Grill guard bumper

[JRP]

I'm working on a grill guard right now. How important is a bumper? My tractor has FWD and the tires stick out. If I make a guard, should it stick out past the tires so the bumper hits before the tires?

Do you push with the tractor much?

jrpoux

 

[bgott]

I would skip the bumper and concentrate on not hitting things that hard. The axles are designed to take a lot of abuse and the bumper will probably hook branches and such when you back off of them. You can also bend the bumper onto the tires and leave yourself stranded. I'm building my grill guard a little wide but it won't be hard to cut it down if I need to. What are you planning to push?

 

[patrickg]

jrpoux, I have never intentionally pushed anything with the grill guard/bumper. Glad to have a sturdy grill guard, though as when I use ropes, straps, or chains to hoist something up with the pallet forks and it swings a mite, it is comforting to have a sturdy grill guard between the pendulum and the expensive front end of the tractor engine compartment.

I do push things with the pallet forks platform and of course with the FEL, either of which may be in place while brush hogging to save smacking into stout things with the axle guards first. I have bent the axle guards pretty badly running over trees and destroyed the rubber thingies over the balls in the steering (in front of axle). Wonder why they don't put the steering behind the axle for protection. Anybody? (Kubota Grand L-4610HSTC)

Have new guards on order and will pound out the old ones to place over the new ones and to increase the lateral coverage as I think there is too much exposure of steering parts to hiting things you drive over (like trees). Yeah, I know, I shoulda bought a tank. Anyway, if I had a bumper, I'd bumber in the morning, I'd bumper in the evening, all... oops, sorry If I had a bumper it wouldn't help me at all. If it were low enough to help it would be in the way a good deal of the time. Maybe a hydraulic adjusted bumper, top'n'tilt for the front? Seriously, I think looking to see what might be damaged and protecting that with a skid plate or metal cover is way better than a bumper for what I have experienced. I only have 100 hrs on this one tractor and all previous experience was N O T tractor seat time. Perhaps someone else has experience that favors some kind of bumper.

What were you thinking of pushing? I have seen trailer hitches in front of tractors and that seemed to work well for accurate manuevering in tight spaces but have never seen anything pushed by a tractor.

Patrick

 

[pfoxy]

My 4WD JD750 DOES have the tie rod behind the front axle. That didn't stop me from straddling short stumps while bush hogging in tall stuff and bending things enough to make my front wheels go \--/ ;D.

And I did just what you suggested, I built a skid plate. Works like a charm.

On the subject of a grille guard, DO IT! Particularly if you have a FEL. Sooner or later, you WILL swing something into the front end while picking it up. You might get lucky like I did and only bash the hood to the tune of $100 worth of body work and painting. Or you might stick something through the radiator.

I took JD's standard "hoop" type grille guard that comes as an accessory for their FEL, and cut and welded a piece of heavy expanded metal into the center. Painted it black, looks good, works like a champ.

 

[patrickg]

Good on you, Pfoxy! Grill guards are good. My Kubota came with a good one, fairly close vertical and horizontal "mesh" of stout rectangular bar stock on edge front to back. Unfortunately down below things aren't protected so well. I know you can mess up just about anythinig but if my steering were behind the axle I would be way ahead for my purposes. Soon I will have some home brew protection and like you, will enjoy less risk of damage.

Patrick (folks told me I shoulda got a tank)