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Side-Hill Operaion
Nobody commented to a side comment I made in another discussion about a rule of thumb for operating on side-hills. I can't remember if the rule of thumb is to turn into or down the hill if stability is in doubt.
I think I'm in the situation of of having heard somebody say that turning downhill is safest, but my instinct is that turning into the hill would be more stable. Perhaps there are reasons other than stability for turning downhill.
Anyway, it seems like my head and heart disagrees so I've got a 50% chance of being right and a 50% chance of being wrong. I'm not going to try and think it through, but it'd be nice if somebody would recall what the rule is. It's probably good for everybody to be very clear on this.
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Side-Hill Operaion
Thanks for the comments. They verify what I remember as the rule of thumb--turn downhill.
Murf's comment about nose up hill increases traction is probably the reason why I didn't have the whole idea in mind. True enough that noise up causes a weight transfer back onto the large rear tires to increase traction. But either noise up or down is going to be more stable than the side hill, and what you want is more stability as quickly and safely as possible. Control rather than traction is what is needed. Think I've got it now.
I couldn't find quite the right category for posting this. I used the hobby farmer category with a bit of irony.
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Side-Hill Operaion
Yes, that old car trick really did impress me. They'd go over a ramp with two wheels and then just keep one side in the air. I think some drivers could go clear around the track. You could swear that they were going to park and leave them that way.
I can't remember if it was driver's side up or down and I don't know if they had any help with the trick (maybe one side of the car was filled with wheel weights) but sure was impressive. Haven't seen it in a long time.
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Side-Hill Operaion
Nope--reading how it's done doesn't spoil the trick for me at all. Thanks for the description. I sort of suspected that it couldn't be done without modifications. I guess that many people have a redhead somewhere in their lives. Those old-time state fairs seem like a good place for the memories. I'm not sure how the fairs are doing these days. The Canadian Exhibition in Toronto is our equivalent. I'm not sure what happened, but the Ex stopped being interesting many years ago. Hope other fairs are doing better. I guess the lesson is that you can't hold a fair in the middle of a big city.
I guess I'm fortunate 'cause I don't have to work on serious hills. The few times I have been doubtful about traction, I backed down and drove up. I figure that keeping the large rear wheels on the down side should give the best traction. I also know that if the tractor starts sliding, then there's going to be virtually no breaking or steering. In such a situation seeing where you're going probably qualifies as an over-rated experience. Besides, I suspect my bucket may make a better anchor than brake.
I suspect the bucket as brake might work at very slow speeds, if the problem was traction rather than stability. I also suspect that most times the slide would happen quicker than an operator could lower a bucket. If the bucket didn’t hold the tractor, it could make the situation worse instead of better.
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Side-Hill Operaion
Good point about counter-rotation of the differential. True enough that if the tractor is sliding, then there's already virtually no traction so brakes aren't much good for stopping. Brakes might keep a tractor from turning and side rolling though. I understand that's actually more common than getting a wild ride all the way to the bottom.
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Side-Hill Operaion
Thanks William. That's my sense too, that many times I'd rather keep weight and the rear tires on the downhill side. Maybe that's why I can never seem to remember the rule of thumb. I always end up thinking 'Yes But.' Maybe it's best to conclude that there's really no good rule of thumb that can be used independent of the type of operation and conditions.
It's probably better to hope we develop good instincts and just do the right thing when a need arises. Of course, maybe we need some sort of rules of thumb to survive long enough to develop good instincts. I do appreciate you introducing the complexity that what's best to do may depend on what the tractor's doing.
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Side-Hill Operaion
William: There was a tragedy discussed here two summers ago I think where the escape route unfortunately proved to be a pond, so that's a good thing to keep in mind.
Myself, I think it's exactly situations and conditions that are being discussed and so I hope nothing contentious in any comments are intended. I think the situation of 'about to tip' is different from doubtful traction and the possibility of having a heavy implement uphill. I believe that my instincts tell me that there's a good chance that the implement might want to race the tractor to the bottom. However, if I'm ever faced with a situation, I just hope my instincts are right 'cause I know I won't have time to think about it let alone read about it.
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Side-Hill Operaion
Tough calls I think. Tractors have to have high ground clearance to do field work but higher clearance makes them less stable than many people think they are. I think BX's are less intended for fieldwork than many other compacts and lower ground clearances work well for their main intended uses. Cultivating corn might be a problem though.
A couple of notes: I seem to recall hearing that overturns from trying to make turns at high ground speeds outnumber overturns on slopes. However, over-turns on slopes are frequently the result of changed soil conditions (e.g. an over-night rain) or unexpected increases in draft. These types of things aren't the conditions that instincts developed through routine tractor experience prepares a person for, and I'm not sure how helpful things like tilt-meters would be.
The reason to always use a seatbelt on a ROPS equipped tractor is that if it rolls, most people's instincts have them trying to jump off the low side of the tractor. The ROPS bar tends to catch and pin them as the tractor rolls. Instincts again! There's really no substitute for developing reliable ones. The question is how do new owners develop reliable ones, and maybe there is a role for education. However, The role of education in the form of the safety police is a thankless one and probably not very effective as well. I did appreciate the education that ‘if you aren’t pressed are towing a heavy implement, then turning into a hill might be better.’
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Gas Generator Weather Protecti
03-28-2017, 11:21 
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