Traction Tonight I'm just a little bit humbled by what happened

[AxleHub]

Now that your tested your ready for icy conditions.

Yep . . Long concrete driveway with a healthy angle (not as much as the lawn) . . and western wi offers plenty of chances to be clearing snow and drifts "oh what fun it is to ride in a 25 horse open sleigh"

 

[Gary Fowler]

I almost never take my tractors out of 4 WD unless I am going to be on hard surfaces. I just get too much wheel slippage without the 4 WD engaged and on my property it is almost always on a hill or some sort of incline. I had my LS for 3 years before I realized that if it is in 2 WD and I tap the brakes it engages the front drive. This is a very good design and would stop those run away slides like the OP had. It seem like any tractor with electronic 4 WD engagement could put this feature on without a lot of trouble or extra money.

On my RTV, I rarely have it in 4 WD unless I start spinning in mud.

 

[s219]

That must be the millionth post here about something like this happening. Maybe we should have a required "check-in" list that everyone has to read when joining TBN, so that they can learn about all the dumb mistakes we've already made!!

And to add, note that the brakes also only work on the rear wheels when you're in 2WD. Never mind HST holding you back, the real pucker will come when you realize the brakes don't help either!

 

[crazyal]

Tractors only have rear brakes. With your fel installed you took weight off your rear tires so as you tried to brake (or the HST tried to slow the tractor down) the rear tires didn't have the weight needed to get tractoin. Are your rear tires loaded? If not that'll compound the problem.

 

[Steppenwolfe]

Been there, done that... I now only mow in 4wd.

 

[AxleHub]

That must be the millionth post here about something like this happening. Maybe we should have a required "check-in" list that everyone has to read when joining TBN, so that they can learn about all the dumb mistakes we've already made!!

And to add, note that the brakes also only work on the rear wheels when you're in 2WD. Never mind HST holding you back, the real pucker will come when you realize the brakes don't help either!

While tbn has many fine forums including a "safety forum" . . It seems to me that a grouping forum on beginner operational considerations would be good and help standardize essential knowledge (that word "essential" was deliberately chosen)

My thought would be one for scuts one for cuts and one for full size tractors. In addition each brand forum could also have one for specifics of their equipment.

My point would be . . Tbn posters are already doing education . . But the very basic operational issues would not need to be gone over and over and over.

We allhave different geography issues and weather issues but standardization of initial education guarantees at least some minimum awareness. Yet if you go into general forum or specific forum "owning and operating" it is a vastly diverse areas that retards that basic skills attainment.

Just a thought . . it would help newbies . . it would be easier for experienced users .
. And a minimum standard of knowledge would be helpful for general forum needs and for specific brand needs.

 

[gwstang]

Glad you came out okay. I think someone on here not long ago almost went over into a deep ravine, with the same issue. I've got a couple of steep hills on the backside of my property and forgot to put the L into 4 wd. Definitely make you pinch the seat pretty hard. :ashamed: Won't happen again for sure. Before getting the new Kubota, I still used my '52 8N to cut the trails that went down into the creek bottom. I forgot to adjust the brakes one time when they were getting sloppy and got the you know what scared out of me. I finally stopped about 4' from a drop off down about 6' to the creek bed. I was definitely giving it the three stoogies.."whooop whooop whooop". Those things are a little dangerous on a hill, they will roll and no protection what so ever. The N is delegated to cutting flat fields only now.

 

[AxleHub]

Glad you came out okay. I think someone on here not long ago almost went over into a deep ravine, with the same issue. I've got a couple of steep hills on the backside of my property and forgot to put the L into 4 wd. Definitely make you pinch the seat pretty hard. :ashamed: Won't happen again for sure. Before getting the new Kubota, I still used my '52 8N to cut the trails that went down into the creek bottom. I forgot to adjust the brakes one time when they were getting sloppy and got the you know what scared out of me. I finally stopped about 4' from a drop off down about 6' to the creek bed. I was definitely giving it the three stoogies.."whooop whooop whooop". Those things are a little dangerous on a hill, they will roll and no protection what so ever. The N is delegated to cutting flat fields only now.

Yikes . . You're talking drop offs and as yet tractors have no air bags just the back and neck injury potential with drop offs is uuuuugly.

 

[Journeys]

Our yard of 1.5 acres varies from some flat to 50+% of it being hills from 10 to 25 degrees . . All grass mostly blue grass. Yards all cut and done. I add the fel on and with the mmm running I'm going up and down hills of varying steepness and gear choices. All of a sudden as im going down the steepest hill . . I start gaining momentum even with my foot off the hydro pedal. Faster and faster I'm going till I level off in the open culvert at the base.

What the heck . . I'm thinking . . did my hydro fail me and fail to slow and stop my progress ??? No. And I'd been up and down this hill several times during the day with no problem.

So what was the rather sudden uncontrolled speed increase? I had the fel on remember . . but I didn't have it in 4wd. So even with my considerable weight and loaded tires . . the fel reduced the rear tire contact pressure to the ground. No not off the ground . . Just less weight than normal. So in 2wd the hydro only controls the rear wheels . . So unknown to me . . I was sliding forward down the hill.

Whew. Glad it worked out. But your story made me wonder. There was a fellow who has a bx25 that was not stopping when he thought it should. I think he said he almost hit a truck while putting a load into the bed. He also mentioned he had the problem going down hill. I wonder if he was having the same problem. I can't find his post.

Happy I don't have hills. Txs for sharing.

 

[AxleHub]

Whew. Glad it worked out. But your story made me wonder. There was a fellow who has a bx25 that was not stopping when he thought it should. I think he said he almost hit a truck while putting a load into the bed. He also mentioned he had the problem going down hill. I wonder if he was having the same problem. I can't find his post.

Happy I don't have hills. Txs for sharing.

I remember that post also plus a thread that talked about a hydro "failure" on a Massey GC sub compact (that thread implied it was a system characteristic of the GC1700s . . which of course it was not but caused some to be concerned).

So after it happened to me, I decided to start this thread because I realized these instances weren't a defect in any hardware . . But a defective thinking by the drivers. Something so simple as having 4wd engaged or not engaged in downhill movement when a fel was attached.