Embarrassing project: getting tractor unstuck

   / Embarrassing project: getting tractor unstuck #1  

Investorguy

Silver Member
Joined
Dec 4, 2005
Messages
118
Location
Ferndale, WA
Tractor
Kubota 3400 HST
So... uh... remember when I asked how to push that tree down? I went to go do it the other day and about half way there the ground just seemed to give way to mud.

Of course, I had to work to get myself out of the mud, which clearly was a bad idea.

(pics are blurry due to shakey hands and lack of light)

Changed inline pic to link


Changed inline pic to link



So that was 5 days ago and it's been mostly dry since then. I just tried and had no luck. One option is to wait about a month. By then the ground should be hard enough to just drive out. But I may want to use my tractor between now and then. I can lift my front wheels off the ground w/ the loader to put something under them, but I'm not sure what to put under them... I tried a blanket and it just got coated w/ muddy clay.

This whole situation reminds me of the miry clay in psalm 40. Can anyone help me figure out how to get out of this pit?
 
   / Embarrassing project: getting tractor unstuck #2  
Wow, not fun.

First, are there any FRAGILE hydro fans, etc under the belly like on the smaller Bota's that will be damaged by mud? I'd be way nervous over that.

At this point, I think I'd consider getting a tow truck or someone with a LONG winch. With it and you turning the tires, it should move. You could put 2x12s under the tires as you start moving. I think you will need some other power to get it out by summer.

Are there any trees behind you that you could hook a winch to? Long cable, chains, and a winch should be able to move it.

You're going to have some nasty ruts to fill sometime also.

Hope it works out well for you.

ron
 
   / Embarrassing project: getting tractor unstuck #3  
I can't tell what ya got in the front bucket but take it out/off. Roll your bucket all the way over to dump. Jab it in the ground and while reversing, curl the bucket. This will push the tractor backwards. Repeat as necessary.

Or, get someone else to give you a pull.
 
   / Embarrassing project: getting tractor unstuck #5  
Try this, First start your tractor. Now turn your bucket on your FEL wide open till it won't open anymore and then lower it down into the ground enough for the front wheels to come off the ground just a little, and enough so added weight is shifted to the rear tires as well. Now put your tractor in low low gear reverse and lets use your foot throttle in the following sequence. Start turning your bucket upward as you apply a little foot throttle in reverse, you should get the tractor to move in reverse a little bit at a time until the rear tires get traction and out she comes........ I've done it

Don't lift the tractor so far off the ground that you end up burying your box blade.

If all your efforts fail try calling your nearest Tow Truck / Garage or any body else with another Tractor and tow chain.

Good Luck...Don't just leave it out there...
 
   / Embarrassing project: getting tractor unstuck
  • Thread Starter
#6  
</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I can't tell what ya got in the front bucket but take it out/off. Roll your bucket all the way over to dump. Jab it in the ground and while reversing, curl the bucket. This will push the tractor backwards. Repeat as necessary.

Or, get someone else to give you a pull. )</font>

That sounds like it just might work.

I could pull myself out w/ my truck (4wd F250) but I'm worried that it would get stuck too. In fact I'm pretty sure it would.
 
   / Embarrassing project: getting tractor unstuck #7  
From looking at the pictures the boxblade looks like it's raised all the wayup on the 3 point and it's sitting on the ground. To go in reverse I think you'll have to remove the box blade, otherwise the box blade will plow into the ground. Raising the front tires will pivot the box blade deeper into the ground unless you can get the back tires partially up, out of the mud.

The box blade has dual blades for going forward and reverse. I'm thinking the front blade is digging in trying to go forward also. It may take some lumber placed underneath the blades of the box blade, to slide along on, to keep the blades from digging in forward or reverse.

Don
 
   / Embarrassing project: getting tractor unstuck #8  
Been there, done that, 4 wheeling and with a tractor with a 5' brushhog on the back. First thing to do is to get that box blade off. That is a pretty heavy weight at a moment arm pushing down on the back of the tractor. Since the rear wheels are down in the ruts, the tires are going to have a hard time lifting that weight as well as the rear of the tractor to crawl their way back on top. Instead, they just dig into the face at the end of the rut and make a trench. Take it off and manhandle it off to the side and pick it up later when things dry out.

