My old tractor is a 1967 gas IH606, The 606 is a 50 horsepower utility tractor. The tractor is equipped with a very heavy duty IH front end loader. The loader has four large rams and a large bucket.
I have driven several small tractors including a smaller IH from the same era. All the other tractors would push and pull snow without too much of an issue, however my current 606 is completely useless in the snow. It is not an exageration when I say that it will not go forward on flat ground in more than 10 inches of snow and if the snow is packed at all you can forget about it. I recently had goodyear come out to the house and fill both rear tires with fluid. The tractor also had wheel weights. The last time I tried to move snow with the tractor I but a 6 foot grader box on the rear three point hitch and placed several concrete blocks and large butt ends of logs on the box to add several hundred more pounds to the rear end and then attempted to push snow with the bucket. With the bucket on the ground and all the weight on the back the tractor is still worthless in snow. The tractor has a pretty wide set of taurus radial tires, the tires have several inches of tread but are much wider than other tires I have seen on small tractors.
I first thought the heavy front end loader was causing the lack of traction, however the two tons of fluid along with the loaded down box did not help that much. Could it be possible that I would be better off with a narrow tire that would eat through the snow better?
My wife came out today to watch me kick and scream at a tractor stuck in 8 inches of snow on flat ground and she told me to just sell the thing, however it is about the best tractor I could ask for in terms of moving dirt and gravel and doing small food plots when the snow is off. I can pull hundreds of pounds of dirt with a 7 foot box all summer long. Just weeks before the snow came I was pulling 20 foot logs two at a time across wet fields.
So my question is, is there anyway to not only improve the tractors traction in the snow but to improve so much that I could actually clear my 700 foot long drive? If this tractor is a lost cause should I be in the market for a front wheel assist? I know the last time I got my IH stuck in snow I was pulled up my drive by an old Oliver with slick baloon tires that was not four wheel drive. Is there a way to tell if a two wheel drive tractor is going to be capable of clearing snow before purchase with out wating for winter?
Would it be worth the effort to remove the bucket from the tractor and see if that improves the traction, it is not too big of a job to move the bucket and I would rather do that every winter/summer instead of spending thousands more a bigger better tractor, I have too much money into this tractor as it is and could not even expect to break even at this point. (New hydro pumps, Tire Fluid, and Hydro lines add up quickly)
Also what tire pressure would you suggest for radial tires in the snow?
Thanks in advance
I have driven several small tractors including a smaller IH from the same era. All the other tractors would push and pull snow without too much of an issue, however my current 606 is completely useless in the snow. It is not an exageration when I say that it will not go forward on flat ground in more than 10 inches of snow and if the snow is packed at all you can forget about it. I recently had goodyear come out to the house and fill both rear tires with fluid. The tractor also had wheel weights. The last time I tried to move snow with the tractor I but a 6 foot grader box on the rear three point hitch and placed several concrete blocks and large butt ends of logs on the box to add several hundred more pounds to the rear end and then attempted to push snow with the bucket. With the bucket on the ground and all the weight on the back the tractor is still worthless in snow. The tractor has a pretty wide set of taurus radial tires, the tires have several inches of tread but are much wider than other tires I have seen on small tractors.
I first thought the heavy front end loader was causing the lack of traction, however the two tons of fluid along with the loaded down box did not help that much. Could it be possible that I would be better off with a narrow tire that would eat through the snow better?
My wife came out today to watch me kick and scream at a tractor stuck in 8 inches of snow on flat ground and she told me to just sell the thing, however it is about the best tractor I could ask for in terms of moving dirt and gravel and doing small food plots when the snow is off. I can pull hundreds of pounds of dirt with a 7 foot box all summer long. Just weeks before the snow came I was pulling 20 foot logs two at a time across wet fields.
So my question is, is there anyway to not only improve the tractors traction in the snow but to improve so much that I could actually clear my 700 foot long drive? If this tractor is a lost cause should I be in the market for a front wheel assist? I know the last time I got my IH stuck in snow I was pulled up my drive by an old Oliver with slick baloon tires that was not four wheel drive. Is there a way to tell if a two wheel drive tractor is going to be capable of clearing snow before purchase with out wating for winter?
Would it be worth the effort to remove the bucket from the tractor and see if that improves the traction, it is not too big of a job to move the bucket and I would rather do that every winter/summer instead of spending thousands more a bigger better tractor, I have too much money into this tractor as it is and could not even expect to break even at this point. (New hydro pumps, Tire Fluid, and Hydro lines add up quickly)
Also what tire pressure would you suggest for radial tires in the snow?
Thanks in advance
