LOL, I had to try. What's the biggest thing you did/didn't pull out?

[kiotiken]

Since I upgraded from my CK30 to DK45, I've been very impressed at what this thing can do. For many it may still be a small tractor, but for everything I need to do, it's a beast! I've now only come across one thing it simply wouldn't do...

The snow plows often only does half the side road that my subdivision runs off, they go past our street, stop, back into our road and then go back the way they came doing the other side of the side road. There's really not much past our road, so it's a lower priority for them.

I was coming home from swimming on Friday night with the kids and it was freezing rain. The plow was out salting the side road, had gone past our road, stopped and backed up, missing our road by 30 ft and ending up in the ditch. With the giant plow in front, he had completely closed the side road. I stopped to talk to him and it really didn't look that bad and he was trying to dig the back wheels out. He told me he was fine, he'd be able to get out after a little digging. I had to get home with the kids, so I left him.

45 minutes later, I had to drive back to check on his progress. He was still there only now he'd almost rolled the truck. He said he had almost got it out by rocking it so I asked if he wanted me to try and pull him out with the tractor. Now, this is a tri-axle, fully loaded salt truck with a huge front plow and laser guided wing. I can only guess how much it weighed, but it was a lot more than my DK45 and blower. I thought maybe if he was close, I'd be the little nudge he needed to get out.

He was a young guy, said it was his first year plowing and he jumped at the chance to get the truck out of the ditch without having to call his boss. So after a quick trip home to get the tractor and chains, I hooked my two bucket hooks with a xhain on each to his front plow and was ready to try. Now I realize that's not the ideal way to do it, but my blower was in the way of the draw bar so I thought I'd give that a quick try before putting the effort into shortening the top link and raising the hydraulic blade on my blower (I only have 2 remotes and that's the one that I leave disconnected). Also, this time I walked around to the low side of the truck and realized he was grounded between the front and rear wheels and my chances were almost down to 0, if not worse.

Anyway, I put it in Low, clicked the 4X4 on, jumped on the diff. lock and set it somewhere north of 2800 RPM. Pulling backwards with all my might, I was able to raise his plow a few feet into the air and drop my RPMs down under 2000 before letting up a bit, giving a little slack on the chains and taking a bit of a run for it. I was NOT able to spin my wheels, and that surprised me, even on dry pavement (believe me, he had that road WELL salted for me by the time I got back), anybody know if you get as much power pulling backwards as you do forward? It didn't take me long to give up on it as it really was a lost cause. If I had tried before he sank the one side of the truck, I just may have been able to do it.

I'm fairly sure we looked more than a little silly, but that's OK, when you have 3 young kids, that's an exciting Friday night out.

Soooooo, what's the biggest thing you've been able to or not been able to pull out with your tractor?

Here's a pic of my set up to help show what I'm talking about with the blade in the way.

[GMtb42]

Is it me? Or on a forum where there are a bunch of alpha males, you ask a question about pulling out "big things" you are asking for it. LOL

[Gary Fowler]

Well I pulled, well pushed out is more like it, out a 10 yard dump truck with my P 7010 but only after he dumped half his load. I didnt have the traction to pull him out with it loaded. He was setting on a slope with the uphill tire off the ground and the down hill below the axle. HE couldnt dump the load because he would likely have turned it over when the bed came up. After I tried to pull him forward and couldnt, I used my FEL to block into the dump bed to hold it in vertical position while he dumped about half his load which is allthat would come out with the position he was in and no forward movement. We lowered the dump back and then I got behind him with the FEL and using the blade lifted up the rear as much as I could and then pushed him forward and out. I probably should have tried that first but we got him out without having to call in a dozer.

[murphy1244]

Is it me? Or on a forum where there are a bunch of alpha males, you ask a question about pulling out "big things" you are asking for it. LOL

You know, I wasn't sure were this was going until I clicked and read the thread.

[Lloyd_E]

I am surprised you didn't damage your loader. There is a hook on the frame below the radiator - would this have worked better?

[kiotiken]

I am surprised you didn't damage your loader. There is a hook on the frame below the radiator - would this have worked better?

You might be right and I probably should have been more careful. I did use two chains, one to each of my bucket hooks equally spaced on the bucket. Still probably wasn't a great idea.

[IndyIan]

You might be right and I probably should have been more careful. I did use two chains, one to each of my bucket hooks equally spaced on the bucket. Still probably wasn't a great idea.

I'd think pulling like that is a good way to break something in the front axle too... I'd bet with a geared tractor you probably would have, probably a good thing the HST gave up a little early!
My only real pulling challenge so far is pulling my Tracker out of my snow bank... I was trying to be Ken Block and things got a little squirrely... Anyways the rear was still on the driveway so I grabbed a chain and hooked it on the back of the rear blade and onto the trailer hitch on the Tracker. I couldn't do a straight pull but when I shortened the chain and lifted the rear of the Tracker up with the 3ph, I had enough grip to pull it out. It was uphill and icy so it was a bit satisfying to just drag it out of there instead of digging for an hour.

[xring100]

If you could'nt spin your tires it would have been no help to turn the tractor around and pull from the rear. however had you been spinning the rear tires It probably would have been better especially if your pull point on the loader was above the front axle as you would have been transferring weight on to the front axle which on your tractor i believe is an open diff. Its always fun to try.

[carpenter383]

I pulled my neighbor's daughter's buick out of a big ditch going up hill. Backed up to the rear of the car hooked a chain to the frame, then to my yard box, lifted the back wheels of the car off the ground and dragged it uphill with the car dragging bottom until the front wheels hit the driveway. My dk40 gear did it easilly except the front end was light enough I couldnt steer without braking one rear wheel. And that was with the fel and 6' bucket on

[JonKioti]

I pulled my Father's Kubota up over a bank where he had slipped over and nearly rolled it, save for a tree in the way. I couldn't get in a right angles to the bank as there was limited room alongside the house. I was able work it up and over the bank with the loader and some chains in the right spots.

Jon