Tips for using 310-8 on hillside and for logging

[wildfire305 58]

Hey folks - first timer and I love my new-to-me Wheel Horse. I just picked up a late 80s 310-8 with 42" deck and 17cu.ft. dump cart. It is in okay shape, and after performing 20 years worth of preventative maintenance last weekend it purrs like a kitten and is getting smoother. Previously, I had a 1984 Deutz Allis 917H 48" that was just too big and heavy to use at my house; I used it at my grandmas to mow her 2 acre lot. After grandma passed away, I didn't have much use for it. The brakes were lousy, it leaked from everywhere and was just plain worn out so I gave it away. I took a terrifying trip down my back slope on that tractor and that is when I learned a few things - those things aren't built for steep hills, hydro+open rear axle+one pedal=no brakes, they can roll over three times (without deck) land on their wheels, stay running and drive right back up the hill.  

 

I heat my house almost entirely with firewood for the past eight seasons. The hobby of getting the wood (usually helping neighbors cut down dead trees) has made me a lot of friends and I truly enjoy doing it. I really enjoy the challenge of all of it, and I keep telling my children that it builds their character. Every year the Misses allows me to buy a few items to help make the job easier. I bought this tractor mostly to help in all ways of moving logs out of other peoples back yards to the truck/trailer and then into my backyard for processing. It has already done great with a 1ft diameter x 50ft tall maple from my neighbors house.

 

In the past I have used a lot of winching equipment to get the logs where I need them, but this is often very time consuming and impractical to use anywhere but my own two acre hillside. Sometimes in the course of this work, I run into some challenging terrain and that is where I'm looking for advice to do a few mods to make this beast more capable. I also want to live and not die from a tractor accident like most normal people. Since I don't have a lot of experience with using a tractor for this purpose, I thought I would ask for y'all's help. For the purists - I don't intend to make any permanent mods. Feel free to vote for or against any of these and add your own to the list if you'd like. I don't intend on spending much on this tractor until it passes a shakedown period - the engine oil was low and dirty and the trans was low and a pretty milkshake brown. Improvements felt immediately after changing both.

Mods:

1. Tire chains - should be a massive improvement over the plain turf tires. Already ordered a set.

2. Ag tires - never felt an improvement on the deutz when I switched, are they worth it? I only used that thing on grass though - so my experience may not matter.

3. Front weights - Why would I need them? Because trailer?

4. wheel weights or filling the tires or both

 

For safety concerns and tips: 

1. Am I safer without the deck pulling logs or will the extra weight be a benefit?

2. Should I keep the deck on for navigating grassy hills

3. Is my thinking wrong and it is potentially safer to make the tractor lighter rather than heavier 

 

Maintenance help: Sometimes the trans has a little trouble getting into gear. I am always at a full stop when shifting, but I have to carefully do the "gentle wiggle" to get it into gear sometimes. I experience no grinding, but I've noticed that if I let my foot off the clutch a little helps it slip into gear. Can an adjustment be made or is this SOP? Seems more affected when not on flat ground.

 

Thanks for all your help and I look forward to our discussion.

[Digger 66 3,478]

Welcome to RedSquare .

Only suggestion I can offer and didn't see on the list is adding wheel spacers to widen the steeds stance .

 

[SylvanLakeWH 25,535]

 

I am on level ground so I can't offer any hill tips. However, you are in the right place! Lot's of these folks will have good advice shortly!

 

Good luck with it! Great tractors and the people on this site are the very knowledgeable and willing to help!

[classicdmax 190]

You seem to be on the right track. I would think ag’s and weights would me more than enough in lieu of chains. I fabbed a front weight for my rig for when pulling my larger trailers, heavier loads, and also may use tractor for some skidding this fall. I’m a wood hoarder myself and love every minute of the whole process. Front  hitch was acquired off a bay seller,  the bar is solid cold rolled steel I got from a fisherman friend

[953 nut 55,189]

6 hours ago, wildfire305 said:

Sometimes the trans has a little trouble getting into gear. I am always at a full stop when shifting, but I have to carefully do the "gentle wiggle" to get it into gear sometimes. I experience no grinding, but I've noticed that if I let my foot off the clutch a little helps it slip into gear. Can an adjustment be made or is this SOP? Seems more affected when not on flat ground.

This seems to be a characteristic of the  with square cut gears, nothing unusual.

6 hours ago, wildfire305 said:

1. Tire chains - should be a massive improvement over the plain turf tires. Already ordered a set.

2. Ag tires - never felt an improvement on the deutz when I switched, are they worth it? I only used that thing on grass though - so my experience may not matter.

3. Front weights - Why would I need them? Because trailer?

4. wheel weights or filling the tires or both

Tire chains on liquid filled tires with wheel weights will make a BIG improvement in traction and front weight will improve steering on slick surfaces. I would remove the mower deck, it can snag on roots etc..

Be mindful of the fact that the brakes stop the transmission, not the wheels. When descending a steep grade the tire with the least traction will stop turning first. Just go very slowly in low range.

The only trailer safety tip i can offer is to make two safe trips rather than putting too much weight in one trailer load.

[Jerry77 1,218]

6 hours ago, wildfire305 said:

Is my thinking wrong and it is potentially safer to make the tractor lighter rather than heavier 

I'm not an expert, but heavier would make sense to me..with the gearing and 10 hp, you will run out of traction before you run out of power pulling a heavy load...and by the way......

[wildfire305 58]

1 hour ago, Digger 66 said:

Welcome to RedSquare .

Only suggestion I can offer and didn't see on the list is adding wheel spacers to widen the steeds stance .

 

Brilliant didn't even think of that. Where do you find those? Any concern with extra pressure on wheel bearings? 

[wildfire305 58]

55 minutes ago, classicdmax said:

You seem to be on the right track. I would think ag’s and weights would me more than enough in lieu of chains. I fabbed a front weight for my rig for when pulling my larger trailers, heavier loads, and also may use tractor for some skidding this fall. I’m a wood hoarder myself and love every minute of the whole process. Front  hitch was acquired off a bay seller,  the bar is solid cold rolled steel I got from a fisherman friend

Nice setup. I saw that front hitch on eBay and thought it would be very useful for a winch, too. Another idea I got from a woodcutting book is to replace one wheel with a wheel without tire and use the tractor as a capstan winch. It would be chained to a stationary object on the front. Anyone done that? 

 

[953 nut 55,189]

Might be better off with one of these.

[wildfire305 58]

23 minutes ago, 953 nut said:

Might be better off with one of these.

What is that? I've never seen anything like it, but I know I want one. More pics?

[Digger 66 3,478]

3 hours ago, wildfire305 said:

Brilliant didn't even think of that. Where do you find those? Any concern with extra pressure on wheel bearings? 

 

IDK if they are made specifically for the tractor but if you measure the bolt circle you may be able to find universal ones on an ATV site ....

 

                              >> CLICK <<

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 12, 2018 by Digger 66

[WVHillbilly520H 10,373]

Universal wheel spacers up to 1/2" thick are available at Advance Auto AutoZone NAPA ect, then there's the bolt pattern specific up to 2" thick (try eBay) the Bolt pattern in Ford 5 on 4.5", make that tractor as heavy as you can with all the above mentioned I prefer AG tread tires for loose soil wooded areas myself as well as grass but weight is your friend, I have made custom front weight hanger/bumper for these  that use 3 42# John Deere cast iron suit case weights, also I would look into a different style rear hitch like @wheelhorseman sells that actually uses 3 points of leverage and a receiver style hitch vs the factory trailer (pin) hitch, Jeff.

[wildfire305 58]

3 minutes ago, WVHillbilly520H said:

Universal wheel spacers up to 1/2" thick are available at Advance Auto AutoZone NAPA ect, then there's the bolt pattern specific up to 2" thick (try eBay) the Bolt pattern in Ford 5 on 4.5", make that tractor as heavy as you can with all the above mentioned I prefer AG tread tires for loose soil wooded areas myself as well as grass but weight is your friend, I have made custom front weight hanger/bumper for these  that use 3 42# John Deere cast iron suit case weights, also I would look into a different style rear hitch like @wheelhorseman sells that actually uses 3 points of leverage and a receiver style hitch vs the factory trailer (pin) hitch, Jeff.

So the focus of my mods needs to be trying to glue those back tires to the ground. I think I'm starting to understand this braking transmission deal. That mean if I set the parking brake and lift the back of the tractor off the ground the wheels will spin freely opposing each other

[953 nut 55,189]

5 hours ago, wildfire305 said:

What is that? I've never seen anything like it, but I know I want one. More pics?

Tractor mounted buzz saw, open this post and check this video out.

 

[ebinmaine 67,424]

You're headed the right way with the above answers.

I'll write more later when I can.

My B80 is our baby skidder and we live in the mountains of Maine.

 to 

 

I have 3 " aluminum spacers on mine to make up for incorrect wheel offset and add width. Fleabay find.

 

[ebinmaine 67,424]

On 6/12/2018 at 6:56 AM, 953 nut said:

This seems to be a characteristic of the  with square cut gears, nothing unusual.

Tire chains on liquid filled tires with wheel weights will make a BIG improvement in traction and front weight will improve steering on slick surfaces. I would remove the mower deck, it can snag on roots etc..

Be mindful of the fact that the brakes stop the transmission, not the wheels. When descending a steep grade the tire with the least traction will stop turning first. Just go very slowly in low range.

The only trailer safety tip i can offer is to make two safe trips rather than putting too much weight in one trailer load.

 

Dick pretty much nailed it on this one. My B has over 250 lb of liquid weight alone. Another hundred lb of wheel weights.

I'm guessing the total weight of the tractor to be a little over 925 lb right now.

 

As far as tires go, I would not even consider using plain unassisted turfs in my woods. Traction is honestly pretty much zero. I put a large set of Carlisle ags on and I've been very happy with that unless I try to go over a wet tree root and I then lose traction. As @Jerry77 stated, with that engine pulling on logs you will run out of traction before power. I'm going to try using chains at some point but I kind of use my lack of traction as a safety net.

On the concern of trailer safety, I've pulled around 1100 or 1200 lb of trailer behind me through rough hilly woods. I am always conscious of the lack of braking in this situation and am very careful about taking it very slowly.

 

I'm really looking forward to your experimentation with Wheelhorse logging.

If you have any other questions, fire away!

 

 

[wildfire305 58]

Thanks all for the above advice. I'm waiting for the weekend to get here to play around with the new chains. My dad is in the tire business and can fill my tires with the calcium at his shop. 

 

Should I have much concern about oil starvation on a slope? I have the m10s engine. 

[WVHillbilly520H 10,373]

1 hour ago, wildfire305 said:

 My dad is in the tire business and can fill my tires with the calcium at his shop. 

 

Should I have much concern about oil starvation on a slope? I have the m10s engine. 

1st, I hope that your dad doesn't use calcium anymore that will ruin a set of wheels quick like , beet juice (Rimgard) or RV antifreeze is better...2cd, just don't over do it 5-10° maximum slope even though a pressurized engine like the twins would be better on a slope there's been several Kohlers that have survived years of abuse on sloping yards, Jeff.

[ebinmaine 67,424]

1 minute ago, WVHillbilly520H said:

doesn't use calcium

[wildfire305 58]

I read somewhere about someone filling windshield washer fluid in their tires. Any thoughts on that?

 

Wvhillbilly520h: dad works for a commercial truck tire business. Ag isn't really his specialty, he just knows that his shop typically does calcium for farm and foam for industrial equipment 

[ebinmaine 67,424]

5 minutes ago, wildfire305 said:

filling windshield washer fluid in their tires. Any thoughts on that?

That would be the way to go. Or find a tractor or Tire Dealer that fills with Rimguard which is based in beet juice.

Sugar dissolved in water does not eat Metal rims.

Salt dissolves in water and is a recipe for disaster. Many many many places have stopped using it all together.

Rimguard company has a website with a great Search tool that lists all their dealers.

 

Ask your father to get the specs for the weight of the foam.

If it is the dense, heavy type of foam, that would be the best way to go.

The only downside - if you do not use a tube you are sacrificing that rim. Getting that foam off the metal is a nightmare later.

 

[ClassicTractorProfessor 5,314]

Another vote on staying away from calcium the added weight is not worth the damage to your wheels down the road...I work in the tire business as well and am surprised there are still shops who use it...no one around here does anymore...our shop sells and loads with RimGuard...its very nasty sticky smelly stuff but it works...just loaded 4 sets of front end loader tires for a local rig moving company this week...that is what I will be using from now on due to the fact that no more than it takes for a garden tractor I can get it for free...however the rears on my C125 are filled with winter blend washer fluid...bought it on sale at Wal-Mart last fall and haven't regretted it...pretty simple straightforward process to do it yourself with the right tools...I bought an air/water adapter from Tractor Supply and rigged up an old rv water pump I had at the shop to do mine...tried using one of those inline drill pumps as seen in the picture but quickly burnt it up...don't have any pics right now of my rv pump setup but it worked great

[wildfire305 58]

On 6/24/2018 at 12:44 PM, Professor1990 said:

 

Thanks Professor1990. I picked up one of those water/air valves. I already have an old 12volt rv pump I use for winterizing buildings (I'm a plumber). It should make the filling nice and easy if I put a shutoff valve before the adapter. I'm going to go the windsheild washer fluid route. I got my chains installed and WOW! The thing does not slip on the hills at all. My fuel pump went out though, so I got sidelined waiting for the replacement to arrive.

[wildfire305 58]

Oil Sentry question - The tractor has this feature and I was reading through the manual to try to understand how it works. But I couldn't determine what happened upon activation. Someone familiar with it might be able to help me. If I exceed the angle of the sensor float and it activates will the engine shut off or does it just turn on that little light? I suppose I can test it next time I change the oil by draining it and turning on the ignition - either the bulb should light or it won't have spark at the plug, or both.

I know it has a test button, but that seems to be just a bulb test to me. I'm pretty sure I was about 35 degrees nose up and down mowing over the last weekend, and I didn't see any light or notice any abnormalities in the engine sound.

[gwest_ca-(File Mod) 11,040]

The low oil switch interrupts the starter circuit. Low oil and the starter will not work.

 

Garry