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wide front or narrow front

J

JR. FRYE

Member

I hear a lot guys say that a narrow front tractor
is nothing but trouble, using a mounted loader. what is better narrow or wide. i will be using my tractor like i said before, moving snow,pulling a bush hog,using a post hole auger, may be a hay rake or what ever come's to my mind.
What is your thoughts?
many thanks
 
You must be looking at something old to have to make the wide or narrow choice.
If you are worried about driving over some hay. Adjust the wide front so it runs on the inside of the rear wheel track. Instead of the middle or the outside of the rear wheel track.
 
I do all those jobs with my tractors and they're narrow fronts. Got to be careful with a loader on a narrow front tractor but I've never had a problem. Common sense type thing.
Paul
 
Personally I like narrow fronts. I like the ability to make very tight turns.

But there may well be something to the idea that a big WL-42 is a lot of weight to put on a narrow front.
 
I think narrow front tractors work just fine for any application. you just have to use it right, keep your mind on what you're doing and use your common sence.
 
Hi I have a Farmall 200 with a tricycle front end,no loader. I use it much like it sounds you will. Moving large hay bales, plowing snow w/ a back blade, pulling a manure spreader,etc. I am cautious up and down hills, as with any tractor, but have never had any trouble. I would be careful if using a loader and not raise it very high,but I like the tricycle front end because it is so manueverable.
Good Luck
 
Not the wl-42 itself but its weight plus whatever you are lifting, etc.

But then I'm a fan of hanging the loader over the drive tires like a honey bee. That puts weight where it should be, more weight improves downpressure and traction on the tires making the tractor move. Sounds like a win-win!

I still think front loaders are a mistake in the first place.
 
Narrow or wide? Its not the tractor thats trouble, its the operator. "Tractor Accidents" do happen, but how many are from stupid, unaware or careless operators?
 
i have 3 tractors with loaders, h and m both narrow fronts and a minneapolis moline wide front loader. only difference i see is in soft muddy ground. with a load in the bucket, the narrow fronts can get stuck a lot easier than the wide front. narrow fronts have a lot shorter turning radius.
 
Years ago I ran 3 with a narrow front, MH 22, Farmall M, and a Ford 5000.
I never saw any benefit of a narrow front, although none had a loader.
I could always do the same things with a wide front tractor.
 
narrow front requires the operator to use common sence, city folks can operate a wide front
 
(quoted from post at 20:19:53 01/01/10)I could always do the same things with a wide front tractor.
Click to expand...

X2. Never seen the need for a narrow front tractor. Theres a reason they stopped making them.
 
I've always had narrow front tractors, one with a loader. No problem, and on a hill farm, too.

Be careful - use your head on either. No guarantee you can't get hurt on a WF tractor, if used carelessly.

I like being able to park two NF tractors in a space not much bigger than one WF tractor needs.

Paul
 
Remember that a wide front pivots on one point in the center, making it a narrow front too. I admit that when on a hill side the pivot point of a wide front is more under the center of garvity than the pivot point of a narrow, the pivot point of a narrow is at the ground. Other than this center of gravity issue on a hill side there isn't much difference in stability. A narrow front is better in close the woods or where things are tight and as someone said they take up less space in a shed. With a narrow front you need to pick 3 tracks for the wheels if you are in rough going instead of two with a wide front. A narrow front will ride better as when a wheel goes over a bump the center where the tractor sits on the axle only goes up or down 1/2 as much. Both seem to have advantages and disadvantages. I think the stability of a wide front is very over rated compared with a narrow though. You need to be carefull what you are doing with any tractor or machine.
 
Narrow front tractors are marginally more prone to rollover than wide front tractors, but that doesn't mean that a wide front is particularly safe. The most dangerous conditions for rollover affect both types equally.

Never operate any tractor on a slippery sidehill; if it starts sliding it will probably roll when it comes to a stop.

Never try to pull an object that's not likely to move, such as a tree stump.

Never try to pull using an attachment above the rear axle (for example by connecting a chain to the top link pin). Always use the drawbar to pull, if the tractor has one.

I use my row crop tractor on fairly steep sidehills, but the tires are ballasted and I avoid slippery slopes.
 
Trike fronts and loaders do not mix well. Loaders put a lot of weight on the front end and with a trike front that load is real heavy in a very small area. Also with a loader way up in the air a trike front likes to try to lay over to one side which in turn can lay a tractor on its side fast.
Wide fronts ends and loader do well because the load is spread over a wide area and if the load is up high the tractor is more stable. I have had loaders on both types of front ends and wide and a loader is the only way to go. Trikes have there places and I have tractors with both set ups but a loader and a trike do not mix well and for snow they are even worse because the fronts will pack up with snow and then your dead in the water
 
Most tractos had narrow front ends were I grew up.All crops were cultivated and the narrow front turns easier at the end of the row.I have a narrow front and a wide front. Both have their advantages.
 

WD Tom44 [/quote]emember that a wide front pivots on one point in the center, making it a narrow front too.

