What a difference a large tractor makes!

[MHarryE]

CUTs aren’t great pullers, especially with R4 tires. Many YouTube videos of 4wd pickups dragging CUTs with CUT tires spinning trying to get a bite. And larger tractors need larger yet tractors. Two years ago here the rain never seemed to end but in short dry times we tried to get tillage done. My BIL with his 4wd Case (actually 8wd because of duals) had to pull me out 3 times (175 HP but MFWD with extra wide tires) and I had to pull him out once. The ruts he left when he got stuck - ducks were swimming in them the next spring before I filled them in. So bigger will get the job done if necessary but learn to rely on friends or relatives, and don’t burn your bridges with neighbors having lots of big tractors - you never know.

 

[jjp8182]

CUTs aren’t great pullers, especially with R4 tires. Many YouTube videos of 4wd pickups dragging CUTs with CUT tires spinning trying to get a bite. And larger tractors need larger yet tractors. Two years ago here the rain never seemed to end but in short dry times we tried to get tillage done. My BIL with his 4wd Case (actually 8wd because of duals) had to pull me out 3 times (175 HP but MFWD with extra wide tires) and I had to pull him out once. The ruts he left when he got stuck - ducks were swimming in them the next spring before I filled them in. So bigger will get the job done if necessary but learn to rely on friends or relatives, and don’t burn your bridges with neighbors having lots of big tractors - you never know.

Don't disagree, but depending on conditions a "smaller" tractor can help free a larger one (within limits) just has to be on different soil conditions with a driver for each. For example a large tractor stuck in sand and smaller tractor on sod ...which I've seen; a 2WD tractor with a loader tires stuck in fine sand that was unstuck with the assistance of a Farmall 300 which was the smaller of the two tractors).

Sometimes all it takes is that little bit extra ....and a person doesn't always know where it's going to come from so I fully second that burning bridges is a bad idea.

 

[Cougsfan]

I will admit there some instances where I wish my tractor was smaller too. Mainly when cleaning out the horse's stall. My tractor is just too darn big to maneuver around in those tight places . So the only answer is to have 2, or 3, or maybe even 4 different sized tractors, and a skid steer, and a bulldozer, and an excavator and a ...........

 

[BrokenTrack]

My Kubota 2500 pulled out an John Deere 850 bulldozer one time! :cool2:

 

[BrokenTrack]

I am just teasing. Unlike CBS News and their recent Covid 19 Scandal, in full disclosure, I will say that while this is a real photo taken on my farm, of my wife Katie and I, BUT the photo was staged. We happened to be clearing land, and were using the bulldozer and mud for her "Trash the Dress" photo shoot, so she pretended to pull me out of the mud with the Kubota.

For those who do not know what a Trash the Dress photo shoot is, it is where the wife takes her wedding dress for one last photo session, but utterly destroys it bywearing it in an old warehouse, or on a beach, or in deep mud instead of letting it get moth eaten, and yellowed in her closet.

 

[rScotty]

Thanks for the disclosure. hI gotta say that I wondered just what was going on when I first saw the picture. But it made me laugh. Never heard of a "trash the dress" event, although it makes a strange sort of sense I guess.

Things are kinda crazy busy out here as many mountain communities get ready for the Covid Virus arrival and inevitable spike. For us, the virus arrived with the tourists & ski season. We don't watch much TV, so we probably missed the CBS news and whatever Covid 19 Scandal that has happened in Maine.
I guess that times like these lead to all sorts of scams, scandals, and events.

In spite of being rural, we've already lost a couple of friends. What a tragedy.
rScotty

 

[chim]

...................the photo was staged. We happened to be clearing land, and were using the bulldozer and mud for her "Trash the Dress" photo shoot, so she pretended to pull me out of the mud with the Kubota................................

When I saw that photo my first thought was that you two were a bit overdressed for field work

 

[Gary Fowler]

It is good to have big and little. I do most of my work with the little Kubota. But when it comes to moving, pulling, dragging, etc. it is the LS that goes to work.

 

[Gary Fowler]

CUTs aren’t great pullers, especially with R4 tires. Many YouTube videos of 4wd pickups dragging CUTs with CUT tires spinning trying to get a bite. And larger tractors need larger yet tractors. Two years ago here the rain never seemed to end but in short dry times we tried to get tillage done. My BIL with his 4wd Case (actually 8wd because of duals) had to pull me out 3 times (175 HP but MFWD with extra wide tires) and I had to pull him out once. The ruts he left when he got stuck - ducks were swimming in them the next spring before I filled them in. So bigger will get the job done if necessary but learn to rely on friends or relatives, and don’t burn your bridges with neighbors having lots of big tractors - you never know.

