Front end goes out again!!!

[DK35vince]

Your points are mechanically accurate.

With that said, I assure you Dale and I are more competent and knowledgeable tractor operators because of time spent offroad in our Jeeps. Our expertise at analyzing the situation and forseeing a problem is much sharper.

Oh please.
Many of us here off-road all the time.
Been riding ATV's, side by sides, dirt bikes for decades.
We off road with our current side by side (Polaris RZR) nearly every weekend.
Not sure how that helps with tractor operation..

 

[Phillip w]

Oh please.
Many of us here off-road all the time.
Been riding ATV's, side by sides, dirt bikes for decades.
We off road with our current side by side (Polaris RZR) nearly every weekend.
Not sure how that helps with tractor operation..

I do believe that life on the farm is a good place to learn to know when to use a light four wheel drive or use a heavy two wheel drive. I've fed cattle say during a wet spring and I'd be plowing ruts a foot to 18 inches deep. Wrong Place for a little 4x4. It would get high centered. Use the big two wheel drive heavy tractor for that job. Once the tractor finds "bottom", with all the weight she'll go. I have set big bales and once the bale was set. I was stuck. Basically, you took the weight off the tractor and the you got use the loader to push yourself out. On the other hand, if you had a big rain and it is wet, it may the time for the the little 4x4. Say you going through a grassy area, the little 4x4 will ride on top with little to no rut. The big tractor would just cut big ruts in grass. And yes, there is banks, pond, dams, creeks, to contend with.

 

[ovrszd]

Oh please.
Many of us here off-road all the time.
Been riding ATV's, side by sides, dirt bikes for decades.
We off road with our current side by side (Polaris RZR) nearly every weekend.
Not sure how that helps with tractor operation..

If you can't make the connection then I can't make it for you.

 

[WranglerX]

DL,

Waiting for the tractor to "tell you when" you need to be in 4wd may work if you are always on flat land. But if you are in areas with hills, you don't have the luxury of waiting for the tractor to communicate to you. Jeep experience won't help you in hilly areas if you are going down hill on a tractor because your Jeep had 4 wheels of braking and many tractors only have 2 wheels of braking. In addition, Jeep experience doesn't include outrigger issues that tractors do, like front end loaders.

Driving a hydrostatic equipped transmission tractor of any size in hilly areas is far more complicated than a jeep or motorcycle or atv. . . . Far more.

All tractors I've seen have brakes on their rear wheels but I've not seen tractors that have brakes on their front wheels. . . Have you ?

If you are going down a hill in 2wd and your rear wheels get "light" . . . You are out of control and at the mercy of gravity. If you have a fel on at the time it will either increase the pull of gravity, or create a "pole vault" potential for a flip, or if the hill is gradual enough. . . Give you a risky chance to slow yourself.

In 2wd in a hydrostatic system you have no no no engine braking if the rear wheels get "light".

Umm.... Ballast does a lot to help!!!!!!!

Dale

 

[AxleHub]

Umm.... Ballast does a lot to help!!!!!!!

Dale

DL, naturally ballast "can help", but having heavier ballast would imply you added ballast because you are doing something with your fel, or you'd only have regular ballast on.

My point is, that if you wait till you start slipping and it's in a downhill direction. . . it's too late to go from 2wd to 4wd.

Additionally, on steeper slopes, ballast is not a directional item, it's a gravity item and gravity is down the hill at an angle. So if you have something in your fel, you need a multiple of ballast weight to counterbalance whatever is in the fel.

A flat lander terrain has the leisure of space and time. . But those with hills and slopes often only have short distances of flat areas. In my case I can't go more than 200 feet anywhere that I don't have a hill or sidehill. The idea that the tractor can tell me, is a luxury many of us don't have.

In addition, I believe there would be more wear and tear on a tractor constantly switching between 2wd and 4wd many many times a day. . . . Vs leaving it in 4wd unless you are on a road or concrete surface.

Jmho

 

[bfloyd4445]

Your points are mechanically accurate.

With that said, I assure you Dale and I are more competent and knowledgeable tractor operators because of time spent offroad in our Jeeps. Our expertise at analyzing the situation and forseeing a problem is much sharper.

Jeeps taught me a lot also but don't you think tractors are a bit different? The tractor often is working pulling an implement be it brushhog disc plow etc. that extra drag changes the equation considerably. I never flipped either one but i have come very close. Tractors working always require ballast match to operating conditions with jeeps that was mostly beer........Thinking back if it wasn't for jeeps I likely would have killed myself when I began using tractors

 

[ovrszd]

Jeeps taught me a lot also but don't you think tractors are a bit different? The tractor often is working pulling an implement be it brushhog disc plow etc. that extra drag changes the equation considerably. I never flipped either one but i have come very close. Tractors working always require ballast match to operating conditions with jeeps that was mostly beer........Thinking back if it wasn't for jeeps I likely would have killed myself when I began using tractors

Yes, the machinery is different. What we have that someone who has never wheeled might not have is a keener sense of danger. Whether it be vertical inclines, side slopes, off camber or a number of other scenarios things might get touchy.

I've lost track of how many times I've flopped onto my side. Went over backwards once falling 80ft. Saturday one of our gang ended up on his side. Multiple times in an afternoon we'll be on three wheels. All of these things sharpen my tractor driving skills.

 

[bfloyd4445]

Yes, the machinery is different. What we have that someone who has never wheeled might not have is a keener sense of danger. Whether it be vertical inclines, side slopes, off camber or a number of other scenarios things might get touchy.

I've lost track of how many times I've flopped onto my side. Went over backwards once falling 80ft. Saturday one of our gang ended up on his side. Multiple times in an afternoon we'll be on three wheels. All of these things sharpen my tractor driving skills.

I've done the three and two wheel thing but have yet to roll one or flop one over. I often wonder what that would be like and if i would survive<no cab>. ROP saved me once from a falling tree. Was old and rotten and when it hit the rop it shattered into hundreds of pieces. That was quite a surprise.

 

[WranglerX]

You guys can banty all you want about the "good, bad and ugly" but if you don't have "situation awareness" something is going to hurt you really bad or kill you... Situation awareness comes from all our life experiences..... I'm 73 years old, never spent a day in hospital due to my stupidity, never rolled my race car, don't get traffic tickets, I run hard in mountains in Jeep, never had to be rescued, but several times rescuer... Have all my fingers and toes never had a broken bone... IT all melds together to form "situational awareness"....

And situation awareness applies to our everyday lives.... When that little voice on back of your mind says "better not" or "oh *****", listen to it....

Dale

 

[bfloyd4445]

You guys can banty all you want about the "good, bad and ugly" but if you don't have "situation awareness" something is going to hurt you really bad or kill you... Situation awareness comes from all our life experiences..... I'm 73 years old, never spent a day in hospital due to my stupidity, never rolled my race car, don't get traffic tickets, I run hard in mountains in Jeep, never had to be rescued, but several times rescuer... Have all my fingers and toes never had a broken bone... IT all melds together to form "situational awareness"....

And situation awareness applies to our everyday lives.... When that little voice on back of your mind says "better not" or "oh *****", listen to it....

Dale

Geez...you've never walked the edge felt the thrill of near disaster.....Sounds like a mountain lady i met last year 76 and still a virgin. I'll bet you've never been married then cause that's always good for a few bangs<smile>...I'm 71....can you imagine 76 and never had a man? Hard to believe but i believe her