of hills when it comes to POWER TO PULL A PTO LOAD.

I totally agree, and to me this seems obvious. And when someone made the comparison between the 60hp 2wd and 40hp 4wd it never occured to me that they were comparing PTO loads since it would make no sense to do so. But, you are right in pointing it out because he didn't specify and there are new tractor users here that might confuse that.

I'm not saying 4WD is OVER-rated, just overhyped in many instances. It simply does not give a tractor 50% performance advantage over a comparable 2wd in all, nor even MOST uses. MFWD does nothing at all to overcome lack of sufficient HP when that is the issue.

Anything can be overhyped. And on this web site we spend most of our typing efforts trying to come to a reasonable balance relative to someone's needs. Unfortunately, new users looking for advice often have no real idea what their needs are....I was absolutely clueless. And that results in well intended advice that is all over the place. It's not real hard when someone says I have baler x that I need to run on flat terrain, how much hp do I need vs someone saying I need a medium sized tractor to do all sorts of stuff with on x amount of undesribed land.

But when I hear a nonspecific question like that and it is clearly pertaining to a CUT, I would almost universally recommend 4wd and the number of specific conditions that would change that recommendation are few.

 

[Soundguy]

Perhaps a bad example.. or you may be answering your own question.

Asuming we are talking about ag tread ( if we are talking traction ).. then we all know that tread is directional... IE.. backing up the chevron tread is not helping you nearly as much as going forward... thus backing up with a 2wd is more limited than with a 4wd, simply due to the fact that you have another set of rubber to help distribute the weight that are powered.. not free-wheeling. 2wd, 4wd, 8wd.. I'd expect any machine with direction tread to perform worse, backing up....

soundguy

If I try to back up much of a hill with my tractor in 2wd I just spin my wheels, even if I have well over 1000 lbs on the 3PH. I 4wd I can back up hills much steeper than in 2wd.
Pat

 

[Soundguy]

Good Afternoon Chris,
Oh my gosh when did they convert you to HST ???

I'm not.. just pointing out that if a person is doing lots of loader work, then a shuttle or HST may be easier than a straight gear.. especially for someone not used to a gear tractor.

I have 3 loader tractors.. all gear.. limited use.. no problems..

Don't see myself owning an hst or power shuttle anytime soon with my uses they way they are. ( plow, disc, mow large open areas, and occasional dirt/maneur moving / hay bale moving ).. Gear is cheaper and fits those needs to a 'T'.

soundguy

 

[TimToman]

It's kind of funny that I was looking for info on a box blade for my bx2200 when I ran across this posting. I too have 37 acres and built right in the middle of it and have maintained it for a few years with my bx2200. I have many large hills in my drive and it snakes over 1/4 mile long and I have never had any problem blowing the worst snows. I have a woods and a large pond and never had any trouble mowing it or hauling logs. Now that being said I have to cut my trees smaller and yes there are times I wish I had more HP. But the little bx2200 fits in some pretty tight spots in my woods and property. I have pulled over 3 miles of fence with it on my and my neighbors farm. I have used a middle buster to lay wire and cable. It does everything I want if I use my head. By the way I sold my John Deere B and my AC D12 and I can do everything I did with those two tractors including pulling small stumps. Sorry for the long winded story but I thought you might appreciate it from somebody in a simular situation.