Cleated sleds; Yes or No, light farm stock classes March 23, 2016 10:54AM
I speak from over 30 years of experience of pulling farm stock tractors. Not that it means I'm right or wrong but I have seen the sport grow from the days of when guys stepped on the sled as it went by up to what it is today. Pulling farm stock all these years I feel I have learned a lot. But the one biggest things that I don't like to see at a pull as a competitor in the lower horse power farm stock classes is a cleated sled. I realize the need to try to stop the high powered tractors it helps a lot. But when a 20 to 100 to 150 hp tractor hooks to the sled it's not needed. Not only that but it stops most all the tractors in close to the same spot even though there may be a huge difference in their pulling potential. Have seen the time when a cleated sled was used and most all the tractors were stopped in a 3 or less foot span. But the same bunch when up against a non cleated sled would have as much as 20 to 40 feet difference within the class. That shows the real potential which is what the owners as well as the fans want to see. It's a no brainer the sled operator has enough weight at site to stop these tractors with out the use of cleats. So why not let them do what they can to the very extent of their abilities? Besides, stopping them all in the same spot just creates a "hole" for every one else. What do you think?
Reply Quote

Re: Cleated sleds; Yes or No, light farm stock classes March 23, 2016 11:51AM
I agree 100% those sleds are hard on some tractors and hard on the driver at times I
miss the days of a hard pull from the start to finish where torque won on the big end not wheel speed
Reply Quote

Re: Cleated sleds; Yes or No, light farm stock classes March 23, 2016 12:18PM
I also 100% agree ! I have seen some sleds stop a farm stock so quick I thought the driver was going to slam the steering wheel. no need for pan drop or diggers and would say up to 150 hp +. Most sled operators know the tractors from pull to pull. What throws everything out of whack is when a high Hp. tractor is seen in the lineup and operators know who they are. Pace eliminates both issues.
Reply Quote

Re: Cleated sleds; Yes or No, light farm stock classes March 23, 2016 01:09PM
shouldn't be no bars ever in any class in a lot of cases it changes the class to much from first to last it makes the track worse or better
Reply Quote

Re: Cleated sleds; Yes or No, light farm stock classes March 23, 2016 01:14PM
it would be impossible to stop a lot of stuff out there without bars under the sled. to do so would require so much weight we'd just have everyone mad at us over how heavy it pulled. grouser bars have been around since the early 80's. in a situation like what you all describe I turn the pan drop off completely or drop it very early in the run so it gradually loads you as you go down the track and doesn't pile everyone up in one spot or stop you suddenly. most any sled is capable of this if the operator just is willing to do it.
Reply Quote

Re: Cleated sleds; Yes or No, light farm stock classes March 24, 2016 01:28PM
Quote
operator
in a situation like what you all describe I turn the pan drop off completely or drop it very early in the run so it gradually loads you as you go down the track and doesn't pile everyone up in one spot or stop you suddenly. most any sled is capable of this if the operator just is willing to do it.

X2 on the above! Discuss with your sled operator PRIOR to the event regarding what you want him to do. The overwhelming majority of operators that I have worked with do their best to give us the show we want. The very few that won't listen or don't care don't get hired for future events.
Reply Quote

Re: Cleated sleds; Yes or No, light farm stock classes March 23, 2016 01:45PM
the bars and all the switches with the so called slam sleds it is too easy for the sled operater to controller the classes as someone said earlier and it is done a lot in the farmstock
Reply Quote

Re: Cleated sleds; Yes or No, light farm stock classes March 24, 2016 12:58AM
I AGREE--We should get rid of all the grouser bar sleds and have polished sled pans. Then we could have nozzles that spray melted butter in front of the pan as it goes down the track. The hook fee will depend on how much butter you want and the price of butter that day on the Chicago Board of Trade. Every body will be happy-we will all have full pulls and the dairy farmer will get rich!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Reply Quote

Re: Cleated sleds; Yes or No, light farm stock classes March 24, 2016 04:43AM
Pro Stocks - Madisonville, KY - 2013

Want to see why the "killers" are so important on the pan? Then watch the video around the 3:10 mark. [If I'm remembering correctly the box was fully loaded...and Don still pulled it 377 feet.]
I can understand not having them for certain classes, but saying that they shouldn't be used for any class is just silly. While they may change the track as the class goes on, that's just part of tractor pulling. A necessary evil.


John Murray
Two-time Pedal Pull World Champion

Let's Go Pulling, covering the sport of pulling in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Alabama.
Watch LGP on YouTube
Like LGP on Facebook


Reply Quote

Re: Cleated sleds; Yes or No, light farm stock classes March 24, 2016 10:49AM
I'm only commenting on the light farm stock classes. Say perhaps 10,000 and under. Maybe 9,000 and under. As stated earlier. 150 horse power or less. Maybe just 100 horse power or less. Apparently some one didn't see that. I realize the need for heavier classes and high horse power classes.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/24/2016 11:41AM by 3010JD.
Reply Quote

Re: Cleated sleds; Yes or No, light farm stock classes March 24, 2016 11:44AM
By the way, I never pull over 3 and 1/2 mph. Most times under 2 mph. Quite different from the video.
Reply Quote

Re: Cleated sleds; Yes or No, light farm stock classes March 24, 2016 11:49AM
Quote
3010JD
By the way, I never pull over 3 and 1/2 mph. Most times under 2 mph. Quite different from the video.

