Would you go up it??

[thingy]

John,the more pictures I see of that slope,the more I'm convinced I could drive my sears lawnmower up that hill if it was dry,I'm not kidding here.

Now,[don't know if you've seen it or not] but they was a guy who posted about mowing his dam off with a john deere riding mower,,sideways,,,now that looked steep,to me anyways,,,
Thing about backing if you got ag tires is,,we know what don't we,,and if it is really steep you would start spinning,,,,,just drink 4-5 beers,,set down at the bottom while doing this,,,and attack it,,,4wd [don't know what kinda gearing you got],,but a lower gear,not lowest,,3/4 throttle,,and go,,,thingy

 

[Reg]

I would first adjust the loader bucket 15 or 20 degrees forwards, then I'd back it up with the bucket barely off the ground.
If I got REALLY nervous maybe I would float the loader, i.e. back drag it.
That way the bucket could act as a ratchet if things REALLY turned ugly.
Not that it looks THAT steep from the pics.

 

[johnk]

I made it up there with my other tractor I had but never attacked it going forward. Took me about 45 minutes to get up the little steep pff camber spot. When all the tires started spinning I'd drop the box scrapers with the rippers fully extended and drag that four or five feet back downhill. Then I just kept making runs at it in reverse and kept dropping the box blade which was numerous times till I finally made it up. At the top I kept dumping new dirt and rock down the washed out steep part and dragged it with the box scraper. Haven't attempted with my new tractor yet since it's still pretty slick up there. I'll keep you posted.

Thingy,,,,,

I think the pics are deceiving. I get 5 foot of air going off bumps with my Honda foreman and it isn't scary. I go up that hill in 2nd gear on the ATV and hang on tight. Been going up it with the ATV for 6 years now and I still hang over the handle bars. Take a ride up here and I'll supply the food and drink and deer if it's during hunting season.. Maybe as I get older I fear more....

 

[thingy]

yeah,,guess so,,pictures are pictures,,,well good! we got you up,,,oh,,****,,,gotta go down now,,just go around?? thingy

 

[pat32rf]

That hill looks like the best reason I have ever seen for a HST. I normally use my 4300JD (R4s)to make the bad hills passible( comfortable) for the 600 Sportsman. If the ground is not actually muddy I head up frontwards until I break traction then back-drag the bucket to fill the ruts. Just be careful because this tends to swing the front end sideways at times.
I wouldn't expect any trouble going up though, especially with a bit of a load in the bucket and no heavy implement on the rear, just loaded tires and a ballast box that rides no farther out than the 3pth arms.
Don't know about Kubota HSTs losing their prime on steep hills, mine seemed OK, just that 17hp wasn't enough, I always had to run in low range on our hills.

 

[KentT]

I keep hearing recommendations to go up hills backwards, but in my experience you can climb things going forward that you can't in reverse, simply because of traction. I guess other people's experience is different...

R-1 and R-4 tires are made to get traction going forward. They do a lousy job in reverse, in comparison -- they just scuff the ground rather than digging in. My concern in trying to back up that hill is just that -- traction, especially with an FEL on the front. With an FEL hanging on the front and the weight distribution being transferred because of the slope, most of the weight would be on the front tires, not the rears. Consequently, the rear tires will try to spin, and likely will because of the tires turning opposite of the way they're designed for traction... That is, unless you've got something quite heavy hanging off the 3-pt hitch. A big heavy BB or rotary cutter on the back would help you get up it backwards...

In comparison, when you go up it forward, most of the weight distribution would transfer to the rears, and the bars on your tires would be turning in the direction they're supposed to, and that combination would give you the traction you need. Plus, you can put extra weight in the bucket, if needed to help hold the front down -- i.e. it's "adjustable." But, I wouldn't try going up it forward with a heavy implement hanging on the 3-pt unless I had enough weight in the bucket to counter-balance it... Then, your concern is simply the power to climb it, carrying that heavy load.

In either case, I'd only try it if the ground was dry... My two cents.

