Power Trac TV commercial from the 90's

[KentT]

Good pic. Looks like it was 'shot' with a drone.

Just zoomed in from the opposite hillside... Most of my 12+ acres lies on 20+ degree slopes. I wouldn't attempt mowing my yard with a typical tractor, much less all the other chores I do with a PT....

 

[woodlandfarms]

Clearly the photo is faked. Do you see how clean his PT is? How the chains are shiny and new? Lies I say. PT could never hold a slope sideways at 20 with a bucket up over the cab... lies I say. That machine was craned in... photographed and craned out.

In all honesty, I have mixed results with chains when I am up at 40 degrees (which is not often) I find myself more slidy than without chains. But man, otherwise, putting chains on the 1850 makes a world of difference. I just destroy tensioners though. Too much ground debris in the forest that rips them off all the time. Need to figure something else out.

 

[KentT]

I wonder what your experience would be with singles and chains instead of duals on all four corners...

 

[woodlandfarms]

Yeah, I am definitly lifting the inside tires with chains on. I may expirement this summer with running singles and not duals. I assume my slope capacity drops to 30 degree max... which is what most of my property is...

 

[MossRoad]

That also illustrates why I put studded V-link chains on my PT-1430, though I mow my 30 degree slopes up and down, rather than across the slope. A disadvantage of a front-cut mower is that you are driving in the wet, slippery stuff that the blades just chopped up....

With an articulating tractor, you often need traction on all four wheels, such as when a heavy bucket load is trying to lift the rear wheels off the ground. Another reason why I'm running loaded R-1s with chains all around...
View attachment 503693

I like the graphics on the canopy! :thumbsup::laughing:

 

[MossRoad]

I agree with the comments about driving over the newly cut wet grass being slippery. I've experienced that a couple times brush hogging.

Another thing I like about these things is that if I'm brush hogging or mowing up hill, and I am just at the point of losing traction, I just pull the FEL arms out of float and lift it an inch. That immediately takes weight off the rear tires, putting it on the front tires, and up the hill I go.

 

[MossRoad]

... But man, otherwise, putting chains on the 1850 makes a world of difference. I just destroy tensioners though. Too much ground debris in the forest that rips them off all the time. Need to figure something else out.

Have you tried different types of tensioners? Any way to move them to the inside of the duals?

 

[SpringHollow]

Very little space to work with in between the duals.

Ken

 

[MossRoad]

Yeah, I was wondering if you could put the chains on the tires with the tensioners inside, then mount the wheels.

 

[ponytug]

How about just biting the bullet at getting dual chains?

This winter has been so wet here that my 1445 has had chains on since Thanksgiving just to get around. They may not cure everything, but it makes a world of difference.

A small plug for having draft control- it allows the transfer of most of the mower weight to the tractor for better traction, and lower resistance.

For me, the worst is cut, wet thistle. Slime city. Add chains and draft control, and 20degree slide mowing is fine, well, doable routinely. It still is pretty pucker inducing for me.

All the best,

Peter