TC48DA: 2WD vs. 4WD

[cullison]

Question for all you guys who have bought TC48's (or 55's for that matter):

Am I going to be happy with 2WD or should I invest the extra cash for a 4WD?

Here's the deal: I just bought a house with 3 acres which is all grass and could be mowed with a lawn&garden tractor, albeit slowly. But the house has a concrete driveway that's about 200 feet long and a large concrete pad in front of the garage and the barn. And we often get a lot of snow here in northern Ohio. So I want some HP and size to push a blade around.

I can buy an '05 TC48DA 2WD with R1 tires for $13,600, which includes an $800 discount for paying cash that NH is offering ONLY on the 2WD TD48.

The dealer says I'll probably be happy with the 2WD so long as I don't put a loader on it. He'd prefer I'd buy a 4WD just to be safe and more flexible, and is offering to sell me the 4WD option at his cost (I think he said $3,500, but I didn't actually have him price it out).

What do you guys who have these tractors think of 2WD vs. 4WD?

If I go with the 4WD I lose the $800 cash discount and he may not be able to discount quite as aggressively because it's a much more popular tractor. The 2WD model is at another dealer who wants to give it up badly.

Right now I have a package deal for a 2WD TC48DA with R1 tires, a Land Pride FDR16 72" rear discharge mower and a Land Pride RB15 84" rear blade for $16,920.32 out the door. I'm happy with the price--especially when I was looking at used 30 HP Kubotas with only a mower for $12-13K. And my wife says buy it if you want it, which is always a good thing.

But she told me to make sure it was what I wanted because if in 6 months or a year I'm whining that I should have bought 4WD it's tough luck because I'm not trading up.

So help me out here guys. If I have no plans to buy a loader in the foreseeable future, will I be happy and will I get goood performance from a 2WD instead of a 4WD?

 

[Tarheelman]

Cullison,

I just bought a 4wd TC48DA with FEL. After using the tractor for only a couple hours, the 4wd was worth it. Being used to a 2wd Ford 3000 and compared to my new ride, there was no comparison in the traction in doing some "bull dozing" with the FEL. On a couple of instances, the rears began to spin, so I put it in 4wd and the tractor pushed through the obstacle without a hint of any spin. I never realized the value of 4wd as I had never been exposed to it.

From your post, you indicated that you would be doing some mowing. Is that finish mowing? If so, the R1's may be too aggressive, especially if you select the 4wd option. I have R1's, but form numerous posts, the 4wd R4's generally offer sufficient traction even when plowing snow.

Good luck with your decision. Your pricing looks favorable based on prices I saw in my area.

Tarheelman
TC48DA

 

[IH3444]

Being the owner of also a TC48DA 4WD, R4s, LA18 loader with QA bucket, I can see your tough decision. Your'll being mostly used on concrete, and to mow, if the ground is mostly level, you should be OK. I agree totally with TarHeelMan that R1s maybe too agressive for lawn care though. The offered price you have is very attractive, although along with THM you can't beat 4WD for traction. I have gone into places I would never have attempted with my older IH 2WD. Also owning a bulldozer, the 4WD just about minics that with it's ability to get traction in sloped areas. For you usage, I would suspect 2WD to be fine on concrete, you may want to approach the dealer with a willingness to change out with a set of rear turf tires. The NH rear turf tires have aggressive tread enough for winter plowing on concrete. I don't think you would be disappointed for your duties with the 2WD, turf tires. That price is a give away, get it off the lot now pricing. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[hazmat]

I think that the 2wd TC48, while a great price, is not the "right" machine for your situation. I think a smaller 4WD machine with a loader is a better fit. The TC48 could pull a 12 foot batwing finish mower. A TC24 or TC26 could pull a 6' finish mower no problem.

As a little perspective, I have a TC18 on 4 acres, Dad has a TC40 on 30 acres (10 clear, rest woods). I mow 1 acre lawn with a 60"MMM - it takes about 1 hour (lots of trees to go around).

I can't imagine having my machine w/o the loader - even with it's puny 600# lift capacity. It is handy for moving just about everything around.

If you are worried about a smaller machine pushing snow, get a blower. I have a rear blade & rear blower on my TC18. Blade works well up to 8" of fluffy snow or 5" of wet snow (at which point it gets too heavy & requires multiple passes). Blower is much faster with anything over 4" and not much slower with less snow.

lastly, if it is a "lawn mower" get turf tires. The R4s will mark your lawn (just not as bad as the R1s).

As a side note - the TC29/33 will come with that nice suspension seat that the TC24/26 won't have...

 

[GATC35]

To echo what "hazmat" said a 48 is a big tractor for 3 acres. You could drop down to a class II (TC29/33), or even a class III (TC-35/40/45) and get more bells and whistles for the same price.

The added weight of the 48 will not be kind to your lawn. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

 

[IH3444]

These guys are right, a smaller machine, with mid PTO, 4WD would be better. 4WD turf will work well on level ground with a front snow blower. NH has mid PTO on their smaller machines.

 

[hazmat]

Here are some action shots of the "mighty" TC18 removing snow the blizzard of '05

 

[JerryG]

Michael,
That is a really big tractor for 3 acres. Given its size you will find that you won't be able to get it into a lot of places and when mowing you will have to a lot of backing up. It will also be hard on the lawn because it will compact the soil. I would suggest that you look a tractor in the 20-30 hp range, unless you plan in the near future to purchase a lot more land. As far as 2 or 4 wheel drive, compact tractors are far to light to be of much heavy use with out 4 wheel drive. I personally wouldn't even consider a two wheel drive model.

 

[Osconda]

I agree with others about tractor size. If you've already got a set amount to spend, I'd put less on the tractor (i.e. smaller) and spend more on either more implements or better implements, and also options on your tractor like rear remotes. A canopy is also nice. Don't forget the cost of a trailer to haul your tractor around too. Oh yea, and you could also build a shed for it. The list just keeps going..... /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

 

[meledward23]

I have to agree. I own the 55da 4wd, Gear and a 30 4wd Hydro. If I were to be mowing and snow removal on 3 acres I couldnt imagine using my 55. It would probably do just fine, but the versatility of the 55 on 3 acres is limited. It is BIG compared to the 30.

Now if I were looking for a user friendly first tractor I would stay away from the 30 and go with the 33da. More money but worth it if you are looking for user comfort and versatility. If you are looking for budget a 30 is a good machine.

the 48 is to big for mowing. If you are finish mowing. I use my 55da to finish mow pastures and it will very easily destroy the turf as you try and turn and make corners.

BUT, I am sure the 48/55 would be a monster at snow removal. The other downside to the bigger machine is all the toys and implements cost more. A lot more. So if you end settling on a 5 or 6' blade at $400, instead of the 8' for 1000. Then why the need for a bigger machine? That is one instance multiply it across a couple implements and the cost difference is staggering. An who wants a 6' blade on a 48/55 when a 33-40 would handle it. (Please do not take all figures in this paragraph to be exact. IE I am not really surethe 30 would handle a 6' blade. PRices vary on blade type etc. but are moderately accurate examples).

Short of all that, I use 4wd on my 55, with most loader work, pulling and pushing.... If it can slip it will...