Scary Plowing this AM

[NoTrespassing]

I went out to plow this hill that is part of our driveway this morning at 6am in the dark. It had been covered with ice the night before and we got about 7 inches of snow on top of that. The tractor has chains on the rears and the tires are loaded. I've never had any problem with traction before but this AM was much different.

I took one swipe with the 6ft rear blade on the way down the hill and up the other side of the ravine. On the way back up I completely lost traction even after I raised the rear blade and locked the differential. With 3 wheels spinning it wouldn't go anywhere! I ended up backing down the hill and took another run at it with the blade up and managed to get to the top. I turned around and made a run down the hill with the blade down. About halfway down the hill the tractor started sliding and ended up completely sideways and sliding down the hill! All I could think of was, how am I going to get this tractor off the hill after it's laying on it's side. Well, luckily it didn't tip over but I can tell you it was a wild ride and not one I want to repeat soon.

I got a 50 lb. bag of calcium chloride out and melted some of the ice after that. I hadn't had a ride like that since I used to plow the hill with the old 47 farmall cub.

Kevin

 

[k0ua]

Wow, Kevin that does not sound like any fun at all. I had no trouble plowing my steep hill, Up hill the last two times with my chains on. they are the Aqualine MPC. which have two lines of chain on each tread as well as the cross ladders. They also have bars on each chain link. I wonder what kind of chains you have, and are they 4 link or 2 link? I also wonder how you would have fared with some chains on the front too. Maybe the slide would not have started.. I know the feeling of losing control on these nasty hills. 3 snows ago, I finally managed to get my tractor back in the barn before I wrecked it. I ordered the high dollar Aqualin MPC chains as soon as I got back inside. I will also point out, I did not have that ice layer under the snow like you had either, So I really don't know how well my chains will do on that nasty ice. I will bet you needed to change your underwear when you got in.

43/16.00x20 Aquiline Multi-Purpose (MPC) Tire Chain

 

[rekees4300]

"With 3 wheels spinning it wouldn't go anywhere!"

Been there done that. Ice is bad enough but put snow on it and traction goes to zero. Doesn't matter if 2WD or 4WD.

 

[corl]

When you get the right amount of ice on a steep grade chains may not help. As a kid I lived on top of a mountain with a 27% grade. It was blacktop and about 1/4 mile long but when we had ice storms you couldn't even walk up or down. We used a Jeep CJ5 with chains on all 4 wheels to go up and down the drive in the snow but when icy it didn't help. My mom turned the Jeep over on the driveway one morning going to work. Called a wrecker, got it turned back on its feet and went to work. My father tried to go down the icy drive with the jeep, chains on all 4 wheels. going forward but with the transmission in 4 low in reverse to try and slow the decent. He made it down but it was a wild ride.

Sometimes you just have to wait out the weather until you can accomplish what you want with the equipment you have.

 

[NoTrespassing]

I'm only running 2-link ladder chains right now. I have a set for the front but I've never put them on and don't know if they would have helped or not in that situation. That's the first time we've had that much ice in the last 10 years and I think I'll put some money into more calcium chloride to melt it rather than new chains. Even with different chains I would still need to get the ice melted for the other vehicles.

Kevin

 

[k0ua]

I see your point on getting the ice off.

 

[wmonroe]

Thanks for posting this, helps me not to get over confident when on my hill.

Glad it worked out ok and you weren't injured or equipment damaged.

 

[deerseeker001]

I have a few of those moments that keeps things interesting.I have double ring chains that really bite,traction is not a problem.

 

[rekees4300]

I think I'll put some money into more calcium chloride to melt it rather than new chains.

That will be the smartest money you have ever spent. How much is your life worth? Sliding down a hill sideways is God's way of telling you "Discretion is the better part of valor".

 

[diesel lover]

I'm only running 2-link ladder chains right now. I have a set for the front but I've never put them on and don't know if they would have helped or not in that situation. That's the first time we've had that much ice in the last 10 years and I think I'll put some money into more calcium chloride to melt it rather than new chains. Even with different chains I would still need to get the ice melted for the other vehicles. Kevin

how cold was it Kevin? Sounds like you found ice that was smooth as glass. Unfortunately while plowing snow with a komatsu pay loader at my old job I had to pull out 12 semi trucks and 2 highway plow trucks that night. One highway plow truck was plowing the entrance to our 40 acre lot and slid in the ditch. Yikes that was not fun pulling that out on the road in the dark!! The ice was so slick while pulling on trucks I could spin either 3 or 4 wheels without a doubt. I had to yank on the trucks to get them out at all. Some trucks pulled into our lot hooked to two 28 foot trailers at once. It went from 34F that night to -14 in hours! The packed fluffy snow turned into the smoothest ice I had ever seen. It was impossible to stand rather than drive. Very dangerous and I'm glad your ok. What you did was the right thing. Melting the ice and moving on. Ice is ice. With the kind of ice you were driving on even with chains it gets very risky.