I recently took off the backhoe from my B26 and hooked up a landscape rake and then a small back blade. I was really surprised at the lack of traction (tires not loaded per OEM requirements for backhoe use) that I had. With the backhoe on, I can move a lot of weight, without it, not so much.

My point is that if the CUT is properly weighted for traction, they will do a lot more than just the tractor with perhaps some tire ballast. Our old 2 WD Ag tractor (Ford 9000) had water in all tires, including the front, plus full complement of front weights (approx. 800 lb) plus about 1000#per each rear wheel and dual rear tires for traction. Even with all that front weight, it had the traction to lift the front wheels off the ground when I pulled a big enough load.

We never got it stuck and I am glad. I dont think we had anything that could have pulled it out as the other tractor was a 90HP without duals.

 

[Peter 315]

My tires are loaded with the backhoe from the dealer....

 

[jjp8182]

So the only answer is to have 2, or 3, or maybe even 4 different sized tractors, and a skid steer, and a bulldozer, and an excavator and a ...........

That's my goal

 

[BrokenTrack]

Stay away from the bulldozers!

I actually like bulldozers, as they do a lot of work, but they cost a lot of money in repairs too.

They say the best day of your life is the day you buy a bulldozer, and the day you sell it. :cool2:

 

[Sawyer Rob]

Same here, when I want some pulling power, I go for the dozer,

I can honestly say, mine has been very reliable...

SR

 

[RjCorazza]

The only problem I see is that he is not using his hydraulic top link.

That gives me an idea!!! My 3 point spreader manual push / pull to open the material gate could be operated with my toplink cylinder in the lower mounting hole on the tractor. The manual gate was fine on my previous open station tractor, but it's impossible to reach from the cab.
Might be real easy to mangle the gate, but I'll have to see what I can work up.

 

[TSO]

That's a beautiful sight!

Large is fun, and extra large is really fun. Back in the 90's we had a big snowstorm and they were short-handed at one of the inlaw's farms so I bagged work. They had a number of chicken houses (layers) and were getting several tractor trailer loads of new birds. They were able to open up just enough to get the trucks in, but there was no place for them to turn around. My job was to take the big Massey and drag the empty trucks through the field in a big circle and get them pointed back out in the right direction. That tractor was the most powerful piece of equipment I've ever used. Wherever it went, the tractor trailers followed along like pull toys. This is one of the few pictures of the Massey I can find. The row of equipment is what they sold off when they sold that farm in the early 2000's.

The second Case is one that I borrowed to clear snow when the Ford 1210 was down one time. Wish I had a picture of that. With my 5' rear blade all bushed down to fit it resembled the picture Lou posted. I always cleared the driveway for an old couple across the road. Standard procedure was when the heard the tractor they'd raise the garage door so I could drop the rear blade inside the garage and pull snow away from it. Then we'd wave HI at each other and I'd clear the snow. The old guy was expecting the little Ford as usual and was quite taken aback.

 

[BrokenTrack]

Same here, when I want some pulling power, I go for the dozer.

Tracks are nice because you can go almost anywhere, it can just be tough to really match the tractive effort they do have, with implements to make up for their lack of speed.

It is not impossible. I have double-teamed harrows, which was a great way of getting twice the tillage on a single pass, so that really used its tractive effort at slower speed to do more. But some stuff it is tough, like using a roll over plow. I could easily pull a four bottom plow, but it is not worth buying a plow separately for the few times I would need it though.

The one thing I really liked though was putting a spreader on my bulldozer; with tracks not only can you get on a field really early in the spring, but you can spread fertilizer on the roughest pasture because there is no place a bulldozer cannot go.

Bulldozers have teamed up well with my farm tractor, but my days of buying a bulldozer are over. I think an excavator/tractor team would be far more useful. The tractor can pull and push, where as the excavator can lift and dig. With a bulldozer, it pushes really well, but that is about all it can do.

 

[Cougsfan]

When leveling a site for my home, the contractor used a guy on an excavator teamed up with a guy on a bulldozer. It was on a hill side and we made a finished level spot that was about a 300 foot square of undisturbed soil. The total cut at the deepest spot was 13 feet, so a lot of dirt had to be moved.
The excavator just kept digging and making dirt piles while the dozer pushed the pile away. Fortunately there was no rock at all (this Palouse area is amazing!) They did an absolutely incredible job in a very short amount of time.