Stuck in snow & now need a tow!

[bebster]

Well I've never seen this much snow on Cape Cod! Caught me off totally off guard, with the JD 4410 parked at the barn with the pallet forks on the FEL and 2-3' of snow all around. Of course as luck would have it, I left the bucket about 150' away, so while my wife dug the bucket out of the drift, I backed my way over using the BH bucket to sweep a path clear enough of snow so I could drive over it. That was an hour's job. You can see the trouble brewing in this photo.

Finally got the bucket attached. It's hard to do in the snow because it's not level and the snow gets between the loader and the bucket making it hard to seat properly.

Then started to try to push the snow, but found that I had to turn to the side to dump it somewhere. I knew that 100 yds to go to the house wouldn't be easy.

Continued on next post...

 

[bebster]

So finally got up onto my dirt (sand) road, and started to move and dump the snow. Except I went too far to the side and got the front wheels over the edge. The rear wheels have dug down to loose sand, and I see no way of getting unstuck. You can see the angle I'm at in the photo. The left front wheel is way down and the left rear tire is pretty far dug into loose sand. Tried shoveling out, putting some 2x12's under the tires, but all to no avail.

A big excavator is scheduled to come over to put in a septic tank, and I figure I can get him to tow me out. But I don't want to do any damage. I'm thinking about putting a chain around the rear axle and attaching to the excavator and getting him to pull as I try to back out slowly.

Any suggestions? I'm all ears and eyes!

 

[JN4310]

Can you walk it out by rolling the FEL bucket down, then lowering the FEL arms all the way down while pushing back with bucket curl? That or pull with BH crowd?

 

[ronjhall]

Climb on the BH and pull it out with it's bucket. I move my tractor around with the BH while digging. I know your not supposed to do it. But it works when needed.

 

[bebster]

Thanks for the advice -- tried both of those (they've worked before) but neither works now. I can't get enough lift with the FEL (and the bucket curled all the way down) and the backhoe can't get a good enough grip in the sand to do that much good. Backhoe's strong enough to move the tractor sideways but can get it to move it up over the edge and backwards all at the same time.

 

[JN4310]

Is there any chance of wedging a log or some 4x4's between the bucket and the tree in the picture, then using loader lift or 4 in 1 bucket open to push back from the tree?

 

[Bob_Skurka]

Well if it was me, I'd fix up a nice batch of Kaluha and coffee and watch through the window while the lovely Mrs_Bob, using her brand new shovel, worked to clear a path for me to drive the tractor back out. Yup. Sure I would. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif


Good thing the lovely Mrs_Bob doesn't read TBN /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

 

[JN4310]

Or maybe stacking some logs under the loader bucket to curl against??

 

[Dozernut]

I can't tell from the photo, but if there is a tree or good anchor point behind the tractor, hook a chain to the hoe and extend it (the hoe) out. You might need to have a length of strap and or chain to reach the anchor. Then attach the chain to the anchor and curl the boom in while you have the tires spinning. This should walk you out with ease.

 

[BarryinMN]

I agree with dozernut, you have the tools to easily get out. Use a chain with BH or create a solid pile under bucket to push back with loader bucket. You could also use BH to simply push straight down slope & try crabbing straight back up or go around.

In any case you can get out yourself it will just take time & a little creativity. I have a 2wd TLB & have slid off my road every year. Usually just once a season. R4's are not as good as R1's but they can work.