When to use four wheel drive?

[Oldoak]

I don't even know if mine will come OUT of 4 wheel drive. Nor do I care. I operate in 4X4 all the time. Its why I traded for 4 wheel drive.

That wouldn't be me. Operating in 4 wheel drive when it's not necessary is a waste of fuel and extra wear and tear on the front tires and drive train. :confused3:

 

[4570Man]

That wouldn't be me. Operating in 4 wheel drive when it's not necessary is a waste of fuel and extra wear and tear on the front tires and drive train. :confused3:

Agreed. My tractor sees a fair bit of hard surface or on the grass use. There’s a rare occasion when I forgot but I pretty much only use 4wd when needed.

 

[FTG-05]

One thing to remember is tractors don't have front brakes. 4wd is the only way to offset that. When going down a hill with weight in your loader you could find out too late that the rear tires don't have enough weight on them to keep them from skidding.

THIS! If you're going down a hill, 4x4 better be on.

If not, get ready for the "Two Inch Ride"!

A Two Inch Ride is where your butt sucks up two inches of seat cushion until you a) get the tractor under control or b) you get to the bottom of the hill, hopefully with the shiny side still up and you still in the seat - safe.

I hate them. I usually do it once a year. Usually.

 

[Jstpssng]

THIS! If you're going down a hill, 4x4 better be on.

If not, get ready for the "Two Inch Ride"!

A Two Inch Ride is where your butt sucks up two inches of seat cushion until you a) get the tractor under control or b) you get to the bottom of the hill, hopefully with the shiny side still up and you still in the seat - safe.

I hate them. I usually do it once a year. Usually.

I've only done that once, last winter when the hill on my road was a sheet of ice. I had the brilliant idea that I would roughen it up with the tire chains... I knew I had erred as soon as I dropped over the crest and the tractor started speeding up more than anticipated. I looked at the tires and none of them were turning. uh,oh I wasn't long dropping the bucket and the 3pth winch, otherwise it would have been a bad ride. It took about an hour and a half to get to the top of the hill again, for a while I thought I was going to have to winch myself up.
At least I roughened the road up though.

 

[goeduck]

I wonder what would happen if you lowered the FEL in that situation. Not that I going to try it and report back. Might be better that than the consequences depending on the hill.

 

[Jstpssng]

I had the both the loader and winch dragging on the ground, to get the darned thing back under control and also to keep the center of gravity down if I started going sideways.

 

[daugen]

I also feel that it is better to cycle the tcase and front diff actuators regularly rather then let them sit in one position.

I've always been told this is a good idea. I put my truck in low range at least once a year, slowly on grass, and just let the gears turn a little. Otherwise I never use low range. Living where I do, hard enough to get 4wd seat time in truck as it is. Now the tractor, mowing ditches has taught me the wisdom of 4wd.

 

[dragoneggs]

My guess is that those of you that only engage 4WD when you think you need it, generally flatlanders. As I have mentioned before, I am off pavement most all of the time and on slopes and/or bumpy or unstable ground. 4WD is the default and is a safety thing for me.

 

[Jim Shooz]

I have a steepish hill running across my place and having twice been in 2 wheel drive and driving down that hill had the traction break and the tractor slide down the hill one wheel rotating forward the other backwards, no steering control, and heading straight for some large chestnut trees. I now have the tractor permanently locked in 4WD. There is only 20/30 yards of seal/ concrete at the entrance to the garage. There has been no visible additional tyre wear and I'll gladly pay cash for that rather than pay with my life splattered against a chestnut tree.

 

[shooterdon]

Different conditions warrant different drive selection. Stupid to be in 4WD driving on pavement and stupid to not use it with the FEL and/or hills is what seems to be the consensus.

 

[cphilip]

Different conditions warrant different drive selection. Stupid to be in 4WD driving on pavement and stupid to not use it with the FEL and/or hills is what seems to be the consensus.

