4WD or 2WD?

[_RaT_]

My big ol 2WD drive International with loaded or unloaded R1's, rear end locked in will still drag the tires down the hill. I suspect even with PruntyC driving it they would do it. My 4WD, sticks to the hill like glue. I so much prefer 4WD and would easily challenge PruntyC to a pull. I'll only load my front bucket halfway. Prunty, you can fill yours up /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif.
If you need a another 2WD, my International 454D is available.

 

[Soundguy]

There are just some things that either a 2wd or a 4wd will do better. If I was haying, and had the choice of a 50hp 4wd 4-5000lbs tractor.. or say a dinosaur like a ford 8000 2wd, dual rears... I'll take that 9000 lbs ford. The extra weight.. not so much the extra 55 hp, makes the difference in this case.

Everybody has their favorites.. this thread could go on forever.. the only thing we havn't heard about is hydro-vs gearvs shuttle/reverser - 2wd-4wd.. 3wd, etc....

now there is a discussion in the making....

Soundguy

 

[Big_A]

I know what you're thinking. Did he fire six shots or only five? To tell you the truth, in all this excitment, I kind of lost track myself. The question you should be asking is "Do I feel Lucky?" Well do ya' punk? /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

That said, I agree with the 4wd people. I got stuck brush-hogging when my rear wheels fell into a ditch. Put her into 4 wheel and out I came. If you can afford it, why not?

 

[pruntyc]

The few times that I was stuck, the diff. lock, brought me right out. I use it maybe 4 or 5 times a year. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[_RaT_]

"Besides you think so much of your 4 wheel drive, you need it to remind you, just how good your 4 wheel drive is for you."


Oh no, that memory of my spinning rear wheels sliding down my hill or being stuck is etched in my brain. Your right, I do have a incredibly high opinion of my 4WD. It certainly sounds though that what you have is certainly adequate for your needs and no reason to have 4WD. I do think it wise to inform folks that are asking about 2WD or 4WD the important facts. Many folks could easily purchase used large 2WD in their areas. I can, there are a lot. Of course living in the foothills does this. You have 4WD and it spoils you. I can do plenty with my 2WD, I can do plenty more with 4WD.

 

[OkeeDon]

The past 4 months we have had record rainfall. Everyone in the area had at least some of their land flooded. Mine hasn't been improved yet, so for much of that period I had at least 6" of standing water on 4 out of 5 acres. There isn't any "dirt" as most people think of it - just dirty sand. Some areas get like quicksand. Put a little weight on it, it "pumps" -- you go down, it goes up on either side.

My tractor would go through it just fine in 4WD, as long as I stayed "light" on the hydro pedal. One time I started through a low spot and the front end just kept going down - pumping itself deeper and deeper. Turns out my son-in-law had left it in 2WD. I shifted to 4WD and it came right out. I have no idea why he had it in 2WD - I haven't had it out of 4WD since I bought it - 265 hours.

There is absolutely no way a 2WD tractor could negotiate that soup, even if God himself was driving it, unless the front tires were 3' wide each. And, the heavier the tractor, the more it would have sunk. My land contractor wouldn't even bring in his dozer and trackhoe. But, that little 4WD has continued to handle it.

I can appreciate that in some cases, depending on what is being done, 2WD might be somewhat as good as 4WD. But, why suffer? That's like saying you enjoy beating your head against the wall because it feels so good when you stop.

 

[SethO]

The question is, if you have an option of buying a 2WD or a 4WD tractor for EXACTLY the same price, which will you choose?

 

[_RaT_]

The question is, if you have an option of buying a 2WD or a 4WD tractor for EXACTLY the same price, which will you choose?

Or maybe replacing that 4WD tractor with a 2WD that weighs twice as much. Or maybe adding a second set of tires to the rear or maybe if you had 300,00 hours of experience you could then drive a 2WD anywhere a 4WD goes or maybe add 4WD to your .357 or even to a 9mm automatic. Lots to think about after reading this thread huh?

I think for simplicity it's easiest to now assume that the majority of folks would opt for 4WD everytime. At my dealer, 2WD is a special order item only unless you want a trade in 2WD.

 

[NIXON]

No doubt that a big ag 2wd will have at least as much traction as a 4wd cut . But will it fit the property and spaces that I need to use it ? My only experience with a 2wd tractor is with a ford 3000 .( a great tractor BTW ) It was about the same size as my 3130 weight wise . I don't believe it would have been as tractable with a FEL . If I had a lot of room ,and everything here was flat , I'd have gone 2wd .But that's not the way it worked out . JMHO, John

 

[SethO]

It is interesting to note that the presence of 4WD in any of its many iterations is what defines an OFF ROAD vehicle, yet we are arguing whether or not 4WD is better in a machine that lives OFF THE ROAD.

 

[NIXON]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( It is interesting to note that the presence of 4WD in any of its many iterations is what defines an OFF ROAD vehicle, yet we are arguing whether or not 4WD is better in a machine that lives OFF THE ROAD. )</font>


SethO . No offense .
I missed the point of your statement . Could you explain what You mean ? John

 

[OkeeDon]

He means that in many cases, the very definition of an off-road vehicle is that it have 4WD; in other words, if it ain't 4WD (or all wheel drive, however many there are), it ain't an off road vehicle.

Now, since tractors in some cases and areas have been around longer than cars, and since the concept of off-road vehicles is considerably later, and since tractors are the original off-road vehicles, I'm not sure I'd agree with the thought, but it is interesting in that it points out a certain irony. My own thought is that more tractors would have had 4WD all along if the technology had been as advanced as it is today.

Tractors that are doing primarily Ag work do that work primarily with the rear wheels. Often, the front wheels aren't doing anything more than keeping that end of the tractor up when at rest. I suspect the first use of differential braking was because the front wheels were so lightly loaded they wouldn't even steer the tractor. In those cases, 4WD doesn't add much. Put any weight on the front, however, or even reduce the force on the rear, and 4WD is worth its weight in gold.

 

[NIXON]

Okee Don , Got it ! Thanks ! John