How NOT to Cross a Ditch in 2 wheel Drive

[ko4bg]

Back in my Pasture driving in M and Not bothering anybody! Decided to Cross a Very Muddy Ditch in 2 wheel drive (Dumb) and in Medium drive. Almost made it too, but NOT quite. After the Pressure was on I couldn't get it to come out of M without really Jerking the Crap out of the Lever, had put it in 4 wd but still wouldn't pull, finally got it in Low 4 wd By that time I was down on the skid plates! Tires are NEW, GBC Grim Reaper Radial .
.Moral to the Story is use 4 wd and Low when you really know you should!! Had to call my Daughter to bring my Tractor (3301 Kubota) down and used the Front Loader to lift it out!! After Listening to her tell me I knew Better (she's 49 and Loving telling her Dad what to do) I'm trying to Post a Picture if I'm smart enough (that's a Joke)
Woody

 

[California]

Related lesson: While most rigs like yours and nearly all farm tractors have a differential lock, its not standard on SUV's. I once had a washout collapse under me in the Subaru that left me with a front wheel hanging in space and the opposite rear wheel with no force on the ground. I finally repacked all the camping gear in back to put some weight on that back tire, put my wife on the back bumper holding onto the roof rack, and the Subaru backed right out like nothing was wrong.

Isuzu Trooper and Wagoneer, same issue, crossing a ditch on a diagonal needed a little speed to get past the point where two diagonal wheels were momentarily not touching anything. I don't recall ever getting stuck but its disconcerting to hear the tires turning while suspended in the air.

 

[aurthuritis]

when i get in that situation i use the hand throttle to rev the engine to full rpm and then the foot peddle to creep the hst. it might not get you out but at least the wheels will spin.

 

[Doc]

LOL I laugh because I've done the same thing. At times I like to see how far I can go in 2wd. Most times it will surprise me that I can get by without 4wd, 2wd does just fine. But ...there is always that time that 2wd fails and I end up in a situation where I cannot just switch to 4wd and drive away. I need a tow or a lift like you did. No harm done. Some time lost and it gives your kids a chance to chuckle at you. Yep, been there done that too.

 

[ko4bg]

LOL I laugh because I've done the same thing. At times I like to see how far I can go in 2wd. Most times it will surprise me that I can get by without 4wd, 2wd does just fine. But ...there is always that time that 2wd fails and I end up in a situation where I cannot just switch to 4wd and drive away. I need a tow or a lift like you did. No harm done. Some time lost and it gives your kids a chance to chuckle at you. Yep, been there done that too.

Mine is a 2004 and if you get it a Little bit of a Bind its HARD to get it out of Gear, I have to get pretty rough with it to even get it from a Forward Gear to Reverse! Are all of them like this, I'm afraid I'm going to screw up a Cable at some point!
Is it just mine is that pretty much Standard??
Woody

 

[bczoom]

Mine is a 2004 and if you get it a Little bit of a Bind its HARD to get it out of Gear, I have to get pretty rough with it to even get it from a Forward Gear to Reverse! Are all of them like this, I'm afraid I'm going to screw up a Cable at some point!
Is it just mine is that pretty much Standard??
Woody

When it's hard to get out of gear, I put the emergency brake on pretty hard then wait about 5-10 seconds which seems to reduce or eliminate the pressure on the tranny. At least 9 out of 10 times using this approach, I can change gears with relative ease. Option B is to apply the emer brake then shut the machine down for about 20-30 seconds. Be careful with option B. If it doesn't relieve the pressure so you can shift, you're now stuck in gear with the machine off then you have to figure out how to start it again. Option B has never failed me but just pointing out what "could" happen.

 

[Doc]

I'll 2nd BCzoom's suggestion. When I bought my first RTV900 I had a hard time changing from one gear to another, BCzoom made same suggestion to me. It worked. I've used both Option A and Option B, but Option B was often easiest and very reliable for me. Hope this helps.

 

[ko4bg]

THANKS Guys, I'll try to remember that the NEXT time I do something Stupid, maybe Tomorrow!! LOL I'm an Old Broke Down Vietnam Vet and the Broke down and OLD part are getting SCARY!!!

 

[bordercollie]

Thank you for your service Ko4bg !!!

 

[Pumpkin]

My 900 I just turn the engine off. Then can put in neutral. Starts right up.

 

[geohorn]

If your brake cable is not adjusted properly it can contribute to hard-shifting. Under the hood, next to the firewall where the brake cable exits the firewall in a “90-degree sheath”.... and at the rear of the tranny ..... look for the brake cable/shift cable interconnect and adjust them so that the tranny pressure-release lever is operated simultaneously with the brakes. This vastly improved my hard-shifting. (And for when others drive my RTV, I posted a label on the lower portion of the windshield, “Apply brakes before shifting gears.).
Only on VERY RARE occasions I find the gear-teeth to be not fully aligned and it requires a short “burst” of the accelerator pedal (while the tranny is in neutral) to move those gear teeth off “high-center” so they’ll mate properly and slip into gear.

For when you get a vehicle without diff-lock stuck with one wheel in the muck or in the air and spinning...while others sit on the ground and do not rotate.... A trick that sometimes works well is to APPLY GENTLE BRAKING so that the brakes apply “drag” to the spinning wheel.... and the differential will then transfer torque to the non-spinning wheels. (If in a rear-2-wheel drive vehicle, use the emergency-brake to do this to apply drag to the spinning wheel and the opposite wheel will then begin to rotate ...and will propel you out.)