4WD or 2WD?

stvman · Oct 13, 2003

You will have to buy used or out of state to get two wheel drive in NH on a CUT. I work for Northwood Power in Northwood NH we have about 75 CUT's (Massey/Agco) and not one of them is two wheel drive! If there is a two wheel CUT (in stock) at any dealer of any brand in the state I have yet to see it. We do take some two wheel in trade but they sit on the lot we sell em for what we allow in trade which is not much.

yellowsocks93 · Oct 13, 2003

Which do you like more Massey or Agco even though they are basically the same tractor? Agco is cheaper in price right? Just curious. I can't believe you have 75 compacts. We have two at the JD dealership one of which is mine! We just don't sell them very much. Don't know why.

hockeyhead · Oct 13, 2003

Brian, check out OK tractors.com on new New hollands use this as a base line, I bought their and I'm happy with it.
I have a friend with a 2wd cut with turf tires and it is a nice lawn mower and........... I can't think of anything else it does well!.........Oh it will dig post holes, enjoy your tractor search /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

pruntyc · Oct 13, 2003

Come on now, you are talking about something you must not know much about. The 2 wheel drive will do most things that a 4 wheel drive will do. You might need one just a little bit bigger for weight, but they have fel's on them and all. And they work good too. If you have hills the 4 may be better, I don't really know, I have around 20% the tiltmeter says, and don't have a problem with the 2 wheel drive. In the places where it goes to 30 to 35 I don't go sideways, but up and down. On snow removal the 4 may be better, not sure, I don't have much of it here. But I lived where I had it and never had a problem with my cars or trucks with just the 2 wheel drive. So they do make more than a lawn mower. Get real.

frank_f15 · Oct 13, 2003

( The 2 wheel drive will do most things that a 4 wheel drive will do )

Have to disagree with you. with small cuts 4wd is way far better than 2wd. as a matter of fact i can't see where 4wd would not be better than 2 wd on any size tractor. can u live without it? yep! but my b2400 with 4wd does more than my old ford 2n with half the mass and weight. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

hockeyhead · Oct 13, 2003

The world is full of 2wd tractor as they have been around almost 100 years or so with great sucess So I will re-phrase , if you end up two wheel drive go R4 tires minimum, R1 tires even better. A 2wd cut with those wide air filled turf tires limits its tractoring ability.

pruntyc · Oct 13, 2003

Now that I will agree with, you are right on. Makes a real difference in haveing the right tires for the job. And I have sat on the 2 wheel drives from daylight till dark for days on end, and they were doing what they were supose to do at that time. It's a lot in what you want them to do. And the 2 wheel drive will take a little longer to do some of the things that a 4 wheel drive would probably do faster, but not in every case. They both have a place in our work and pleasure.

F350Lawman · Oct 13, 2003

SOMEBODY give Pruntyc a 4wd drive tractor so he can see the light. We must have a 1000 members willing to chip in $10 each /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Pruntyc, I bet you were one of those guys who stuck with the 6 shot "wheel guns" long after all the good and bad guys had autos with hi-caps /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Just having some fun with you. I understand that in the bigger tractors 2wd gets you by fine. In your case 2wd may be great fro you and your CUT. I live where it snows and rains alot so it wouldn't be as good for me. I just think with these light 2-3,000 lb cuts 4wd is a huge advantage. There are some things I can't do in 2wd that I can in 4wd like move big boulders either by pushing or pulling with a chain. Aside from picking a smaller boulder shifting to 4wd is the ONLY option at times with these little machines and their limited traction vs. relatively good HP and torque. Sometimes technique and patience can't make up for the loss of traction and underweight little tractor sometimes experiences.

jwstewar · Oct 14, 2003

Heck, I can't even put my little TC24 in the shed w/o putting it in 4wd unless I get a running start and bounce up over the edge of the board. Sure makes it interesting getting that front end bouncing w/ only about 6" or so on each. I'll stay w/ my 4wd. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Bird · Oct 14, 2003

( one of those guys who stuck with the 6 shot "wheel guns" long after all the good and bad guys had autos with hi-caps )

Hey, I resemble that remark. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif No way I'd trust my life to one of those jam-o-matics. I prefer accuracy to the spray and pray method of shooting. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

stvman · Oct 14, 2003

Yellowsocks, The price diffrence is small. The traditionalist in me leans towards the Massey but if the diffrence was 1000.00 I would vacate tradition.

As for the number of tractors we stock. The north east is full of people with disposable income. I think they romanticize the idea of being a farmer. In a high tech world our instinct is to go back to the earth. I know for myself it is great thearapy!

RichNJKubota · Oct 14, 2003

4WD is the only way. Sure I do most of my tasks in 2WD but it would not be possible to do the rest and not to mention getting stuck in the mud and snow with 2WD.

