How Steep a Slope Can I Take My Tractor On Without Rolling it Over?
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- Опубліковано 3 січ 2018
- This is one of my most-asked questions..."How steep a slope is it safe to take my tractor on?" Today we're going to try to answer that question by telling you that it's impossible to predict, and talk about the various factors that contribute to tractor rollover.
In the days before ROPS (roll over protection systems, or roll bars), if a tractor turned over, most of the time the operator was killed or maimed for life. Modern tractors have the bar there to protect you, but it only works well if you have your seat belt on. So, it is possible to walk away from a rollover, but the best way to survive, is to understand the many factors that can lead to the tractor going over and prevent putting yourself in that danger.
For this subject, I went to a real expert on operating equipment on slopes. Robert Schultheis is a University of Missouri Extension Safety Specialist, who grew up farming some pretty severe slopes...places I definitely wouldn't go with my tractor.
I was a little surprised about what he listed as the first factor that contributes to rollover...speed. The faster you're going, the more apt you are to lose control of your tractor and turn it over. You'll notice in the video of me brush hogging on my place, I'm really creeping around on the hillsides.
Center of gravity is another major factor that can contribute to tipping over. While you can't control the center of gravity of just the tractor, it is impacted by attachments, most notably, the front end loader. Always carry your load as low as possible on hills, the higher the bucket, the more potential you have for rolling the tractor. Also, if you have a three point mounted implement that sticks out to one side (like a disc mower or sickle mower), have that implement headed uphill. That acts as a counterweight to keep the tractor on the ground.
Wheel spacing also affects the center of gravity. On deluxe tractors the rim and the center section are bolted together which may allow multiple rear tire tread width settings. In extreme hills that’s a huge feature. When I worked at a dealership we had one customer who brush hogged mountains in northwest Arkansas, areas where I’d never go. He had the deluxe tractor with multiple tire width settings. He had us set them out at the widest point, and literally the inside edge of the tire was at the outside edge of the fender…it would barely fit on the trailer. On most of the basic tractors without bolt-on center sections, the rear tread width can be widened by swapping the tires from side to side. In other words, the rim offset is different and if you move the left wheel to the right side and vice versa, the footprint gets wider.
Ballast is important to maintaining traction on slopes. There are four ways of adding weight to a tractor to keep it stable on hills. The first and most common; is fluid in the tires. I like this option because the weight is low. If you live where it never freezes, water is an option. The rest of us have to use a liquid that has a lower freezing point. In the old days, farmers used calcium chloride. It’s the cheapest stuff to put in there, but don’t! Because it is caustic, over time it will eat up the rims of the tractor. The other options that I do recommend are alchohol-based substances (like antifreeze) and beet pulp. The second form of ballast is wheel weights which are heavy cast discs that mount with long bolts inside the rims of the tractor. The disadvantage here is the weight sits up higher than fluid. The final two methods of ballasting I do not recommend. First is a “ballast box” that goes on the three point. Some people love these because they can remove the weight when not needed, if you need weight when brush hogging you can’t add it because the three point is tied up with the cutter. Plus, the hydraulic system carries the ballast. The final option is foam filling the tires. This will add a huge amount of weight but be a very massive problem if the tires ever wear out. Getting the foam away from the rims is a problem. It’s also going to make the tractor ride rough.
Weather can also affect hillside stability. Wet grass can cause huge problems, and if it's windy, the mowed grass can blow over to where you'll soon be driving and that can get treacherous. Finally, fatigue, haste and equipment maintenance all factor in to slope stability.
The bottom line to all of this...if the slope worries you, don't go there, and understand, there are so many factors to rollover prevention, it's impossible to predict where you can drive safely.
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I knew a farmer who bush hogged the same fairly steep hill for 40 years. One day he rolled it and it killed him. Only takes one.
I think I've decided not to take up tractor work as a hobby in my retirement.
Great advice I will certainly be able to use on our 38 acres in the hills of TN. Thanks Mike for all you do for tractor owners! "Keep on Keeping on!"
Nothing wrong with a healthy degree of anxiety when involved in dangerous activities. As a USMC pilot and Vietnam vet I was "anxious" on many occassions; that is different than being paralyzed by fear. Anxiety is your gut telling your brain to stay alert.
Semper Fi!
Thanks again for another great video, I just purchased my first tractor and can't wait to get out there and put that new tractor to work. I have been watching your videos for the last few months and they are very informative and to the point even for a beginner like me. Keep up the good work.
