otus_branch
Silver Member
Yes those loader shear pins do shear, and I suppose I should be grateful that my foolishness did not lead to anything worse. The situation was me enjoying my new Markham grapple (i.e.- "Extreme Gator Mini Rake) on our Kub L-39, unloading a trailer full of locust logs (some longer than 20'!) from next door. In order to reach a few of the logs, I had to grab them off-center, which of course led to tilting, which can't be good for anything. In general, I would set the log down once I realized that it was not centered, re-position the tractor, and lift again. But I got in a hurry, and one time it looked like setting the log down would crush a side-light on the trailer (not too well-protected on my trailer), so I decided to go for it and keep moving, tilt and all. Well, I cleared the trailer and its lights, but then POP goes the grapple, right off the skid steer mount, and those shear pins which go into the bottom of the grapple are missing a few millimeters of steel.
My questions are: (1) what can I expect to pay for replacement SS loader mount shear pins for the L-39? and (2) even though the broken pins were clearly due mostly to operator error, I also previously observed that the Markham grapple fit loosely enough to permit a little side-to-side movement under high-torque grappling. It certainly seemed to have more slop than the (Kubota) bucket. Could a slightly loose fit contribute to shear pin breakage?
I sure have been publicly airing a lot of my tractoring mistakes here at TBN! I hope my mistakes can at least help other noob's avoid doing the same...
-otus
My questions are: (1) what can I expect to pay for replacement SS loader mount shear pins for the L-39? and (2) even though the broken pins were clearly due mostly to operator error, I also previously observed that the Markham grapple fit loosely enough to permit a little side-to-side movement under high-torque grappling. It certainly seemed to have more slop than the (Kubota) bucket. Could a slightly loose fit contribute to shear pin breakage?
I sure have been publicly airing a lot of my tractoring mistakes here at TBN! I hope my mistakes can at least help other noob's avoid doing the same...
-otus