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

KrisHansen · Nov 14, 2003

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 Woods 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 · Nov 14, 2003

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 · Nov 14, 2003

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 · Nov 14, 2003

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 · Nov 14, 2003

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 · Nov 14, 2003

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

KrisHansen · Nov 14, 2003

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 · Nov 14, 2003

( The tractor won't even think about moving up it in III gear range. )

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 · Nov 14, 2003

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 33D , I just think I need chains for the steep part, especially backing with the blower...

hazmat · Nov 15, 2003

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 $$$$