Posted by John.COLO on March 11, 1998 at 04:56:38:
Greg accurately pointed out the difference in geometry that makes a NF theoretically less stable. I agree with Denny that the difference is incremental and if an operator gets the tractor on a steep hillside, any advantage offered by a WF is minimal.
When I was a kid there were alot more NF tractors as a percentage of all tractors. Frequently the newspaper ran stories about teenage boys being killed or injured by rolling a NF tractor. Often they were going fast and turned a corner...the wide front would skid but the narrow front would grab and flip. It's a good thing as a kid that my dad didn't let me use a NF tractor, because I surely would have landed in this category.
Sometimes they were mowing a ditch bank. Or working a side hill. Not necessarily too steep a grade. Not operating on the brink of danger. And they tipped over anyway. It seemed clear that narrow fronts went over more often; in fact almost exclusively. Why?
I think the answer is washouts or other depressions that make an otherwise safe slope instantly dangerous. When using a WF tractor the front tire encounters the danger first. The front axle pivots and the driver is on the clutch before the rear wheel lands in the hole. The narrow front gives the driver no such warning. The front tire can miss the edge of the hole and the rear tire drops. The tractor goes over instantly.
I agree with all the posters who say the NF is more dangerous, but I think you're right for the wrong reason.
John, tOTG