Traction Traction...lack of!

[JimBinMI]

Last summer, I graded tons of fill sand in a level area with my NH TC18 using a rented rake and my back blade. I had some traction concerns but was able to do the job.

I have 4x4 and turf tires, 190 lbs. weight on front, no filled tires, no rear weights. I recently received delivery of 100 ton of fill sand to grade the slope more gradually on the south end of my pole barn and having traction problems. Plenty of rain has fallen since it was delivered so that helped it settle. It was delivered in 7 piles of about 15 tons each. I have plenty of power but just spin a lot.

I know that the turfs are not the greatest for this job, I can't add weights to the turf wheels, I could have the rears filled. I've thought about moving some of the dirt with my rear scoop into smaller piles and then trying to level with the rear blade. And I have tried using gravity to my advantage pushing the fill down the slope but it's slow moving.

Any suggestions? What about chains, then I could use them in the winter too? Thanks in advance!

JimBinMI

We boys and our toys!

 

[Bird]

JimBinMI, the only tire chains I've used were on cars and pickups for snow and ice, but from what I've read on this and the CTB, that sounds like the way to go in your situation.

Bird

 

[Mike H]

Jim: In our climate, I don't think you can go wrong with chains. They make a big traction difference and even if they do not solve the sand problem, they'll get good use in 4 months. It's not a fair comparison, but on my garden tractor I've absolutely got to have the chains on the turf tires to get traction on slippery surfaces. This experience helped steer me to Industrial's on my TC.

 

[MChalkley]

JimBinMI - Let's look at the physics of your situation: You're on an unballasted tractor weighing, what, 1800 lbs? You can't count the weight of the implement on the rear, because it's on the ground, being used to move the sand. Chains will help, especially since you've got relatively low-traction turf tires, but you need some ballast.

Mark

 

[JimBinMI]

MarkC,

I've got over 200 lbs. of weight sitting on the seat! /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

Yeah, when I bought it the salesman asked if I wanted the rear tires filled (for a price), he said it would come in handy but I declined. The rear turf wheels on the TC18 will not accept weights. If we have some "real" snowfalls this winter, I may have to break down and get chains and fill the rears. Once I'm done with the barn I will mainly be mowing, bush hogging and using the rear blade for snow removal. I just use it for this other stuff because it's here!

JimBinMI



We boys and our toys!

 

[TomG]

If you haven't done so already, pick up a loader bucket of the fill and carry it around, in 4wd of course. The front ballast probably would add as much traction in loose fill as chains would. At least, I got by that way spreading and grading gravel with my box scrapper. I also have turfs.

I got the job done, but there wasn't enough traction to drag a full box while until the gravel started compacting. If I floated the hitch, the box filled up and the tires spun until I lifted the hitch. The differential lock was handy if I started to dig in.

You might try adding some weight on top of the blade. Mark mentioned that weight on the implement won't add ballast if it's floated on the ground. However, if you're having traction problems, you might be holding the blade off the ground anyway, and extra weight on the implement would add some weight on the rear wheels.

Still, I imagine it will be slow going. I faced eight loads of fill piled up the one half of a basement we were filling in. The job looked a little ominous for my compact, so I paid the trucker to spread it with his dozer. It was money well spent I think. Of course, I also was a bit worried about me and the tractor ending up in the hole buried underneath fill.

 

[Thomas]

Jim,
Do you really want some of those old fashion winters once again,when it snows 1& 2 inches an hour all day into the night also snow difting./w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif
Just when you have the snow taken care of the weatherman warns of another storm on the way which will dump even more snow./w3tcompact/icons/crazy.gif

That means you be spending hours having fun on your NH and drinking coffee./w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif
Yep for sure I wouldn't mine some old fashion New England winters now since I have Kubota and a new coffee maker./w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

Just about 3 1/2 months the snow flakes will start to dance up here in the mountains./w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

About when can you expect your first snow flakes?

Stay safe and /w3tcompact/icons/cool.gif


Thomas..NH

 

[JimBinMI]

TomG,

I don't have a loader! However, I have a rear scoop and the next time I go out and work on the piles, I'm going to be using it to move the fill into a bunch of smaller piles.

I have been using my rear differential lock a lot and it does help to have 3 tires turning instead of two. And I agree that if my blade is not down all the way, adding weight to it would help.

Thanks, JimBinMI

We boys and our toys!

 

[JimBinMI]

Thomas,

YES, I want some old fashioned winter snowfalls!

The earliest that I remember snow coming would be just past the middle of October, in the last few years we had a school snow day in October! Some years we are praying for snow so we can have a white Christmas though! I can remember some 60 degree Christmas days...not very many though. January seems to be our month for heavier snows and it can snow into March. Generally, if we get ice that has a worse effect on school being open or not.

