4WD vehicle?

[hidetheelephants]

neutral 3 said:

Austin Gipsy Series 4, ( 1962-1968) the most unobtainable 4x 4 by far

Fixed that for you.

[rovermorris999]

Tonsko said:

The tractor we have is a 4WD John Deere, not too old, but not that new. As for the diff - I'm not sure. There's a switch on the dash to switch it from 2-4WD. What would a diff lock button/lever look like?

It seems the best idea would be to buy some puffier tyres perhaps? Rather than wasting cash on another vehicle, perhaps.

I would have though a full-sized 4wd tractor will out-perform any 4wd car. Not sure about the locking diff on yours, try googling the model number to see. I think the right tyres is the answer, have a look at turf tyres. The deep cleats on normal tyres will make a mess of soft ground but they grip well. Turf tyres tend to be wider and have shallow treads but will they grip well enough? I've not used them so can't comment. Unless someone on here has I'd try asking on a farming forum.

[McWigglebum4th]

Your tractor will also have a 3 point linkage.

Spend a small amount of money on getting a frame made up which fits onto the 3 point linkage

Like this but bigger
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3-POINT-HITCH-COMPACT-TR...

And if you are feeling very flush then get a winch fitted to the same frame powered off the tractor hydraulics. Then you don't have to even go near the van for towing

[rovermorris999]

McWigglebum4th said:

Your tractor will also have a 3 point linkage.

Spend a small amount of money on getting a frame made up which fits onto the 3 point linkage

Like this but bigger
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3-POINT-HITCH-COMPACT-TR...

And if you are feeling very flush then get a winch fitted to the same frame powered off the tractor hydraulics. Then you don't have to even go near the van for towing

Now that's good idea. You could keep the pitches tidy by pulling from a distance.

[Tonsko]

Cheers fellows. I will take the recommendations on board, although from a pure cost point of view, the winch/tyres seem the best on the tractor. Would secretly still like to buy a proper 4wd for...well, the sake of it really. Reality strikes!

[V8RX7]

First time I've ever seen common sense win on one of these threads.

[hidetheelephants]

V8RX7 said:

First time I've ever seen common sense win on one of these threads.

He's already got a GBFO tractor, so short of recommending a Chieftain tank or a Unimog it's beyond the 'bigger toys!' stage.

[Tonsko]

Unimog! NOW we're talking.

[blade7]

Get something heavy with a winch.

[crossy67]

These are supposed to be awesome off roaders. http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/l...

[skyrover]

crossy67 said:

These are supposed to be awesome off roaders. http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/l...

not enough grunt for towing stuck vans

if it's on private land, find yourself an old MOT failure disco.

Mechanically they are normally fine, rust is their biggest enemy.

[New POD]

Why not spend the money on tarmac ? And a main powered winch attached to a post at the top just in case.