Traction Using a Tractor on Mountain Property

[Tiptoo]

I didn't read all either...but my property is very, very steep and I'll share what I have. My craftsman dys4500 with the k46 and ag tires didn't last too long. I bought a husky ts354 with the k66 and it is amazingly awesome! Check out my property on my other posts. I'm tackling it with a TYM T234.

 

[GirlWhoWantsTractor]

I didn't read all either...but my property is very, very steep and I'll share what I have. My craftsman dys4500 with the k46 and ag tires didn't last too long. I bought a husky ts354 with the k66 and it is amazingly awesome! Check out my property on my other posts. I'm tackling it with a TYM T234.View attachment 562466View attachment 562467View attachment 562469

Your property looks a lot like mine. And your Husky looks like a newer version of my 2016. Mine handles all of my property that CAN be worked with no problems. It's one of the larger, heavier garden tractors, and the large rear wheels and wider stance help a lot.

Nice tractor too. Haven't tried my new Mahindra on the steeper parts yet. I'm getting my "sea legs" doing easier things like the driveway. I want to be really comfortable working the tractor first.

 

[Tiptoo]

Your property looks a lot like mine. And your Husky looks like a newer version of my 2016. Mine handles all of my property that CAN be worked with no problems. It's one of the larger, heavier garden tractors, and the large rear wheels and wider stance help a lot.

Nice tractor too. Haven't tried my new Mahindra on the steeper parts yet. I'm getting my "sea legs" doing easier things like the driveway. I want to be really comfortable working the tractor first.

Thx. Just remember to leave it in 4wd when on uneven slopes with a load. If the rear wheels come off the ground in 2wd....prob have a bad day. I've had some scary situations arise ....but have always had my grader box or loader quickly dropped to save myself.

Prob rebuild the old craftsman trans...use it to bushhog

 

[GirlWhoWantsTractor]

Thx. Just remember to leave it in 4wd when on uneven slopes with a load. If the rear wheels come off the ground in 2wd....prob have a bad day. I've had some scary situations arise ....but have always had my grader box or loader quickly dropped to save myself.

Prob rebuild the old craftsman trans...use it to bushhogView attachment 562491

Yep I don't mow or drive on the road, so use 4WD all the time. Hopefully my 520# box blade will be good ballast for the rear.

 

[Fuddy1952]

My place is super hilly also. Is the box blade useful for things like making a roadway on a sloped hill? I'm sure it would be good to even out high and low spots (dips, washout spots)?
Thanks

 

[Tiptoo]

My place is super hilly also. Is the box blade useful for things like making a roadway on a sloped hill? I'm sure it would be good to even out high and low spots (dips, washout spots)?
Thanks

Yeah. Fuddy...I love my box blade. It moves tons of dirt^

I was told it is a bad idea...hold my beer!

 

[GirlWhoWantsTractor]

My place is super hilly also. Is the box blade useful for things like making a roadway on a sloped hill? I'm sure it would be good to even out high and low spots (dips, washout spots)?
Thanks

On even a mild slope I think a regular blade would be better for cutting the road, especially in our rocky clay VA soil. On the steep, you'll want switchbacks every 50 ft or so to minimize washouts. That will require you to work cross-slope. On my very steep hillside, I had an excavator rough-cut the road (too steep for me to safely work across the slope). That left plenty of work for me, smoothing, cutting ditches, and planting grass, believe me. The BB is excellent for grading/smoothing, removing washouts, like you said.

In general, a BB is a slower way to change the grade significantly (but it can be done; in fact, I have done it). Blade first, then BB is better. Now I do love a box blade, a most versatile implement IMO. Great for leveling trails in the woods, among many other things.

 

[AxleHub]

Girl,

I'm wondering on steep gravel roads how switchbacks work. I was imagining they would create more water resistance and as a result would cause more washouts not less. Now if switchbacks were in blacktop sections or in small concrete sections that would make more sense to me because added water resistance couldn't "move" those surfaces the same way it could move gravel. What am I missing in my thinking?

 

[GirlWhoWantsTractor]

Girl,

I'm wondering on steep gravel roads how switchbacks work. I was imagining they would create more water resistance and as a result would cause more washouts not less. Now if switchbacks were in blacktop sections or in small concrete sections that would make more sense to me because added water resistance couldn't "move" those surfaces the same way it could move gravel. What am I missing in my thinking?

True if you cause the water to back-up and "swirl" it could be worse. But generally, if you go straight down, the road becomes a sluiceway. The volume of runoff increases with every foot until you have enough water to cut major channels in your roadbed. The road will wash out with every heavy rain. Even with ditches, on a straight-down road the ditches will need to get bigger and deeper as you go down to deal with the increasing volume. Deep ditches are much harder to maintain, and then you get that one torrential rain and your deep ditch carrying a ton of fast-moving water overflows a little and there goes your road.

Say after 50 feet the road turns to the left, and you have graded your road so the inside edge is higher than the outside edge the whole way down. Now the accumulated water is shed to the side the whole way, and at the end it just runs into the woods.

The key is to shed the water in as many different directions as possible in every section. (I am speaking of steep property here. A flat or gently sloping road is completely different.)

My property starts at the top of the mountain and goes all the way to bottom, with a gravel/grass driveway/road all the way down. Every 30-50 ft the water is shed in a different direction. There is no more water in the ditch at the very bottom, than there is in the ditch at the top. My ditches are 6" deep max all the way down. Once I got it done (with a garden tractor/36" box blade BTW) I didn't have to touch it for two years, while my neighbors were hiring people to redo their driveways every time we had a big rain, and we get lots. I do have one 100' section that is straight and can't change it. There I have a dip and swale halfway down that catches the water and directs it--guess where?--off into the woods.

Different drainage strategies for different landscapes, soil types, and topography for sure, but I guess the trick is to *have* a strategy.