 

[teachdocs]

I have some pretty steep hills on my property and I was just wondering what kind of tractors you have and if you would attempt to go up this incline? Would you do it in forward or Reverse? I had my other tractor up here and I went in reverse with box blade and loader. It took quite a few tries and when I lost traction I would drop the box blade and head on down the hill. That would give me about 4 more feet of level ground and traction and I would proceed up once agin till I got to the top. Here's a few pics and I am Dying to try to go straight up it with my new tractor. Sure would save a lot of time but what if I lose traction and it veers sideways?? Would you or wouldn't you??

The hill should be no problem as long as you pay attention to what you are doing. If you have the FEL on the tractor, then definitely go up forward. If you only have something on the rear, then it will be a little "pop-wheelie" and I suggest backing up the hill. If you have problems with traction going in reverse, then reverse the front tires to run the opposite direction. This is what we used to do with combines in a muddy field. You always wanted to have better traction backing out of too much mud rather than taking you in.

My first BX2200 had turf tires only and you can see from the following pics that hills are no problem. I dug out a pond and made a large hill for a large waterfall feature.

 

[mars1952]

HI KentT:
The reason it is recommended to go up steep hills backwards is to prevent a rear rollover.
Check out this thread:
Tractor Rollover Myths and Facts
Good Luck, Marshall

I keep hearing recommendations to go up hills backwards, but in my experience you can climb things going forward that you can't in reverse, simply because of traction. I guess other people's experience is different...

R-1 and R-4 tires are made to get traction going forward. They do a lousy job in reverse, in comparison -- they just scuff the ground rather than digging in. My concern in trying to back up that hill is just that -- traction, especially with an FEL on the front. With an FEL hanging on the front and the weight distribution being transferred because of the slope, most of the weight would be on the front tires, not the rears. Consequently, the rear tires will try to spin, and likely will because of the tires turning opposite of the way they're designed for traction... That is, unless you've got something quite heavy hanging off the 3-pt hitch. A big heavy BB or rotary cutter on the back would help you get up it backwards...

In comparison, when you go up it forward, most of the weight distribution would transfer to the rears, and the bars on your tires would be turning in the direction they're supposed to, and that combination would give you the traction you need. Plus, you can put extra weight in the bucket, if needed to help hold the front down -- i.e. it's "adjustable." But, I wouldn't try going up it forward with a heavy implement hanging on the 3-pt unless I had enough weight in the bucket to counter-balance it... Then, your concern is simply the power to climb it, carrying that heavy load.

In either case, I'd only try it if the ground was dry... My two cents.

 

[KentT]

HI KentT:
The reason it is recommended to go up steep hills backwards is to prevent a rear rollover.
Check out this thread:
Tractor Rollover Myths and Facts
Good Luck, Marshall

Yes, I understand, and the easiest ways to prevent a rollover are (1) never buy a tractor, or (2) never take it out of the shed or barn.

Seriously, he has no risk of a rear rollover with an FEL mounted, unless he has a VERY heavy attachment (such as a HD BB, big rotary cutter, etc) on the rear. Plus, the FEL bucket allows him to vary the amount of counterbalance he puts on the front....

IMO, what he has a real risk of when trying to back up rough, steep slopes is the tractor sliding slideways while spinning the tires -- then all bets are off....

IMO, the recommendation to back up slopes makes great sense if the most of the weight from implements is on the rear -- but not if the weight is hanging out in front of the tractor as is the case with an FEL. If he does try to back up the hill, he needs to make sure his 3PT hitch chains are VERY tight to prevent ANY side-to-side swaying, and that his "manufacturer's assisted FWD" is up to the challenge, because it will be putting an incredible strain on it since it will be pushing the tractor up the slope instead of the rear wheels pulling it.

Would you recommend climbing rough, steep slopes in an empty 4WD truck in reverse? In both cases the majority of weight is on the front of the vehicle, not the rear, and in both cases traction becomes the real limiting factor. The steeper the slope, the more weight is shifted off that already light rear of the vehicle onto the front, downhill end...

 

[mars1952]

Seriously, he has no risk of a rear rollover with an FEL mounted, unless he has a VERY heavy attachment (such as a HD BB, big rotary cutter, etc) on the rear. Plus, the FEL bucket allows him to vary the amount of counterbalance he puts on the front....

This is very dangerous and ill-informed advice.
Marshall