Help! My front yard is kicking my butt! Bushhogging uphill

[FTG-05]

I'll put some weight in the front next time I'm out there, probably tomorrow. Two 30 gallon barrels full of water should weigh close to 475-480 lbs. I'll keep it low - no side slip for me thank you very much!

Good point on running up and mowing down is far cheaper than 4 new tires and wheels!!!

Someone mentioned looking at the tractor manual for the bushhog - why? The BH 286 is around 980 lbs +/-, I think the manual lists 1,200 lbs as the max.

The manual says nothing about reducing air pressure in the tires, just recommends 20 psi for all four. Could I go lower - if so, how much?

Thanks for all the help!

 

[Sportsman762]

I would lower the rear tires to 14-16 PSI, and keep the fronts at 20 PSI. Also a cheaper alternative to R1 tires would be tire chains, they will prevent you from slipping if the ground is dew covered or hard. But they will tear the snot out of everything.

 

[boggen]

i run Tubes in all my tires, if you don't have tubes, you may have to keep the air up in the tires, so you don't get an instant flat. due to the bead coming away from the rim some.

with tubes in my tires, i run around 15PSI in tires, but both tractors i have, are completely different monsters than the tractor you have. and for me, the operator manual gave some weight vs PSI table for tires. so that i could adjust pressure if i wanted to. to suit a given situation.

 

[bucktaker]

Not so sure i would want a water load in the bucket for weight may move unexpectedly.... Grab a full bucket of dirt and soak it with water to add weight.

have you tried a lower gear ?

Going from a 2wd r1 tired mf35 to a 4wd r4 l5740 the 2 wd R1 had better raw pulling power from a traction standpoint.

 

[1bush2hog]

Have you tried raising your bush hog a little bit when you get to the steep section? how is you top link adjusted?

Could you just mow an oval with the steep section being the downhill portion until you get past the problem area?

 

[AchingBack]

Including myself, why is it we sometimes think we need to mow every blade of grass? When I look at those marginal areas on the land which are exceedingly difficult to mow, I ask myself, how much of nature do I want to control.

 

[Scooby074]

Any idea what the actual angle of the slope is? 20*? 30*? I tried to put a protractor on it and found it to be about 30. Does that sound right?

Are you slipping in wet mud or do you just have no traction? ie are you digging in.

Industrial tires do not handle mud well and gum up very quick, then you have slicks. Chains may make a difference. Ag tires might make a difference.

If your 30* a ZTR isnt a real safe option.

Is it only when going up that you cant get traction? How does it handle going down slope?

Steiner/Ventracs can handle steep slopes with ease but $$$. There is video of a member here mowing on slopes over 28*. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_K52ljoWFj0

 

[Grandad4]

Adding weight to the bucket will remove weight from the rear tires and reduce tipping stability on a side slope. Be careful.

+1 this comment. When you start adding/redistributing weight to improve traction going up or down a hill, it could produce less traction when you're going the other way. Loading weight in the bucket, for instance, may help going uphill by putting more weight on the front axle but it also tends to lighten the downforce on the rear wheels so they have less grip when heading downhill. So you may need to experiment a little with how much weight to use.

Sorry if my earlier tire recommendation gave your bank account palpitations. Would have to agree that chains are a cheaper alternative. Everyone agrees you need to stop the tire slippage for safety, but there are obviously many different things you can try. Since every location and situation is unique, you may need to try several to find what combination works best for you.

 

[FTG-05]

Well, here's what I did and learned today:

- Reduced tire pressure front and back to 18 psi all around
- Found out that my front tires are not ballasted with water or anything at all; another lie the previous owner told me, why am I not surprised
- Put two 30 gallon barrels in the FEL and filled them +90% with water, should be around +430-450 lbs in the FEL
- Mowed heavy going down, mowed light (areas I previously BH'd) going up
- Kept it at gear #5 both down and up, except for some exceptionally heavy areas going down.

Only slipped once. Backed up a couple feet, hit it again and powered on. The downside: I was doing the less steepest part today.

I don't think I can do chains: I have +750 feet of concrete driveway and it and chains don't work well together.

I'm going to look into ballasting the front tires: where can I get Rimguard? The last time I looked, it wasn't available in my area (south central TN). I'm also going to see if I can get some weights for the front end and the front wheels as well.

Any other suggestions?

Thanks!

 

[AchingBack]

Well, here's what I did and learned today:

- Reduced tire pressure front and back to 18 psi all around
- Found out that my front tires are not ballasted with water or anything at all; another lie the previous owner told me, why am I not surprised
- Put two 30 gallon barrels in the FEL and filled them +90% with water, should be around +430-450 lbs in the FEL
- Mowed heavy going down, mowed light (areas I previously BH'd) going up
- Kept it at gear #5 both down and up, except for some exceptionally heavy areas going down.

Only slipped once. Backed up a couple feet, hit it again and powered on. The downside: I was doing the less steepest part today.

I don't think I can do chains: I have +750 feet of concrete driveway and it and chains don't work well together.

I'm going to look into ballasting the front tires: where can I get Rimguard? The last time I looked, it wasn't available in my area (south central TN). I'm also going to see if I can get some weights for the front end and the front wheels as well.

Any other suggestions?

Thanks!

This thread is an instructive, inspiring example of the old adage: If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.