# Traction in snow



## jkirby100 (Dec 30, 2014)

Recently picked up an LT1000 with hydrostatic trans and just about all attachments. Blowing snow on the flat section of my drive works very well but I also have about 200 ft of hill and can not get traction. The wheel with least traction just spins. I do have chains and wheel weights. Obviously not a limited slip axel. Is there any way to lock up the axel when more traction is needed. Open to any traction suggestions.
Regards from Minnesota


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## jhngardner367 (Apr 5, 2011)

About the only thing you can do,without modifying the transaxle,is to add more weight to the rear. You can add to the existing wheel weights,or you can fill the rear tires with windshield washer fluid. The fluid in a 20-8.50-8 tire,will add about 30#,per tire.


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## ftorleans1 (Jul 12, 2009)

Welcome jkirby,

I don't think you will be able to do anything with locking the transaxle. If one wheel cannot rotate quicker than the other when negotiating turns, It would break something within.

As for the wheel with the least traction, Do you find yourself on a sideways angle at the same time you are trying to go up or down your driveway? If so, You can try adding a bracket on the back of the tractor which would allow you to add additional weight to the side which spins most often. Of course, This would only help if you encounter the spin out on the same side each time.

If this is the case and I'm not responding just to offer something however, I would be able to help fabricate a weight bracket which would bolt to the back side and allow for offset weights to one side or the other. As I mentioned above, If you go up and need weight on say the left side and come down needing weight on the right side, You would need to shift or swing the weights to the other side before proceeding...


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## wjjones (May 28, 2010)

I would try filling the tires first as mentioned above.


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## Rdodger35 (Feb 3, 2015)

How do you go about adding the washer fluid to the rear tires? I have chains, weights, and an additional weight on the back of my tractor, and I still spin sometimes. I can definitely push more snow if I can get more weight.


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## Rdodger35 (Feb 3, 2015)

nvm I just looked it up on youtube


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## Grizzly (Jan 26, 2015)

I had no clue that they were filled with windshield washer fluid. 

I just watched a video on how to fill them as well. If I notice some slippage/spinning/traction issues on my 3120r I will be doing this!


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## jhngardner367 (Apr 5, 2011)

Windshield solvent or even old antifreeze,but the W/S solvent isn't corrosive.


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## DanielWilson (Feb 2, 2009)

As for locking the differential, I know some farm tractors have that option. I don't think garden tractors offer it.

I am a little discouraged to hear that chains aren't doing much for you. I hope to add chains to my Ford 960 ... next winter.


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## bolillo_loco (Oct 9, 2010)

*Welcome to the forum!*


I like what this man did, but he's the tools, time, and know how.

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OaiSgcBHSmk[/ame]

Traction in snow:

For me, it's always been ballast. Between the liquid ballast in the tires and cast iron plates, I generally carry 500 lbs on the rear. I've found that even with tire ballast, I need another 100 lbs per tire just to make it useful when going over hill and dale in snow, ice, and mud. I do not chain the tires for the paved driveway. Since it's got about a 10° slope, the chains provide less traction on the macadam than bare tires do, and they tear it up as they slip. 

If you fill your tires, and add 50 lbs per tire, it should help considerably. I understand you've got an LT1000, so your wheel weight options are limited, it should help considerably. I'm not sure how much torque the transmission of the LT1000 produces. We had a loaner Cub Cadet of similar grade, and it would not pull our 800 lb roller up our 10° hill. 

I never knew somebody sold already made brackets, so I fabricated my own. *Lugg handles* offers brackets for lawn tractors, so you can hang exercise weights onto your machine. Since the price of proper cast iron wheel weights has skyrocketed over the past 10 years, it's an inexpensive option. Second hand shops, craigslist, and yard sales abound with cheap exercise weights. In the following photos, you may get some ideas. The 1" plates are not only cheaper, but exponentially more ubiquitous. I understand you can't hang this much weight on an LT, but it should give you some creative ideas of your own. 

This is what I did:









































































As you can see in the last photo, I just use the barbell clamps to hold the weights on. I've never had one slip off, and I break my toys Christmas morning. 

The newer type plastic sand/concrete jobs are rather inexpensive, plentiful on craigslist, and one can double them up per wheel. I don't know what bucket fits inside an LT's wheel, but I've seen people take standard 5 gallon buckets, run threaded rod through the bucket to bolt to the wheel, and then fill the bucket with quikrete concrete to make rather cheap 30 or 50 lb wheel weights. 

If you've got the 8" rims with 20" tires, you're going to have to fish about for ideas, it's amazing at what some people think of. I'm rather unfamiliar with what weights are available for 8" wheels, and the proper cast iron ones aren't worth their weight in salt. I think they only run 30 lbs per wheel, and they're _obscenely_ priced!

good luck,
bolillo


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## jhngardner367 (Apr 5, 2011)

Diif locks were offered on some of the older,heavier garden tractors,but many people started buying walk-behind snowblowers,or tillers,so they re- designed the garden tractors.Now, they're just bigger lawn tractors.


