4wd tractor for haying

[MasseyFerg]

My family currently have two tractors, one 2wd and one 4wd. We do the hay with the 2wd for several reasons, such as it turns sharper, the tires are smaller and with a less aggressive tread it don't tear up the ground so much on the sharp turns and being 2wd is lighter and gets better fuel mileage.

So my question is, if you hay with a 4wd tractor do these issues bother you? Also do you remove the entire front end loader or just the bucket when cutting, raking and baling? Removing just the bucket remove some weight but removing the whole loader makes it that much lighter and more fuel efficient.

We are trying to decide if we want to just keep the one newer 4wd tractor and do everything with it and would we be satisfied if we did so, or should we try to keep both. Since the drought has cut our herd to very small it's hard to justify two expensive tractors. The money from the second tractor could be used for other improvements around the place.

I also suppose that if my tractor broke down, I could rent one from a dealership for a day or two to finish my hay?

Thanks

 

[bse]

I like 4wd anytime no matter what im doing i cut and roll with 4wd i have needed it on occasion doing each and i never take the loader off probably should but not worth the trouble to me. I dont think you can ever have to many tractors.

 

[denvermartinfarms]

I like 4wd anytime no matter what im doing i cut and roll with 4wd i have needed it on occasion doing each and i never take the loader off probably should but not worth the trouble to me. I dont think you can ever have to many tractors.

I agree with everything he said and i do it just the same.also i don't know about your area dealers but around here you can't just go rent a tractor from one.

 

[circlew]

We always leave the forks on the tractors. That way if a roll rolls in the way of the rack tractor you can move it or if one rolls into a windrow you can move it. Also I don't know of any tractor dealership that rents tractors other than peanut and cotton rentals for the gins. You might could luck up and borrow one of these or a used tractor if you are good friends or a long time customer, to get you by.

 

[kenny thomas]

I have 1 small 2 wheel drive just to rake hay. The other 2 are 4x4. 55 and 100 HP. Both the 4x4 have loaders that I remove when I am not using them. Only takes a couple minutes to take off or put on so no big deal. Much easier on the tractor's front end.
The Kubota dealer here comes and picks up mine if I have a problem and brings me one to use at no cost until mine is returned.

 

[dun]

We rake with a 34 horse Kubota (side delivery/rollabar) and leave it in 4wd, mowing and baling with the 93 horse JD in 4wd but for running the tedder I run it on 2wd (if I remember).
If the ground was better qaulity or wet I can see where 4wd would be hard on it for tearing it up

 

[MasseyFerg]

What about the issue of not being able to make sharp turns when cutting the hay? I have a side pivot moco and don't think that the 4wd would let me turn sharp enough to make a square turn.

Dun, I assume you run 4wd most of the time because of the terrain of your property?

Thanks for the answers. Any more comments are appreciated

 

[High Cotton]

.....

 

[dun]

What about the issue of not being able to make sharp turns when cutting the hay? I have a side pivot moco and don't think that the 4wd would let me turn sharp enough to make a square turn.

Dun, I assume you run 4wd most of the time because of the terrain of your property?

Thanks for the answers. Any more comments are appreciated

I use a disc mower so don;t have to make sharp turns.
Yup, when a pulling a heavy load the 4wd gives more positive footing.

 

[herefordlover]

i see less ground tore up using out 4x4 for haying and ur not standing on the break trying to keep the frount end from sliding in return trears up ground. and as far as not turning as sharp the only time that seems to be an issue for me is racking and i dont like pulling out rake with out 4x4

 

[hillbilly beef man]

A 4x4 does not tear up as much ground for us because it does not ball hoot off of hills like a 2wd. Also I always leave the loader and spear on the baler tractor in case a bale rolls into the windrows. This is what works for us, it might be a little different for you if you are blessed with flat fields.

 

[herefordlover]

The loader weight helps on the hills to keep the frount planted when u have 1400 pound bail and need to turn up hill

 

[OklaBrangusBreeder]

I have a 4wd JD 5093 i use to pull a center pivot jd830 moco and a jd467 baler. I leave the loader on with forks. I always run it 2wd in the hayfield. Using the 4wd has never even crossed my mind in the hayfield. Never had any problem turning sharp enough or tearing up the ground.

I also have a 65hp farmtrac 80 that I pull a 10 wheel rhino swr-10 v-rake. Dad is usually running the rake about an hour ahead of me as I'm baling. We almost always have both tractors working on baling day.

For us having two tractors for haying is a plus, if not a must. If you had to cut back to one tractor, I don't see the 4WD being a factor in the decision.

