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Narrow or wide front end desirability?

1

1956ford

New User
Looking to purchase a 900 series tractor. Is a wide front end more desirable than a narrow front end? Or is there a major pro or con to either?
 
ps. i'd get a unit with the later 2 piece pedistal. the 2 piece nf parts are easier to come by, nad if you want factory wide front, it has to be the 2 piece setup. older 1 piece setup wide front was via aftermarkets like schwartz.. etc..
 
Each have there good and bad points. Narrow front can flip easier and many flap due to the guy making a turn while going to fast. Wide front will not turn as sharp so in tight places harder to use
 
I like narrow front for moving equipment around yard and raking, wide front for anything messy and loader work.
 
If you are going to have young folks driving the tractor, I would go with the wide front.

Also, if you ever plan to mount a front loader, I would want wide front.

General use, I like the short turn radius of the narrow front.

Just my two cents.
 
It all depends on what you will be doing with the tractor.Personally I would not have a tricycle if it were the only tractor I could have
Boss
 
Echo what others said about both having advantages...
Wide will give smother ride over rough ground also especially if not power steering.
 

For years and years, the wide front end was sought after and was considered an upgrade.. Even lots of aftermarket kits to convert to wide front ends were made.

Now its funny to see folks wanting narrow front ends. Narrow front ends are almost completely gone in the new market.
 
Guys, thanks for all your input. It gives me a few things to consider. My main use, at least initially would be light work around the place as I restore/refurb for use during events I participate in with the antique tractor/machinery club I belong to. I initially favored the wide front end for the look I liked, but in browsing the internet forums and images, am now not so sure and posted to get some experienced opinions.
 
Put me down for narrow front. better maneuverability, easier to store and transport if more than one tractor are on the trailer. If you want a wide front buy a utility model.

Kirk
 
(quoted from post at 06:07:54 01/06/15) Put me down for narrow front. better maneuverability, easier to store and transport if more than one tractor are on the trailer. If you want a wide front buy a utility model.

Kirk
Click to expand...
lot to what you say. Most nay-sayers comment on stability/tip over...........do they ever stop to think that those front axles have a chassis pivot point in the center? That pivot negates any left/right stability, at least until the limits are hit & that is probably too late. Wide front looks more stable, but that is most of it, I'm afraid. At best, it appears to raise the pivot point about 18 to 24 inches higher than a narrow front. Is that good or bad? I think it is easier to steer a narrow front, but also easier to sink in wet ground. I have & use both, so I'm covered. Apply them in right places for the right job & all is well.
 
There's a ton of old farmalls and JD's and other
RC's out there. The way people talk about RC's you
would believe they tip like a canoe in swift water.
You might as well get the LCG with the wide tires.
Common sense should be applied when driving a row
crop or any other tractor for that matter.

Kirk
 

I have six tractors and only one is wide front. This topic comes up frequently and I am surprised at how many favor the narrow front this time. Many will try to give the impression that as soon as you let the clutch out on an NFE that it is going to tip over, but as JMOR said the wide fronts all have a pivot point that will allow a lot of tip before it comes against the stop. In my 53 years around tractors I have been involved in three near upsets and all were with wide front tractors. I have a 960 and two 961s, I think that the wide 961s look strange, but perhaps if I had grown up with one it would look right.
 
I have both Ford 5000 nf and wf tractors. I love them both but my favorite is the wf.Nf has a rough uncomfortable ride caused by front end bobing up and down in the field and farm lanes
 
For an all purpose, general use tractor I would definately prefer a utility model.
They are shorter, lower center of gravity, better suited for a loader.
If you are looking for something in the Hundred Series (sorry Tony) a 600, 800, 601, 801, 2000, 4000 would be ideal. But don't despise a 3 cylinder model either - 2000, 3000, 4000, etc.
As for the row crops, IF I was going to buy one it would be a NF. NF is shorter, more nimble and (most importantly:) look a lot cooler.
I also agree that tipping with a NF is over stated.
Millions of Case, JD, Farmall, Oliver, MM, Allis, Cockshutt, etc NF tractors were sold and used and I don't think they have any less of a safety record than WFs do.
 
another vote for a NF...especially on a 900-901
A wide-front on a row crop is just what it looks like...an afterthought.
Like the other poster mentioned, if you want a wide-front,
a utility model would be a better choice.

