Aldeer.com Forums Alabama Deer Talk Serious Deer Talk Forum How important is 4 wd?

Yea but you're a flatlander. Try a 2wd on any rolling ground and you'll see why it's needed

Just let them keep playing with their toys.

They cannot miss what they have not had!

South Montgomery Co, is rolling ground, only flat ground around here is in creek bottoms and most of those are good old prairie gumbo. Not like the mountains of Pelham but some pretty good grades

Important

We just know what we're doing. There's a big difference between an equipment operator and a steering wheel holder.

Hahaha. Now that's funny.

You're just a youngin. I done wore out a fleet of tractors before you left Morgan.

Yep

Sad part is I'm sure I've got more seat time than you. We had a 2wd 4755 pulling a 36' disk in the cahaba river farm in the 90's. That sand made it slip pretty bad. Bought a 4960 4wd then finally got some work done. I'm not like some on here. I know where a 4wd tractor pays off.

My JD 5300 is 2wd, my JD 5103 is 2wd both with loaders. Feeding hay in January & February sucks with a 2wd. My next one will be 4wd wether 25 hp or 150 hp.

My old tractor was 2wd drive and thought it was just fine, never got stuck. My current tractor is 4x4 with a loader and I will never consider another tractor that’s not 4x4 with a loader. Using the loader usually requires 4x4 and I use the loader way more than I ever thought I would. After 700hrs is about time for some new front tires.

Never owned a tractor but everything I've been around has been 2wd used on a perfectly flat hazelnut orchard.
For Alabama hunting land type stuff I see a 4wd being more useful. Land and tractor is on the todo list for eventually.

Larger front tires hold up better doing a lot of loader work also.

We use to have a JD 5200 2wd there was nothing like raising the loader up to put a hay bale in the hay ring and watch the front end get pushed down in the chit. Some times it would back up while you held diff lock down sometimes it wouldn't back up and with a hay spear on the front you can really crawfish yourself out like you can with a bucket. The time I got stuck mid January putting out hay and it started to rain made me remember that pretty well and hate that tractor I went and got our JD 6320 cab tractor 4x4 and pulled it backwards enough that the front tires was above the ground again and drove off. It just sucked out there that day freezing in the rain.

If you can get a 2wd tractor stuck in wet grass, you are either an idiot, or you need new tires really bad.

Maybe you made it 40 years with 2wd tractors because you’re using smaller equipment? Do you own a 4wd tractor? Every friend I have who farms for a living told me before I bought mine to make sure I got the front drive shaft, lots cheaper than additional horsepower. Thirty years ago they were pulling an 18’ harrow behind a Ford TW30 tractor and thought they were doing it big. Hell, they were doing it big back then. But now they’re pulling harrows twice that width with a 4wd with the same hp.

IMO, owning a 4wd tractor isn’t about not getting stuck, it’s about more pulling power. Whether it’s implements or a spreader buggy they just handle it better. Trust me, if there’s one drawback to a 4wd it’s when you do get them stuck you better call a really, really big 4wd tractor.

I would not own a utility tractor with a loader without 4x4. It’s an absolute must or you’ll find yourself more frustrated over the work your tractor can’t do rather than what it will do. On ground that is not flat it’s like owning a totally different machine.

When I was tractor shopping a few years ago I noticed a couple things:

1. 4wd tractors hold value better than the same tractor but 2wd. I think the 4wd option is like a $4000, well that tractor can have 2000 hrs on it and still be $4000 more than the 2wd model.
2. The same rule applies to a front end loader.

I ended up getting a 2wd but was able to get a nicer and larger machine than if I got a 4wd. When disking I wish it was 4wd. But when fooling with hay (square bales), bush hogging, spraying, or box blade work I'm fine with just 2wd.

Depends. Flatland and no mud and muck most of time 2wd is ok. 2wd will go through a good bit of mud and sand with the grip tires. You will have no troube pulling out vehicles with 2wd, but 4wd will help. Hilly land or muddy land 4wd a must. 4wd will still get stuck too!

Not very important until you need it....then it's important. My Kubota is 4wd and I don't think I'd buy another that wasn't.