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

[FTG-05]

Yes and don't forget you have to replace the wheels too...Not just the tires..

And in my opinion if the ground is dry, and you are not spinning in mud, R1 tires are not going to help one little itty bit. Or not enough to matter.. R1 tires are way better than R4's in mud and plowed fields, but if the ground is dry, R4's are just as good. YMMV.

OMG, I'm strokin' out, someone call the doctor!

 

[FTG-05]

By the way, did you try putting about 400 lbs in the front bucket and try going up the hill then? That will give some more bite to the front tires.

If all of your tires are spinning trying to go up this dang hill, and conditions are dry, it must be one heck of a hill. Try putting some weight in the front.

See my previous post, we cross-posted. That's one idea I could do very easily.

 

[bcp]

First, try it with a heavy load in the bucket.

Second, if that doesn't work, do the steepest part going downhill only. Mow uphill on the less steep part. Even uphill not mowing, "wasting fuel," is cheaper than new tires and wheels.

Bruce

 

[FTG-05]

Just a thought but what gear are you running in when you mow?

I have a slope on part of my yard that I have to mow up and down because of how steep it is and how much the soil shifts. I run in 4wd when mowing this section and if it is anything except for bone dry I have to switch from high to low gear to keep from slipping all over the place. Just some food for thought.

The GST I have doesn't have "low" or "high" gears, just 1-12 or so for forward and then 1-8 or so backwards.

I go up in "4" gear and come down in "5" gear. I keep the PTO rpms right 540 +/-, which do require changing the throttle input to keep the rpms the same.

 

[k0ua]

See my previous post, we cross-posted. That's one idea I could do very easily.

Yep and cheap too. scoop up about half a bucket of gravel/sand/rocks or something before you go mow, and see if that doesn't help out. I bet it will.

 

[George2615]

James also mentioned putting weight in the bucket.
Wheel weights front and back would help also. You'd need a couple weights for each rear (maybe 200 lb each side) plus attaching hardware.
I know driving uphill and mowing down isn't very efficient but much safer than your current method due to the slippage.

 

[boggen]

R4 to changing to R1's = all 4 tires need to be swapped, including the rims.

double check your "operators manaul" for weight of the bush hog (rotatory cutter)
double check your "operators manual" for tractor and see if you can let some pressure out of the tires. you need some pressure in tires to keep the bead (side edges of the tires) from poping off the rim. along with keeping the tire "roundish shape" but if you can let out some extra pressure, the tires will flatten out some on the ground. for a little bit more traction. and perhaps a little bit smoother ride as well.


stay off teh differential lock, a go into a lowest gear, goal is not to get wheels to ever slip. if one rear tire begins to slip, then use the "split" left and right rear bake pedals to try and slow down the offending tire. so it gains traction again, and stops spinning. it maybe a combo of letting off the throttle and braking the given rear tire, to keep everything turning without slipping.

keep the FEL (front end loader) and bucket as low to ground as possible (within reason of course)

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4 to 6 feet high, 1 week from last rain ""beh"" that undergrowth / weeds are still wet, and once ya cut or trample them some, you getting all the sap out of the weeds creating a slip n slide.

you will most likely need to drive down "cutting", then drive up in one area without cutting. it means a lot more running around in circles. to get it cut down initially

once you cut it down initially, let it dry for a couple days or more pending on rain, and chop it all up one more time. this time you will more likely be able to go up and down the hill cutting.

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you can jamb some stuff up (tail wheel of rotatory cutter) but you might be able to drive up the hill backwards, and then mow down it.

since area has not been mowed for a few years. you may have to wait till fall/winter/very early spring, when all the weeds are dried up and dead on the surface.

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one last note you might try chains on the tires, vs swapping over to R1's. that might give you a little bit more traction to keep ya going.more so with those R4's / industrial tires you have.

 

[bigdeano]

Adding weight to the bucket will remove weight from the rear tires and reduce tipping stability on a side slope. Be careful.

Spinning the R-1's on my tractor on grass results in the sod going out the back. I've never had R-4's, but if they spin on top of the sod instead of digging, the R-1's are going to pull harder.

 

[Jeff F.]

You could try tire chains until you get it under control. A lot cheaper than new tires

 

[k0ua]

As pointed out by another poster, if you do put some weight in the bucket, keep it low of course. I am having a hard time envisioning going up a dry hill and spinning the tires, as I go up some really nasty ones here when I bush hog, and I never slip a tire. And yes I have R4 tires. Of course they would never go up in 2wd, I must use 4wd.