3720 on soft turf - will it cause ruts

fabsroman · May 19, 2011

I have an area of the lawn where a drainage pipe empties onto. It flows downhill along the right side of the property and into the neighbor's property, but it leaves the grass pretty wet and the soil rather soft for days after a rain. This is pretty much at the back end of the property and I would rarely have to go down there with the tractor since I have a zero turn mower for mowing the grass.

With that said, I did go down there one day in my F350 diesel crew cab with stock tires on it and I left 2 inch ruts in the ground. When I go over them with the mower, it feels like I am riding a rodeo bull. Crazy thing is that I didn't even drive over the area where the drainage pipe really empties into.

Anyway, I am wondering if I need to worry about this with a 3720 with R3s or R4s. It might affect my decision, and it might not. The only reason I can see me having the tractor down there is to install posts for a fence and/or to dig a drainage ditch so this entire "wetland" area goes away.

beenthere · May 19, 2011

What about emptying on to the neighbors property? Maybe a dry well or prepared bed of rock topped with dirt for grass would be a fix for the wet area. Or possibly an underground tile to connect to the drainage pipe and off beyond the neighbors property.
Water draining away can be a sore spot with wet areas and dumping on neighbors.

Not sure just how "wet" the area is, but the 3720 will likely cause some rutting if crossing over it when too wet. That sounds dumb, but there must be times when it is dry.

greg_g · May 19, 2011

My 3720 currently has R1s, so I can tell you for sure that they'll rut and cut - especially if you turn with the front drive engaged. I don't recommend R3s, I had them on a YM240. The tread will quickly fill with mud, and very shortly you'll have approximately the same traction as driving on balloons. These are real world experiences.

The R4s for mine should be here next week, so I can't give personal experience. But given the much wider track and less aggressive tread, I think they should work out ok in the scenario you described. But I think I'd try to avoid using 4wd with them as well. If you feel a rear wheel slipping, use the diff lock before being tempted to reach for the 4wd lever.

//greg//

fabsroman · May 20, 2011

beenthere said:
What about emptying on to the neighbors property? Maybe a dry well or prepared bed of rock topped with dirt for grass would be a fix for the wet area. Or possibly an underground tile to connect to the drainage pipe and off beyond the neighbors property.
Water draining away can be a sore spot with wet areas and dumping on neighbors.

Not sure just how "wet" the area is, but the 3720 will likely cause some rutting if crossing over it when too wet. That sounds dumb, but there must be times when it is dry.

The neighbor behind me has two storm water drains emptying into his property. One from my property and one from the neighbor to my left. Essentially, the easements cut a Y into the front of his property and he has a wetland over there in the front of his property whenever it rains. From the front of his property, he has a pipe under his driveway for the water to drain under that empties from my property onto his. From what I can see (i.e., I have not yet walked onto his property) he has rocks laid out from that pipe down to the creek where all of this water ends up. The problem is that it pools up around that pine tree in the pics and it causes a wetland in the back of my property and the entire front of his. I am willing to bet that if I were to suggest a rock bed or something to channel the water to his property, he would be alright with a rock bed channelling it straight into his pipe and down into the creek, but who knows. With the amount of water flowing through this pipe, I seriously doubt a drywell will work, but am thinking about using drywells for some of the downspouts on the house. The backyard also needs to be graded at a couple spots because it holds water in the middle of the yard where you can see my son running in the yard.

To answer your question, there are days when the area is dry, but not often. Heck, the day I took my F350 on it I thought it was dry and I am still dealing with the ruts a month later and I came in on the left side and backed the truck right back that way instead of going across where the "river" flows.

Here are some pics to help you guys with the issue I am dealing with. The drain pipe runs under my driveway and comes out smack dab in the middle of the driveway. The way the downspouts currently empty, they make the rest of the backyard a mess too. Might try a drywell on the left side of the house and might try running the right side downspouts into that drain pipe. The pic with the snow shows exactly where the water is running.

Edit to add: About the only issue with adding a drainage ditch is that the tree to the right of the flow is a beautiful weeping willow that needs a ton of water, and diverting all that water away would probably end up killing it.

charleyfarmall · May 20, 2011

I have the same problem only on the lawn. It's been raining for days and there is standing water in the yard. I make ruts just walking on it! When I started moving in to this house I backed the gooseneck onto the driveway and got the left side on the lawn and promptly sank up to the axle! Using the 3320 to smooth out the run left it's own set of ruts.

