Skidsteer has no traction in snow uphill

[SOwens]

Hi all; my situation: Just got 15” of snow; must plow mile long, steep, dirt driveway. I’ve been plowing this for years in my Bobcat 873 with an 8’ plow chained up. This past summer I had its 1000 mile service and all was well. I decided to splurge on new chains so i got some 2-link and put them on the rear wheels. I left my older 4-link on the front. Plows great downhill but now I can barely return up an incline. (Not plowing uphill). The wheels turn, but stutter, and the only way I can move is by moving the levers back and forth so my tractor moves jerkily side-to-side. Machine doesn’t stall. Dealer has no idea. Since the only thing different is the chains, i’m gonna put the old 2-links back on tomorrow to see what happens.

Any comments? Would different chains front and rear cause this?
Thanks- Stephen

 

[fitter1]

Are the new chains lighter than the old ones? Maybe a little more weight in the rear, just a thought.

 

[Richard]

This past summer I had its 1000 mile service and all was well.

Any comments?

Just that you must have made a lot of trips up & down this hill!!

Otherwise, I'm clueless. Have you done the simple things like check fluid level and/or filter?

Not having too many 'miles' in a skid steer, I'm wondering if it's starving for fluid while pointed up but has plenty while going down.

??

 

[ovrszd]

Stretching for a reason..... Is it possible the tires are spinning inside the new chains? 2 link chains won't grip the tire as well if they are loose.

 

[4570Man]

Stretching for a reason..... Is it possible the tires are spinning inside the new chains? 2 link chains won't grip the tire as well if they are loose.

That would be my guess. I’ve had that happen with those over the tire skid steer tracks.

 

[ovrszd]

That would be my guess. I’ve had that happen with those over the tire skid steer tracks.

Yep, very common with those. Especially if running in sloppy mud.

 

[timbatrader]

if you have different chains front and rear, have you made the wheels different diameters. On a skid steer the wheels on each side are linked and turn at exactly the same speed if they are different diameters and have good grip this will cause them to lock up try with your good chains on one side and the worn ones on the other the difference in diameter won't be an issue that way

 

[LittleBill21]

I'd like to know what you mean by stutter, do the wheel actually stop moving? or are they spinning inside the chains?

 

[SOwens]

Wow - Although I’ve been reading TractorByNet for several years, I’ve never posted to the forum until now. Thanks so much for all the responses. Gave me lots to think about. What a great bunch of tractor folks! fitter1 - my new chains are way heavier than my old as they have twice as many cross links. Richard - I bought my tractor used so I didn’t put on all those hours, although I’ve made many trips up and down my driveway plowing and snowblowing. All fluids and filters are good, just had it done. Ovrszd & 4570Man - My tires aren’t spinning in the chains. I have them cranked really tight using smaller chains and springs. I had to use an apparatus (Koch utility tightener $20 from Amazon) to even get the chain tensioners on. BTW - after you figure out how to use it, you can really crank down on tensioners. LittleBill21 - By stutter, it appeared the rear wheels (with the new chains) were quickly stopping and then turning instead of spinning smoothly. This action happened at < 1 second intervals. It was as if the chains were digging in and the wheel would momentarily stop. timbatrader - Your insight about different wheel diameters and wheel grip seems like a logical explanation for this (not that the other responses didn’t). I decided to firstly, go back to my old chains to see if my tractor works as it did previously. If it does, I will have eliminated a tractor internal problem. Then I will put the new chains on the same side to see what happens. As you all know, swapping chains around all day is not how one likes to spend their days. However, I am snowed in (at 9600’ in the Colorado Rockies), and I just spent $$$ on a new set of chains. I will report back after all this … if I don’t have to have my fingers removed from frostbite! Thanks again, all - Stephen

 

[07wingnut]

Don't know much about your particular skid steer, but most of these have one hydraulic motor drive for each side, and the wheels on each side are driven by one motor, but are coupled together by sprockets and chains. If these drive chains have a lot of slop in them, and depending on how the motor is coupled to the drive chain, this could happen. Maybe not so much if the motor drive one wheel directly, and the other thru the chain. But if the motor drives the chain, interesting things might happen.