Thanks mike, tips like this can save lives. I had a close call a month ago moving a large stump on a slope and my tractor tilted half way up so I dropped the bucket fast and it came back down. I was glad it happened now since it didn’t turn over. Now I know my limitations and what can happen in an instant. Thanks for all the good advice and keep them coming.
Another piece of advice I picked up along the way is if your front end starts slipping downhill, you're near your threshold. Time to angle uphill. I've sometimes abandoned a path all together and just approach it from a different way.
I've watched this video a couple of times and will save it to watch again. This is a real service to the safety of tractor owners/operators. Thank you for bringing in a cooperative extension specialist! [Full disclosure: both of my parents worked for cooperative extension, and I have a very soft spot in my heart for the role and purpose of cooperative extension!]
I've always had a soft spot for the Extension folks as well. There have been several that have been extremely helpful to me in my career, and to my father in his orchard business and I don't think they get the credit they deserve. They're the unsung heroes of agriculture.
Great video. Truly an important subject to cover. I have AG tires on my JD 3039. My property is mostly hills and the ag wheels came set at their narrowest setting. I took the wheels apart and turned around the inner dish to get as wide a stance as possible. It really made a big difference in how planted the tractor felt and performed on the slopes. I simply do as suggested and back up the parts I am not confident on and keep all my implements as low as possible.
This is one of the few videos I could find about side-hilling. Much appreciated. I have a closed cab 40hp 🚜, that some of the areas I want to take it have a decent slope. I need to find some ballast.
Nice video, Mike. Good subject to do a video about. Good Q&A about slopes with Robert. I've done some dicey slope work and tried to hurry and had a close call. I've learned from that....."Low-n-slow". Thanks for sharing.
Hey Mike! I'm from Germany, future farmer. Here it's common for most Farm tractors to have a front 3 point hitch. On some tractors it's operated with the rear remotes, others have an extra ELC for the front. A farmer, that I help a couple days a week, went spraying potatoes. In the front he had a weight box, that also had some space for pestizides on top, in the back a 3 point mounted 1300 l/ 340 gal sprayer. As he went out, he wanted to tilt the sprayer back via the hydraulic top-link, but he used the wrong remote that controlled the front 3 point. He looked back curios why the top link wasn't working as the weight box, that was being lowered, hit a manhole. He suddenly got stopped, luckily he was only going about 10 km/h / 6 mph, so he had only his sternum bruised. On the tractor some bolts holding the 3 point on were sheared of and a sensor was damaged, but the weight box is completly bent. The box is made out off 0,5 cm / quarter inch steel plate, in the front of it it now has a 1 inch indentation, all of the mounts were bent and a top link ball cracked. After the accident the farmer just kept on going, he sprayed 10 hectares / 25 acres of potatoes, not realizing the bruised sternum and the broken bolts. Now every front implement has to be locked (atleast electronicly) when driving on public roads.
Excellent safety tips, Mike. I'm up in Newfoundland, eastern Canada, which is hill country. My Massey Ferguson 255 is well ballasted, but I'm constantly aware of my limitations, and scanning for new info on safety.
Thanks Mike! You made some really good points in this video.
Very informative for a new tractor owner. Thanks.
Excellent content and much appreciated wise words. Thank you!
when it comes to steep slopes I ask myself this question., does this slop absolutely have to be mowed? I would rather look at a overgrown patch of ground than be 6 ft under a patch of ground.
The most likely to occur slope event used to be the run away. Thank goodness we now have 4wd tractors. With 4wd tractors on steep slopes it helps to have the front directional tires reversed . I routinely work slopes in excess of 35, VERY STEEP!
Great interview. Very informative.
I have the same TC40DA tractor and the best thing I ever did for slope stability was to widen the tire width. It was easy. Just reverse the center hub. Much better. Much safer. The stock width from the factory is not wide enough for good safety.
Thanks Mike for another great video.
Thanks million Mike!!! Excellent videos, Just one thing though PLEASE keep using the hand mike so we can hear you. I lost important information in your earlier videos due to not hearing anything you said Keep up the good work and know everything you're teaching or informing us on is being used by me and my family We are new to the tractor owner world again Thanks Mike
I push it living in mountains. Once or twice I've pointed it downhill quickly to get the rear up. Don't know if that's a thing, but in the end it felt right.
