I Learned a Valuable lesson last night!!

[Tractor Tom]

I Learned a Valuable lesson last night. It's that time of year up North so I decided to unhook my rear finish mower for the season. I took it up the hill to a storage garage and put it away. Now my little tractor has no weight on the back and an empty bucket up front. Not thinking anything about it, I drove the tractor back down the fairly steep hill to the house. The Tractor was in 2 wheel drive and as soon as I hit the steep part (about 7pm, with just a start of dew on the grass) the rear wheels lost traction and away I went down the hill FAST, really FAST. I dropped the bucket down on the grass to slow me to a stop, and then I tried to figure out what heck just happened. A combination of no brakes on the front wheels and being in 2 wheel drive, meant I had no stopping power up front were the weight was. Once I figured this out and checked my shorts! I tried the hill again, this time in 4 wheel drive. No problems, I even stopped part way down the hill and backed up. A simple thing, but this could have been a really bad accident had I hit the brakes hard and the tractor spun sideways or even rolled over. Moral of the story, steep hills up or down = Tractor in 4 Wheel drive. I hope this can be a useful tip to someone!!! As usual one Man's Stupidity is another Man's Wisdom!!

 

[CobyRupert]

"One Man's Stupidity is another Man's Wisdom!!"
That's a great saying. I'm going to use it.
But don't beat yourself up. No harm, no foul. Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.

 

[Tractor Tom]

So true “No Harm No Foul” But… it’s just one of those things you look at afterwards and say to yourself “How could I be so Frickin Stupid”.

 

[Rocky Hoffler]

Let me say this first I'm glad your ok. But it seems we hurt ourselves when we get comfortable with what we are doing. I hope this makes us all think about what were doing and under what conditions

 

[JD5210]

Thanks for sharing and reminding us to be careful. Glad to hear the only possible damage was to your shorts. I do have a saying "Never pick on yourself as there are enough people out that will do that for you".

 

[Tractor Tom]

With 600 hours on the clock, this is the closest I've ever been to a Train wreck!! Not a nice feeling at all.

 

[RaydaKub]

I mow our hill in the fall so it's good for sledding in the winter. First time I did it, my little STX38 scooted down and scared the crap out of me. There are no trees, so I was never worried about that part. I figured out where it would let go and tried to avoid that going down, but mow it going up. Worked pretty well. The next year, there was more moisture in the grass and it let go a little earlier, ie, less slope. It changes all the time. I got used to it over the years and sometimes it was almost fun. I don't let it happen with my BX though. The bigger the tractor, the more scary it seems to become.

The good news is that if you can keep your front wheels in front, you will likely be ok. Slamming on the rear brakes probably won't make a lot of difference because they have already lost traction. They will be a slight drag on the tractor, but have already started to skid and skidding a little more probably won't matter much. The bad news is that while slamming the bucket down is a good thing for stopping, it also could catch on one side and start you sliding sideways and now you really do need to worry about rolling.

 

[jejeosborne]

I too have hilly terrain and for this reason leave my tractor in 4wd unless on pavement. There are occasions I will disengage it but leave my hand on the lever to remind me to put it back in. I still catch myself glancing at the lever every time I approach a hill just to double check. Even in 4wd, you have to be ready and on the FEL control if your front tire drops into a rut or hole while descending a hill. Just one more reason gravity sucks.

 

[k0ua]

Yes, stepping on the brakes don't seem to do much, unless they are split and you can lock one, and then you run a good chance of overturning. I can recreate your little ride any day I want on my gravel covered steep hill. Just leave it in 2WD and no weight on the back... Wheeeee. As long as you can keep it straight, you usually are OK. But swerve to miss something in your path, and look out... you are likely to overturn. Yes 4WD is your friend up AND downhill as well. Keep in mind even if you have weight on the 3pt, if you have a good load in the bucket, it "unloads" the rear tires and makes them light and in 2WD , a slide down the hill is possible. With 4WD, you have all of that weight on the fronts, and with the solid hookup thru the drive-line you are in good shape for engine braking, or even actual rear braking action.

 

[oosik]

Had that happen years ago pulling my tandem axle trailer loaded with green firewood(2.5 full chords) down the driveway with my Ford 1700. I was going down into the valley on the driveway and was in 4WD. It pushed me to speeds beyond my belief. Fortunately, I just let her go, rode it out and cleaned my shorts when I got to the house. NEVER did that again. First time in my life that my knees knocked together like castanets.