I apologize--I should have clarified that I was replying to "10 cents." I'm actually in agreeance with you.


John Murray
Two-time Pedal Pull World Champion

Let's Go Pulling, covering the sport of pulling in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Alabama.
Watch LGP on YouTube
Like LGP on Facebook


Reply Quote

Re: Cleated sleds; Yes or No, light farm stock classes March 24, 2016 01:08PM
I have seen pulls where they don't use grouser on small stock classes and they let the tractor go 300 + feet which is fun for driver but slow the show down. At 4 mph it takes 52 seconds to complete the pull verses 14 seconds for a pro farm to cover same distance. I would recommend moving the starting line forward for the small tractors so the tractor stop about the same place as the big one but only cover 240 to 260 feet. I know this will piss off some of the pullers but it will help the pull move along faster so the big tractors are not hooking 11 PM when the stands are almost empty. Just my $0.02
Reply Quote

Re: Cleated sleds; Yes or No, light farm stock classes March 24, 2016 05:27PM
You or your club need your very own sled.
A person running a sled for hire cannot afford a "non-grouser, non-pan drop" starts like pulling a tree stump sled.
The sled your type of pulling "needs" would have very limited use.
Reply Quote

Re: Cleated sleds; Yes or No, light farm stock classes March 25, 2016 04:46AM
On many sleds you can't just remove the bars, they're welded to the bottom of the pan.not sure if you've noticed, but the ground clearance isn't exactly enough to get under there and cut them off. Let alone when they leave your event for a state pull the next night that doesn't leave much time to prep the pan and put bars back on. It would be impossible for those types of sled to "take the bars off"

Even those sleds with adjustable bars, sometimes it takes a 40 ton jack and an hour of running a sledge hammer to get them back out. Like I said, if it really bothers you, build your own sled for your club and just pull farm classes on it.

Then you can deal with all the whiners and complainers and people accusing you of cheating.
Reply Quote

Re: Cleated sleds; Yes or No, light farm stock classes March 24, 2016 12:34PM
Then go ahead and build your own sled and do all the marathon farm stock pulls you like. I'm sure a lot of operators would thank you
Reply Quote

Re: Cleated sleds; Yes or No, light farm stock classes March 24, 2016 03:35PM
The pulls I, and the other competitors I speak of, don't have tractors that go 20 mph or more in our classes. Guessing the vast majority are running under 10 mph.Just local small town and county fair type things. I understand the need to keep the show going but the pulls I compete in have most the competitors running similar to me. It's just a local small town type of thing. And people don't have to pay a lot to watch either. They just come to watch the local guys and few from a little further away do battle while enjoying some B-B-Q and a couple drinks perhaps and enjoy a Saturday or Sunday off. Most likely few drove more than 30 miles to watch. Other than the competitors. And not many of them probably drove much further.

Once again I try to explain the situation. The tractor I pull is the same one I sat on for hours on end days on end back in the 70's pulling a 3 16's plow. And I could take it right back out and do that again as the engine is stock. Not a multi thousand dollar custom engine, custom tranny, high powered thing. If it is running properly its not putting out over 70 horse power. As I stated, low horse power farm stock. Wouldn't require a special sled. Just simply remove the cleats. If I under stood the construction of some sleds I have looked at then it is a very easy and quick thing to do. Some are bolted in place it appears, which would take too much time to change, and others appear to have been welded permanently in place. Which of course then it isn't an option.

As one person stated earlier, there are other ways of controlling the sled so every one isn't stacked up in the same spot. I just hope more sled operators take note.


Every one is entitled to their opinion. If you don't participate in the classes I refer to then the next time you are at a pull with these classes, if that should ever happen, just ask the competitors that are in theses classes what their opinion is.

If you actually do pull in the classes that I refer to then your opinion is more what this subject is about. Perhaps I should have clarified that at the beginning. I try not to go around saying how to run other classes that I don't participate in.


I realize few people are going to drive long distances to watch a bunch of antiques go down the track at 2 or 3 or 4 mph. Unless of course its an antique pull. But there are those who enjoy doing it and watching it. I have received some compliments over the years from people that regularly attend the local pulls saying how much they enjoy watching my tractor. Those are the type of fans that we all could use more of.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/24/2016 09:37PM by 3010JD.
Reply Quote

Re: Cleated sleds; Yes or No, light farm stock classes March 25, 2016 02:32AM
There are many variables that affect the distance on today's dynamic sleds. Where the switch is placed for the pan to drop, to the gear selection, to the digger bars, even to the amount and location of the weight in the weight box. Another problem with these farm classes is that they tend to be road building classes, where unless the track is so dry that it falls apart as the class progresses, the later one normally hooks the better their results are. I have pulled in farm classes where this is the case and the sled seems to be set on kill for these tractors and the most common result is the tractor stalling instead of spinning out at the end. But the pull and the environment dictate the sled settings.
Reply Quote

Newer Topic Older Topic

Author:

Your Email:


Subject:
Spam prevention:
Please, enter the code that you see below in the input field. This is for blocking bots that try to post this form automatically. If the code is hard to read, then just try to guess it right. If you enter the wrong code, a new image is created and you get another chance to enter it right.
Message:
Website Statistics
Global: Topics: 38,758, Posts: 229,915, Members: 3,336.
This forum: Topics: 37,093, Posts: 226,014.

Our newest member DANNY.WAINSCOTT@YAHOO.COM