Really glad to have found your site, Mike. Subscribed! I have a 1952 Ferguson TEA20 (think Ford 8N) with all the important safety features of the time (i.e. zero...) Although compact by farm standards I've realized this thing can still maim or kill me right quick. Even tho I'm not a professional farmer (weekend warrior use at the cabin for grading, towing, etc) I still plan to go through all your videos carefully to learn what I can.
Love the Ford 7 & 8N tractors
We have mountain property in Georgia that I’m taking our tractor to. There are some parts of the property that I will not be operating the tractor on. Way too dangerous! Great info!!!
This is why they came up with the idea of terracing.
I grew up in the Poluse hills outside Pullman. Spent a lot of time on the hills as a kid
Perfect video for me to find I’m around the Palouse area as well
I had to mow the area around the church I went to, and there was one area near the highway which was sloped and I didn't feel safe mowing it and didn't want to put my brush hog on that steep slope so I backed down it and moved back up it until I got the job completed since I knew better than to try mowing at an angle even though I had weights on my tractor. Thankfully, I didn't have to mow this area again using my tractor, and brush hog.
Thanks for the tips Mike and thank you Harrison Ford..........
Great video!
Thanks for this info
Best advice EVER ! If you aren't comfortable , don't go there . 60 years of operating tractors on WV hillsides . Survived 2 rollovers . Experience is the best teacher and you only get that with time and gradually pushing your limits . Go slow and if it does go over ; bail down hill and roll away at an angle . BAILING UPHILL IS LIKE TRYING TO RUN ON TOP OF A ROLLING BARREL . I won't debate the merits of seatbelts .
i appreciate your wisdom. do you mean wear the belt or no so that you can bail?
With a ROPS, wear the belt. It will keep you in the seat and the ROPS creates a space for you so the tractor doesn't land on you.
Jaye Michael ++
I grew up in north Idaho on a small farm and have seen the hillsides people farm down near Pullman wa. And along the Snake river. Gives me the shivers just looking at the fields from the road.
I mow some really steep hills on my farm and use a much larger tractor with 710/70R42 and 600/70R30’s which have a lot of traction, 1300lb on the rears and 1800 on the front pulling a big 20’ batwing on a precision hitch. Most holes I roll right over but this summer I fell into a huge groundhog hole and if I didn’t have front suspension I might have flipped. I also mow around rocks with smaller tractors and I keep my head on a swivel looking for holes anywhere, on a hill and on flat ground. Know your surroundings is key.
Mike in my opinion a bit of fear is a good thing when working with equipment. By this I mean that fear level that gets your brain engaged to think about what you are doing and how to do that safely. Now I do not want someone to have such a fear that they will not use their tractor, but if they can not do so safely then perhaps they should hire that work done. Of course they need to realize that steeper land will cost more to work than level land.
Very sound advice
Thank you for sharing
Good info. thanks
Good video Mike
I’m retired now but for years I mowed right of way for the state of Illinois, both interstate and 2 lane highways. I used a 15’ batwing mower most of the time and back when I first started I was young and bulletproof so I mowed on some crazy steep slopes. I got away with it by going slow, using the brakes to keep the tractor pointed uphill and lots of luck. Those were fun days but looking back now I see I was foolish for doing it.
Glad you made it safely through those years. Thanks for your service.
Steve I would like to pick your brain on some stuff I work for a small municipality and we've been taking on some of this work and I've been winging it slow but not sure I'm the first so no one to ask spent most of my life on tractors guess that's why they hired me
Steve Warner I roll over and I’m paying the consequences now for Idot
Duels are great for hills I use duels and also water in the inside tractor tyre and that works great
From a retired engineer with a new compact Bobcat - I installed an incline gauge. I understand your limitations vis a vis liability. That said, anything you could tell us about using that gauge would be helpful.
great video
Thanks-this is helpful stuff to keep in mind.
I have owned a dozen Machines but My current tractor is a B21 Kubota with a backhoe it’s my second one of these. My first b21 had weighted tires and the two were night and day. So with the current b21 I swing the backhoe as a counterweight. Be careful when on any machine.
