Ballast Sliding on hills with a 2wd

Gale Hawkins · May 1, 2012

Personally I would never back down a hill because I can not steer backwards or turn my neck but with RWD only there is little traction offered by the wheels on the high end. I stay off of slopes > 30 degrees and then only up or down WITH a good landing spot should I forget and have it in LOW multi-power on the 265 MF.

A SLIDING tractor is an OUT of CONTROL tractor with DEATH nearby.

kf4uda · May 1, 2012

bbse said:
I may try a real high gear with a low rpm on the engine....

That is what I would do. Traveling down the hill faster is much better than sliding down it out of control. I confirmed this the first time I went down a steep hill on my zero turn mower. The mower started sliding and my initial reaction was to pull back on the sticks. This only made the situation worse. The solution was to push foward on the sticks until the mower traveled without sliding. This gave me steering control back and stopped my heart from racing.

bbse · May 1, 2012

Chris...I think you have the right idea. I am limiting myself to very dry conditions...higher gears. I hope once I get the grass short I can keep it cut. Seems not to slide in the short stufg but it had grown up over the winter and spring..plus it has been wet so i could not get on it until now

jinman · May 1, 2012

Bbse, you said you have lots of front ballast. That is doing you no good whatsoever when you are going downhill. As a matter of fact, it is working against you. A sure disaster is a 2wd tractor with a FEL load and going down a steep hill. If your KK cutter is not enough to hold your rear wheels firm with your extra fluid in the tires, then put a few bags of Sakrete on top of the cutter and tie them down. The problem is that you need front ballast going uphill with a cutter, but it is working against you on the way down. With a 4wd tractor, you leave 4wd engaged so you have 4 wheel braking. On a 2wd tractor, you have to keep the rears on the ground for brakes or the engine braking to work. With enough front ballast and a steep hill, your rears probably slide even if locked up. I would suggest getting the extra weight on the cutter (as far back as possible) and keep the tailwheel just off the ground going downhill. When you go uphill, set the weight of the cutter on the tailwheel so the ballast won't lift the front tires. Your up/down cuts will be slightly different levels, but for rough cutting, it should not matter.

GolfAddict · May 1, 2012

bbse said:
Seems like I read one time about reversing the tread direction....axnyone ever tried that?

I've never tried it, but it makes sense. The way Ag tire tread lugs are, they are made for excellent forward traction, not so much in reverse. If you drove up the hill and backed down you'd be less likely to break traction. If it's too steep you'd be in danger of flipping over backwards though.

If you reversed your tread direction I'd think you'd have great traction in reverse, but not much traction in forward. That should also translate to good stopping traction (or less slipping going down hill.) Also, as mentioned already, the ballast in front is working against you when going down hill, so even with great traction you're going to risk breaking traction as you head down.

Don't know what all else you do with your tractor - but you'd definitely be sacrificing forward traction by reversing the treads.

jinman · May 1, 2012

Have the best of both worlds. Reverse one wheel and leave the other one as it is.

:laughing::cool2:

Gale Hawkins · May 2, 2012

In giving this many hours of thought I do I am not sure there is a safe way to slide on hills.

Our JD 310B is over 6 ton with a heavy hoe and with the FEL full of dirt I need the hoe bucket full of dirt for traction if on a hill. If trying to back up a steep hill loaded just forget it. The drive wheel must be on the low end for the tractor when on a hill to get much traction.

bcp · May 2, 2012

bbse said:
... but I have to go down that hill to get to my fields.

Make a diagonal or switchback road or go some other way.

bbse said:
...plus I have to mow that hill.

No, you don't. It has been there for thousands of years without being mowed.

Is it worth risking your life?

Bruce

bbse · May 2, 2012

Of all the ideas, I think just adding more weight is going to be my first attempt.

Yes, I must keep that hill cut, I may be obsessive/compulsive about it, but it will get cut. If I have to rent a 4wd tractor, it will get cut. Besides, it is not a very long hill and I have plenty of room and the bottom. I have slid down it many times before with my 4wd tractors by accident when I forgot I had taken them out of 4 wd.