It's just nice having a couple of snow days a year, seems to give the kids and the teachers a nice break and I can fire up the little '79 John Deere Sprint snowmobile and the kids and I have a blast. Most people around here that pay good money for newer snowmobiles trailer them up north on the weekends where there are lots of trails to ride.

The people that live closer to Lake Michigan get heavier snowfalls from lake effect snow. A co-worker of mine lives 30 miles closer to the lake than me (he's probably 30 miles from it) and he seems to get way more snow than us!

Be good, JimBinMI

We boys and our toys!

 

[EddieW]

I have some spots in my yard that are fairly steep. I have been looking for some lawn tractor tires that have deeper tread on it than the stock equipment so I can get up and down the slopes without having to lean and bounce to get traction. So far I haven't had much luck finding anything that looks like it would bite any better. They all seem to come with about a 1/4 inch of tread. I'm a little surprised with Jim's problem because I really liked the NH turf tires better than any of the others. As I remember, the knobs were about an inch long. They looked like they would really grip. I think there was a recent post that the turfs would actually grip better than R1s or R4s on dry surfaces, maybe it's just the sand. Maybe I misread the post.

 

[Thomas]

Eddie,
Turf tires have there pro and cons,and
I like turf tires for a couple of reasons.
1. Turfs tires do little damage on the lawn.
2.With a front loader I feel better balance.

When working in a wet area or plowing snow I wish at times I had other than turf tires/w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif and thats why I use tire chains.

Thats my two cents worth./w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

Stay safe and/w3tcompact/icons/cool.gif

Thomas..NH

 

[Thomas]

Jim,
Did I read this right,you don't have a front loader?/w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif

I hope you are planning to purchase one in the near future?/w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

Stay safe and/w3tcompact/icons/cool.gif

Thomas..NH

 

[EddieW]

I have sure been thinking about checking into the price of turf tires. I really don't like the JD turfs, though. They look like my lawn tractor tires, just not enough tread in my opinion. We don't have enough snow to even worry about snow removal so I think they would work.

 

[BILLG]

For an all around tire that will work well in a lot of different conditions I like the R-4s.BILLG

 

[EddieW]

R4s would sure work if I can find them in the right size for a lawn tractor. I think the size is 20x10x8 or 20x10x10. I haven't quite figured tractor tire sizes out. THe 20 is overall height, 10 is width of tread, and the 8 is rim size, I think. On my JD the rear tires are 19.5x15 NHS which means the rim is 19.5 and the tread width is 15, I have no idea what NHS means. Does that sound right?

 

[JimBinMI]

Thomas,

Yes, I Do Not have a front end loader! I don't plan on getting one either, that's why I didn't wait to order a TC18 with power steering, I bought the one off the lot without power steering. I do get a lot of work out of a rear scoop though!

JimBinMI

We boys and our toys!

 

[W5FL]

I knew there was some reason they sold bigger tractors. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Traction is the name of the game for an Ag tractor and the way you get it is with tractor weight and tires that are large diameter and have wide bar treads (lots of tire on the ground). Lawnmowers normally don't need much traction and that is why they make turf tires. Chains will help in your situation, but you can't expect to get the traction of an 8000# tractor that lays down nearly 3 foot of tread width on the rear tires and has front and rear differential locks.

Never heard of sand in tons, but 100 tons is about 60 yards or four dump trucks full. I had that much delivered last week end in just road base and 3/4 inch rock. I would guess 15 yards takes about 30 minutes to move and level. Sounds like you have about a 2 hour task on your hands.

How long did it take?

 

[Anonymous Poster]

NHS - I was told it stood for Non Highway Service or something like that.

 

[PBMAX]

EddieW,I was at a Jd dealer here in bama a few weeks ago and they had 2 types of tread on their turfs..I forget what they called the beefy'er type though. They were larger in "nobby" size and had fairly deep tread,compared to what I would consider Turff tires(like others have said "not much more than u find on a lawn tractor"If I was goining to get turff thats the only type I would even consider...If can manage to get out that way I'll try to stop and take a snap shot of them...At least the type and name...

Lil' Paul

Laziness is the Father of invention.../w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by PBurns on 8/8/00 11:21 PM.</FONT></P>

 

[Hawgee]

Those more aggressive turf's you want to take a picture of may well be called "Bar Turf". I see the local PGA golf course using them to pull the sand spreader. They provide a lot more traction than the standard turf without the damage of R1's or R4's. They are mounted on rims that look deep enough to be 50 gallon drums. Very wide foot print. Low psi per sq. in. of contact. Everything else runs the standard turf for lighter duty use.

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