Mike,
Have you heard of tracks being put on a compact tractor??? This could solve the issue of roll overs. I see them put on everything under the sun and solving terrain issues!!! Would love to hear you thoughts on this. Tracks will not slide like a wheel and would allow a much more solid footing!!! Other than lack of power on a smaller HP tractor would be the only draw back. However I do think it could work on 25-40 HP tractors. This could solve a lot of problems but is not in the conventional mindset so you do not hear much if anything on it. Just throwing in my 2 cents and my lack of understanding to the tractor industry I could truly be foolish. However would love to hear your thoughts!!!
Much respect
Mark
I am going to buy my ex wife a tractor
With a high capacity bucket
And a chainsaw ! 😂
Well don’t show her this video
Hello! We own a John Deere 5045E, we take it on slopes way steeper than it’s graded for, however, do it safely. Never go side to side on a slope, and as soon as you are going up the slope or down it keep your bucket as low as possible.
I use one at work with a pto powered blower and about 400 pounds of slice weights on the front and it does more than you’d think on hills. But I would never try with a front end loader on it. I’ve almost flipped a 5065 carrying a log in the bucket just going over the slightest hump in the ground.
If you are going across a slope and it gets steep point you nose uphill and increase the foot print.
Duels help heaps.
Great advice, Mike.
There's one thing I've always thought would be a good, and fairly inexpensive safety feature, especially for utility and compact tractors: An artificial horizon bubble, similar to those used in aircraft, with colored indicator wedges (green, yellow, red) to indicate the relative rollover risk. Mounted in a clear location on the dash of the tractor, this could give the purchasers of smaller tractors (usually bought by first-timers) at least some advance warning that they are on a significant slope. These "rollover bubbles" could be calibrated at the factory according to the size of the vehicle (as smaller vehicles are often at greater risk of rollover than their heavier cousins).
Just how realistic would such a system be, in your opinion?
A manufacturer would not want to equip tractors with such a device because there are too many variables at play. It would expose them to lawsuits. It would be like.a car manufacturer telling you max safe speed to drive in the snow. They cant.... too many variables.
You can buy vehicle inclinometers fairly cheaply. They won’t be calibrated to your specific tractor but you can figure that out over time
I use one all the time, it is just an indication & you do calibrate over time for your machine.
I have an inclinometer on my tractor and watch it very carefully when bush hogging my dam.
Great idea. I've been tinkering with an indicator like that that will also sound an alarm if the tractor tilt exceeds whatever I set it for. That will be by trial and error.
On flat ground, raising the loader raises the center of gravity, but at least it stays in line with the center line of the tractor.
For sidehill work, raising the loader raises the center of gravity and shifts it sideways to the downhill side.
One thing not described about brakes on steep slopes is the danger of one wheel locking and sliding. That means the other wheel is suddenly turning twice as fast, so you accelerate. That sudden acceleration can put you in danger very quickly.
We have some inclines behind our small tank that I mow. I have approached these inclines by going up and down rather than parallel to the slopes. I just feel safer doing that plus drive slow.
my owner's manual has the max slope degree, e.g. 15. I attached a level on dash, figured out where the bubble is at the max slope. I also avoid going sideways along slopes, if possible. I've also "gone out" on my atv, on slopes that i was about to mow, and was surprised to find how steep the angle. I've almost rolled when a hay bale shifted and when a load of snow shifted. I hate operating tractors on slopes.
I get asked the same question a lot as well and its a hard one to answer. thanks for making this video I will point folks here when asked this question.
daveknowshow Hey Dave, I was wondering where you been. Hope your doing well.
What do people think about these dual-wheel tractor setups for sub compacts?
Speaking from experience running compacts in 30hp range on a very slight slope, backed up and rear tire fell in a old stump hole now filled with leaves and rolled tractor like slo mo.Not wearing belt (dumb) i slid off seat and got clear.Just wish you have touched on turning wheels around for the wide stance where possible and or going with wheel spacers as that makes a huge difference.Filling rear tires only half way and having belly mower on helps alot also.I'd have to say any weight below tractor floor is a plus for the cg of tractor.
One of my first videos covered making a wider footprint: ua-cam.com/video/y2Ytz9-PGOA/v-deo.html.
My neighbor was killed in a tractor roll over old tractor no roll over protection went down to look at the beaver dam and got to close to the edge
Nice. I live in Fayetteville Arkansas.. just got a new Kubota BX2680
Where I'm from , farmers do not practice contour ploughing . They plough downhill regardless of the slope, which to me does not make sense. I was just told by one that it is very dangerous. I have been looking for A video on safety features of tractors when contour ploughing , and this comes close. Besides weights, do you add any other thing to balance the tractor ? I'm no farmer but I cannot understand why in other countries farmers practice contour ploughing and virtually no one does in mine .
