I failed in my mission!

[Anonymous Poster]

Hi,

*photo 1*

This is a second [now third!] attempt at posting this...somehow lost the first one part way through...after hitting the enter key twice, for reasons unknown to me [I mean the reason I hit that key twice.../w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif]

Any way, I will try again…

In a post at the end of this thread here</font color=blue> Rick [Mr. Tiltmeter /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif] suggests:

<font color=blue>Very curious what it measures. How about a picture to post? Then we ask TBN members toguess the degree of slope. No cheating guys. Don't measure the slope in the picture. Just guess. </font color=blue>

I had been /w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif by the sight of a tractor mowing the median of I70, right next to the traffic lane on my last run down to TSC. And I believed it would be possible to stop and measure the angle, as I thought the tractor was tilted so far that the operator risked tipping it on its side, which would have dropped the ROPS into the traffic lane, or close to it.

Yesterday I used this as an excuse to head to TSC in Wheeling, West Virginia, which is about an hour from my home. The sky was blue and the weather warm; a great day for a drive. I should have known things would not go smooth, after having to run back to get my wallet shortly after heading up the driveway. At least I had money to turn into something at TSC!

When I was too far down the road to want to turn back again, I realized that I forgot my carpenter’s level and tape measure! Measuring the slope I intended to photograph was now out of the picture./w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif

Now I must tell you that I fully intended to stop on the interstate and to get out and snap a couple. I did stop, but must say…there is not too much of a shoulder on the right side of I70, and practically nothing on the left…my van did its version of shake, rattle and roll as the 18 wheelers whized past…and that immediately convinced me that getting out along the side of that road was something to for someone with less brains than I have to do [if you can find that guy, my wife says it’s not possible...but that’s another story /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif]

So far two strikes against me…so all I can do is try to take some photos as I drive. Aren’t digital cameras wonderful? By the way…I learned it is not really advisable to use the small camera viewfinder to drive by…sort of like a low tech imitation of one of those remote control drones…they must have a bigger screen…buzz strips on the road side do have some value, after all…but I degress…

I did get a couple photos, which could be of some interest here. So I will post them now. Unfortunately, no measurement was possible. So the best we can do is guesstimate what the angles are. Would any of these slopes worry you?

I am pretty sure these photos show slopes that have been mowed by tractors running on them, as compared to a tractor using one of those hydraulic boom mowers.

I’ll attach a couple comments to “replies” where additional photos appear.

Good thing I didn’t forget my wallet. It was /w3tcompact/icons/love.gif at first sight when I saw her…a nice KK carry all that actually had all the metal painted! Better add that to my profile, I guess! /w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif

This first photo is representative of the slope I saw that tractor cutting. It is not the same slope. But it is quite close to the one I saw. Scared me…

I don’t know if a tractor traversed this slope or not…but it looks like one might have. I DO KNOW that I did see a tractor on one similar slope…

Bill in Pgh, PA

 

[Anonymous Poster]

* Photo 2 *

Here is another shot somewhere further down the road.

Also representative of what I think tractors along that road are cutting while pulling rotary cutters...

Bill

 

[Anonymous Poster]

* Photo 3 *

Here's another one.

I THINK a tractor cut this one as well...what do you guys think?

Bill

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Finally,

* Photo 4 *

I KNOW a tractor cut this one...

Photo take through a dirty window, into the sun...hope it comes across OK...

What is this slope angle? Hard to tell, I suppose. Looked about as steep as I would want to travers on my B2910, as I was driving by...

Bill

 

[beenthere]

Yes, I think a tractor cut this one on the left. It also doesn't look like a difficult slope to be on with a tractor. The one on the right has not been cut, and would likely not be cut with a tractor. IMO.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

HI,

I edited the posts to include a photo number for each so if anyone wants to comment on one of them, the photo number can be referenced so we can understand which photo is being referred to.

Should have thought to do this in the beginning....sorry...

Maybe my wife is right! /w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif

Bill in Pgh, PA

 

[s1120]

One of these days I will take some pictures of the slopes on my way to my new house. You can see where the tractor mowed up, and started sliding down./w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif If anyone is near Albany NY, I am talking I90 heading towards exit 12. These guys are nuts! But they do have the WIDE axles on them. But still! If she starts sliding, she can tip. Better them then me. My butts staying on the level./w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[Thomas]

The fellows that mowe area such as your photos,are braver than I'll ever be..yikes.

