When to use four wheel drive?

[wolc123]

Doesn't that have a Yanmar engine in it?

Nope.

 

[dragoneggs]

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.

View attachment 683529View attachment 683530.

I've seen that terrain and I wouldn't get close either. In my case, I am seldom NOT in 4WD. Only when I get up on my paved driveway to I shift out of it and I shift back in as soon as off road. A couple of out of control rides down the hill convinced me I don't want to remember too late.

 

[bearthebruce]

I'm with ya dragon eggs. We have no flat land... The only place we put things in 2 wheel drive is when we are on the concrete around the barn and garage. 4WD has saved me a couple times when the rookie operator did something dumb! The brakes do not hold when on our hills. I like the feel of the geared tranny and 4WD.

 

[BackRoad]

That's some beautiful property Mr. Oosik.

An 80 foot deep lake on personal property is somewhat unique and quite special.

 

[aczlan]

The brakes do not hold when on our hills. I like the feel of the geared tranny and 4WD.

It was interesting the other day to be clearing snow in a ~10,000 tractor and be sliding backwards down a slight slope with the brakes locked...

Aaron Z

 

[LouNY]

It was interesting the other day to be clearing snow in a ~10,000 tractor and be sliding backwards down a slight slope with the brakes locked...

Aaron Z

No chains, that will happen.
Doesn't matter what your on I've 20,000+ pounds decide to do it's own thing,
and I watched a neighbor with a big articulate on duals that couldn't even get out of his own way.
Wet snow that packs into ice doesn't respect anything but chains.

 

[CobyRupert]

It was interesting the other day to be clearing snow in a ~10,000 tractor and be sliding backwards down a slight slope with the brakes locked...

Aaron Z

The coefficient of friction is greater for static conditions than kinetic.
That’s a way of saying: A tire that isn’t skidding (static) has more grip than a skidding (kinetic) tire. Pump your brakes. The principle of ABS.
Of course, sometimes on ice, both coefficients are so low, it might not matter very much.

(Now I know someone will say ABS stopping power is worse on ice than skidding. This is often true because it’s not braking more than it is; it can’t brake as sensitively without skidding then releasing.)

 

[dragoneggs]

It was interesting the other day to be clearing snow in a ~10,000 tractor and be sliding backwards down a slight slope with the brakes locked...

Aaron Z

Around my place, if I start sliding in my tractor, the last thing I would call it is 'interesting'! :laughing:

 

[Egon]

It’ usually best to engage four wheel drive before it is required.

 

[Jstpssng]

It’ usually best to engage four wheel drive before it is required.

When talking about pickups, that rule also applies to deactivating the traction control. Don't ask me how I know that! :shocked:

 

[LouNY]

When talking about pickups, that rule also applies to deactivating the traction control. Don't ask me how I know that! :shocked:

Don't you just really like it when you almost get over the hard spot and all of sudden the truck decides it shouldn't spin a tire any more and cuts the power right off so you just stop right in the worst spot.

 

[Jstpssng]

Don't you just really like it when you almost get over the hard spot and all of sudden the truck decides it shouldn't spin a tire any more and cuts the power right off so you just stop right in the worst spot.

We haven't had snow in a week, and that was about 3 inches; there's less than a foot on the ground and I"ve been driving everywhere so never expected it to have drifted the way that it did. The worst part was that I was on the back side of a field, easily visible from the highway. If nobody had seen it, it never would have happened.

 

[spruce Deere]

Only use the 4wd when in good pulls and pushes or when such is eminent. When the spin catches you off-guard while in 2wd always stop, pull the lever, push the button. Stay calm, 4wd on...

 

[Jstpssng]

Only use the 4wd when in good pulls and pushes or when such is eminent. When the spin catches you off-guard while in 2wd always stop, pull the lever, push the button. Stay calm, 4wd on...

It really comes down to knowing the limitations of vehicle and driver. Most of us learn those limitations by digging ourselves out a few times...

 

[buck12]

When talking about pickups, that rule also applies to deactivating the traction control. Don't ask me how I know that! :shocked:

I still struggle to remember to deactivate the traction control even though I have had since 2009. I think it is because my 1993 which is the truck I usually take off road. The few times times the 09 is off pavement I just do not think about it. I really like my old school 93. I can back into anything, leave the seat belt off, etc and it never beeps at me.

 

[Reb954]

It usually best to engage four wheel drive before it is required.

That rule would fall into the same category as when to give your wife flowers, just before some other guy does.

 

[Jstpssng]

I still struggle to remember to deactivate the traction control even though I have had since 2009. I think it is because my 1993 which is the truck I usually take off road. The few times times the 09 is off pavement I just do not think about it. I really like my old school 93. I can back into anything, leave the seat belt off, etc and it never beeps at me.

Many trucks of '93 vintage had their own issues... namely the vacuum diaphragm system which replaced locking hubs. I got hung up on more than one occasion because the front end didn't engage when I needed it… I finally pulled one line, used my air compressor to lock the front end in then capped it off. A coworker spent the night in the woods after getting stuck because as he went from 4H to 4L the frontend disengaged and wouldn't go back in again.

 

[buck12]

Many trucks of '93 vintage had their own issues... namely the vacuum diaphragm system which replaced locking hubs. I got hung up on more than one occasion because the front end didn't engage when I needed it… I finally pulled one line, used my air compressor to lock the front end in then capped it off. A coworker spent the night in the woods after getting stuck because as he went from 4H to 4L the frontend disengaged and wouldn't go back in again.

I ordered my 1993 with a good old floor shifter for the four wheel drive. Last year I could not get it in four low. I removed the entire shifter assembly. A toothbrush and a little grease and she shifts like butter. Probably good for another 28 years.

 

[Jstpssng]

I ordered my 1993 with a good old floor shifter for the four wheel drive. Last year I could not get it in four low. I removed the entire shifter assembly. A toothbrush and a little grease and she shifts like butter. Probably good for another 28 years.

My 2018 company truck has the same floor shifter. Even those aren't foolproof. One of my previous company trucks got stuck in 4 low... it was a long ride out of the woods that day.

 

[buck12]

My 2018 company truck has the same floor shifter. Even those aren't foolproof. One of my previous company trucks got stuck in 4 low... it was a long ride out of the woods that day.

It took 27 years for mine to give me trouble. It was a pain to remove it. Almost 30 years of grit had all but frozen the shifter.