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## skunkhome (Nov 30, 2008)

Not too many true garden tractors offered nowadays. I think you may be asking a bit much of a lt1000. You must be careful about overloading that rear axle. Adding ballast to the tires is the safest way to add weight as it is directly on ground so the axle doesn't have to carry the weight and there is little axle torque because the tires turn around the ballast. Problem is windshield washer fluid is only About 8# per gallon and your rear tires are so small you or only going to be able to add 50-55 lbs to the tractor. 
If you live in farm country you would get more benefit out of beet juice but I doubt the cost and hassle would be worth the benefit. I'd recommend you get an older garden tractor ($300-500 or less) to do your heavy lifting and leave the Lt1000 for mowing.


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## ftorleans1 (Jul 12, 2009)

Skunkhome has summed it up. I wouldn't try making the LT1000 perform tasks which are better left to a GT Series machine. Simply put, The manual gearbox GT tractors are designed for this type of work. The LT series is basically a mowing machine only!!! 

Some folks work the LT tractors much harder than they were designed for and get away with it for a while however, Something will eventually give way and more than less, it will be the transaxle...

Look for an inexpensive, older GT tractor which has a manual gearbox and you will be able to do all kinds of mods and add-ons which will make the job at hand much more enjoyable and productive. Not to mention, the tractor will last far longer!!!!!!!!!!!

I have a 1977 sears 14/6 which has worked and worked and simply keeps going... For the heavier tasks, I pull out one of the Gravelys. With the all cast iron gear drive transaxle and true clutch drive(no belts) along with the rear mounted engine, traction isn't much of a problem. Once I add my weights and chains, The ole gal is pretty much unstoppable...


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## jhngardner367 (Apr 5, 2011)

That's why I have the Bolens(it has a diff lock),and my JD LX266.
Different tractors,for different needs/loads.


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## bolillo_loco (Oct 9, 2010)

The gray boxy tractor in my previous post has the gear drive 3 speed with hi/lo range, and they're quite strong considering how inexpensive they are. The steering is almost always dodgy, but the parts to fix them can still be found. 

I bring this up because I see other garden tractors like the one photoed in my previous post going for 150 - 400 dollars with 200 - 300 being the most common _asking_ price. Generally, if they're asking 400, it's got an Onan in it. One of mine has an Onan, and it's both quieter, seems easier on fuel, and doesn't vibrate as bad as the Briggs & Stratton. 

Since _most_ of them have the splash lubricated 2 cylinder 18 hp Briggs & Strattons and no type of oil filtration, they were most likely taken care of by the previous owner if it's still in good operating order. One of the jugs always fills with yard debris from mowing, so many of these tractors did not survive poor routine maintenance 'cause the splash lubricated Briggs are sensitive to oil levels, lack of oil changes, wrong type of oil in cold/hot weather, and when the jug's cooling baffles plugged up, they generally snapped the rod from overheating. Hence, I am of the belief that if it's still running, the previous owner took care of their equipment. 

I've two with Briggs & Strattons, and the oil's changed every 25 hours per the manual. Despite this rather low hour changing instruction, it goes through about half a quart. My Onan on the other hand states 50 hour oil changes and 100 hour filter changes. By the time the Onan runs 50 hours, it's used 2 quarts of oil. The old L heads I've owned seem to burn a bit of oil while the Kohler OHV on the black GT6000 doesn't seem to burn oil at all. 

I bring up the oil consumption because this is why I believe if you find a 20+ year old tractor and the motor's in good working order, the previous owner took care of it. 

I'm just adding this 'cause *skunkhome* pretty much nailed it down. You may want to pick up a second one if you can't get enough weight on your LT1000, and your weight options will be very limited due to the 8" x 20" tires.

Again, it's been my experience that I need 100 lbs per tire of cast iron plate in addition to the liquid ballast to make them useful on hilly terrain in low traction situations. After ballasting the tires, they weighed nearly 100 lbs a piece, so I'm using at a minimum 165 lbs per tire. 
















good luck,
bolillo


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## film495 (Nov 1, 2013)

how far apart are the loops on your tire chains? I think some set are 2 inches and some are 4 inches apart. the other thing to consider would be path of least resistance and just plow/blow going down hill.


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## GoofyLeo3 (Sep 23, 2015)

If you're gonna add weight to aid traction, why not make it USEFUL weight? In addition to 144.4# of homemade steel wheel-weights & chains, last year I added 50# of Grp 27 boat battery to the rear of mine. I never used the factory weight tray, nor the plastic drum you are supposed to fill with sand, so I cut, welded & painted it to hold a marine battery. I wired it parallel to the factory battery to ensure quick starts on the coldest of Wisconsin winters. tiphat


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## GoofyLeo3 (Sep 23, 2015)

Thread update;
I just finished filling the back wheels with -50* rated RV antifreeze. Each 24x12-12 tire with tubes took 8 gallons at 9#/gal and now weighs 100#/per. With my steel weights and the boat battery, I now have an extra 400# of rear ballast and fear no blizzard.


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