Would you go up it??

[johnk]

I have some pretty steep hills on my property and I was just wondering what kind of tractors you have and if you would attempt to go up this incline? Would you do it in forward or Reverse? I had my other tractor up here and I went in reverse with box blade and loader. It took quite a few tries and when I lost traction I would drop the box blade and head on down the hill. That would give me about 4 more feet of level ground and traction and I would proceed up once agin till I got to the top. Here's a few pics and I am Dying to try to go straight up it with my new tractor. Sure would save a lot of time but what if I lose traction and it veers sideways?? Would you or wouldn't you??

 

[tractorsanmore]

I see you have ag tires on your tractor so it should go right up it going foward , tires have better traction that way , especially with loaded rear tires or 4x4 . The loader on the front should hold it down in the front . But make sure the ground is dry

 

[chrisjbell]

Well, having tried to back your way up it is pretty likely that you won't have a lot of luck going forward. I find that my ags are pretty much as grippy going backward as forward.

On the other hand, I doubt that you'll slide sideways. It is a possiblity, but you're more likely (in my experience) to just slide back with the slope. It looks like it is pretty straight up and down. I would not suggest trying this one side to side.

I guess the bottom line is that I would try it. With my seatbelt fastened.

Oh, my wife was looking over my shoulder at the pictures and wondered if putting something in the loader would help prevent the tractor from powering over backwards. Maybe, but I would not recommend putting anything heavy in the loader on a slope. Loaders do not improve stablity - unless they are on the ground.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

John, I would go at it forward. Ag tires to pull better going forward but from the pictures that hill does not look any worse then what I have taken my tractor, atv and trucks up. It would take a lot to roll a tractor over backwards so do not worry too much as if your atv can go up it with a deer on the rear rack of all places then your tractor should not have any trouble.

 

[kmdigital]

Based on the angle of the trees to the ground, the hill really doesn't look that steep. You really shouldn't have any problems as long as the ground is reasonably dry. Now if its muddy, that's a different story.

And yes, ag tires work considerably better going forward than backward. Plus the weight shifts to the rear as you go up, and gives you more traction as compared to trying to back up the hill.

 

[johnk]

Thats my son on the quad.. The problem is there are a lot of washed out areas from water running down the slope which could cause an off camber ascent up the hill. I'll wait a month for the ground to dry out a little and give it a go. If you don't see me posting on here it will probably be because my seat belt let go or the ROPS failed. Little humor never hurts..

 

[john_bud]

I looked at your profile and see that you have a new kubota. Is it an HST ?

It looks like it, but is really hard to tell. If it is, your options are backwards up and forwards down. The hill looks like it is 35 - 40 degrees. Going from memory, in a Kubota HST the suction for the HST pump will suck air at about 30 degrees, that's why they tell you to back up steep hills. Well, that and to keep the tractor from torqueing over backwards and harming the paint (and fenders and YOU). Give it a try forward if you want, but if it is as steep as it looks and it is an HST, what will you do when the transmission is essentially in N halfway up that sucker?

jb

 

[johnk]

John Bud,

The tractors a GST and if you want to stop over and drive it up to take the fear factor from me you're more than welcome. I'll supply the food and beverage if you make it up. It feels like a 10 pitch roof up to a 12 pitch.

 

[GaryCrowell]

That doesn't look like a very steep hill. I'd go up it in forward without a question. If your tractor's a 4wd then it's a no brainer. I'd only worry about a 2wd if it was really wet.

 

[Thomas]

I agree w/ others about trying it forward,but I would have my foot ready for the differential pedal just in case.