mwood, Many Thanks for thinking outside the box! I came on this forum to ask for help and am so grateful that several people are offering help. Unfortunatley they are different types of spayers. One makes like a big cloud, and the other one has a hose and a gun. We have to many hills to be able to leave either spayer stationary. But good try!!!! Just need to get up this one hill in particular, the one that flips the tractor. Tomorrow I am going to take a picture and post it. My guess is at the bottom of the hill if you went into the hill 25ft underground, that the slop has risen 15ft to 18ft. There is a reall nice stone terrace I can measure how high up it is, and also measure the depth from the bottom of the hill to the stone wall. And at that point you are only half way up the hill.
How to get more grip going up and down steep hills
- Thread starter rox
- Start date
MicroPilot
Veteran Member
What kind/brand/model of tractor do you have? Can you post a picture?
tracdoc
Platinum Member
Hearty congratulations on your taking the path less travelled. I can see it now... the Provençal version of Under the Tuscan Sun in the making. Simply delightful.
On your query about the hills and traction, I agree that a good starting place is to get some idea of the actual steepness of the hills
There are at least 3 ways that hill steepness is cited:
Angle (in degrees)
Grade (in percent)
Rise-to-Run (cited as a ratio, e.g., 2:1, 3:1,etc.)
All of these are inter-related, since they all provide information about the relationship between the same 2 sides of a right triangle.
For the most frequently encountered grades, the numbers are:
GRADE /% SLOPE /Angle
6:1 17% 10°
5:1 20% 11°
4:1 25% 14°
3:1 33% 18°
2:1 50% 27°
1:1 100% 45°
You can easily estimate fairly accurately the steepness of your hills with a few simple measurements using nothing more than a yardstick and a spirit level. These measurements can then be converted to the angles in degrees. I tried to paste a figure of a right triangle here to illustrate the calculations, but no luck. You can send me a PM, and I can attach, if you need.
Why do all this? It should assist you in determining if you have the correct (read as safest) tractor for your particular situation. All the loading/chains, etc in the world won't be of much help if the tractor still has too high a center of gravity for the conditions at hand.
The EU has a wealth of heritage and experience in dealing with your conditions. One of the biggest and most experienced tractor manufacturers in the EU is the<font color="green"> SAME DEUTZ-FAHR GROUP </font>. Their URL (in Italian) is:
SDF Group Webpage
There you will find info on the individual brands which the Group umbrellas. A number of them are suited for steep terrain. Another thought to consider long term is adding some terracing. As I am sure you know already, the French and the Italians have done this for centuries to level out otherwise unworkable hills.
Best wishes for much enjoyment in your idyllic adventure. Please do keep us posted, if for nothing other than our vicarious enjoyment of your experiences...
On your query about the hills and traction, I agree that a good starting place is to get some idea of the actual steepness of the hills
There are at least 3 ways that hill steepness is cited:
Angle (in degrees)
Grade (in percent)
Rise-to-Run (cited as a ratio, e.g., 2:1, 3:1,etc.)
All of these are inter-related, since they all provide information about the relationship between the same 2 sides of a right triangle.
For the most frequently encountered grades, the numbers are:
GRADE /% SLOPE /Angle
6:1 17% 10°
5:1 20% 11°
4:1 25% 14°
3:1 33% 18°
2:1 50% 27°
1:1 100% 45°
You can easily estimate fairly accurately the steepness of your hills with a few simple measurements using nothing more than a yardstick and a spirit level. These measurements can then be converted to the angles in degrees. I tried to paste a figure of a right triangle here to illustrate the calculations, but no luck. You can send me a PM, and I can attach, if you need.
Why do all this? It should assist you in determining if you have the correct (read as safest) tractor for your particular situation. All the loading/chains, etc in the world won't be of much help if the tractor still has too high a center of gravity for the conditions at hand.
The EU has a wealth of heritage and experience in dealing with your conditions. One of the biggest and most experienced tractor manufacturers in the EU is the<font color="green"> SAME DEUTZ-FAHR GROUP </font>. Their URL (in Italian) is:
SDF Group Webpage
There you will find info on the individual brands which the Group umbrellas. A number of them are suited for steep terrain. Another thought to consider long term is adding some terracing. As I am sure you know already, the French and the Italians have done this for centuries to level out otherwise unworkable hills.
Best wishes for much enjoyment in your idyllic adventure. Please do keep us posted, if for nothing other than our vicarious enjoyment of your experiences...
Rox, as I said on your other thread, backing up hills is the way to go. If it won't back up the hill, you don't belong on it. Most tractors should not be taken up more than 20 degree hills. Add the sprayer to the mix, and get turned just slightly to the side and you'll be pulled over. It would be better to rig a pulley at the top of the hill with a cable that would go up and back down. Hook it to the sprayer, and the other end to the tractor down on safe ground. Use the tractor to pull the sprayer up the hill. I hope this concept is clear enough. This should be a fairly inexpensive way of working the sprayer up the hill. From the sound of all you've posted, I wouldn't get that tractor up on that steep hill. Especially since there is little experience involved. Tractors turn over in a quick fashion, and by the time one realizes it's going over, jumping away from it is not always possible. John
Egon
Epic Contributor
Is there one excessively steep spot?
How long is the slope that must be climbed
Is there a flat area for turnaround at the top?
Would a long cable attached to the tractor with snatch block at the top of the hill with cable coming back to bottom of hill and being pulled on by another vehicle be feasible.
Or a winch.
Egon
How long is the slope that must be climbed
Is there a flat area for turnaround at the top?
Would a long cable attached to the tractor with snatch block at the top of the hill with cable coming back to bottom of hill and being pulled on by another vehicle be feasible.
Or a winch.
Egon
MarkV
Super Member
- Joined
- Apr 7, 2000
- Messages
- 5,670
- Location
- Cedartown, Ga and N. Ga mountains
- Tractor
- 1998 Kubota B21, 2005 Kubota L39
Taking Egon’s idea one step farther, would it be possible to pull the sprayer up the hill with a cable and then back the tractor up which often works better on steep hills. The tractor might have a better chance if not pulling a heavy sprayer.
I would sure try lowering the tire pressure, filling the tires and tire chains before I went with the track system. How about pouring some rough, as in plenty of gravel exposed or grooved, concrete strips at a width that matches the tractor tires?
Good luck and be careful.
MarkV
I would sure try lowering the tire pressure, filling the tires and tire chains before I went with the track system. How about pouring some rough, as in plenty of gravel exposed or grooved, concrete strips at a width that matches the tractor tires?
Good luck and be careful.
MarkV
MicroPilot
Veteran Member
Mattracks also makes tracks for tractors!! Don't know if this would be helpful if your tractor isn't 4WD though.
MikeFromVA
Silver Member
One other suggestion. You can us a winch to pull the sprayer up (already mentioned, I know) but you can also use one to assist in pulling the tractor up. You need a good anchor at the top of the hill though.
Hopefully, you aren't trying to farm the actual hill and you just need to get to the top to get to a more level area.
Best of luck!!!
Hopefully, you aren't trying to farm the actual hill and you just need to get to the top to get to a more level area.
Best of luck!!!
Egan and really everyone, Many thanks for your help. Do to the time difference, there is a delay in my response. I will post some photgraphs I just took. It will take me a couple posts to get them all on here. This first one it the tractor. It is a Goldoni 3050 DT, it is a Diesel. My husband does not know if it is 4 wheel drive. He says the farm worker already told him to back up and down hills. Didn't see any seat belt in the tractor but perhaps it is in the barn.