Right equipment can make the job easier..plus safer.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

There is no way a tractor will tip on that slope unless the operator did something extremly stupid like drive over the top from the other side and crank the wheel. I have been on far worse slopes then that with a TN 65 and MF 135 and that is childsplay. Do not worry about the tractor tipping as it won't without some help.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Hi,

Robert_in_NY comments:

<font color=blue>There is no way a tractor will tip on that slope unless the operator did something extremly stupid like drive over the top from the other side and crank the wheel. </font color=blue>

I am a novice with tractors and slopes, so I will ask for a follow up. Now it seems to me that my gut agrees with Robert on this, as far as the slope in the picture the tractor is in [pic #4].

But, how about picture #3? This photo was taken at the end of the sloped area, and you cannot judge the angle of the slope further down the road where those trucks are, because from about the point where the photo was taken, or maybe even before that point, the slope starts to level out.

I think it is possible to get a good idea of what that slope was like by looking at the closest part, on the left of the photo.

Do veteran tractor drivers [of the homestead/farm type] feel comfortable mowing across slopes of this angle?

Just from the angle the photo portrays, whether it is real or not [I think it represents reality pretty well], would a veteran tractor owner just jump on his tractor and begin cutting the slope shown in Picture #3 without giving it a second thought?

Bill ... in Pgh, PA

 

[beenthere]

<font color=blue>would a veteran tractor owner just jump on his tractor and begin cutting the slope shown in Picture #3 without giving it a second thought?<font color=black>

YES! That slope (left side) in pic #3 is NOT too steep for a CUT to get on at a reasonable speed (slow and controlled), watching out for any potholes on the low side, or debris such as stumps or rocks on the high side.

Look where the center of gravity is and the bulk of the weight between the left and right wheels of your tractor(s). It would take a lot to tip your tractor over on the slopes (even the slope on the right in #3 would likely only present a sliding problem. Sliding is not good as it is out of the control of the operator. Same as sliding on ice. It is the sudden or abrupt stop that causes a tip. IMO.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

Photo 3, left side is fine. I would not hesitate at all. Right side would require me to move the tires out to the farthest position. If I was on the highway tractors that are properly set up with a lot of weight down low I wouldn't hesitate at all. Just take me a few minutes to set my own tractor up first. With experience you learn that these tractors don't tip too easy unless you get careless or stupid. Accidents do happen but if you know what you are doing and practice safe techniques you will be fine on these slopes.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Picture 3 seems to show the slopes the best...

What angle do you guys think they are?

Sure look steeper than the 15 to 20 degree angles that we talk about as being the safe maximum slope angles...at least for those who are conservative...

I don't think the right-hand slope was cut with a rotary mower...looks to me like it was done with one of those boom mowers. The reason I say that is because as I watched the roadside, I saw little posts at the shoulder's edge, and the cut seemed to go right past them...seemed like a state run tractor would not run with just a single rotary on the back...

Bill

 

[frank_f15]

regarding photo #1 i was caught up in the part of the pic that showed the truck on the highway. seemed to be a tanker but from the photo it could look like a boeing 737 being towed backward. does anybody else see that?/w3tcompact/icons/eyes.gif

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Frank,

I'm sure it was a tanker...but I do see the 737 now!

Bill

 

[DDT]

Pic #3 It look like a 20 degree slope to me, But I have been wrong before, I guess thats why I use tilt meters.

 

[s1120]

<font color=red>be a tanker but from the photo it could look like a boeing 737 being towed backward. does anybody else see that? </font color=red>

Oh ya! You can make out the windshelds on the top. Cool!

 

[RBManufacturing]

Hi Bill,
Hey Guy, thanks for the pics. Sorry you had trouble on the
adventure. When I go to the National Farm Machinery show
in Feb. I will try to get some shots of a few hills they mow in
Ill. And Ky. Now that's some hills. Again, Thanks. Rick

 

[em14]

A Hill in Ill.? ....

 

[Robert_in_NY]

Here are some pics of this guy drilling in seed on the road banks.
<A target="_blank" HREF=http://talk.newagtalk.com/forums/MachineryTalk/posts/20845.html>http://talk.newagtalk.com/forums/MachineryTalk/posts/20845.html</A>