Likely... Im always on hilly ground dirt and pasture and never on pavement. I simply do not need 2 wheel drive 99% of the time.

Now that being said, on my 4 wheel drive trucks... I am on pavement 99% of the time. And engage 4 wheel drive when I need it which is rare but necessary if I am slipping in wet grass. And sometimes just to keep things lubricated.

In the end, I keep the tractor in 4 wheel drive. I seriously doubt this wear and tear theory has much concern when one needs to be in 4 wheel drive almost all the time anyway. The wear should be even and expected by design. Im only at like 68 hours but Ive yet to "need" 2 wheel drive. And almost always need 4 wheel drive.

 

[ovrszd]

My guess is that those of you that only engage 4WD when you think you need it, generally flatlanders. As I have mentioned before, I am off pavement most all of the time and on slopes and/or bumpy or unstable ground. 4WD is the default and is a safety thing for me.

My uses are primarily steep timber. I only engage when needed.

 

[dragoneggs]

My uses are primarily steep timber. I only engage when needed.

Have you slid down a hill out of control before?

 

[/pine]

It's very easy to get absorbed in the tractor work, get interrupted or distracted and forget you are working in 2 WD...then all it takes is just starting down a grade and it can be too late to remember before the rears break traction...

 

[ovrszd]

Have you slid down a hill out of control before?

One time on frozen ground with chains on.

 

[PhysAssist]

I never put my 2WD tractors in 4WD. :rotfl:

Whether I put my 4WD tractors in 2WD depends on the property. Where I live it is mostly sloped and if the tractor is on pavement it is in 2WD, otherwise 4WD. On one farm where it is mostly flat and has no pavement, they are in 2WD unless using the loader or box blade, etc. On the other place where there are largely hills and minimal pavement they stay in 4WD.

There is A SUCCINCT [oops caps lock stuck] description of a truly rational approach!

I also never had any experience with a 4WD tractor until 2011, despite having been a tractor-driving farm worker from 1969 on- [by virtue of being adopted by my aunt & uncle each summer from age 10-18 y/o] i.e., most of my formative years- when by the way, as my pay consisted of room and board- they had me doing a ton of stuff that OSHA and other Big Brother agencies frown on today- from daybreak to at least dusk...

BUT, they had flat farm land, and the worst hazards there were wet sloughs in some of the fields, which had been reclaimed from wetlands.

...And I'm not at all sure that 4WD would have been enough there.

For us, it usually meant getting my uncle's wrecker and running chains/cables from a solid spot to the stuck tractor with the drag, plow, or other implement unhitched, and then having to go around behind and pull the implement out of harm's way afterwards.

Also- it meant getting ROYALLY chewed out by said uncle for having wasted so much time, effort, and gas/diesel- something he was a virtuoso at, needless to say, we got pretty careful about not pushing the boundaries of those areas.

 

[PhysAssist]

Different conditions warrant different drive selection. Stupid to be in 4WD driving on pavement and stupid to not use it with the FEL and/or hills is what seems to be the consensus.

Again pretty much a succinct distillation of the common-sense approach- although you forgot- *or where traction is/could be iffy, regardless of anything else*.

 

[goeduck]

My guess is that those of you that only engage 4WD when you think you need it, generally flatlanders. As I have mentioned before, I am off pavement most all of the time and on slopes and/or bumpy or unstable ground. 4WD is the default and is a safety thing for me.

After seeing some of your pictures you might want to consider wearing a parachute and equipping that B with an ejection seat.

 

[goeduck]

I forgot to mention one time that I have my B21 in 4WD while on pavement (Backhoe off and the drawbar on). I have a concrete boat launch and I have it in 4WD both when launching and hauling out. The ramp is a little steep in one spot just before the high tide level and the last thing I need is do is to go skidding and jackknifing into the saltwater. The ramp does get some sand and leaves on it, not so much seaweed.

 

[dragoneggs]

One time on frozen ground with chains on.

Doesn’t count. Ha ha. Kidding.