I like the idea of using the brakes to steer but it is hard when the hydrostatic pedals is on the same side as the brakes.
oof poor design
3 important side hill points you guys missed
If your getting into trouble, and your bucket is wider than your wheels, drop the bucket to stabilize.
Keep moving, the tractor pulls itself to groud.
Work going straight up or straight down hill
You're right on dropping your FEL bucket The other day mowing only about a 5* slope backwards, I bumped the lever into N and started out of control on an angle. I dropped the bucket to the ground ( I always work with the bucket tilted full forward & keep hold of that joystick just in case! ) The bucket dragged me to a Stop in about 10' Thank God !!!
Mine almost turned over on flat ground. Had a full load on the loader but it was very low. Sharp turn very slow but still tipped too far.
An overwhelming fear of the job will cause you to make bad decisions. Respect The situation but don't be afraid of it. The property I recently purchased is rather steep compared to any video I've seen. Being a professional dozer operator I don't think it's a problem for a four wheel drive tractor. In saying that, any slope is dangerous especially if you put your tractor out of balance. Side to side even on the slightest slope could pose a threat. Going up hill go as straight up as possible, going down hill, go as straight as possible. There have been times the transmission in the lower gears would literally lock the wheels up causing them to skid. A higher gear at lower rpms sometimes is necessary. Plan your crash...never jump off...a controlled crash is better than being severely injured or worse.
Never come down a hill at a 45° angle to the hill. You can go up a hill at a 45° angle. The danger increases when driving down at a 45° angle.
poluse falls is a nice hike
Mike, why is it so hard to acquire the center of gravity data for a tractor. As an aircraft mechanic for 40 yrs, I have always had data from the manufacturer as a baseline. I could then determine a new C.G. for any changes I made to the aircraft through modification. I am frustrated by the lack of information available from the manufacturer or the dealer. It appeares that if I want this data I am going to have to weigh my tractor myself. I am also referring to the vertical C.G. as well as the longitudinal. Along with the C. G. it would be great to have limits for it too. Heck, even forklifts have a safety triangle where you must keep the C.G. inside of, but not tractors? All this talk about safety seems to come down to Seat Of The Pants rather than calculations. Perhaps you could ask your extension friend? Thanks, Mike?
The video goes into this a little bit, but the truth is that CG data would be utterly meaningless and misleading.
C.G. changes a LOT depending on where you have the tires set (on my loader tractor, I can change the track by almost two feet), what kind of load you're carrying or pulling, whether or not you have tire ballast, wheel weights, front weights, tire pressure, tire size (one of my tractors can mount rear tires from 16 to 23" wide), whether you're using the drawbar or 3-point, whether you're operating in 2WD or 4WD, running singles or duals, etc. Forklifts by comparison don't have as much that can change, and it's pretty rare that you take a forklift off-road, on hills and soft ground. You may think you're safely within your CG triangle pulling a mower up a hill, and then you hit a little bit of soft ground that hangs up the mower wheels and it pulls the tractor over on top of you.
My rule of thumb is to never have my butt anywhere near being over the line between the contact patches of my front and rear tires. Since the vast majority of weight in a tractor is in the rear chassis and gearbox, that gives me at least something to shoot for on side-slopes.
A rule of thumb is that the center of the tractor is at the top hitch of the three point linkage.
If you take a straight(plumb) line to the ground from there you can work out the type of slope you can work that machine on.
As degrees of slope increase the the straight line will head to towards the outside of the wheels
The tipping point is when you go beyond the outer edge of the tyre.
My first gravel experience one of the front tires on my Kubota L5740 (4wd) went into a rut as I was picking up a bucket full.... tractor almost went over. Then today as I was trying to lift a big bag of gravel off my pickup as I lifted the tractor started going over sideways.... I gave up and used my excavator for the lift. I'm a greenhorn with equipment but I'm starting to wonder why tractors don't have a suspension articulation lock on the front axle? Lifting a lot of weight up high is just asking for trouble. It's like tractors are inherently unsafe for that. Plus with the loader bucket full never go downhill bucket first. Even with 4wd if one rear tire starts to slip you're in for a surprise ride to the bottom if you don't drop the bucket quick. Or.... keep a big weight on the 3 point hitch on the back! I wonder why tractors don't have disc brakes on the front wheels?
