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

[FTG-05]

I have them at 15psi. They are loaded R4's Titan brand.

Ok, same here, Titan 17.5L-24s in the rear. I now have them at 12 psi.

Thanks,

 

[FTG-05]

Its not speed or power. Its a traction issue. ... And R4s suck at it - particularly on turf. For the OP to optimize what he has he needs to make the tractor heavier, particularly the rear since it has a FEL. And lower tire pressure to increase active tread area. Those R4 lugs could also be grooved as a last resort before going to R1s.
-- The key problem is probably the hi grass/vegetation on the subject mow. If OP can get thru it, regular mows after should be within normal capabilities of R4.

Steps taken thus far is to reduce rear pressure to 12 psi, front pressure to 18 psi (both are now fully contact while rolling - I'll have pics later), 450-470 lbs in the FEL and mow light going up and heavy going down.

Except for the rears being at 12 psi, the last time I BH'd, it worked out pretty well. The extra weight in the front seemed to make it more stable and the front seemed to lift and bounce less as well.

And yes, I have a GST, 12 gears up, 8 gears down, nothing that says "low" although obviously the lower the number the lower the gear.

Someone mentioned "grooving" the rear tires: any pics of that and how do you do it?

Thanks!

 

[k0ua]

Steps taken thus far is to reduce rear pressure to 12 psi, front pressure to 18 psi (both are now fully contact while rolling - I'll have pics later), 450-470 lbs in the FEL and mow light going up and heavy going down.

Except for the rears being at 12 psi, the last time I BH'd, it worked out pretty well. The extra weight in the front seemed to make it more stable and the front seemed to lift and bounce less as well.

And yes, I have a GST, 12 gears up, 8 gears down, nothing that says "low" although obviously the lower the number the lower the gear.

Someone mentioned "grooving" the rear tires: any pics of that and how do you do it?

Thanks!

Here is a thread on that, and I did it on my last tractor the Kubota, but I did not keep it long enough to make definitive judgments about how much it helped. Many reported increased traction on snow, It makes sense that it might help a bit on grass also due to the more cutting edges.
It is fairly easy to do, with a a grooving tool. I have one.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...ng-siping-r-4-a.html?highlight=cutting+siping

Amazon.com: Ideal Tire Groover: Automotive

Ideal Heated Knives 125 : Ideal Heated Knives 250W Grooving Iron - Includes (12) #4 Blades

 

[Gary Fowler]

If you are getting good results with the lower tire pressure, I wouldn't worry about grooving the tires. The OP that did that was looking for better traction in the snow. I doubt you would be much more on grass by siping the tires..

 

[Pete Judd]

I mow a part of my lawn that is steeper than 45. I always mow facing down hill, using the front wheels in 4wd to keep me from sliding down the hill. On the down hill, the weight transfer is all to the front wheels. Once, and only once, I forgot to be in 4wd, and it was a scary ride to the bottom of the hill. So I mow always with the tractor in the downhill mode, come down from the top then back up the hill.

 

[boggen]

so ya learned about tire pressure, ballasting, up and down hills mowing, even grooving tires. difference in R1 vs R4's, chains, how to use the 4wd / MFWD to stay in control, filling rear tires. and learned a lot about sliding. are you feeling confident yet? LOL and non of that has covered the rotatory cutter (bush hog) itself in setting it up @@ *chuckles* been there done that. and rear cheeks still holding tight to the seat every time.

if tractor ever does get away form you for what ever reason. try to keep it straight going down hill, if ya try to turn, it will most likely try it best to roll over on you, if doesn't roll on you right off the bat. you can lower 3pt hitch, and lower FEL to act as some breaking just take it easy on the FEL, it can lift those front tires off the ground and your in trouble.

if ya haven't used them (hopefully your tractor as them) split left and right rear break peddles, other words steering brakes (most split brakes have a lock of sorts, that either puts them together as a single pedal, or unlocks them into 2 pedals). do some back dragging with FEL, with front tires nearly or barely off the ground (nearly taking most of the pressure off the front tires off the ground), and using the steering rear brakes to keep ya were ya want to go. to get some practice in with the brakes.

stomping on either brake pedal to lock up either rear tire is no fun at all. check your brakes and adjust as needed, to keep the play / slop out of the peddles.
myself i get going on straight flat land, get a little speed but still slow, and then press either peddle to see if i need to adjust them. the tractor might want to go into a turn and roll on ya, checking brakes this way. so be cautious about it and keep the speed low.

