Another 2wd vs 4wd question

[txdon]

Absolutely 4WD.
With the loader full your real tires will spin like crazy, (even with a heavy implement) you will get stuck, you will not be able to back up an incline, you will have to dump your load.

 

[moretzb]

I live in hill country. 4wd is the only way for me. Especially with an FEL

 

[LD1]

Really need to know what the tasks are going to be with the tractor to say for sure, but in general, 4wd is the way to go.

If the work is more "farm" related and relatively flat ground, you could swing the 2wd 5045. Like pulling a disk or plow, bushhogging, moving round bales, etc, the 5045 will outperform the smaller 4x4.

But it the tasks at hand are more "landscaping" type, like moving mulch, gravel, grading a driveway, clearing snow, mowing, etc. I think you would be better served with the smaller, lighter, 4x4

 

[BethesdaEC]

I was coming back from working in the woods with the box blade and I was on pavement in 2WD. I hit my gravel drive and thought I would clean the edge on the way to parking so I dropped the box blade. I immediately bogged down and started spinning the rear tires because I had forgotten to engage MFWD. I engaged the front wheels and it started pulling like a mule again.

MFWD also turns better in low traction situation because the front tires are pulling the tractor around instead of skidding forward.

Get 4 wheel drive, you won't regret it.

 

[DennisFolsom]

In my area, when the fall rains come, the ground gets soft and soggy. My current project is placing 6 precast concrete piers to move my 16' x 8' garden shed onto. Besides maneuvering around to position the tractor to dig the holes with the backhoe, I have been carrying full 6 foot buckets of gravel and the piers themselves. The area (former woods) is so soft that I probably couldn't be doing this without 4WD. (At this time of year, anyway.)

I grew up on a farm, using 2WD tractors. You can do a lot with them if you are careful and know their limitations. We always had 2 or three tractors around, so we could usually pull out a stuck one. Many times, we had to.

Having one tractor, like I do now, I would not even consider a 2WD.

 

[Verticaltrx]

The most important question is what type of work are you looking to do with it?

The 5045d is a lot more tractor than the 3000 series JD's, but there are some things the smaller tractor would be better for. I tend to agree with those who say 4wd is very important for a loader tractor, but on the other hand for years and years people used 2wd tractor with loaders and did lots of work with them.

A few jobs the 5045d would be better for: heavier loader work around the farm yard or other relatively flat places (much more lift height and weight capacity over 3000 series). Bush hogging as well as most other field work. Properly ballasted it could also pull a larger box blade, plow, disc, etc than the smaller 4wd. Anything requiring more PTO hp such as a chipper, generator, pump, etc.

Where the 3000 series might be better: use on steeper or softer terrain, general utility work, repetitive loader work (think clean stalls, loading spreader, etc), using the loader for dirt work, and more delicate work such as finish grading.

 

[magicheater]

Before I got my first 4X4 tractor I had a 65HP Oliver Utility. GREAT tractor, strong loader, but I needed chains in the winter to move snow. Traded on an L4350 4X4 45HP. WOW! what a difference, no chains needed, better loader function, and go any where any time. I probably would not buy another 2WD tractor again. You can always just pull the lever and create one from a 4WD unit.

 

[Qapla]

Keep in mind we live in Florida so snow is not a problem. We have 10 acres that is fairly flat and have a 2WD Mahindra for the farming aspect. (see signature). It works great. If all you are going to do is pull implements behind you and you don't have steep areas or wet areas, 2WD works just fine.

The tractor with the loader is less HP but has 4WD. Wouldn't want to be without the 4WD for the loader work.

Also, we have a 3pt tiller. The smaller 4WD tractor pulls the tiller like it isn't even there.

You mentioned that the "money is about the same" and sometimes money does limit what we can purchase. You have to look at your needs. If you need the greater HP to drive PTO implements while pulling them, 4WD on the smaller machine won't make up for that. However, if you are planning on loader work, you can't get from 2WD what you get from 4WD.

Keep in mind, you can always turn the 4WD off when you think you don't need it ... but you cannot turn 4WD on if your machine only has 2WD.

If you can't afford the 4WD on the larger unit and the smaller unit will do what you need, I'd go with the 4WD.

 

[tessiers]

I gotta say 4x4 tractors get stuck every day, the 4 wheel drive will not prevent that, only a brain will help that. I do agree for loader work 4x4 is better, but skid steers and articulated loaders rule. Ballast will help a 2wd but will not make it 4x4. A properly ballasted tractor should have 70% of the weight on the rear wheels. My opinion is that reducing this ratio for compact4x4 tractors results in front end problems, they are not made for loader work and only tolorate it to a point. I say buy the 4x4 but ballast it keep the rear end weight ratio high. I have put front end work into both compacts I have owned, and will likely do it again. The convenience is worth the risk I guess, although I have gone to a skid steer now so maybe not. I used both of them primarily as loader tractors and the manuverability is the key for me, way more important than the HP, but I got other tractors for the HP.

