Standard manual vs hydrostatic on slope

[Biker1mike]

Hi, Not sure if you are talking logs or the rounds in the picture.
I DO NOT GET sideways on any slope. Just to many things can go wrong. I would drive up the grass at a 45 degree angle and dump the load. Then back up and get straight on the hill.
I would rather do some manual labor and move stuff by hand before I get the B sideways.

 

[RCW]

Liam - - - for your purpose and experience level, get yourself perpendicular to the slope as you've done to stop the tractor. ALWAYS lock the brakes, or shut the tractor off IN A LOW GEAR when you dismount.

With a manual, for now ALWAYS use as low a gear as you need to make the slope. Don't look for speed at the cost of shifting mid-route. You DO NOT have the experience to accomplish the task.

You will learn the idiosyncrasies of driving a manual machine quickly. An HST is honestly much safer for an inexperienced tractor operator. That said, they way you get experience is by doing.

Slopes are dicey. None of us want you to get hurt.

Trust me, not talking down to you at all. I was 6 years old when I had to deal with some of these learning issues with a 4,000 pound tractor, and maybe a ton or two of hay wagon or manure spreader behind it.

That was a long, long time ago....some things I take for granted for operating a manual tractor or car/truck. This stuff is innate to me.

Not so much with others without any exposure or experience. Again, just want you to be safe......

 

[liam.hanninen]

Liam - - - for your purpose and experience level, get yourself perpendicular to the slope as you've done to stop the tractor. ALWAYS lock the brakes, or shut the tractor off IN A LOW GEAR when you dismount.

With a manual, for now ALWAYS use as low a gear as you need to make the slope. Don't look for speed at the cost of shifting mid-route. You DO NOT have the experience to accomplish the task.

You will learn the idiosyncrasies of driving a manual machine quickly. An HST is honestly much safer for an inexperienced tractor operator. That said, they way you get experience is by doing.

Slopes are dicey. None of us want you to get hurt.

Trust me, not talking down to you at all. I was 6 years old when I had to deal with some of these learning issues with a 4,000 pound tractor, and maybe a ton or two of hay wagon or manure spreader behind it.

That was a long, long time ago....some things I take for granted for operating a manual tractor or car/truck. This stuff is innate to me.

Not so much with others without any exposure or experience. Again, just want you to be safe......

Thanks. Sounds like this CAN be done but safety first!

 

[NCL4701]

Piggybacking a bit on what RCW said, “the way you get experience is by doing.”

Very true. Practicing going up and down a slope, stopping, changing gears, getting to the point the pressure point in clutch travel takes over for the brakes is second nature: all that is great stuff to practice. On a slope where there isn’t a house, drop off, or other hazard at the bottom so if you mess up all that happens is you roll down to a safe flat area. I wouldn’t suggest working on a slope or anywhere else that’s beyond your comfort level.

Even now after thousands of hours, I’ll mow slopes as steep as our dam IF there’s a safe landing spot at the bottom so I can just back down if the tractor spins out or there are any other issues. But there’s not enough money in the world to get me to mow the dam that has a rip rap lined hole for the tail race at the bottom big enough to swallow me and my L. Get experience but be safe doing it.

 

[Henro]

This is very interesting. That makes sense. I'm going to try that on the very bottom of this slope. Very short distance to roll and not steep but something I can practice safely.

I don't have a gear tractor, but when reading this thread I could not help but think people drove road vehicles for decades, that were gear drive, and had no real problems on hills, when starting motion again, by leaving off the brake while releasing the clutch...Well, MOST people...LOL.

I am sure you will get the hang of it...pretty sure...it was never 100 percent with what we called stick shift vehicles when I was learning but nearly everyone became proficient.

Edit: The point mentioned above about pointing down hill being much safer than up hill when starting out is very important. With a gear drive vehicle, the only risk was stalling the engine. With a tractor there is always the risk of a back flip.

 

[Biker1mike]

I don't have a gear tractor, but when reading this thread I could not help but think people drove road vehicles for decades, that were gear drive, and had no real problems on hills, when starting motion again, by leaving off the brake while releasing the clutch...Well, MOST people...LOL.

I am sure you will get the hang of it...pretty sure...it was never 100 percent with what we called stick shift vehicles when I was learning but nearly everyone became proficient.

Edit: The point mentioned above about pointing down hill being much safer than up hill when starting out is very important. With a gear drive vehicle, the only risk was stalling the engine. With a tractor there is always the risk of a back flip.

I have driven standards for decades. On a steep hill the tractor is a far different beast. In my cars and trucks I could roll back a little before getting forward motion and they did not lift the front wheels. The tractor will lift the fronts when starting from a stop on my steep hills with ease. The hand throttle is your best friend when starting a geared tractor uphill. You can play throttle, brake, and clutch all at the same time.
As a matter of fact when we where pre-teens we used to pop wheelies on garden tractors by popping the clutch with the throttle at full. Rolling backwards and popping the clutch also worked well.

 

[liam.hanninen]

I have driven standards for decades. On a steep hill the tractor is a far different beast. In my cars and trucks I could roll back a little before getting forward motion and they did not lift the front wheels. The tractor will lift the fronts when starting from a stop on my steep hills with ease. The hand throttle is your best friend when starting a geared tractor uphill. You can play throttle, brake, and clutch all at the same time.
As a matter of fact when we where pre-teens we used to pop wheelies on garden tractors by popping the clutch with the throttle at full. Rolling backwards and popping the clutch also worked well.

This is good to know and I hadn't quite put 2&2 together in regards to these particular tractor physics. Another reason to point downward when changing gears on the slope. Thanks!

 

[GBJeffOH]

I have a B7200 non-hydrostatic. As I understand how this sort of transmission operates I can/should not change gears while on a slope; I would need to brake to not roll down the hill but can't move after changing gear with the brake depressed.

Yesterday I attempted a very simple project on one of the softer slopes at my property. The goal was to come from the garage you can see in the distance, come up the sight slope, then collect some logs, take the logs further up the slope (which flattens just beyond the photo).

When I got up to the logs I had to be mostly perpendicular to the slope in order to be in a position to move between 1st and reverse. This made it so I wouldn't roll back down the slope but forced be in a bit of a tight spot between my house and the retaining wall. And this is the main issue - not being able to change gears on the slope put me in a tight spot. It also required me to go all the way back down the hill when coming back.

I'm sure drivers with more experience could maneuver more comfortably but for a newbie this was a challenge.

I did a few loads but as you can see I didn't finish. This wasn't the right tool for the job for my skill level. Would I have better luck with a hydrostatic transmission? Would that mean I could change gears on a slope so that I would have been able to come at the logs from a sloped but better angle?

View attachment 93692

Keep the bucket low. You can lift the front tires off the ground with the loader. That is a pretty good brake. Also use the parking brake. Shut it off in low gear.

 

[rjcorazza]

Also, HST or manual, coming down that slope with a loaded bucket will take weight off of the rear wheels. Be sure to ballast the rear and be in 4wd. Anyone who has "taken the ride" will attest.