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BI- Directional or front wheel assist??

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I am using a front wheel assist MC 120 McCormick tractor ,for the investment it has been virtually trouble free. It has over 2200 hrs on it an nothing mecanical has gone wrong. Its used hard all year long!! [/b]
 
I don't have any experience with a bidirectional but have two 90 horse mid 80s Massey FWA tractors. One has 7000 hrs and one has 3000 hrs. Both have been trouble free. The bi has a bunch of header options that might make it pretty interesting. We have a neighbor that pushes a haybine and pulls one at the same time. Whatever you end up with, buy the one that has the best dealer and parts support.
 
Had a MXU 125 for a few days while my old 2096 was being fixed. Great visibility and turning but not the best for shifting. Had to change ranges all the time. The one -35 moring it woundn't start without a boost but the tractor beside it ( 30 years old ) started on the first flip. Had to tease the service rep about that :lol: :lol:
 
It really depends on what you want to do with it. If you move a lot of hay around (stacking bales, feeding, loader work) it is pretty tough to beat a Bi directional.

have a cold one

lazy ace
 
I spent several years on a Bi. and for haying/ feeding/ cleaning, thay can not be beat. you will not be able to use it as a farm tractor though....no slippage. we tried it on a scraper, and a harrow, just not an ideal situation. put a shredder on it, and you can mow all day long and never twist your neckONCE to get close to something.

I had a big upheaval this spring, and I am no longer tied in with the bi...so I spent this summer on a 7520 JD.... was a great loader, and used it a tad bit in the field....no big problems, but you start loading 5 or 6 semi's a day, and you sure miss the bi.
 
Yep the bi directional can sure stack and load the hay. We have done some baling and farming with ours and gotten by great but we might run some smaller farm implements.

I always thought it woud be ideal to put a hydraulic three point mointed rake in the front and a baler in the back and rake as you bale. I think I saw something like that on the prairie farm report.

have a cold one

lazy ace
 
I use articulated loaders all day long in the gravel pit and have retired a small one ( AC 840 ) to use around the farm. I have a very heavy duty set of forks and a 4 in one bucket for it but I can't remember the last time the bucket was on. If I need a bucket I just get on one of the cats.

I have had several good loader tractors but they just don't compare to a real loader. If you are only going to use it as a loader on rare occasions I would stay with a tractor but if you have the need for a loader often I would look into a Bi or you can pick up good used 3 yard loaders cheaply and have both.
 
I'll go with George on this one. I used to help a guy here with big squares of alfalfa. I would swath or rake once in a while, but primarily I moved the bales off the field and delivered it to local feedyards.

We had a W 20 (or W20C or something like that) Case front end loader I used all the time. We had a big clamp on the front of it so we could move, stack, or load 2 big squares at a time. The loader was a piece of crap operator comfort wise, but it handled those bales like nobody's business. I could load and strap down all the bales you could fit on a 53 foot drop deck in less than 15 minutes/load.
 

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