Pics of rear hydraulics

Harv · Feb 24, 2001

Gerard -

I have the exact same tractor and tires. Rear tires are filled and I usually have a box blade on the back.

I have no experience in snow or ice 'cuz that stuff has been banned in our area /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif, but I have many times spun all 4 wheels. Okay, some of those times were in 8 to 10 inches of mud, so that doesn't count, but other times I'm on pretty solid ground, trying to push into a pile, knock over a small tree, or pretending I'm a mighty bulldozer. /w3tcompact/icons/crazy.gif

My newbie conclusion is that I'm not getting full benefit of my horsepower due to insufficient traction (ballast?). If I ever get the chance to finish the project, I'm going to add a few hundred pounds of wheel weights, at which point I'll be sort of maxed out (according to Kubota specs).

So I was wondering what your experience has been overall -- do your tires spin before your engine stalls? Or have you put it to the test yet?

gerard · Feb 24, 2001

In lower gears I can spin the tires without stalling the engine. I have no extra weight, unloaded tires and usually use a 5ft box blade with and extra 200lbs of metal weights strapped on for ballast. So far I haven't run into many situations where I would have need more traction but then for the most part I'm in pretty decent conditions on my property. I remember your "mud roads" from your pics and I would probably consider some double ring logging chanis if I were you. When you get in that deep mud even ags slip pretty easily since the mud is as good as trying to drive through thick grease. The only times I need more traction is doing loader work when pushing into the pile but I found that using the right speed and curling the bucket at the same time as you move forward fills the bucket just fine. If I ever see a set of used chains cheap I might by them but right now they're a "nice to have", not a "have to have". (Also my driveway is paved and spinning the tires with chains tears up the asphalt pretty good).

Harv · Feb 24, 2001

Gerard -

Sounds like your experience matches mine. I guess it's nice to know we have sort of a surplus of power. /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif Can you imagine the kind of work these guys are doing with the larger L's? /w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif It would be nice to have more lifting power -- I can easily stall the loader (by, say, trying to uproot a patch of blackberries) without coming close to lifting the back end. Just as well, I suppose. I can just see me standing the whole thing on its nose. /w3tcompact/icons/tongue.gif

Rather than chains, I'm just waiting for my muddy road to dry out so I can tear into it and rebuild it proper-like. Could probably do it in a day with a 'dozer, but I'd rather spend several weekends "working" it with my 'Bota. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Yeah, I eventually worked out the push-and-curl technique with the piles. Guess that's a standard part of the learning curve. I've learned most everything the "hard way" so far. Lucky to survive some of them. /w3tcompact/icons/crazy.gif

Boondox · Feb 24, 2001

I'll look it up. With 18" of snow forecast for the next 36 hours, I think I'll be seeing a lot of the rear blade. /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

Pete

putty340 · Feb 24, 2001

OHWWW MAN!/w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif Well it's a nice tractor anyway.

DFB · Feb 26, 2001

My newbie conclusion is that I'm not getting full benefit of my horsepower due to insufficient traction (ballast?).

Harv,

This link is to an article on power management and ballast. I found it informative and thought it might relate to your question. http://muextension.missouri.edu/xplor/agguides/agengin/g01235.htm It is mostly oriented at getting maximum traction (measured at the drawbar) in various types of field settings with tillage implements. One of the key factors it takes into consideration is soil compaction which makes a certain amount of wheel slip desirable. Although this may not be as critical in other situations. If your interested check it out.

DFB

Harv · Feb 27, 2001

Wow, DFB -- that's a fascinating article! /w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif

Here I thought the more ballast the better, but it ain't necessarily so. The article contains a number of surprising (at least to me) facts about traction and power management. Here's just two that caught my eye:

Tractor drivetrains are not designed to provide maximum power in lower gears. Maximum power delivered at low speeds requires large forces that can cause premature wear on drivetrains.

Excess ballast causes a deeper track that increases rolling resistance. Power is lost from an over-ballasted tractor because the wheel must climb out of the deeper track that it creates.

This is a "must read" for newbies and oldies alike.

Thanks! /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif