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Traction in mud / soft ground

P

Petnew56

Member
I am driving over my neighbours field to get to the Maple Syrup bush but the ground is very muddy .. drainage is poor and there is still ice in the ground.

My old Ford 9N has made a couple of ruts all the way around the edge of the field and this exactly what I didn't want to happen as I am concerned about compaction of the soil. (it is a new owner of the land and he owns the bush but I have permission to access)

For more traction am I better with chains, tire studs or siping (cutting grooves across the tire tread) ? I had thought of adding weight / loading the tires but I don't want to load down the soil more.

Any suggestions or thoughts on compaction ??

Peter
 
there is only so much you can do till it dries up. letting the air out to about 6-8lbs will help also. chains will help. basically common sense deal thing, if you making big ruts dont go there till it gets dry. the ground can be worked up later also once dry. OR use a quad they go where a tractor wont in the wet.
 
Around here, there's lots of "$ide-by-$ide$" on track$.

Wonder how one of tho$e would work in your situation?
 
Thanks for the input.

I intend to run over the area I travelled on with a harrow to try and clean it up a bit.

Weather has improved so things are drying up.

Peter
 
If your thinking harrows , that wont do a thing. U need a deep tillage cultivator. Then disc it up good then Harrow it. Have u ever worked up ruts that have been baked in the sun? Tells me u have no farm experience.
 
You are correct that I am not a farmer. Luckily the ground is wet and as the weather isn't that hot here it shouldn't take much to tidy up the mess.
I live on a couple of acres in the country and work on occasion doing contract claims work for various insurance companies. Have been semi retired for a few years
The old Ford tractor I got last year to clear snow and cut grass
The suggestions and input from YT members is much appreciated
Thanks
Peter
 
You can work the ruts shut with a disc. Though it will do little for the deeper compacted underneath. You will also have any seeding that is in the field torn outwith the disc. If it is a hay seeding it will need to be reseeded if it is anything but alfalfa as it will not grow with a stand in the field already. Something about it has a toxicity for the new seedlings as they try to grow.
 

Compaction is a non issue in my opinion, edge of field likely trees and roots anyways.

I'm guessing this isn't a highly productive intensively farmed piece of land to start. I'd think anyone intensively farming would not want anyone, including themselves, crossing the land otherwise when soft. If you aren't going across the middle, no real harm should be done.

1st problem is 2wd tractor, front tires cut in, rear then have to push and spin. You can put wider tires on the front to help.

2nd problem is lack of traction, worn tires will slip and chew, deep lugs will dig in and propel. Chains can solve this, even give lots of traction back to worn out tires.

3rd problem is lack of weight transfer, with a 2wd in harsh conditions you want almost all weight on the drive wheels. Fluid, weights, or even something on the 3pt hitch would help.

You are going to make ruts if it is soft. Travelling in as fast a gear as possible will reduce spinning by keeping momentum up.

If you are on the exact edge of the field, I'd hardly worry about a little mess.

Harrow in ruts when dry.
 


I agree with "young fella" Old. Search for ARPS half tracks. Another brand is Bombardier. They come up for sale regularly, and I have noted in The N-Newsletter that they are popular with the maple products people. They may take some rehabbing and you need to be sure that they are complete including the brackets and springs. They can be readily removed after the season is done. They will spread your weight and prevent your tires from sinking.
 
I have a farmall C with narrower tires than on my Jubilee. I need chains on Jubilee. No chains on the Farmall, better traction. I have two terramites, one with rear tires twice the width of the other. Narrow tires have better traction. Fat tires sit on top of the mud and spin.
Geo.
 
IS THERE STILL ANY FROST IN THE GROUND? If so, there won't be any compaction beneath your ruts, the frost limited the depth of your ruts.
Have to agree a disk is needed to work down your ruts. A harrow will knock a couple high spots down next to the deeper spots of the ruts at best.
Using an all terrain vehicle, 4-wheeler, Utility vehicle, would be best to prevent creating ruts.

Dad moved our hog pastures where we farrowed and fed the next years hog crop every spring. ANY ruts we created we bounced around on until we plowed up the old hog pasture the following spring. We just avoided traveling over the new hog pasture till the ground was dry and supported the weight of whatever we were driving across the field.
 
Can you get out there bright and early while the ground is still cold/frozen.

Traction wise a set of chains on the baldest tires you can find will bite pretty good.
 
If you made ruts already, and you are thru the top soil and driving on the clay/subsoil, you probably won't sink any further. As long as the tractor and trailer aren't dragging on the bottom, you probably will be fine to keep driving in the same ruts. Much better than having more land to repair! Mark.
 
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