Inclinometer/Tiltmeter of any REAL use?

   / Inclinometer/Tiltmeter of any REAL use? #1  

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Hi everyone,

I want to be safe if I get that tractor!

Rolling over is a big concern. I don't find anything published on specific brands/models of tractors illustrating things like where the center of gravity is, or what the maximum safe tilt angle might be, and so on.

Now I realize why the manufacturer would not publish certain things that might "encouage" a purchaser to use his tractor on anything but tabletop flat land.

I never knew my limits at a lot of things until I exceeded them in the past...but I don't want to learn the capabilities of a tractor that way...might not be there to remember after the fact.

Just seems like having a meter to tell you the slope angle, when you don't know at what angle the danger range begins at, does not really offer much.

And given the variability of having attachments on that change the center of gravity for better or worse...

Well, I guess on this one, this novice has concluded that his butt may be the best, most dependable indicator danger on the slopes....I guess you guys call that the pucker factor?

Am I missing something?

Bill Macher
 
   / Inclinometer/Tiltmeter of any REAL use? #2  
Here's a previous thread that discusses these very questions./w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.tractorbynet.com/cgi-bin/compact/showflat.pl?Cat=&Board=safety&Number=20447&page=&view=&sb=&o=&vc=1>Tiltmeter - Why Not?</A>
 
   / Inclinometer/Tiltmeter of any REAL use? #3  
Hi Bill, I think the "point of no return" is around 20 degrees for most tractors. 15 degrees is considered the safe limit, giving you a little room for error. I have a tiltmeter on mine, it is nice as I some times go beyond 15 without realizing it.
 
   / Inclinometer/Tiltmeter of any REAL use? #4  
If I'm that close to the <font color=blue>"point of no return"</font color=blue>, there is no way that my eyes are going to be focused on a gauge.
 
   / Inclinometer/Tiltmeter of any REAL use? #5  
You don't install a slopemeter in order to have a device you keep your eyes glued to any more than you would keep your eyes glued to a speedometer in a car or truck. The speedometer alone can't tell you if the speed is safe for the conditions at hand, but it does tell give you important information that your brain processes along with what you see, hear, and feel. The same is true for a slopemeter.

For most compacts with typical wheel tread settings, ballast, and attached implements, a slope of around 15 degrees is about as much as the users on TPN seem to feel comfortable with. The actual number could be lower or higher for any given situation.

When I begin to feel the pucker factor tightening up, I glance at the slopemeter to see what it says and make a judgement as to what to do. Most of the time when on slopes I am traveling very slowly in order to provide time to react.

The circumstance where the meter really can't give you useful information is the surprise situation such as a wheel suddenly dropping into a hole or climbing the side or over the top of a hidden stump. Another would be when the loader bucket is caught when trying to pry up an object that is essentially immovable.

If you only have a few minor slopes to deal with, you could just go out and measure them with a carpenter's protractor level sitting on a small board. This would give you an idea of whether or not you have need for concern. However, if you are going to operate on slopes that exceed 10 degrees, I think you will find a tiltmeter very useful. It might prevent you from having to do unpleasant laundry.
 
   / Inclinometer/Tiltmeter of any REAL use? #6  
Bill -- I have one on my L3010, but rarely even glanced at it after the first week. It served to verify that I began to pucker at about 15 degrees, and that the steepest slope I traverse is just shy of 20 degrees, which I cross very slowly, with the FEL and implements as low as possible, and with every fiber of my being puckering like mad. /w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif

But after that first week, when I had all the slopes memorized, I found it distracting. Just my opinion and others may think I've blasphemed...

Pete
 
   / Inclinometer/Tiltmeter of any REAL use? #7  
I don't think others will feel that you have blasphemed, Boondox. I'd say you got your money's worth out of the tiltmeter plus some in that first week. Obviously you had concerns about the angle of the slopes and the tiltmeter told you what you needed to know. The tiltmeter helped you identify which slopes you needed to use the most caution on and help you develop a gameplan on which way and how fast to travel in order to be safe. Since you are driving, mowing or whatever on your own property and are not going over new terrain on a continuous basis you will not necessarily need to look at your tiltmeter very often. As a matter of fact, now that you no longer need the tiltmeter you can sell it to me. I have a lot of slopes I'd like to learn more about, too./w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif
 
   / Inclinometer/Tiltmeter of any REAL use? #8  
Everyone has discussed the uses of a tiltmeter for going across steep slopes but there are other uses. One other thing that they are good for is in construction. You can use them for getting the crown on a road, slopping a run off area, or for getting a pad level.
 
   / Inclinometer/Tiltmeter of any REAL use? #9  
Pete, I did something similar; once I'd learned what all the slopes were, I seldom looked at the tiltmeter as long as I was on my own property, but when I went onto other folks' property, I was using it all over again. And like Jerry, I found it useful for things other than avoiding rollovers. That's the reason I liked having two; both side to side and front to rear.
 
   / Inclinometer/Tiltmeter of any REAL use?
  • Thread Starter
#10  
HI,

I see I WAS missing something!

That is that the tilt meter would be useful in knowing the angle of a grade, especially when one is trying to make something flat, or sloped a bit. So it can be a tool as well as possibly a safety device.

When I had a guy come in with a high lift some years ago to dig my pond bigger, I can tell you that it looked perfectly flat as far as the bank on the low side goes, but after it was filled one end was maybe a foot lower than the other...perhaps had he had some way to know if he was running level it might have turned out more perfect.

On the other hand, it was only low by about a foot over 75' of so...maybe a line level would have told me even more...

Now I have to go out with my carpenter level and measure some angles...on the hillside behind the pond...since I don't have a tilt meter or even the tractor to attach to it yet!

Appreciate all the input....I can see more clearly now...

Bill Macher
 
 
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