JoeL4330
Platinum Member
No one has addressed my FRONT wheel set out question. If the REARS are spaced out shouldn't the front wheels be out too? I found a site via E-bay that is selling spacers, various distances for $280-$350 or so. Good idea? I'm sure it will add some stress to the front hubs but so would a roll over Suggestions? I'm all ears hear...here..heere.. OK, I'll stop. thanks
Widening the front wheels certainly will improve things some and, as you note, increase stress on wheel bearings, etc.
However, widening the fronts when the rears are already wide does not improve things as much as you might guess...your "base", now, is a trapezoid and you are trying to make sure that the perpendicular (to the center of the earth) stays inside that base.
Right now, your CG is (probably) in the center of that trapezoid so that widening the fronts by, say, 6" only widens the portion of usual concern (in the middle of the trapezoid) by, say, 3" ...if the CG is more to your front, you gain a little more, and if it's toward the rear, you would gain a little less [think of that old farmall that had nearly a tricycle front end ...or, your child's tricycle, for that matter]
...but, whatever you do gain may just make the critical difference. It also may give you a little more courage ...which could be good, or could be bad.
My guess is that the reason we don't see more cases of sideways rollover in normal use (and, remember, we generally practice contour plowing) is that one's seat-of-the-pants message (pucker factor) kicks in before the tractor's design limits ...and, that's as it should be. [as on the tricycle, where the child generally falls off before the tricycle rolls over]