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Yes surprisingly it does have impressive pulling power but if the pulling power was better it would really help!
Kind regards
Increasing garden tractor pulling power
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Kind regards
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Thanks for letting me know!
Main issue with lawn tractors is lack of traction. Put some grippy ATV tires or something on it and you could pull a lot more.
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Yes I was looking at these tyres earlier today
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Small versions of traditional tractor tyre's
For mud conditions, ag tires work very well. For firm ground, it's hard to beat turfs with chains.
Load the rear tires with windshield washer antifreeze or plumbing antifreeze. While it will work with tubes, it is messy and time consuming when either filling or emptying. It is better with tubeless tires.
The second step for ballasting is to add wheel weights and 2-link tire chains.
The third step is to add about 150 lb of weight to the rear of the tractor.
The above combination will pretty much max out the axle capacity for load carrying, and put it at some risk for torque capability, but it will result in a substantial increase in pulling power.
As with any piece of equipment, the closer you get to maximum performance, the shorter the service life becomes. We constantly receive requests from LT owners for assistance because they regularly used their tractors on steep grades and reduced the hydro transmission service life by 80% in the process.
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Thanks for the ideas! I will give them a try and see how it effects my tractor.
Kind regards!
Kind regards!
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Hmm
that's impressive!
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Not sure if my tractors gearbox would manage that though sometimes it just doesn't move and it clicks under heavy load
Well..
What i would do in your position is just have realistic expectations. It sounds like the possibilities for your machine started in the 'low-to-medium' range and might have gone down to 'really low' if it makes a clicking noise and doesn't move. That's not engine or belts.. almost certainly internal to trans. Might have some already partially stripped teeth skipping across each other as the shafts flex apart from each other, etc.
The good thing, things that 'look like a riding mower', most people can't tell the difference between one with a lot of pulling potential and one without, so you can often find a 'good starting point' for pretty cheap because the person who has it might think it's 'just another riding mower'.
So i would keep your eyes out for the next project with better bones for pulling. Anything you learn on the current machine along the way will be put to use again in the future, so as long as you're not sinking a crazy amount of time or money, or getting demotivated and giving up, it's all good in the end.
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Good idea! I think I will take a look for a quad though due to more speed and power
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Problem there is the 'more speed' negates power when pulling.
Again, power is not the answer for pulling. Weight is. Neither is speed. Hard, sudden stops tend to break things.
Your tractor could weigh as much as 650 - 700 lb when properly ballasted. The difference between that and a quad is that the bulk of the weight is carried by the two drive tires, not spread out to all four tires as on a quad.
I have a 16 hp GT that is more than capable of out pulling two or three quads at the same time. Why? Because it weighs 2465 lb with all-up ballast weight.
How much difference does weight make? 800 hp JD vs18 hp.steam.
The angle of the tow bar is insignificant when compared to the weight difference between the 18 hp steam tractor and the 800 hp JD. Even when the steamer had its rear tires down in the trenches dug by the JD and the JD was on undisturbed ground with the tow bar almost dead level on the last pull, the steamer still walked away.
The purpose of posting the video is to show that more horsepower does not affect pulling power nearly as much as more weight. Even with a tow bar that is attached at the same height on two tractors that are the same except for the load on the rear tires, the tractor with more weight on the drive tires will outpull the other even if there is a 1.25% hp advantage for the other tractor. It is, after all, an extreme example when compared to the 44.44% advantage in this video.
Likewise, the low gearing is irrelevant. Whether high or low, once traction is broken, the tractor with the spinning tires loses. There-in lies the difference between torque and horsepower.
The purpose of posting the video is to show that more horsepower does not affect pulling power nearly as much as more weight. Even with a tow bar that is attached at the same height on two tractors that are the same except for the load on the rear tires, the tractor with more weight on the drive tires will outpull the other even if there is a 1.25% hp advantage for the other tractor. It is, after all, an extreme example when compared to the 44.44% advantage in this video.
Likewise, the low gearing is irrelevant. Whether high or low, once traction is broken, the tractor with the spinning tires loses. There-in lies the difference between torque and horsepower.
Understood. My point was that it was never a fair match to start with. Traction is key. Weight and surface area in contact with the ground factor in. It clearly shows the difference in technology used and the different design priorities considered between a modern pulling tractor and a vintage steam traction unit. HP = torque x rpm x K. I think gearing is relevant to pulling loads. If you are not traction limited then the torque at the wheels will be the limit and that depends on available HP at the working RPM and the gear ratio. If you have a lot of traction you can still move a lot of weight with a few HP, you just can’t move it quickly.
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Hey everyone. Not related to the current conversation. Does anyone think a 3.5hp engine will work on a Westwood t1200? It's a different one I have a lot.
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