Rich

pruntyc · Oct 14, 2003

We don't have any big rocks here, well the electric company said they ran into some when they buried the lines, but I haven't seen any. And yes, I'll take my 6 shot wheel gun, 357. It may not shoot as many, but if I hit them about anywhere with it, it will most likely stop them. Haven't heard of any 357 autos. But like Bird said mine won't jam either. And the guy that his tractor won't go into the shed without 4 wheel drive, you must have a real problem, and its not got to do with the 2 or 4 wheel drive, you need to buy another tractor or get that one worked on, its sick.

jwstewar · Oct 14, 2003

The tractor is fine and so am I. There is a little bump of about 3 or 4 inches. If I ease up to the bump the tractor will spin both of the rears tires (R4s) in the dirt that makes up the ramp. I kinda wedges my front tires so that they won't roll easily. Ever put a set of chalks in front of your 2wd car and try to go forward? You will sit and spin the rear tires, but if I do that w/ my 4wd truck or tractor I'll go right up over them. That is the difference between 2wd and 4wd. The tractor isn't sick and neither am I, just have enough sense to know when something is better because is over comes physical limitations. I know you are on a fixed income, but seriously go drive a smaller 4wd tractor and you will see what a world of difference it makes especially in loose dirt/gravel conditions.

pruntyc · Oct 14, 2003

Hey I grew up in southern Ohio on dirt and gravel roads the some of them you were draging the bottom of the car all the time, it was so deep of mud. The mail man never missed a day going in it or the snow, and only had 2 wheel drive. You probably never thought of it, but you could put a piece of wood or rock before the bump and it would roll right on up, without "needing" 4 wheel drive to do it.

jwstewar · Oct 14, 2003

Why to I want to keep moving a piece of wood around each time I open or close the doors? I reach down grab the handle and walla I drive into the shed. Now granted, if I didn't have 4wd I could do just what you said, but since I have 4wd I don't need to. I've driven my share of 2wd cars & trucks through snow & mud. I'll stay w/ my 4wd or at least my front-wheel drive car. I've seen you make your same argument time & time again here at TBN, but have never jumped in but for some reason this time I did. For the most part I agree w/ you, but 4wd still makes it faster & easier for a lot of things, but for other tasks I want the tractor in 2wd & the diff lock, other times I want the 4wd & the diff lock engaged. Sure is nice when you see all 4 tires spinning or should I say not spinning, at least you know all of your horsepower is making it to the ground. It is also nice know that when I'm in 4wd I've got brakes on all 4 wheels.

I've got a neighbor that uses an old 8 or 9N to mow this hill.

. He runs his rear ag tires backward so that he can try to stop or at least have a controlled decent coming down this hill. He has to go back around and go up a lesser incline to make another pass. I've seen him slide down this hill more than once and end up on my side of the line even in dry weather. I would rather stay with my 4wd and not slide down the hill.

The price of stopping going down a hill as your back tires are sliding.....priceless.

pruntyc · Oct 14, 2003

That looks something like my ground, and I don't have a problem sliding. And as for using a 2 wheel drive for a fel. Buck out in Washington who grew up on a ranch and sells tractors, said one time, he likes the 2 wheel drive for loader work, and it is what he uses around the yard where he has the tractors. Maybe you don't think he knows anything, but I think he does. I can go back to my grandfather who use to coon hunt in the winters, back in southern Ohio in the hills and never had a snow tire or 4 wheel drive and never had a problem going or coming as he wanted. I think the 4 wheel drive will help some, some of the time, but not really needed that bad, and something else to repair and keep up and it wears the front tires out quicker also. But to each his own, I don't have to make a living with either one, and so I really don't care what anyone else uses.

Soundguy · Oct 14, 2003

( Have to disagree with you. with small cuts 4wd is way far better than 2wd. as )

I think the point prunty was trying to make was that larger 2wd tractor can be as effective as a smaller 4wd tractor.

Things to consider are power steering, if you have a loader.

Large 2wd tractors, some with dual rears have been the mainstay for farming the earlier part of this century. It is true that 4wd in most cases is better.. especially on hilly country, and especially with a loader. Lots of over the road travel is where I would'nt want all the time 4wd.

The 4wd lets you do about the same work as a larger 2wd tractor... so if you need a small agile tractor.. go 4wd and get more bang for your buck. That said, I've only a couple times had a problem on any of the 4 2wd tractos I've owned.. mostly with turnig with a heavy load like a large pasture drag, or a large draft load like a disc.. course that is what brakes are for! /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

soundguy

pruntyc · Oct 14, 2003

You are right on Soundguy, I just don't need 4 wheel drive for what I have one for. And if I were to buy another tractor, don't let my wife hear that I even said that, it would probably be just a little bigger 2 wheel drive, for my needs. Not saying it will do in all other peoples needs. Of course I was a professional driver for a number of years in snow country, so I have some advantage over a lot of people, with things I picked up along the way. One does learn by doing, and we didn't have 4 wheel drive. So I can probably do some things that might be a problem with others. Everyone has some things they can do better than most others, mine just happens to be driveing, some might be typeing or computers or what ever.

shady1701 · Oct 14, 2003

That's funny my 4wd tractor can't do crap realy i have alot of bigger 2wd kubota and ford 2wd's that run circles around my 3wd.. I agree i'd much rather have a larger 2wd or a realy big 4wd /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif cause when your pulling a subsoiler or holding a big bush hog it's best to have a larger chassis than to have 1 more wheel pulling since if your tractor is too small you'll be up in the air any way.

If you figure 70% split on 2wd a 3000# tractor will have more pull than a smaller 4wd 2500# tractor due to tire size and other issues. I always find my front axle to spin out never hardly ever get the back ones to except when i sink up.