Ford 1700 & Small round bales???

ruready1 · Jan 28, 2008

Hello,
We recently lost my father-in-law. As part of his estate, his tractor is available. It is a 1980 2wd Ford 1700. My wife would like to pick it up to use on the farm. Not an issue, it's a decent tractor and was her dad's. It'd be great for her to use in and around the barn. The issue is she's thinking it'll replace our "big tractor" a Ford 860 for moving 4x5 round bales to the pasture (the 860's ONLY job at this point). It's 60-70yds to one pasture and maybe double that from where we store the bales. The issue is, I don't think it could lift a 700-800# round bale on the 3pt spear. If I recall correctly, it's not much bigger than our B6100 and it maxes out at 350-400#. I promised her I'd check though.....

Can anyone share their knowledge or experience? The tractor has front suitcase weights and I could load the tires up front if need be.

Thanks for your help,
Mike

Mike120 · Jan 28, 2008

I've got a Ford 1700 that I'm currently rebuilding the engine on. It's been a good little tractor for what I use it for.....that sure doesn't include moving round bales. Even with four weights on the front, it struggles with a TR-3 arena rake. They are great for mowing, pulling feed wagons, many other things. But, you can't hang a lot of weight on them because, even with loaded tires, it's still a very light tractor.

JC-jetro · Jan 28, 2008

I don't think it is a wise idea. It is great little tractor for many things. I do not have loaded tires and with 3 suitcase weight when I lift my 800 lbs tiller I feel the front is getting light. That's my power steering of the sort. If you have FEL you may be able to put a lot heavier ballast in front. The lift capacity of 3 point is about 1500-1700 lbs 24" behind the 3 pt pivot point. it will pick up a 1000 lb hay bail but moving and steering is questionable in safe manner.

JC,

sandman2234 · Jan 28, 2008

Maybe there is something I am missing in this post, but it seems with a fel on ANY TRACTOR, you would want to remove the suitcase weights on the front. Their object is to offset weights on the rear of the tractor, not the front, and if you have them on it with a fel, you are decreasing the capacity of the fel.
As to wether or not it would handle "small round bales", I only have an opinion, not a realistic experience. If those bales are anywhere near what bales I am used to seeing, then no way, but hopefully someone will use real life experiences and give you the appropriate answer your wife is searching for. Even if the machine will actually pick them up and transport them, there are other factors involved, which include the safety aspects as well as the wear and tear factor. Kind of like me trying to move my JD2555(6,500 lb) on a 2,000 pound trailer behind a 1/2 ton pickup with a rated towing package of 7,500 pounds. Will it move it, yes, will it do it safely, doubtful, will it do it with the same amount of wear as a 1 ton p/u, doubtful.
No way would my Daddy's tractor go to auction, so buy it for her, but keep the current one and just let her use Daddy's for the lighter jobs. It has earned a cushy job, after doing everything Daddy needed done for all these years.
David from jax

JC-jetro · Jan 28, 2008

Sandman,

I meant front weight in lieu of suitcase weight to give it greater counter balance force to pick the bail up. It is still not safe. 1700 weights 2460 lbs only.

JC,

Soundguy · Jan 28, 2008

I don't see a 1700 moving round bales on a fel, or a rear spear safely.. bout' the only way i see it is with a doodlebug bale carrier with it's own axle..

soundguy

racerxxx1968 · Feb 2, 2008

just wanted to throw my 2 cents in here i have a 1900 ford which i think is identical to the 1700 except for hp altho mine is 4wd and i use it all the time with a 3pt spear to move 4x4 and 4x5 round bales of hay with no problem

Soundguy · Feb 4, 2008

Racer.. you might want to check yer specs... I show a 3cyl engine in a 1900.. and a 2 cyl in a 1700.. So yeah.. identical except a different engine.

Also.. a 1700 2wd compaired to your 1900 4wd tractor is a difference of nearly 500#.. 500# accounts for a whopping 20% weight increase on a 1700 tractor.. especially when you are only playing with a little over 2300# to begin with. That near 500# increase could make for quite a bit of stability difference especially when the bale you are moving may be in the 400-800# range.. Having that heavier tractor makes a bit of difference. 1900 came stock with a size larger rear rubber as well. Again.. identical.. except 20% heavier and more hp, bigger tires.. etc. Kinda like saying an F-150 is nearly identical to an F-250 except for the engine and running gear, and weight.. etc.

I stick to my original advice for -safely- moving round bales. The fact that the 1700's 3pt lift can lift it if you ballast the front of the tractor is not at issue... You can get 800# on an average 8n's lift and float it if you can keep the front running gear grounded..

I will add this.. if we are talking about particularly small round bales.. like stuff in the 400-600ish range.. then yeah.. no problemo..... 700-1000 range.. and I think you get dicey.. while it may lift it.. will it be safe? Seems like I'd want a wide stance/wheelbase and no uneven terain.. etc.

soundguy

AndyMA · Feb 8, 2008

Adding to what Soundguy said. I've had both a 1710 and a 2120. The 1900 is much closer to the 2120 than the 1700. If I remember right the 1700 was of the same frame size as the 1300,1500 and 1700. The 1900 is about midway between the 1700 and the 2120. The 2120 weighs 4500 lbs, the 1700 2,326 lbs and the 1900 2,750 lbs. An even more revealing comparison is the wheel base. The 1700 is 60.2 ", whereas the 1900 is 69.9" and the 2120 74.8" Rear tire sizes are also vastly different.
I loved my 1710 and ran it hard formany years. The only reason, it is gone is that I couldn't afford to keep it when I got the 2120 (which I've now had 21 years). When I upgraded to a TN75D I kept the 2120.
If you can I would advise you to keep both tractors.

Andy

ruready1 · Feb 8, 2008

Thanks everyone. Based on recommendations from our brother-in-laws, she has decided to pass on the 1700. It seems that, unknown to us, he had been having issues with it the last year or so and they didn't recommend we get it. She then decided to go with a new Kubota L3400 based on everyone's size recommendations. Is it any wonder I love this woman????

Take Care,
Mike