Next, as suggested, use the bucket curl hydraulics to push you back while backing slowly. You do NOT want to spin the wheels, you want the rear wheels to crawl back up on top.

Here are a few questions for you:

How far behind the tactor is the nearest solid object such as a tree?

Do the rear wheels on your Kubota have holes through the rims big enough to pass a chain or strap through(I couldn't tell from the pics)?

An old 4X4 trick is to use the tires themselvs as a winch but you need a low range(which the tractor has) and a locking differential(which your tractor may have) or use two lines, one to each wheel. You pass a tow strap cable or chain through the wheel from side to side(see attached drawing) and fasten it to itself in the middle of the tire tread. To this connect a longer strap/cable/chain and run the opposite end of this back to a solid object(take out all the slack in the line). The large truck you mentioned setting on solid ground might work if there are no trees close by. Failing that you could dig in an anchor to attach to. I have seen railroad ties, spare tires and even large boat anchors buried in the ground to use as an anchor point.

At the slowest wheelspeed your tractor is capable of, start to back up. The tow line will be drawn down into the mud around the bottom of the tire untill tension forces the tire to start to roll back up the line. Here is where you need that locking differential or a second tow line rigged to the other wheel. As the one wheel takes a strain on the tow line, without a locking diff, the other wheel which has less traction will just spin. If you have independent brakes, you can also apply the brakes to the side that starts to spin which will send torque to the wheel that is pulling on the line.

The main drawback of course is that the solid object needs to be directly behind the wheel as any angle will cause the line to slip off the inside or outside of the wheel. A short strap or section of chain around the tire with the long line connected to this works the best. That way if(when) it slips off to the side, as the short attach piece emerges at the front of the wheel, you can easilly disconnect everything and re-attach again at the rear of the wheel. The times I have used this trick, I have actually relied on the line comming off either the inside or the outside and I wind up moveing a few feet at a time and re-rig. This is much easier to untangle when you are finally out.

Using this and my loader, I got my 3000# tractor out last fall after I drove into a swampy spot while brushhogging. The rear wheels had to climb up about 14-16 inches to get back on solid ground and they just couldnt do it. I put a small chain through the wheel and hooked a large chain back to a tree, engaged the difflock and creeper gears and the rear end crawled right back up the chain onto solid ground. Of course I had to get the 5' hog out of the way first(took me longer to wrestle the mower out of the way than it did to get unstuck). I was very glad I had a 30" fork bucket on at the time. With the forks straight down, I was pushing the bucket frame and loader arms into the muck before I was hitting anything solid enough to push against.

Good Luck.
 

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   / Embarrassing project: getting tractor unstuck #9  
I was going to go get you out tomorrow but then I see that Ferndale is clear up near Canada and would be a long trip.

Didn't someone mention how soft it looked by the ruts being left in the sod under that previous tree pulling thread?

Plan A: You are ready for the bucket curl method to push youself backwards. The front end looks buried worse than the rear and unless you have also buried the rear, the bucket method should scoot you right out. A little shovel work behind the rear tires would go a long ways here. Use the locker pedal and avoid spinning the tires.

Plan B: Slowly back your ford in the direction of the tractor until you begin to see it form the slightest of ruts. Then use the ford as an anchor to winch your tractor out with a comealong. I would agree that if you use your ford's engine to pull then it will also be stuck.

Plan C: Call a tow truck. They know how to yank you backwards approximately three feet to where the tractor will easily drive out on its own.

Waiting until that muck dries out will be a long while since the next rain will cause the ruts you dug to become mud holes that will stay mudholes long after the flat ground is firm.
 
   / Embarrassing project: getting tractor unstuck #10  
A very few months ago here on TBN , another fellow had the same basic problem . As l recall someone suggested he chain a length of 8x8 or larger to his rear tires and VERY slowly back the tractor up till the 8x8 was clear then repeat as needed . The gentleman apparently used this method to success . The wood acts as a paddle , obviously you cant allow the tires to turn only a short duration .
 
 
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