Those are great points, there's no doubt that tractor design could be made safer. It would put me out of a job though :).
Italians make articulated tractors designed to deal with the points raised.
Keep brakes separated. If u get in trouble turn downhill and brake on the downhill brake. Getting pointed downhill asap !
Ok not dissing anyone but. You guys need to come to West Virginia. What I'm seeing on this video is flat land.
Other than adding wheel spacers can I reverse all 4 tires and if I get spacers should I do all 4 JD 2025
Hell seen trailers almost 90 degree to the tractor on steep hills lifting silage lol
Hi mike love your stuff. My tires are loaded. 2006 Kubota B7510 I just saw one of the loaded rear tires is starting to leak; doesn't look rusty. Do they rust from the inside? What do I do? Good video subject?
The inner tube has ruptured and the calcium chloride is slowly eating at your rim. This is not good. However, I've seen rims last for years before the rust became an issue, so it's a slow process. You should fix it in the off season, when you have time.
Once you go into a ditch in Winter, the fear of God helps you go easy with tractor afterwards.
It sure did for me.
fluid on tire gives weightlower center of gravity. tires don't roll on their sidewall
this is why I prefer tracked equipment
When on hills I will put a load in the front bucket and keep it as low as possible. Just saying
Use a old d series Allis and spread the wheels out.
Hello, why wouldn't you recommend to approach the hill or slope perpendicular instead of parallel?
Thats my thoughts but i learned the other day why. I started down over a slope the other day and could not stop. I started sliding. I had to ram my forks in the ground to keep from going in to a forest of trees. I was in need of some toilet paper when it was all over with. Scared the poop outta me. Be careful out there.
Conditions can be highly variable.
Mow a row and you're moving along fine but then go over the same place 2 minutes later and its deadly because of fresh cut grass. Fresh cut grass can be like you greased the hill.
Fresh dew in the morning can make a hill unsafe from any direction when it will be safe to mow it an hour later when the sun evaporates the dew.
Going straight up the hill is usually the safest way. But if you have a heavy load on the 3-point hitch you might be safer going up backward.
Going downhill is similar. You want the heavy end uphill.
.
You might see people put dual wheels on a tractor and that will be for either ability to go over softer ground or so the tractor is wider so it can handle a steeper slope sideways. It also conveniently puts more weight low to the ground which helps with handling hills.
I've never seen a compact other than a Ventrack with the dual wheels.
.
Ventrack with dual wheels is a VERY stable machine on a hill. It starts out being a very low machine. But they cost about twice as much as a common Kiubota of the same power.
My tractor doesn't have a ROPS and I'm very cautious about operating on hills and uneven ground. I pre-run all of my bush hogging areas with the ATV before I mow. Saved me this fall with a new, very steep washout hidden by grass. Would've rolled the tractor for sure if I had hit it. I'm also going to retrofit a ROPS on my tractor. We have guys killed every year in my area, usually mowing or haying, and as far as I know they were all older tractors without a ROPS. Most of them older guys with decades of experience killed by a tractor they'd probably spent umpteen hundreds of hours on.
I'd be very curious to know the fatality/serious injury rate when in a rollover in a ROPS equipped tractor while properly restrained.
Get the ROPS designed for your tractor . Retrofit is not a good idea... My opinion only !!!
One thing I didn't hear discussed is keeping the bucket as low as you can for the terrain! I live in southern NH; I'm either going up hill or down hill. I almost learned the hard way to keep the bucket low.....a tractor on 2 wheels is not fun.
at 1:44 into the video he does mention it.
He actually did mention keeping the loader low.
it is part of the stability triangle.. just like forklifts
When I was a kid I remember seeing country workers cutting road banks with tractors that could shift there center of gravity. I guess it was done by hydraulics. Anybody know how they worked ?
Also most get hurt when they get used too much with a particular machine.
A good tractor should be able to handle 30 degree slope, as the smaller Ventrac's can.
new tractors are much more prone to rollovers.I understand that new machines have some better safety features,but they lack the biggest safety feature of all,weight.
I'd be interested in comments on the helpfulness of applying one of the brakes when mowing on a slope. I was told that applying either the uphill or downhill brake (can't recall which one...duh) would help stabilize the tractor. Any thoughts??
you can hit the uphill break to cross the hill with the front slightly uphill. only needed on the steepest parts for me.
