When to use four wheel drive?

[ovrszd]

When the rear wheels break traction there is NO brakes...DUH!



Recommending a misguided practice that can cause damage to someone's tractor etc is not only stupid...it could be considered malicious...

Coming from a cartoon character that's funny.

 

[/pine]

Coming from a cartoon character that's funny.

"Funny" is a clueless post from someone that has an issue that "can't be fixed"...:laughing:

 

[ovrszd]

"Funny" is a clueless post from someone that has an issue that "can't be fixed"...:laughing:

Hey, Olive Oil is calling.....

 

[goeduck]

I know that I have mentioned this before, but one of my properties is nearly pancake flat. So no worry about losing control on a hill. I mostly only switch to 4WD in the wet season with this tractor on this property if I get in the muck. In the dry season 4WD rips the pasture turf when turning so I do not use it. The picture attached is the maximum slope that I have on this property. I am filling a 275 gallon tote (~2500lbs with attachments) in the creek and can back out in 2 WD thanks to gravel and backhoe. On the property (all slope) that I live I keep that tractor in 4WD unless on the asphalt or shop when putting it away. So it all depends.

 

[Tennsawdust]

So....you really have a 6WD ford ?

No ones gonna talk to you of there is a SCUT 4WD members meet up, you know that right ? I don't have to worry, too far away....may as well be another planet

When they are chained together I do - with close to 350 hp on tap even!

 

[kneedeep]

Every time I need it!

 

[greggyy]

Every time I need it!

Err....are you saying all the time....aka brake the dis engage lever off ? :laughing:

 

[EONE]

I have a 2016 NH Boomer 41 & FEL with 650 hrs. I recently had a front right hub seal and bearing failure. I was plowing the driveway and lost my 4WD....I tried the lever, etc...Then pulled into the shop and found gear lube leaking. I pulled the hub and found nothing but shavings and few larger pieces. Lucky for me, the tractor still had about a week or two of drive train warranty left on it. The dealer replaced everything in that hub and flushed the housing, pulled off the other hub and found it in great shape. I know better, but 90% of the time I have had that machine it only came out of 4WD when I roaded it at high speed. Almost all the use has been FEL work or box blade..and a little brush hogging. I think if I had used 4WD only when needed that hub would have been better off. The only other thing that makes me wonder, is why the other side is just fine. I HAVE carried some awful heavy loads with that loader too. Now I'm going to use 4WD only when needed.The tractor has been fantastic overall. Very happy with it.

 

[pokey1416]

Agree - I’m always in 2WD until I’m stuck or losing traction. Takes a little longer that way but I’ve only had to engage 4WD a couple times in last 6-months.

 

[LouNY]

I'm fortunate that my 4wd engages with a switch and a clutch pack so I can engage it whenever I want or need with no stopping or lever finangling,
just flip it on when needed for traction or braking.

 

[wolc123]

I have a 2005 JD 4120 with about 1000 hours on it. I use 4wd whenever I am operating on soft ground or doing front loader work. That ends up being most of the time. About the only time I have it in 2wd is when I am bush hogging fields in the summer when it is good and dry. I bought the tractor new and the only thing I have done to it as far as maintenance is change the engine oil and filter every 100 hours. I also changed the antifreeze last year. All the other fluids and filters are original, and it has never leaked a drop. I always make sure to take it out of 4wd when I have it on the road, which don't happen too much.

Back when I bought it, I checked out NH and Kubota. I am glad I went green, and glad I got it when you could still get an American diesel engine pre tier-4.

 

[oosik]

Before you are up to the frame in mud. And to back out of the situation - not continue on forward ...............

 

[fruitcakesa]

Before you are up to the frame in mud. And to back out of the situation - not continue on forward ...............

:thumbsup: That is a hard earned lesson.

 

[Oaktree]

Back when I bought it, I checked out NH and Kubota. I am glad I went green, and glad I got it when you could still get an American diesel engine pre tier-4.

Doesn't that have a Yanmar engine in it?

 

[oosik]

I've seen this more times than I even care to think about. The young, macho, indestructible stud locks his 4WD in and just KNOWS he will "make it on thru". I ALWAYS make THEM come back to my 4WD rig - string out the cable and hook it onto their buried rig. It tends to help in their learning process .................

The "real show" is when this "STUD" brings along his girlfriend. He is bound and determined to show how tough his rig really is. Imagine this picture - a 4WD vehicle - up to its frame, stuck in a muddy slough - all four tires spinning wildly - mud being thrown twenty feet high and everywhere. Because it's a nice day and he is out to impress everybody - he has the soft top folded down - a volcano of mud is now raining down on the vehicle - including the girlfriend. The girlfriend is SCREAMING MAD - she is shouting profanities that even I have never heard. In her anger - she jump out of the vehicle to abandon this scene. She sinks half way to her cute little butt in this muddy slough.

I've seen this scene several times. I laugh so very hard - I will begin to feel faint.

 

[LD48750]

I seem to remember being told 4 wheel drive is to get you out of what 2 wheel drive got you into.

 

[WranglerX]

As soon and I loose traction and forward motion in 2WD...

Dale

 

[Jstpssng]

If you wait until after you're stuck to shift into 4WD, it's often too late. The trick is to learn the limitations of driver and vehicle and don't exceed them... and always have a backup plan. I used to travel with a 5 foot hilift, 2 ton Wyeth-Scott comealong, 100 feet of chain and a chainsaw. Then I bought my first ATV... Often the road/trail is just slimy, or you need to get past that one hole in an otherwise decent road.
If I don't use 4WD on my tractor I might as well park in in the yard and plant daisies in it, then go buy an old 2WD farm tractor for the few times I need it in my garden. Between pulling trees, plowing snow, or moving gravel/wood, about the only time I shift into 2 WD is when on the road from my house to/from wherever I'm using it.

 

[RalphVa]

Last Fall I bought a JD 3038e I really like, but how/when do you use 4x4? Sounds like a stupid question, but I forget and leave it in 4wd a lot. I was bushhogging just now in 2wd, but hilly parts and it started to rain I had to put it in 4x4. I guess my point is does it hurt to leave it in 4x4 or better not to. Thanks!

ALWAYS be in 4wd unless on pavement. Otherwise, you only have 2 wheel brakes and not even that if going downhill without much weight on the rear. The rear wheels will just skid. If skid, they can easily skid the tractor sideways, and you can end up rolling it downhill sideways, with hopefully you buckled into the seat and not flung underneath the tractor.

 

[oosik]

I'm SELDOM in 4WD. I would guess it depends upon where you are and the terrain. My 80 acres is pretty flat with a few valleys here & there. There are places I will not go - even in 4WD. I can get to some of the difficult places with my ATV but it's a REAL heart pounder. There are cliffs on my property that would take a skilled climber to navigate. The cliffs are completely vertical and I stay away from them with all forms of vehicles. A pictures of parts of my property. See that red dots in the little "valleys" in the cliffs on the far side. Not even on the ATV. I tried it once and "WE" almost rolled down into the lake. The cliffs on both sides of the lake - stay the heck away from the tops of them. The dirt will slide off the bedrock and you will be in the lake in a heartbeat. The lake is 80 feet deep.

You can say - "Well, it's obvious you shouldn't have vehicles up on those cliff tops". Not to some. I've had IDIOTS drive their pickups right up to the cliff edge on this side of the lake. Makes me so dam mad. If that vehicle fell into the lake there would be oil contamination forever. Bodies float and could be fished out.

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