But pivot point on a wide frt is higher off the ground plus after WF pivots so far over the axle contacts either "axle stops" or the tractor frame making WF harder to turn over but not imposssible than NF.
 
Narrow front tractors tend to be much taller than a wide front or utility tractor. The higher your center of gravity the less stable your tractor is.
Whatever style of tractor you use, putting a loader on it can cause more tipping accidents.
So you compensate by widening out your rear wheels and adding ballast in the form of wheel weights and fluid in your tires.
Lots and lots of narrow front tractors spent their whole life under a loader doing useful work.
To the folks who consider a narrow front as being too old I gotta ask what are they doing on an antique tractor board?
 
A couple of thoughts:

1. As so many below said, common sense prevails but we all have none thinking moments so set yourself up for success if that happens.

2. My personal opinion, loaders and narrow fronts don't mix. Wide fronts are not perfect either, but increase you chances for success. My cousin tipped over an M with a loader on level ground. He had a need to lift high, and hit a barnyard rock with the rear wheel.

3. I really like narrow fronts for manuverability and parking space in the shed. I believe narrow fronts were popular/needed when farmers were two row cropping. If you still plant corn with a two row planter or have a front mounted cultivator, then a narrow makes functional sense.

4. Wide fronts will ride far better.

5. Wide fronts won't plug like a narrow in mud.

6. Wide fronts make two tracks rather than 3, an advantage in snow and mud.

7. I grew up on two MH 44 narrow fronts and a wide front MH444 standard. I still like the looks of the narrow fronts. We had very steep hills in the Wisconsin Kettle Morrine (Glaciers left interesting hills and pot holes, kettles), I felt the safest on the MH444 Standard on a steep hill.

8. So as always, look at your application. If you plan to use a loader and/or have steep hills, go for a wide front. Otherwise, it is much more preference.

Paul
 
I use both and like using both. For people on this forum one advantage that PJH pointed out is huge: You can fit more narrow front tractors in your shed than you can wide fronts. I think that it is worth pointing out again, that on side hills, with any tractor, you can get into trouble quickly due to an unseen hazard such as a rock or gopher hole mound that suddenly makes the slope angle a lot steeper. The point is, that it operator judgement that is the most important factor not width of track.
 
Here we go again.

Basically, no difference except when using a loader on a NF.

For those who say that laders and NF's don't go together, remember that 40 or 50 years ago NF's were the prevalent configuration.

We used a Farmall M NF w/ oader for many, many years with no problems. It comes down more to the operator's brain (or lack thereof).
 
How about for a two row mounted picker? Never saw one on a wide front.
Some men prefer blondes , some prefer brunettes.
Joe
 
I preach safety and common sense but as I get older, I notice that I'm either getting braver or stupider, or probably both. I mow and fertilize hillsides that I wouldn't get on with the same tractor when I was younger. A box turtle under the uphill tire might be all it would take. . .

And what about crossing those hillside cowpaths?? They'll make you pucker!

You'll read about me in the paper some day. . .

The safest advice - if you're buying your first tractor, buy one thats low, wide, and heavy, and equipped with ROPS. And use your seatbelt. I've watched the IDOT mowers slipping along those steep bridge embankments. Guardrail at the top, paved ditch at the bottom. Once they're behind the guardrail, they're committed. Those guys cheerfully use their seatbelts.

Paul
 
Wide. I had a loader on a 3010 Deere with a narrow front. It was great on concrete in the feedlot. Turned on a dime,but it was worthless everywhere else. Still use a narrow front tractor on the silage cart, Super easy to get around the bunks,but no loader on it.
 
Hi Paul - I remember a young guy turning a WF loader tractor over inside a building at a fertilizer facility. He was turning as he was backing up and he straightened the wheels too quick, without slowing, bucket too high and loaded. Over she went. Owner fired him as he was getting up off of the floor.

Paul
 
They both have a purpose ,but 90% is the nut holding the wheel and knowing the limits of the tractor you are operating at the time .
 
grew up with old JD narrow fronts.
Love em to death.
Had a 45 loader on our 720 but when it was time to load the manure pile from winter we called the neighbor and used his Allis 170 WF with a loader. Until we got a Case 800 WF with a loader on it.

Never worried about hills, only had one little knoll that had some slope on it.
Currently run an IH 756 with a narrow front.
Would like to have a WF for haying but I'm not complaining too hard.
 
Tractors of that era were either fixed wide front axles with rather low ground clearance or narrow front. The narrow fronts were used for row crop cultivation because they tracked in between the rows and most if not all cultivators were front mounted and designed for narrow front tractors. The short turn radius (turn on a dime) was a plus because most cultivators were two row, making the short turn capability highly desireable. The rear axles on those narrow front tractors was usually quite high compared to the standard version to allow crop rows to pass underneath without being swept down. Accomplished with tall rear wheels (John Deere, Oliver, Farmall) or drop axles (Allis Chalmers). We could cultivate corn until it was about three feet tall at which time it had canopied over and didn't need any more cultivation. Row width was substantially wider then. A holdover from using planters that were designed to accomodate the width of a horse.
 
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