Every safety feature on a tractor is written in blood, think before you do anything, "How can I get hurt/not hurt" . Think about all the farm accidents you've heard of and let them be reminders of what not to do.
If you can't make the wheel bass wider DON'T DO IT. Wheel bass wilder is moving the wheels out on both sides of the tractors to make it wider and more stable. Been there done that to grown up on a farm I know. If you can't do that go up and back down the slopes.
I’ve been operating tractors for 35 years, all on flat ground. Mild slopes and grades scare me all the time. I couldn’t work on ground like some in the video. Lol
Why is backing up a hill better? I would thing the front is heavy due to the engine.
Watching mike run his new holland on that side hill with the mower had me sketched out. Im new to this and that certainly wouldnt be me. My rear tires are not loaded I am doing that this week but still......sketched out. Much skill and time to learn that.
You may want to back up and down the steep slopes if there's no fluid in the tires. This week's video is going to talk about 8 things that can influence tractor rollover, which constitutes 60% of tractor accidents.
will front end weights help prevent roll overs?
No, not for a side roll over. Rear wheel weights yes.
Just put some duels on it and you'll be fine. I've found that with duels on, the tractor will slide off before it will turn over
Time for a duel.
Not always true.
At 2:20 he says "always want to keep the most weight of the tractor on the uphill side". Isthis true when backing up a hill? I'd think when you are backing up a hill with a front end loader, and no rear implement on, your tractor is heavier in the front than the rear. I'd want the bucket always on the down hill side when I'm going up or down the hill. That would mean I'm keeping most weight on the downhill side. Am I wrong?
If the bucket is low so it's at or below the center of gravity it's best to have that weight on the uphill side. It puts the weight over the wheels and turn over is less likely.
Appreciate your reply. All I know for sure is that on my tractor backing up a steep slope is the safest way. This enables me to steer downhill and out of a slide in case I lose traction. I always have my bucket on the downhill side when going straight up or down a steep slope. if you drive forward up a steep hill , and you start sliding, you can't steer out of it.
I am 62 years old. Be driving tractor for 50+ years no roll over. Why? I don't ever ask this question. I don't need to find that piont. This lean angle, or tilt angle can be influenced by many factors. We are on tractors to do work, we get tempted to use tractors in ways they aren't designed for. We are lazy, reluctant and inpatient we turn them over and get injured or killed. Use the common sense of the fear of the unknown and watch how much better judgement you use.
Ok, gonna ask a stupid question, but I'm new to all this so bear with me. So should I bush hog UPHILL but not downhill? I think that's what I'm hearing but I want to be sure.
bushhog uphill on really steep. make sure the front is heavy enough tho
First thing make sure you have ROPS
And use the seatbelt if you have ROPS, otherwise you'll probably die anyway.
When it filps thats too steep, i skid logs with my ford 641, most of the time the fount end aint on the ground, ive had it on side hills with a chain form the loader frame to a tree to keep it from rolling.
Just run it as hard as you can.
I want the rack you have on your ROPs
It’s called a Tractor Caddy: asktractormike.com/product/tractor-caddy-tool-box/.
Wouldn't you want to hit the hill like boating in the ocean head first into the wave/ hill.
No. Here's why: ua-cam.com/video/lRrGBu7MNvI/v-deo.html
If your tractor does not have a roll bar, it is better to not wear a seat belt... agree?
AGREE 100%
Wouldn't want a seat belt installed on a tractor that didn't have a ROPS with the only possible exception being something like a zero turn mower for how fast you can zip around.
I noticed in the video that the New Holland tractor had a hydro-static transmission. Does that make it easier to negotiate steeper hills if you pay attention to the other factors like balance and weight distribution over a regular shift transmission?
I think it does because it's so much easier to control the speed. I'm planning to have a hydro failure in the future because brush hogging is really tough on them, especially in hills like I have. I think, though, if it were a gear shift tractor, I'd be replacing the clutch every year.
I dropped a front wheel into a hole on a hillside with my CASE 830 when I was mowing. Fortunately, there was a tree to stop me from going over. Unfortunately, kiss the radiator, fan and front sheet metal goodbye!
It's a certain moment when you feel a wheel go into a hole and the people watching you move the sheep trough with the front-end loader gasp in shock......I didn't trip over, but it's not something I want to happen too often.