Tractor operation on steep slopes

[daTeacha]

Southeastern Ohio farms have a lot of ground that is scarily close to that steep. People farm it. I couldn't believe it when we went down there looking for some ancestral farms, but there are definite mowing lines across some incredibly steep slopes -- things you tend to use your hands as you 'walk' up them. Of course, a lot of the residents of local cemetaries got there from tractor rollovers, too. One of the guys living on one of "our" farms had two relatives killed that way but they still insist on farming it.

For going up steep slopes, a loaded FEL helps a lot to keep the front end on the ground. Endo's happen when the torque's tendency to lift the front end is helped out by the terrain. The steeper it is, the closer the front is to the "point of no return" before you even start.

 

[BarryinMN]

100% = 45 deg. Hanging from the seat belt in a tractor inadvertently is not a fun place to be. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I looked thru my pixes & do not have one in rocket launch pose. The first couple of times mowing I was worried about oil starvation on the motor, proved to be a non issue.

I plowed most of the field last Fall & plan to finish off the worst spots with the crawler this year to mitigate the nasty drops.

The plow is an on land hitch type that is free to follow the ground contour independent of the pull vehicle.