MossRoad
Super Moderator
- Joined
- Aug 31, 2001
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- 57,788
- Location
- South Bend, Indiana (near)
- Tractor
- Power Trac PT425 2001 Model Year
Slope...what is safe?? Anyone here ever roll over?
- Thread starter adegiulio
- Start date
- Views: 77899
4570Man
Super Star Member
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- Apr 7, 2015
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- 18,356
- Location
- Crossville, TN
- Tractor
- Kubota M59, Kubota L3800, Grasshopper 428D, Topkick dump truck, 3500 dump truck, 10 ton trailer, more lighter trailers.
Mowing a 45 degree slope that’s actually 45 degrees is no joke. I’d hate to do that even with a special built machine. Most people estimate slopes to be twice as steep as they are. Also you’d be very unlikely to roll a machine by slope alone. Sliding or hitting a hole plus having the loader too high is almost always what does it it.
In the farm cadet days we got told when the tractor rolls try to stay with it (no seatbelts then, early 80's), or, if you jump, go to the low side and run to the front or rear of the tractor.
1 guy in my class had rolled a tractor and he said the tractor rolls faster than you can jump. He was unscathed and had been thrown low side and run to the front of the tractor, which then rolled past him.
Personally, with a 2wd tractor on a hill decent, once you have a straight line use diff lock, if you think you may slide.NO SH*T. Diff lock forces BOTH wheels to rotate evenly when sliding and you have a MUCH SHORTER SLIDE, compared to a 1 wheel slide. A necessity when feeding hay/silage in winter in hill country.
If you have a load suspended from the bucket and you drive through a dip with 1 side of the tractor the load can swing sideways and lift the high side, even on a 10' wide tractor(loader had dual wheels). I dropped the load and dragged it out the other side of the dip. I had driven through that dip many tines before. The change: had just rolled out the 1st silage roll on the 3ph and was moving to clear ground to roll the 2nd bale out.
1 guy in my class had rolled a tractor and he said the tractor rolls faster than you can jump. He was unscathed and had been thrown low side and run to the front of the tractor, which then rolled past him.
Personally, with a 2wd tractor on a hill decent, once you have a straight line use diff lock, if you think you may slide.NO SH*T. Diff lock forces BOTH wheels to rotate evenly when sliding and you have a MUCH SHORTER SLIDE, compared to a 1 wheel slide. A necessity when feeding hay/silage in winter in hill country.
If you have a load suspended from the bucket and you drive through a dip with 1 side of the tractor the load can swing sideways and lift the high side, even on a 10' wide tractor(loader had dual wheels). I dropped the load and dragged it out the other side of the dip. I had driven through that dip many tines before. The change: had just rolled out the 1st silage roll on the 3ph and was moving to clear ground to roll the 2nd bale out.
MossRoad
Super Moderator
- Joined
- Aug 31, 2001
- Messages
- 57,788
- Location
- South Bend, Indiana (near)
- Tractor
- Power Trac PT425 2001 Model Year
No foolin! A 45 degree slope is 1 for up for every 1 foot forward. To get an idea of that:
Stand facing a wall with your toes to the wall. Take two good steps backward and stop. Look straight ahead at the wall. The point from that spot on the wall to the tips of your toes would be very close to a 45 degree slope!
It's extremely uncomfortable to try and walk up a 45 degree slope. Driving up and down them is ridiculous, and the Power-Trac slope mower can do that AND drive across them on the side-slope. Yikes!
arrow
Super Member
I thought a 45 degrees as it relates to hill sides is considered a 100% slope. So that picture of Moss Road's is a tractor on a 100% slope?
Yes, if it is 45 degrees.
If you noticed, mowers made for slopes have a very low center of gravity, you are basically sitting on the frame as well as everything else hugging the ground. Tall tractors are top heavy and don't take much to get them Rollin.
k0ua
Epic Contributor
I have a simple question. Why do we always have this confusion about % slope and degrees of slope. Why in heck can't we all just use the EXACT same nomenclature when we talk about grades. Why not just use degree of angle. As in this is a 30 degree slope. Why do we need to refer to slope as a percentage? Doesn't degree define the slope exactly? Why do we do this to ourselves?
perhaps I am missing something here?
perhaps I am missing something here?
Probably because grade percent measurement can be done with more primitive devices and estimation.
That rock on the road ahead is about my eye level. I'll pace to it.
It took me 35 paces to get to the rock. So the grade is about 5 %. (5 feet rise in 100 feet)
Bruce
Last edited:
It's all a matter of what you're accustomed to. I use a clinometer to measure slops, and also tree heights. When cruising, I often need to check the distance to a tree. If it's on a steep slope, I also need to adjust. using % I can do it directly. If I measured it in degrees I would then need to use Pythagorian's Theorum to correct; and I can't even remember how to spell the darned thing, let alone use it.
I could ask your question another way;
Why do we always have this confusion about % slope and degrees of slope. Why in heck can't we all just use the EXACT same nomenclature when we talk about grades. Why not just use % slope. As in this is a 66% slope. Why do we need to refer to slope in degrees? Doesn't % define the slope exactly?