At 2900 pounds before attachments, these are heavy lawn tractors and sink in on soft ground.

fabsroman · May 20, 2011

charleyfarmall said:
I have the same problem only on the lawn. It's been raining for days and there is standing water in the yard. I make ruts just walking on it! When I started moving in to this house I backed the gooseneck onto the driveway and got the left side on the lawn and promptly sank up to the axle! Using the 3320 to smooth out the run left it's own set of ruts.

At 2900 pounds before attachments, these are heavy lawn tractors and sink in on soft ground.

Would I be better off with a 2x20 tractor, or would it cause ruts too? Ultimately, I think I can avoid the area if I have to since I already have a zero turn mower, and I want the 3x20 tractor for loader and backhoe work right around the house. If I need to use it around the "wetland" area, I could probably wait until a time of drought during the summer.

This entire tractor decision is tough.

RoyJackson · May 20, 2011

fabsroman said:
Would I be better off with a 2x20 tractor, or would it cause ruts too? Ultimately, I think I can avoid the area if I have to since I already have a zero turn mower, and I want the 3x20 tractor for loader and backhoe work right around the house. If I need to use it around the "wetland" area, I could probably wait until a time of drought during the summer.

This entire tractor decision is tough.

Does your ZTR leave any ruts?

I think you'll find any vehicle will rut that area. It'll just be a matter of degree.
Can't you add a drain (trench it to the road) and run a pipe underground a foot or so (just make sure you have enough "fall" to ensure no standing water in the pipe)? That might be a good first project with your backhoe.
You would have to figure out where the drain would run to (for the outlet).

jenkinsph · May 20, 2011

RoyJackson said:
Does your ZTR leave any ruts?

I think you'll find any vehicle will rut that area. It'll just be a matter of degree.
Can't you add a drain (trench it to the road) and run a pipe underground a foot or so (just make sure you have enough "fall" to ensure no standing water in the pipe)? That might be a good first project with your backhoe.
You would have to figure out where the drain would run to (for the outlet).

I agree with Roy, if the ground is soft anything will leave ruts.

Good drainage is the answer and may require some work with a laser and coordination with the neighbor to get the best results for all involved.

fabsroman · May 20, 2011

RoyJackson said:
Does your ZTR leave any ruts?

I think you'll find any vehicle will rut that area. It'll just be a matter of degree.
Can't you add a drain (trench it to the road) and run a pipe underground a foot or so (just make sure you have enough "fall" to ensure no standing water in the pipe)? That might be a good first project with your backhoe.
You would have to figure out where the drain would run to (for the outlet).

I have yet to leave ruts with the ZTR, but that is because I wait until it is reasonably dry before I mow that area. If there is a little bit of water down there, then I leave mud trails on top of the grass where I drive the ZTR, but no ruts. Obviously, I never mow down there right after a rain. For example, I mowed the front, left and left side of the backyard on Wednesday evening when we got back from vacation, but could not touch that area because of the amount of water on it (i.e., it has been raining here for a week according to my parents). It is still raining today, so no mowing down there. The grass is probably 5 to 6 inches tall in that area right now and it is starting to seed, which is utterly nuts since I mowed it right before we left for vacation last Tuesday.

Trenching it to the road isn't possible since this water is actually coming from the road via a storm drain easement that runs through the right side of my property and right through the middle of my rear neighbor's property. My neighbor might be amenable to a drain that runs from my property all the way down to where he has a pipe underneath his driveway to the trench he dug going down to the creak. I am sure he would prefer to do away with the wetland in the front of his property, but the people that owned this place before us probably didn't care about getting rid of the water (e.g., elderly single lady was the original owner and then the second owner was foreclosed on within 4 years of buying and according to the neighbors he didn't do a thing to this place). After I get the tractor I will suggest the possible solution to him. Probably going to need one heck of a large diameter drain pipe for the amount of water that comes down. At the minimum, that is a 12 inch pipe under my driveway and when it rains there is plenty of water coming through it. I guess any size drain is better than no drain. Thinking about digging a little pond there with a drain in the bottom. I am going to research this over the next 6 months and probably tackle the project after next tax season.

I guess deciding on a tractor isn't my only issue. LOL