How To Operate Your Tractor Properly On Slopes & Hills

Ignoring these tips could send you down a slippery slope...

Operating a tractor on hillsides, and climbing and descending hills are some of the most challenging and risky situations a tractor owner can face. But tractors and their attachments are about caring for the land — the earth — and the earth is not flat. Sometimes a particular task that must be completed involves maneuvering on sloping ground. But never let the desire to complete the task come before protecting the tractor operator and any co-workers or bystanders.

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When you find yourself in a tractor operating situation that includes hills, follow these tips to not only get your job done but to get you and yours back home without incident.

Proper operation of the tractor and attachments should be your number one priority.

Read the owner’s manuals of both the tractor and the attachment for tips specific to your tractor and its performance on slopes and hills. Always wear your seatbelt and ensure your roll over protection system (ROPS) is in the up position while operating any machinery in any circumstance.

• Overturns are a major source of tractor accidents. Tractors are subject to both side overturns and rear overturns where the front of the tractor lifts and the tractor falls over backwards. Tractor overturns can occur on flat, level surfaces, not just on sloping ground. Proper operating techniques and being on guard to prevent overturns are required whenever a tractor is being used.
• When operating on sloping terrain, be even more cautious to prevent tractor overturns.
• Tractors tend to be more stable if properly configured and ballasted. Refer to the operator’s manual and talk to your tractor dealer for details.
• On sloping ground, it may be better to run the tractor up and down the slope as much as possible rather than across the slope. This may help minimize the chances of a side overturn. Maximum caution to prevent rear overturns is always necessary.
• As much as possible, by hand and on foot in many cases, prepare the sloping ground work area before using the tractor by removing obstacles such as rocks, debris, and fallen and low-hanging limbs (you don’t want to strike a low-hanging limb with your tractor cab or ROPS). Loose debris can make slopes slippery even in dry weather. If trees, boulders, or other fixed obstacles make the sloping ground very challenging terrain for tractor operation, do not hesitate to choose to not use the tractor to accomplish the task.
• Run the tractor in a lower gear range to give you more control over the machine while operating on a slope. In addition, set the tractor into four-wheel drive; this provides more traction and a stronger ability to brake. This is because in two-wheel drive, only the rear-wheels brake. Therefore, operating your tractor in a low range and in four-wheel drive while on a slope will help you maintain control of the tractor in a slow and cautious speed appropriate to doing work on sloping ground.
• Note how tractor braking differs from how cars and trucks brake (cars and trucks always have braking on all wheels). Remember that tractors are built very differently than cars and trucks and perform differently. Therefore, adjust your driving techniques accordingly.
• Always keep the tractor in gear while operating on slopes and hilly terrain. When shifting from forward to reverse (or from range to range), place your foot on the brake to prevent rolling downhill as the transmission shifts. Avoid starting and stopping on slopes. Whenever possible do not make any sudden direction changes, headland turns, or stops on steep slopes. Make your headland turns, stops, and other changes on more level ground at the beginning or ending of the slope if at all possible.
• When using a front-end loader on a slope, it’s imperative to keep the loader as low as possible at all times. Raising the loader too high on a slope can significantly increase the chance of a rollover. Remember that low and slow are good watch words for loader operation on any terrain.

Follow these tips and apply a little extra caution, and you can keep your tractor and your day from going downhill.

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steigerman
Posted 10/22/ 17:58 (#)
Subject: Steep ground......(post below)

SC KansasI got to looking at the pics in the post below and had some questions.

1. Do you need to run higher tire pressure to keep from rolling a tire off the rim? What about the guide blocks on track tractors? Do they need to be made stronger?

2. Do they have to turn around on the level ground or can it be done on the slope?

3. Do the combines operate with RWA on all the time?

4. Are the combines automatically leveled or is it operator ran?

5. Is erosion very much or not?

Thanks,
Cody

Walla Walla, WAI live in SE Washington, some of the steepist farm ground around. Depending on the tire size sometimes additional tire pressure is needed. Most of the primary tillage tractors have wide tires. On the slopes around here wheat, peas, canola crops are grown, so erosion is kept to a minimun, also farming practices have changed in the last 25 years and have helped a lot. Yes guide blocks on rubber tracked tractors wear much more rapidly than on flat land. Tractors and combines can turn almost anywhere they need, slopes etc. however good operators will minimize unnecessary turning on the hills. Combines have self leveling, have since the s and many of them have RWA which is usually used except going down hill which can cause a runaway or loss of control. Farming here is much different than in other parts of the country.


central - east central Minnesota -Tractor Jockey - 10/22/ 18:22 - many of them have RWA which is usually used except going down hill which can cause a runaway or loss of control. Farming here is much different than in other parts of the country.