 

[yoder]

I would get the 4WD and forgo the loader for a while. before I would buy a 2WD Tractor with a FEL. You can always add the loader later.

 

[johnk]

I would definitely go for the 4 wheel. Braking alone might save your life if coming down a hill with a load in your bucket. And as others have stated when digging into a pile of dirt and curling the bucket the back wheels get unloaded and start to lose traction. 4WD all the way.

 

[tessiers]

Just a safey reminder, front wheels do not have brakes regardless of 4 wheel drive. The most you might hope for is a little engine resistance in the front end but with a 30hp engine even that is minimal. No rear wheels no brakes!!!!

 

[LD1]

Just a safey reminder, front wheels do not have brakes regardless of 4 wheel drive. The most you might hope for is a little engine resistance in the front end but with a 30hp engine even that is minimal. No rear wheels no brakes!!!!

The second half of your statement is INCORRECT.

It is true that the front wheels do not actually have brakes, but they are MECHANICALLY CONNECTED to the rear wheels. And thus, connected to the rear brakes.

Even if the rear wheels are completely in the air, as long as 4wd is engaged, the brakes will try to stop the front tires:thumbsup: WAY more than just engine braking.

Doesnt matter where the brake(s) are in the system, when everything is mechanically connected via gears and driveshafts, its all or nothing. Either everything is going to stop, or everything is going to be turning.

 

[BethesdaEC]

The second half of your statement is INCORRECT.

It is true that the front wheels do not actually have brakes, but they are MECHANICALLY CONNECTED to the rear wheels. And thus, connected to the rear brakes.

Even if the rear wheels are completely in the air, as long as 4wd is engaged, the brakes will try to stop the front tires:thumbsup: WAY more than just engine braking.

Doesnt matter where the brake(s) are in the system, when everything is mechanically connected via gears and driveshafts, its all or nothing. Either everything is going to stop, or everything is going to be turning.

The only exception to the front wheel braking is that the mechanical braking force coming through the drivetrain will be lost if one front wheel starts to slip. This is due to the differential sending the power the wheel with the least traction.

 

[Redneck in training]

The only exception to the front wheel braking is that the mechanical braking force coming through the drivetrain will be lost if one front wheel starts to slip. This is due to the differential sending the power the wheel with the least traction.

Assuming that the rear wheel brakes are locked one front wheel would have to spin backwards.

 

[LD1]

The only exception to the front wheel braking is that the mechanical braking force coming through the drivetrain will be lost if one front wheel starts to slip. This is due to the differential sending the power the wheel with the least traction.

Not as much as you would think. Because if the driveshaft is being "braked", and one wheel starts to lose its bite, the wheels will be forced to spin opposite directions. And that is unlikely.

We are not sending power. In a differential, there are 3 things. 2 axles and one driveshaft, agreed??

And in an open differential, at any time (except when the tractor is parked), TWO of those three HAVE to be moving. IE: under power it could be the driveshaft and only one wheel moving. BUT under braking, like in a lock-up situation, the driveshaft is NOT turning. Therefor, BOTH wheels either have to be locked UP, Turning the SAME direction, or turning OPPOSITE directions.

IF they are both locked up, they are both applying braking force. IF they are both turning the same direction, they are applying braking force.

Summary of this is, IF one wheel starts to loose traction as you suggest, it has to do more than lose traction. It actually has to spin backwards, which again, is unlikely.

 

[LD1]

Assuming that the rear wheel brakes are locked one front wheel would have to spin backwards.

YA just beat me to it

 

[Hammy]

4WD without a doubt. I wouldn't even waist my time with 2WD.

...and in my experience, when I'm in 4WD on my tractor, the braking is much better. Going down hill in 2WD can be pretty scary actually, even with an empty loader.

 

[k0ua]

Those who live and operate their tractors on flat lands may not have a good understanding of 4wd braking, but those of us that live on the slopes already know these things from personal experience often learned the hard way

James K0UA

 

[LD1]

Those who live and operate their tractors on flat lands may not have a good understanding of 4wd braking, but those of us that live on the slopes already know these things from personal experience often learned the hard way

James K0UA

Exactally:thumbsup:

That is one thing I really hate is the people who say "4wd doesnt mean the front wheels have brakes".

While that may be "politically correct", in reality, whats the difference.

For those that are familiar:

That is like saying that the 2.5T Military axles dont have rear wheel brakes. Since the brake assembly is on the other side of the pinion. In a sense, braking the driveshaft.

Which is exactally what a 4wd tractor does.

The rear brakes are connected to the rear axles, which is connected to the front driveshaft (IF in 4wd). So by applying the brakes (even though the pads are on the rear) it applys braking force to the entire system. INCLUDING the front driveshaft and thus the front wheels.

I guess what I am saying is that the "pads" themselves dont actually have to be on the front wheels for them to have braking pressure applied.

Heck, for that matter, the rear wheels dont actually have brakes. The axles do. The wheels are just connected to that axle that has brakes