D6T VS D8T Tie plow

Anyone running a D6 or D8 on a tile plow? I know that it's a significant difference in weight and power that the D8 has but the cost of a D8 is at least 100K more it seems. I would like to be able to plow in 8"-10"-12" mains without having to tow with another machine or pre-rip all the time. Anybody have any experience or preferences with them or brands of tile plows? Thanks

Pre ripping is not always bad in rocky ground. I think the biggest reason why I don't see D-8's on tile plows around here is weight, and ease of movement. Now with that said I did see a HD-41 set up on a tile plow, he pulled in strings like nothing. ....

I have spent a lot of time around a D8R on a johnston mounted plow and it will handle 6 inch well and 8" ok depending on your depth but 10" and 12" in our soils would take at least a D6 tied to the front. I you want to plow 12" you better be looking at a commercial plow unless you soils are a lot different than ours. The guy I worked for before I started my own business started plowing with a Quadtrack and a 5' johnston pull type then moved up to a D8 to pull the plow because we had to pull the Quadtrack any time we had the 6'' or larger lift plate and boot on. Then he got a mounted steerable plow for the D8 it worked ok on 3" to 6" but johnston had a under sized tip cylinder anything over about 4 foot on 8" or larger and grade control got hard because of the cylinder not being able to overcome the leverage from the pull. Now he has a Wolf track plow and it is very impressive 12" tile 6' deep and hardy ever hook on to it. I know another guy pulling a johnson with a D6 but he only puts in 3'' and 4'' he uses a trencher for his mains.
I had a thread some were on here with pictures of the D8 with mounted plow

Found them
This machine had 28" pads and we welded Ice cleats for added traction and weights on the front and it needed more weight on the front

you might go to YouTube and watch some of the videos on tilling , some are in your neck of the woods. look at the different machines and techniques.

I vote for a tile machine that was built for this, like a bron or wolfe. look at the huge undercarriage compared to that d8. you need all that to pull that plow in soft ground.

Hey Cowman,

I have a 7ft waynes steerable tile plow I was thinking about mounting on a D9g. mostly for my own use not for commercial hire. I had it on a couple of aq tractors but I want to mount it on something and leave it on. I am not working in swampy ground. Looking for a little advice from someone that has spent time with one mounted on a crawler.

Thanks

I am running a D8N with a Bron plow, definitely would not want anything smaller or lighter. My biggest boot is for 8in tile,ground conditions and soil types are going to be limiting factor with any tile plow.From my experience,being our 2nd plow,weight is going to make a lot of difference,and making sure your front end stays down to utilize all of your tracks.

This is a thread I know something about.

D8 vs d6 on a tile plow.

For starters, anything with less than 36" pads forget about it. So that limits you on the d8 until you get into recent tractors.
The d8 hightrack and the d6 lgp have nearly identical length of track on ground, and with 36" pads on both, you will have similar fore-aft stability.

If the soil conditions are good, and traction is ample, the extra weight and horsepower will be a huge benefit in terms of speed and depth.

However, if soil conditions are soft, you cant make use of the power. Both tractors spin out, and you will be pulling both.

If you need to get into swamp holes, you will find a d8 sinks into muck, where the 6 stands a chance of floating. I got that from a guy who had one.

My 6R pulls 12" down to 5' with a lot of pre-ripping in dry clay, and with a 6H winch on the front in wet clay. One way or another, we get it in.

As far as plows go, in the clays we deal with, it seems like the welder is never far away. Perhaps in more loamy soils a Johnson would survive an 8, but not here, no way. Just not enough steel imo. Or give that 8 good traction and hit a rock, you can kiss that johnson goodbye ( figuratively and literally!)

On the other hand, if you can hold that d8 to dry or frozen conditions, it would work great.

Self propelled tile plows are designed to work great in all conditions, and have evolved to big horsepower, long wide cleated tracks providing big flotation, and big weight. The d8 and d6 bring a subset of those qualities. You have to decide which are qualities you need most for the $ you have to spend.

Good luck

Local contractor used a modified Cat 977 for years plowing in tile .

They had wide & tall grousers on it .

Similar to this rig .

http://portindustries.com/1968-caterpillar-997-loader/

This was a sobering video for me... Dont think if you put a d8 on a plow that it will go thru anything.
Granted, he needs ice picks

https://youtu.be/l9e_5UPyxQc