jlg 50ht drive

[mdnelson86]

i'm getting a little frustrated with my jlg 50ht lift getting around the farm. I'm usually on gravel but would like to get off into some grass sometimes and it just doesn't do well at all when it comes to a loose surface. if I hit a patch of loose gravel or a soft spot in the grass that wheel just starts spinning. I've figured out that I have better luck with different switch settings of motor high/low, drive high/low and so forth and I can also extend the boom out to put more leverage on drive tires but it's still not very good. this being my first manlift i've ever used I can now see that my next one will be a 4x4 unit. my question is if there is anything I can do to help out the traction? would different tires help much? the current tires aren't bad but they don't have the biggest lugs by any means. I would really like it if I could somehow come up with a way to plumb the drive independently so if one broke loose all the oil flow from the other wouldn't go to the spinning tire but keep the other one turning, very much like a differential lock would act.

[willie59]

Hi mdnelson86, I can only confirm what your already figuring out, that is, a 50HT is not suitable for a farm environment. First of all, we know it's only 2WD because you said your next unit would be 4WD. Also, I'd wager it probably doesnt have oscillating steer axle which would help in uneven terrain as would be on a farm. A 2WD/rigid frame machine just doesn't work well in this environment. On top of all this, the fact it's an HT is an extra kick in the arse. A standard 50H weighs 15,150 lb. (6,871.9 kg). An HT, being it's zero tail swing has to be heavier because the counterweight isn't far from the center of rotation like on an H model, therefore, the HT comes in at a whopping 22,810 lbs (10,346.4 kg), over 7,000 lb heavier. A machine that heavy, and being 2WD rigid frame, is going to get stuck very easily in soils or soft ground. And even if you could rig the drive circuit to keep a wheel pulling when the other loses traction, that much weight would probably make that one wheel spin and possibly bury itself. It seems your just going to have to make sure that the area that your working the machine is firm and even terrain. Sorry I couldn't offer much good news bro. :)