Until you have been on a NF, reading what they will do is a "aw c'mon" kind of thing....but they will.
Turn into a shed from 90 degrees just a few feet from the door....
back into a side, very tight, shed parking spot in one easy move...
Stability? dunno, I have a lot of both. When mowing a steep hill like the drop-off next to my road, I feel much more safe on the Super H NF than I do if I use a Ford N.
I've climbed the roadside rear right up to the road when mowing
with the SH.....no way I try that with an N, it would roll.

One thing you need to watch for if you have never been on a NF.....tight trail, when you turn that wheel, that thing TURNS.
LOL, watch that inside rear tire or you'll whack something.....

edit: I'd like to add that the NF's immediate and sharp turning on command is where inexperienced operators can get into trouble. It will turn like a zero-turn, that fast.
If you are moving forward too fast and do it...trouble.
slow down on turns and use your head.
 
The biggest reason for the 3 wheel ATVs being tippy was the fact that they had a solid rear axle. If they had a differential type rear end they wouldn't have been so goofy to drive.
 
I will add this to my post above.
If you ever have to split a RC you will definately wish you had bought a utility.
Those extra frames make them a PIA.
 


The pivot is restricted to just a few degrees... Far from anywhere near tip over. At least on the fords... On the narrow, the tires are the pivot,,, meaning there is no limit....

Unless you have a special need for the narrow, and its ability to spin the tractor, Your safer on the wide front end. Especially with a loader, hilly or uneven ground. ditches, creeks, and bumps have claimed lots of farmers.

Yes,, you can be safe and careful.. or not.
 
I've only ever seen one tractor that tipped over and that was about 55 years ago and it was a NF JD. poor kid was still underneath it when my mom and I came upon it.
 
and you can load a nf onto a trailer with still only 2 ramps by approaching rear, driving nf up one ramp and then cutting over and letting the other rear walk up behind it.

takes some practice. :)
 
(quoted from post at 07:30:39 01/06/15) I will add this to my post above.
If you ever have to split a RC you will definately wish you had bought a utility.
Those extra frames make them a PIA.
Click to expand...

UD, I'll give you that, but, I think that you will agree that those side frames are part of the 900/901 cool.
 
(quoted from post at 23:43:03 01/05/15) Guys, thanks for all your input. It gives me a few things to consider. My main use, at least initially would be light work around the place as I restore/refurb for use during events I participate in with the antique tractor/machinery club I belong to. I initially favored the wide front end for the look I liked, but in browsing the internet forums and images, am now not so sure and posted to get some experienced opinions.
Click to expand...
If you don't have steep hills you won't care much about the stability debate,
so either will work for you. Especially if intended for show purposes.
From my experience on farms, we have only had one tractor
rolled over and it was a wide front. Never rolled the narrow fronts.

Each has their benefits as stated, but stability is not one of them in my opinion.
Can you buy a narrow front new tractor? Probably not. No one
does the kind of farming that would require the sharp turning
radius they provided for their intended purpose anymore.
Small fields, mechanical cultivating, etc.

Caution though - they will turn on a dime. So sharp in fact that
a trailing implement can be drug up over the rear tire and over the operator.
The owner of the first farm I worked on was killed that way.
After teaching and preaching at me to watch for it. He was 78.
 
My limited experience in 30+ years of farming is that when at the end of the row you hit the inside brake, release the wheel and the NF just spins in the tire track and you are good for the next round. The WFs that I have used leave a loop. Otherwise I'll take a WF.

Mark
 
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