2320 Rollover- Always use 4WD going down a hill!

[beenthere]

dodge man
Very good points, and think similar as you do.

Good to go over these things ahead of time, so all the thinking in an emergency isn't new to the brain.

 

[BethesdaEC]

I just have a couple of thoughts.

First off, I'm glad your O.K., and this really shows the importance of a ROPS in the up postion and your seat belt on.

I also mow a similar hill, and it may be steeper, and I have also forgot to put mine in 4 wheel drive and slide down the hill. I don't have anything at the bottom and have a little flat area, so its a little safer.

You actually can regain control by speeding up. The rear tires will "catch up" to the ground speed of the tractor and give you more control, but this isn't the instictive thing to do. I used to mow my hill with a 2 wheel drive riding mower, and this is how I went down the hill, I'd start out slow and gradually speed up to keep the rear tires moving.

I don't think the kind of tires had a lot to do with it. The grass looks pretty lush and just cutting green lush grass can makes things a little slick.

Someone else mentioned think about what you will do if you bump your tractor into nuetral. I had that happen to me on my hill and it wasn't pretty. If you are used to driving a HST tractor you don't use the brakes a lot. If you bump it into neutral, the brakes still work but I had trouble getting on the brakes quick enough. The tractor free wheels and picks up speed in a hurry on a hill in nuetral.

One other subtle thing is happening when you are mowing. The front wheels are rolling over uncut grass where as the rear wheels are lubed with grass juice (I just made that up) from the freshly cut grass.

 

[DonT-B7500]

Another thing that causes the loss of traction on the rear wheels is the open differential action, once one breaks loose the other starts turning the opposite direction making the tractor want to slide even faster, one thing that usually works in this situation, if you are fast enough, is to push down the diff lock pedal, once both rear wheels are connected together and turning the same direction it usually has enough to regain traction.

 

[Beltzington]

Buy a lottery ticket - You were very fortunate you were not seriously injured. I threw my back out in the kitchen last night which is why I am posting instead of at work.

Sorry for the damage - not good for the wallet or the ego.

Stupid Question - Did you have time to consider just running into the wood pile or was the possibility of a roll-over not part of the perceived outcome?

Thanks for sharing - anyone who thinks they are in full control of thier destiny isn't really thinking.

 

[PioneerMan]

I was thinking the wood pile may have been a viable stop. He might have been slightly over correcting anyway. But in all fairness I don't care what he did right or wrong, we armchair guys can speculate all day. I have been in enough accidents to know that while the whole thing may take a second or two, they start in a tenth of that time. The short time span, coupled with adrenaline and whatever, makes it nearly impossible to make a calculated decision...

Just glad he is ok.

 

[dmay]

Glad you are ok. Sad to see a tractor on it's side.

What do you think is needed in future to make sure this doesn't happen again? I'm just wondering if more needs to be done to prevent a future occurance. Yes stick to 4WD, but maybe to also prevent loss of traction:

Change tires?
Use chains?
Loader on and bucket low?
Add front weights?
Ballast box?
Wheel weights?
Fill tires?

 

[PioneerMan]

Well dmay I think some of your questions aren't totally applicable. I doubt he owns a loader so that's out. I don't think different tires or weights would have been very significant, except for maybe r1s helping somewhat. But r1s and chains aren't exactly great for mowing. A 6000 series prob wouldn't of rolled, given the weight, wheel width, and r1s. But his yard would be swiss cheese. As op stated, mfwd engaged would have helped some. Past that, maybe level the yard and put in a retaining wall?

 

[PioneerMan]

Today I saw a 6000 series mowing the highway at an incline that most likely would have rolled my tractor. He can do it sideways cause of the added width mostly I suppose. And I would think those ag tractors have a lower cg. It didn't hurt that he had a side flail. I was thinking I would have had the mower uphill for distribution, but I guess his putting it downhill could act as a rigger of sorts. Not sure how much weight it could hold.

 

[beenthere]

Glad you are ok. Sad to see a tractor on it's side.

What do you think is needed in future to make sure this doesn't happen again? I'm just wondering if more needs to be done to prevent a future occurance. Yes stick to 4WD, but maybe to also prevent loss of traction:

Change tires?
Use chains?
Loader on and bucket low?
Add front weights?
Ballast box?
Wheel weights?
Fill tires?

I'd add to the list, to mow going uphill, and if starting to slide - don't turn the front wheels away from the direction of the slide. No different than a car that starts to slide. To avoid roll over, keep the wheels pointed in the direction of the slide. Very hard to roll then.

But "thinking" things over while sliding is maybe losing the split seconds needed to do the right thing. Having it second nature, is a lot better.

Another thought I had was the possible braking just one wheel, causing the other wheel to spin faster. The suggestion to "accelerate" to gain or keep control is a good one, IMO. Awkward to do in a panic, but helps control.

 

[PioneerMan]

I was thinking maybe you could put a plow or something on the back. I'm not sure how quick it would engage the ground, and some lawn repair would be required, but it would act as an anchor of sorts.