Second experience roading tractor

[SmallChange]

I posted several years ago about my first experience roading my tractor. It was unnerving. I didn't account for how underpowered the machine was, trying to climb hills at a speed that motorists behind me might find a little more tolerable.

Yesterday I roaded it to a job my son-in-law was doing, 2.1 miles away. The goals included helping dig a trench, moving a big concrete well cover, and pulling a concrete ring out of the ground. Trying to be ready for anything, in addition to FEL bucket I brought my FEL forks and my 3pt counterweight, and chains and sledges and digging bars etc etc. With the rears filled, all this weighs a good 5,000 lbs, and the motor is only 25 horsepower. By way of comparison, my not-very-racy station wagon weighs 3,500 lbs and has a 182 hp motor, so the tractor should have a small fraction of the pep the station wagon has. We are talking seriously weak performance on the road. For ground engagement it's a fine little tractor, but it's amazing how going, say, 35 mph in a car really sucks up the power.

In top gear (12th) this tractor can do about 14 mph, but with only a slight uphill grade it grinds to a stall. I've driven this route countless times, but there were some uphill grades small enough I'd never noticed them, and the tractor couldn't climb them. I kept having to stop, choose a gear from 9 to 12 that I thought would work, and go up the hill. 9th gear worked on the worst climbs.

But it worked. I don't see doing it often, or far. People drive too fast on these narrow curving hilly country roads. However in the intervening years I had looked up the worst grades, and measured the grade on my driveway so I could compare, and I had some idea how tall a gear would work in each of the worst spots. I do have lights, including flashers, a well placed SMV placard, and insurance. I tried hard to drive safely, accounting for all the issues I could think of.

I completely get why bigger farm tractors that sometimes pull trailers on the road have to be so powerful.

 

[JTKub]

It it amazing how well ~25hp does when crawling along and doing general work. Putting them in road gear is a different matter it seems.

 

[ptsg]

I would have expected that 12x12 transmission to be like most of the 12x12 transmissions in the market, where both the shuttle shift and main shift gears are synchronized. Meaning you could change main gears (1st to 4th) on the go. However, reading the manual, they do say to not shift on the move for some reason. Kinda defeats the purpose.

You still managed to keep it in High range though. An HST would most likely go veeery slow in medium range, possibly low range in steeper inclines.

Honestly and while I understand the emissions thing, 30/35 HP is about the least horsepower I would want on a compact tractor this size. 25HP is just too little for the weight it has to deal with. It's great for a sub compact though.

For comparison, here is my 35HP tractor, also in the 5000 lbs range, pulling a trailer loaded with logs weighting about 3000 lbs or so. Starting in 1st gear, high range on a very steep incline, then up-shifting in the main road and back to downshift.

 

[Sportsman762]

Roading tractors on public roads can be a lesson in how dumb people are. I am not like @Hay Dude who spends a ton of time on the road but do a fair bit of it. 2 miles is not a long drive. I frequently have a 2 mile drive to a property I own, with a 18 and 12 percent slope with a 100' elevation change, and a 10 percent slope with a 40' elevation change. Luckily only half a mile is on a state highway.

I have a 6 speed sliding gear (non synchronized) transmission on my Massey 20C 45hp 6670 lb tractor (8022 lbs gross) so I have a little more power than you per lb (.0056 hp lb to your .005). You can shift on the fly, it just takes practice. My transmission is a 2 range 3 speed with 6th being 22mph, vs your 3 range 4 speed. Every machine is different but on my Massey I downshift when the engine rpm's reach 500 but have to pause slightly to let the engine spool back up, for up shifting I just max the rpm's out then shift quick and let the clutch out medium speed. It took me a few tries to get a feel for it. On the two bigger hills I have to shift 6-5-4 while climbing. 4th is max 8.2 mph, but I am closer to 5 mph when hill climbing.

I suspect your RPM's will be close to double mine as the Perkins engine is a low reving engine compared to most compact tractors. Practice the shifting, once you can shift on hills then your experience will be much better. The biggest issue I have besides folks cutting me off is when making a left hand turn, they seem to think that its time to pass me... If you want scary, lets talk about roading skidsteers, slow slow slow and no visibility to the rear.

I do not have the road time @Hay Dude has or many other members, but have driven lots of equipment on the road between fields or jobs. Each one takes a little bit to figure out how to drive it most efficiently as the tricks for a skidsteer are different from a backhoe, or a 400 hp articulated tractor.

 

[Hay Dude]

The biggest problems I run into are:

1. People in cars who have NO CLUE how to drive: Sorry to say, but most women do not possess the spatial awareness to cooperatively drive past a wide tractor. They simply STOP, in the middle of the lane, and will give no room, as if the own that part of the road. I’m like “just move over 2 feet and you’ll be fine”. Men are usually better, they just swerve a little towards their shoulder and we pass without blinking an eye.


2. Pennsylvania pays no attention to limbs, brush and fallen trees, or boulders just 1” outside the white stripe on the road. On large trucks or tractors, they break $500-$1,500 mirrors, rip off cab turn signals, even break cab corners. They do not care. Yet they charge .75 cents a gallon tax for diesel, allegedly to “maintain roads”.

3. Tractor width. My largest tractor is about 10’ wide. It barely fits on some of out crappy, poorly maintained, overgrown “roads”.

 

[HawkinsHollow]

I have no problem roading my tractor. But roading a Kubota U17 mini ex a mile to my buddies, now that was painful!

 

[paulsharvey]

They put out a guidance here, for farmers moving tractors; and told them, once in the road, do not pull over for vehicles to pass. You have every right to be there, and once safely on the road, dont yield.

Next county over, the agricultural crimes arm of the sheriff's office will escort potatoes harvesters from field to field when moving on the 65mph hwy. Our county sheriff also has an agricultural crimes group, but im not sure if they do it. Im also not sure if this is a free scheduled service, or if you pay for the escort, like we do for traffic control officers.

Edit: my county its called Natural Resources/Agricultural, just a special unit i. sheriff's office. As a note, the last 2 or 3 times I've called the sheriff's office, it's been to report live stock in the state road...