 

[k0ua]

so ya learned about tire pressure, ballasting, up and down hills mowing, even grooving tires. difference in R1 vs R4's, chains, how to use the 4wd / MFWD to stay in control, filling rear tires. and learned a lot about sliding. are you feeling confident yet? LOL and non of that has covered the rotatory cutter (bush hog) itself in setting it up @@ *chuckles* been there done that. and rear cheeks still holding tight to the seat every time.

if tractor ever does get away form you for what ever reason. try to keep it straight going down hill, if ya try to turn, it will most likely try it best to roll over on you, if doesn't roll on you right off the bat. you can lower 3pt hitch, and lower FEL to act as some breaking just take it easy on the FEL, it can lift those front tires off the ground and your in trouble.

if ya haven't used them (hopefully your tractor as them) split left and right rear break peddles, other words steering brakes (most split brakes have a lock of sorts, that either puts them together as a single pedal, or unlocks them into 2 pedals). do some back dragging with FEL, with front tires nearly or barely off the ground (nearly taking most of the pressure off the front tires off the ground), and using the steering rear brakes to keep ya were ya want to go. to get some practice in with the brakes.

stomping on either brake pedal to lock up either rear tire is no fun at all. check your brakes and adjust as needed, to keep the play / slop out of the peddles.
myself i get going on straight flat land, get a little speed but still slow, and then press either peddle to see if i need to adjust them. the tractor might want to go into a turn and roll on ya, checking brakes this way. so be cautious about it and keep the speed low.

^ There was a LOT of good advice in the above.:thumbsup:

 

[FTG-05]

so ya learned about tire pressure, ballasting, up and down hills mowing, even grooving tires. difference in R1 vs R4's, chains, how to use the 4wd / MFWD to stay in control, filling rear tires. and learned a lot about sliding. are you feeling confident yet? LOL and non of that has covered the rotatory cutter (bush hog) itself in setting it up @@ *chuckles* been there done that. and rear cheeks still holding tight to the seat every time.

if tractor ever does get away form you for what ever reason. try to keep it straight going down hill, if ya try to turn, it will most likely try it best to roll over on you, if doesn't roll on you right off the bat. you can lower 3pt hitch, and lower FEL to act as some breaking just take it easy on the FEL, it can lift those front tires off the ground and your in trouble.

if ya haven't used them (hopefully your tractor as them) split left and right rear break peddles, other words steering brakes (most split brakes have a lock of sorts, that either puts them together as a single pedal, or unlocks them into 2 pedals). do some back dragging with FEL, with front tires nearly or barely off the ground (nearly taking most of the pressure off the front tires off the ground), and using the steering rear brakes to keep ya were ya want to go. to get some practice in with the brakes.

stomping on either brake pedal to lock up either rear tire is no fun at all. check your brakes and adjust as needed, to keep the play / slop out of the peddles.
myself i get going on straight flat land, get a little speed but still slow, and then press either peddle to see if i need to adjust them. the tractor might want to go into a turn and roll on ya, checking brakes this way. so be cautious about it and keep the speed low.

Lost it going down one time when I forgot to put it into 4wd: I call it my "2 inch ride"; i.e. I sucked up 2" of seat before I got it under control! Won't do that again!

Going up, when I lose traction, I've learned to a) reduce RPMs now!, b) pick up BH c) put it in *much* lower gear and d) put it in reverse and let it go downhill on it's own. Brakes don't work, they start sliding, then I start going sideways. Sideways = probably going to flip over. I'm not going there!

It's got to the point that I'm not surprised anymore and just take it stride. I haven't been down and up since I reduced rear tire pressure to 12 psi, but I bet that makes a big difference.

And I still owe you guys before and after pics, but it's Friday PM and I'm 1 1/2 into my normal beer/Skeeter Pee routine, don't want to mess with it by doing high tech stuff like downloading pics from my "smart" phone (owned by a not-so-smart-phone-owner!).

That's my story and I'm stickin' to it!

 

[DuckSlayer1017]

I may have missed this earlier but have you considered tire chains?

 

[FTG-05]

+700 feet of concrete driveway. I'm not messing it up with chains.

Thanks,