front wheel cant

[cisco]

I've a 2001 Kubota (L3410) with FWD, and the front wheels are canted inward by ? 3-5 degrees (top of tire further away from center). No problem - I didn't know why the tractor had been set up that way, but it works fine and I didn't give it a 2nd thought until --- I inspected a couple of New Hollands (? 50 plus hp) the highway department uses to trim along our local highway, and wheels were perpendicular to the ground. So, I looked at a friend's older Deere (~ 25hp), and the front wheels were also perpendicular to the ground. Now curious, I checked out a new Deere (? 40-45 hp) at a local church camp, and the front wheels were canted, just like my Kubota.
OK, what's the deal? There MUST be a reason for the way any particular tractor is set-up (2WD, 4WD, road or field based, whatever).

 

[jinman]

Cisco, your "cant" is actually positive camber. Negative camber is when the tops of the wheels are closer together than the bottoms. There has recently been a discussion of this in the New Holland forum at:
TC24 front tire camber

Now, we didn't completely solve this issue nor did we all agree. But hey, that rarely happens in any forum. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

If you do a search of the web for camber, you will find lots of information. Typically, positive camber makes the front end of a tractor oversteer (it tends to aid turning). Negative camber like race cars use causes understeer. If you think about the old tricycle tractor front ends (narrow front ends) they all had positive camber.

Why some tractors have more than others is probably related to smaller tractors having a very tight turning radius. I think it also makes the front end more responsive with wide R4 or turf tires. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

 

[cisco]

Well, I read the thread, and you're right - there was not a lot of agreement. My guess was that the "positive camber" (or whatever) aided tight turns. As to large tires, the golf course near me uses a small Deere with large turf tires - vertical to ground (for whatever reason, but one sure doesn't want to make tight turns on delicate turf, regardless of the tires involved). So, seems the camber choice that companys make on tractors is related to multiple issues, about which I have little clue, and you take what you get when you buy the tractor.