I have seen "run-away" pics of a combine crashed in the bottom of a ravine, but don't quite understand what happens, could you please elaborate on this. Why would the RWA hamper control on a down slope ? Thanks

Slicker than a Yes album.iseedit - 10/22/ 18:31

I have seen "run-away" pics of a combine crashed in the bottom of a ravine, but don't quite understand what happens, could you please elaborate on this. Why would the RWA hamper control on a down slope ? Thanks

The company is the world’s best hillside tractors supplier. We are your one-stop shop for all needs. Our staff are highly-specialized and will help you find the product you need.

I would hazard a guess that it's due to lack of traction and the mud hog can't keep up at (suddenly ) quicker speeds. Starts skipping along and you're in the bottom of the canyon. Same reason they don't recommend a Jake Brake when it's slippery out. You need that friction between the road and tire to keep the engine back pressure from stopping the drivetrain entirely.

That famous pic of the CIH combine at the bottom was a result of it stalling out while the driver attempted an uphill turn. Do they work on the hills at night? That would definately up the pucker factor.

Galahad, AlbertaI can't comment on the RWA question, but the reason that you don't use a jake on slippery roads is that the only wheels that are applying a braking force are the drivers, and the trailer may jack- knife and try to pass the tractor. On real slippery roads, such as during winter, you want your trailer brakes set up more than the tractor, so that they activate sooner and keep the whole rig running straight. Lots of drivers will use the spike brake only, but you have to have a smooth touch.
Rosco

Kittitas Co. Wa. State

Baring having an engine stall and die on you, or transmission problems..  The problem on the "lumpy" ground and having a run-away is sliding on the straw. Either the standing straw or the straw after combining..  Yup,, dry conditions, and enough hill and a combine will slide sideways or slide down the hill. I've had it happen to me,, gets a little interesting and absolutely NOT the time or place to panic.  You've gotta keep your head level even if the ground isn't.  Get your header down, hit the override on the leveler and lean the sob into the hill as much as possible, and point the combine down hill at an angle that'll make a slow arc to the hill,, and use BOTH brakes g e n t l y.. If you've ever had it happen once,, you get the hang of it not so exciting the 2nd time.

You won't see many high cutters or overloaded grain tanks on hillside machines. 

Kittitas Co. Wa. State

There is some steep but Dang nice ground in that area.  One real advantage over the flatland farmers,,,,   you don't have to squat down to do a close plant inspection or crop scouting.

Central OntarioThe reason a RWA machine will take off is because the main drive motor and rear axle motors are plumbed in parrallel.When heading downhill the holdback pressure exceeds the traction of the rear wheels and they actually stop allowing the main drive motor to speed up.Depending on the ratios of motors and header weight there is quite a variation between machines.

NW WashingtonSide loading of the tires is why combine levelers are limited to around 26 or 28 percent leveling when using dual drive tires. More tilt than that and the tire makers won't stand behind the tires. The full leveler combines like the IH in one of the combine forum pictures that level over something like 44 percent and used the big single nobby tires use a special tire and rim. The tire is something like 16 ply and cost a huge about of money. Seems like they were $5K each years ago. This is one reason that they have gone mostly to the limited levelers and that used regular dual tires.

You have to be careful when and where you turn so you don't spin out going up hill or go downhill so fast that the automatic leveler can't keep up and you wind up leveled the wrong way. I think the famous picture of the crash was a case of spinning out on an uphill turn.

They have to use the RWA to get up some steep slopes and it helps keep the combine on track on steep sidehills, but it is not used all the time.

The leveler is operated automatically, but the operator has a manual overide switch.

Yes, erosion can be a major problem especially in the high 20" and more rainfall areas. Far too much conventional tillage is still used and some years there can be some nasty gullies and rills in fields. Rain events are usually very light and not very intense. Thunderstorms are rare. Most severe erosion occurs during late winter when you get warm rains on frozen soil. No-till and min-till cut down erosion a great deal.

Southeast WashingtonNot everyone in the steep country runs combines with leveling. Just a few years ago in our county, there were more Gleaners than John Deeres or Case IH combines. It has changed some now as Case IH has increased in numbers due to a lot of them available even though we don't have a "local" dealer.

Some of us stay with Gleaner because it performs for us and feels safer on the hills as you are lower and ride like a tractor around the hills.

As Tractor Jockey says you need to turn off the rear wheel assist when going down hill as it starts hopping and bouncing and you have no control as the rear end comes off the ground.





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95h
Posted 10/24/ 00:06 (# - in reply to #)
Subject: That is an impressive picture !!

Kittitas Co. Wa. State

I've ran combine's on hills that steep but they were hillside machines.

Never seen a Level Land machine on ground that steep.  I assume *full* is about 1/2 a grain tank or so? 

How do you handle the grain etc.. all shifting to the downhill side of the sives and keep from throwing grain out the back?  (assuming of course it's a cylinder machine )

Looks like a good yeild.

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Glenn W.
Posted 10/24/ 11:47 (# - in reply to #)
Subject: Re: Steep ground......(post below)