Snow Got to play in the snow this morning...

[KrisHansen]

Unfortuneately my dealer, who is great, but slow, has not yet delivered my tire chains. I got to find out firsthand how bad the R4s are in snow.. I was a little surprised that I couldn't push up my hill (which is very steep, but still...) with the bucket in float with out slipping.. It would go fine with no reisitance though..

Also, apparently <font color="orange"> Woods </font> is severely backed up with the snow blower production, so I STILL don't have my SB74 that I paid for in July... /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif Luckily there was only about 6 inches of snow, and the FEL had no problem moving it out of the way.. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[PineRidge]

Kris you mean your 4WD wouldn't handle the 6 inches of snow without chains? I hope you are kidding because I'm going into my first winter with R4s and have no experience with them. Is this what I should expect from R-4s?

I never got stuck with the Ag tires on my last rig.

 

[Bob_In_MN]

No hills on my property, but last year about this time I moved 13 inches of snow with Turfs on my 4010 JD. I don't have chains either.

Maybe if we get more snow this year, I will rethink chains, but I haven't run into problems yet.

Bob

 

[BillyP]

I don't know a thing about moving snow. Wouldn't it be a lot easier to go down hill than up? Pushing a load of snow up a steep hill would give any tire the slip.

Like I said though, no experience here.

 

[KrisHansen]

not kidding, it really had a hard time going up with the bucket on the ground, but again, this is a REALLY steep hill. The tractor won't even think about moving up it in III gear range.

I did plow down, then turned around to plow back up to the house.. It was fine everywhere but on the first section, which is the steepest part of all.

I guess I should describe my driveway.. It's 900 feet long, and the vertical rise from bottom to top is over 150 feet, rough estimate trying to read a topo map.

 

[Golfgar4]

Maybe letting a little air out of the tires will improve your footprint for better traction? /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

 

[KrisHansen]

Probably, but I think with the chains it will be just fine. I also grabbed my favorite small concrete tube for weight in the loader, and it got a lot better. Of course, I couldn't plow with it like that for fear of losing it..

 

[thcri]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( The tractor won't even think about moving up it in III gear range. )</font>

Kris,

I have a TC29D and you can't go up much of a hill in III range without snow as far as power. My hill on my driveway even in the summer the hill will bog it down. As far as traction I have now plowed for two winters with R4's and no chains. One thing I learned though with the bucket out front you will do yourself a big favor by having some weight on the back.

Just my experience not sure if it will fit in your application.


murph

 

[KrisHansen]

Murph,

thanks! Even with a running start in the summer, III won't go up my hill due to lack of power/too tall gearing. That's not the problem here. I was in II this morning, and I got a fair amount of slip. again, this was on a very very steep hill, on the less steep parts it was no problem. This is the kind of steep hill that you can't even try to plow up with a truck unless you have chains on all 4 wheels.

I had my Woods 72" rake with a 100# or so additional weight that I added.. it was fine till I dropped the bucket to the ground. I think there was just too much resistance. It was still going, just having a little bit of a hard time.

I did have a very hard time keeping it in line though, the bucket wanted to slide to whichever side the crown was.

To clear this up, I in no way got stuck, or sat spinning, I just had less grip than I would have liked to have.

I LOVE my <font color="blue">33D</font> , I just think I need chains for the steep part, especially backing with the blower...

 

[hazmat]

Chains make all the difference in the world. I got them about 1/2 way thru last winter. I too have a hill to plow. Before I could only push down the hill. Now, up & down /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Well worth the $$$$