Parking a loader

[gator]

My guess is so they can grease the top cylinder fittings without having to start the tractor and uncurl the bucket.
I don't do it like that either, I park it flat.

[billboe]

Yeah, I do this when I need to get off the tractor when I'm on a slope (I actually dig the edge in a bit). When parking I'm like the rest here... flat... and pressure released...

[Mike_Dumond]

The biggest reason I park it in the dump position, (winter only), is that a few years ago we had a rain storm in January. The temp dropped right after that, and a couple of days later, I found the whole bucket frozen to the ground. Took a couple of hours to thaw it out enough to release from the ice. Now, I just have to worry about the cutting edge getting stuck, and a little bucket tipping frees it right up.

[frank_f15]

i don't have a clue why they park them like that. i do the same as glueguy. i have also seen them parked with the loader 2ft off the ground.

[bgott]

I put a small chunk of 4x4 under the back of the bucket to tilt it foreward to drain the rain and then relax the hydraulics after I shut it off.

[pcmem]

Robert_in_NY,

My Dad's been doing it that way for as long as I've been around [img]/w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif[/img]. He does it to keep the bucket clear and prevent it from freezing to the ground in the winter. It's also a safety factor when the manure buckets with tines are on. It keeps you have breaking a foot. As a kid I've set it down flat only to trip over it later [img]/w3tcompact/icons/eyes.gif[/img]. He's never had problems as a result, and since his are working tractors in comparison to mine [img]/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif[/img], I'm not is a position to debate it.

Whatever you're comfortable with,
Michael

[cowboydoc]

It's also a safety factor when the manure buckets with tines are on.

This is probably one of the biggest reasons, esp. if you have the toothbar on. Alot of people have been hurt over the years from the toothbar sticking up. I have done it that way quite as bit as well and was always told to do it like that. Many of the reasons I've been told have been mentioned like keeping water out of the bucket, , keeping it from freezing, acting as a brake- reason being that most of your older tractors don't have much of a brake anymore and the loader acts as the parking brake for the tractor. I've seen them roll with the bucket flat.

[gmason]

One of the reason why I park mine with the bucket fully curled down it that when it rain/snow the back/bottom of the bucket has much more paint that allows the water to run right off and not cause any rusting of the bucket. I leave it several feet off the ground this way so that it's not resting on the ground rusting.

[Robert_in_NY]

That makes sense, didn't think about the forks or toothbars but now that you mentioned it, it is a smart way of doing it. Thanks for responding as I now know something I didn't know yesterday.

[Robert_in_NY]

I have been told that you shouldn't leave the loaders in air like that because it puts a lot of strain on the cylinder seals which will result in leaks. You would be better off to set 4x4 blocks under the lower edge of your bucket so that you could release the pressure from the cylinders. The 4x4 blocks will keep it from freezing to the ground. Have fun.

Robert