 

[john250]

My family currently have two tractors, one 2wd and one 4wd. We do the hay with the 2wd for several reasons, such as it turns sharper, the tires are smaller and with a less aggressive tread it don't tear up the ground so much on the sharp turns and being 2wd is lighter and gets better fuel mileage.

So my question is, if you hay with a 4wd tractor do these issues bother you? Also do you remove the entire front end loader or just the bucket when cutting, raking and baling? Removing just the bucket remove some weight but removing the whole loader makes it that much lighter and more fuel efficient.

We are trying to decide if we want to just keep the one newer 4wd tractor and do everything with it and would we be satisfied if we did so, or should we try to keep both. Since the drought has cut our herd to very small it's hard to justify two expensive tractors. The money from the second tractor could be used for other improvements around the place.

I also suppose that if my tractor broke down, I could rent one from a dealership for a day or two to finish my hay?

Thanks

You have two ? and you need to seperate them, I think.
If selling a tractor would improve your financial position I would say sell. Buy another cow, etc. Farmers love tractors and tend to get "machinery poor".
I know a dealer who will rent me a tractor anytime, so that makes a difference.
Personally, we have mud at feeding time so I'd be inclined to keep the 4WD for that reason. For making hay, 4WD
isn't relevant as we don't make hay in mud.
Good luck, whichever way you go.
Take the loader off when you aren't using the loader. Reduce the wear on your front end, improve visibility, etc.

 

[MasseyFerg]

I have a 4wd JD 5093 i use to pull a center pivot jd830 moco and a jd467 baler. I leave the loader on with forks. I always run it 2wd in the hayfield. Using the 4wd has never even crossed my mind in the hayfield. Never had any problem turning sharp enough or tearing up the ground.

I also have a 65hp farmtrac 80 that I pull a 10 wheel rhino swr-10 v-rake. Dad is usually running the rake about an hour ahead of me as I'm baling. We almost always have both tractors working on baling day.

For us having two tractors for haying is a plus, if not a must. If you had to cut back to one tractor, I don't see the 4WD being a factor in the decision.

How do you like the 5093? Is it an E or M model? How quiet is the cab?

 

[dun]

How do you like the 5093? Is it an E or M model? How quiet is the cab?

I have a 5093E, a lot quiter then the 5510 was with the door closed. If I open it I realilze just how much it noise it cuts compared to the other tractor. If I need to call someone I can talk on the phone without the noise getting in the way.

 

[OklaBrangusBreeder]

I have a 5093E (just like Dun). I think I bought mine a short time before he did (June 2009).

I have absolutely loved the tractor. It is the first cab tractor we've ever owned. We bought it in anticipation of acquiring some hay land (which we did March 2011) and producing our own hay.

As it is the only Cab tractor I've ever operated, I can't really say "how quiet" the cab is. I'll say it fully meets my expectations. I agree with Dun's comment, I talk on the cell phone in it while operating and can do that without struggle. For the money, I don't think there is a tractor out there in the size range that can offer what the 5093E. If there is, I didn't find it when I was evaluating the purchase.

 

[johndeerefarmer]

Thanks

I am looking at a 5085m or 5100m. I am interested in the "M" model because it has some features that I want like the 32F/16R speed transmission, the sunroof (which would be handy to be able to see better for use with my tree shear as well as stacking hay 4 bales high), the air suspension seat and corner post exhaust. My current 6220 has the air suspension seat and corner post exhaust and I don't want to give them up. I also need more gears than 16F. With my current 16F PowerQuad I don't have a gear that is right for mowing with my Kuhn trailed disc mower. C4 at pto speed is too slow (7.5mph) and D1 is too fast so I need more gear choices. Plus the 32F tranny offers a road gear of 24 mph and the faster I get off the highway away from the "nuts" the better

Thanks for the input and sorry to the OP for taking the thread off of the original topic.

 

[B&M Farms]

If it is just hay I wouldn't care if I had four wheel drive because I try not to put a tractor in a hay field when its that wet. For all the other chores like pulling a disc of doing some bucket work I would keep the 4x4. Its not too hilly and pretty much sandy loam soil here though. Might be different if I was somewhere else.

 

[lifeofleisure]

I bought a 5093 in January 2011. I have used for all aspects of haying. Rake with 8 wheel Kuhn, round bale and 7' hyaline. Usually take off the quick attach bucket and put on spear.

See no difference in field abuse. I prefer to used 2wd Massey as much as possible as it is better on fuel, but like the 5093 cab for mowing and baling due to dust. Since I usually have help I try to keep rake with Massey and change out haybine with baler. I like having the two tractors for hauling and stacking hay as well. Usually use Massey to load wagons and haul and jd for unloading stacking.