 

[check]

I bet my v-bar chains would have made it.

 

[dave1949]

I bet my v-bar chains would have made it.

I wondered the same thing. Usually I would think so but this January we some ice so thick hard that the studs on my chains didn't make much of a dent. They left little marks, sort of like ice skates would. That's not much to work with on a steep hill.

 

[The Fred]

Kubota L3940 Driveway De-icing - YouTube

I use inverted V chains on the front on R4s and my hill had 2 inches of ice. My confidence is back without them I took a couple of rides with just rear chains. About 1:30 into the video. My local NAPA store stocks them for $120 bucks. Also the key is to keep moving at least slowly so part of a chain will "dig in".

Fred, stay safe

 

[amigauser]

Sounds like no fun. I had a similar issue last year helping the neighbor on their steep asphalt driveway. As soon as the snow was scraped down the surface turned to ice. Not a lot of fun sliding down. Their driveway is only about 100 foot or so long though and I was able to drop the plow to slow the slide. No ditches or steep drop offs like in your case either (just snow banks on each side).

After I plowed yesterday's 10" it was warm enough so ice was not an immediate issue like it was last year. I should probably invest in some chains myself but the Titan Turfs have worked very well for the last six years. I believe chains are not friendly with asphalt either which is the main reason I have not purchased any for the rear tires.

 

[Gator6x4]

View attachment 359082

I went out to plow this hill that is part of our driveway this morning at 6am in the dark. It had been covered with ice the night before and we got about 7 inches of snow on top of that. The tractor has chains on the rears and the tires are loaded. I've never had any problem with traction before but this AM was much different.

I took one swipe with the 6ft rear blade on the way down the hill and up the other side of the ravine. On the way back up I completely lost traction even after I raised the rear blade and locked the differential. With 3 wheels spinning it wouldn't go anywhere! I ended up backing down the hill and took another run at it with the blade up and managed to get to the top. I turned around and made a run down the hill with the blade down. About halfway down the hill the tractor started sliding and ended up completely sideways and sliding down the hill! All I could think of was, how am I going to get this tractor off the hill after it's laying on it's side. Well, luckily it didn't tip over but I can tell you it was a wild ride and not one I want to repeat soon.

I got a 50 lb. bag of calcium chloride out and melted some of the ice after that. I hadn't had a ride like that since I used to plow the hill with the old 47 farmall cub.

Kevin

Been there on ice and it not a fun thing. The people who recently had such an experience in Atlanta GA can also identify with the feeling one gets when trying to drive or move on ice.

 

[Phil48]

Kenvin! Scary!

Since the January ice storm, our road has stayed cover with ice, extremely dangerous. My road has about the same step with a sharp turn. With studded chain on four wheels, it's a breeze (I did try the ladder chain - but going sideway where a real problem). There from Tryy, at some point you could not even stand up beside the tractor, my Sorel boots where insufficient! However, the tractor was able to climb uphill without slipping.

On the pic, you can see on the left the roof of the garage. It is the last portion of the downhill slope. I would dare engage that road with regular latter chain. Studded chain are in a class by themselves; You will be impressed, your end up having more traction than in the summer time.

Be careful - Phil

 

[check]

Here is what my v-bar chains look like:



And, yes, they are rough on pavement, but my driveways are gravel.

 

[skyhook]

Here is what my v-bar chains look like:

View attachment 359270

And, yes, they are rough on pavement, but my driveways are gravel.

Hey check, do have those on the front also?

 

[check]

Yes, I did buy them for the front, but to be perfectly honest, I have not put the chains on for the past 2 years because I now have 2 cottages and I have to drive down about 300 yards of pavement to get between them, and I did not want to experience that rough ride. Both properties are pretty level, and so I have been able to get by without them up until this point, but there is a lot more snow this year, so I may put on just the rears. (I seem to recall someone on TBN saying that is is the front chains that cause most of the "rough ride" feeling.)

So, we'll see. If we get another really heavy snow up at the cottage, I may put the rears on, and maybe just drive down the shoulder of the road where it is a little softer.

Oh, yeah, and I do put a piece of plywood down on the garage floor, on which to park the tractor when the chains are on.

 

[JJZ 109]

Ice with a little fluff on top seems to be the worst for me, not having chains on my skid steer. But luckily it's flat, fairly short driveway. I just raise the lift arms slightly to relieve some pressure to gain traction again.