Tractor Sizing How important is rear diff lock on CUT?

[Scott65]

Just about 10 minutes ago I learned with mine that even with 4 wheel drive, when it's rained and made things slick, my tractor isn't going to move much dirt. Even with diff lock it was doing more sliding than digging. So as of just now, my vote would be for diff lock. Even on dry ground I use it fairly frequently. Numerous times I've been in a situation where the terrain was uneven and loose enough that one front and one rear tire were slipping. Stuck tractor without diff lock. 2 second fix with it.

I can see how split brakes would achieve the same thing most of the time. Unfortunately on my kubota, somebody missed the memo. Either that or it's me that's missing something. It has perfectly good split brakes, right above the hydro pedal. I'm not sure how they figured on a person hitting go and stop at the same time...

I started another thread a while back about a couple of ways to overcome this. So if you end up with this type of setup, check it out later to see what I can come up with

 

[pinetree10]

I've used it a bunch of times. When you're stuck it's nice to have all four wheels trying to get you out.

 

[paulfun9]

I would pass on a tractor without both split brakes and the diff lock. I have run many machines without and know just how easy it is to avoid the stuck with them so for me it is a deal breaker!

 

[RoyJackson]

Without it... you can be stuck. I have not used it much but it's darn handy to have to get you out of sticky places.

Same here...not used much at all, but when you need it, it's invaluable.

 

[silvertramp]

I was clearing deep wet snow yesterday with my 4x4 Yanmar. I used my diff lock repeatedly, even with chained rear tires. The job wouldn't have gotten done without it.

 

[Capricious]

My old Mitsubishi has "both."

One comment: If needed, I can apply the brake to one side without clutching. Can't use the lock without clutching (or not supposed to, anyway).

If one side loses traction but I still have some forward motion I try to use the brake.

 

[vtsnowedin]

My David Brown tractor built in 1966 had a diff lock 2WD. Would have been useless on snow without it and good chains. I don't know what tractor first came out with a lock lever but it was way back there.
I agree with those that insist on both the diff lock and working split brakes. The Kubota hydo setup with go pedal and brakes on the same side is a loser. If your plowing on new ground you have one tire up on wet grass and the other in the hard bottom of the dead furrow. Yes you could feather the brake on the grass side to even things out but in a full day of work you would wear out your left foot. Hit the diff lock once and your good to the end of the furrow.
On the other hand when plowing snow with a front mounted plow you need the split break to occasionally steer against the side thrust of the angled plow. The diff lock would be very unhandy there. So you need or at least should want to have both.

 

[MESSMAKER]

I was ready to post that you can get by without it if you have 4wd and a loader. The more I think about it, you need a lock. I bet I use it a few dozen times a year. That would mean I would have been stuck 8-10 times. That would suck.

 

[oosik]

I use diff lock when plowing snow and coming up out of the valley on the driveway. There is always an icy patch on this section and it helps keep the forward momentum and the rear end from swinging out.

I use split brakes when jigging & jogging around things out in the fields disking or for tight turns at the end of rows. Both of these actions require elevated implement.

I could get the job done without diff lock - - it would require a different approach to plowing snow in the valley & it would take longer to complete.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Lots of reasons to have split brakes and diff. lock. Unfortunately many manufacturers put the split brakes on but put them on the same side as the HST pedal which makes it nearly impossible to use them. Look for a tractor with differential lock and split brakes AND the brakes on the opposite side of the go pedal. Of course with a clutch /gear transmission you don't have to worry about that, only then need the diff. lock.

On my LS gear drive tractor, I have gotten stuck crossing ditches at an angle a couple of times due to getting one front and one rear off the ground at the same time. Hit the Diff lock and it pulled right out, other wise I would have had to shove myself out with the FEL which would have torn up the ground a bit.
That is a somewhat funny situation though, sitting with a ditch under the tractor and two wheels off the ground and just spinning away.

 

[RedNeckGeek]

The steeper your ground the more you'll use diff lock. Especially when the ground is a little wet, sometimes it takes 4WD, a shove with the FEL, AND diff lock to get me unstuck, and it's not all that infrequent. Without it I'd spend weeks waiting for the ground to dry out.

 

[vtsnowedin]

That is a somewhat funny situation though, sitting with a ditch under the tractor and two wheels off the ground and just spinning away.

Hey you did't post the picture so it NEVAH Happened!

 

[vtsnowedin]

That is a somewhat funny situation though, sitting with a ditch under the tractor and two wheels off the ground and just spinning away.

Hey you didn't post the picture so it NEVAH Happened!

 

[teg]

So at work, the couple of times where we needed to plant when it's still a bit wet, we need to use 4 x 4. It's got split brakes and they don't work that well with 4x4 engaged. Don't know if something that should slip is not slipping but it seems to me that hitting one brake is almost like stepping on both with one side pulling more than the other side.

Without 4x4, I spin the tractor around on a dime. I only have 25' between our tests to do "U" turns. In 2x4, this is absolutely no problem, actually pretty fun! Really love planting season... :dance1:

Had another time, trying to plant when it was too wet and we were using only a 2 wheel drive tractor... Decided to try planting in a dry section on the other side of the field... driving over there, 3-4 mph, the right front tire "slid" into a mud hole. Couldn't see anything, looked like the rest of the field, it just jumped up and grabbed the front right tire.

Wheels were pointing straight but the tractor turned into this mud pit... without slowing down, I stepped hard on the left brake and forced my way out of the mud hole. That was all I needed to high tail it the heck out of there.

 

[Paul Thornton]

I used my diff lock several time this winter to back up a hill from where I bank snow. It beat having to use the come along to pull myself out.

 

[onelostdogg]

Man! Sounds pretty unanimous. Won't be buying a tractor without both. Thanks everybody.

 

[RalphVa]

Don't buy one without it. The front wheels go up and down, but the rear ones do not. Easy to get in a position where one wheel is off the ground. Without the lock on the differential, you're stuck. The one free wheel will spin away, and the tractor won't go.

Now, it COULD have a limited slip differential, but it would need to be so in both front and rear.

Ralph

 

[STx]

It's like 4WD on a truck, you don't need it until you do and then it doesn't matter how much it cost to get it when you bought the tractor, it's worth every penny. I use mine all the time on unlevel ground, even with 4WD on the tractor. I can't imagine having a tractor without it.

 

[MHarryE]

Every time I use mine I am already too stuck for it to do any good. My Kubotas pedal is too difficult to keep holding down and while trying to get out. My loader is much more important then the diff lock. My RTV - the diff lock has succeeded in getting me a little more stuck but never has come close to getting me through or back out when I've been stuck. My backup for it is my cell phone and my wife who faithfully comes with a tractor, sometimes pickup. If the belly is on the mud and 4 wheels are spinning, not much a diff lock will do. Now our larger AG tractors have electronic locking fwd and those are useful in some conditions.

 

[vtsnowedin]

Every time I use mine I am already too stuck for it to do any good. My Kubotas pedal is too difficult to keep holding down and while trying to get out. My loader is much more important then the diff lock. My RTV - the diff lock has succeeded in getting me a little more stuck but never has come close to getting me through or back out when I've been stuck. My backup for it is my cell phone and my wife who faithfully comes with a tractor, sometimes pickup. If the belly is on the mud and 4 wheels are spinning, not much a diff lock will do. Now our larger AG tractors have electronic locking fwd and those are useful in some conditions.

:laughing: Sounds like the problem exists between the steering wheel and the seat back. Perhaps the operator headspace and timing needs adjustment.