Loader How to not damage your FEL

[k0ua]

Well, I take that back.. I have a little bit to say. As far as pushing things sideways with your bucket by cutting the wheels hard, you can do it without damaging your loader to a point. Pushing a downed tree branch sideways to get it where you can pick it up or something is OK. You just have to use common sense. Don't try pushing a 1 ton boulder sideways, or anything really heavy and stuck to the ground, but something you could probably move by hand if you had to is OK, and I do it all the time.

Same as pulling something with the loader backwards.. You must use common sense. Pulling a grape vine out of a tree by latching on to it with your grapple or even chaining on to it and attaching it to a bucket is OK,, But don't yank on something that might not move. You can pull out most grape vines by hand, but reaching up with your grapple and pulling it out is way more fun and wont damage anything. Again use common sense, and if you just don't know, then err on the side of caution. Be extra cautious when the loader is in the air, especially if the ground is not flat. That is when rollovers happen. I don't even like driving around with the bucket up with no load in it. Even on flat ground. Keep you load as low to the ground as practical. Oh, and have fun with your new tool.

View attachment IMG_20160919_123217537_HDR.jpgView attachment IMG_20160919_123751888.jpg

 

[DK35vince]

I know I may catch some flak about this but mounting a snow plow on the front of a FEL is asking to twist the frame. Pushing with the blade straight applies force inline with the tractor/FEL but when the blade is angled a side load is applied the frame which can twist it. This is made even worse when the angled blade is forced into a large pile of snow that does not move. The blade is way out front and angled from the attachment points on the tractor.

There are a lot of TBN members that plow snow with a plow blade on the loader. Don't recall ever reading about a twisted loader frame from it.
I know I run a 9' power angle front snow blade on my 35 HP tractor for years. No issues.

 

[jmelvin]

Buy a tractor 3.75 times bigger than you need, and it should be bullet proof...

* grin * just kidding...

Careful use, and common sense go a long way. Remember it's a loader, ment to lift and scoop, not a bulldozer. Digging in settled ground is putting alot of force on loader masts and cantilevered mounting points... be aware, and understand how you are applying the forces, and it will last longer.

What are your planned uses?

So by your standard I'm OK running a 5 foot brush hog on my 706 farmall?

 

[BrokeFarmerJohn]

So by your standard I'm OK running a 5 foot brush hog on my 706 farmall?

I think you MIGHT get away with a 5 ft cutter on the 706.

That's literally 3 times too big, 15.2hp per foot.

 

[DieselBound]

Might have missed this having already been mentioned, but...

Careful about TURNING with a lot of weight on the FEL, especially on uneven ground. It's amazing how just a little dip in the ground can can amplify things.

I've done everything that one should NOT do with my B7800. I've applied so much force on to the corner of its bucket that I managed to pop off the tooth bar: bent the bar; was concentrating the force all on a single tooth! With 1,100 hrs of seat time on this tractor I can proclaim that one cannot break it! I am retraining myself that I cannot do these bad things with my Kioti!

 

[kevin37b]

Yep, that wide front end looks good . But , there is a pivot point right in the center of the axle . And it will pivot enough to unload you .

 

[dieselcrawler]

So by your standard I'm OK running a 5 foot brush hog on my 706 farmall?

If the brush hog was the loader in question... not exactly an apples to apples comparison... however... if you try that, please post pictures, its gonna be the tractor version of an elephant riding a bicycle! He!!, just post pics of the 706, I like IH iron!

 

[Msamt]

I'll add a few things not to do.
Don't try and dig huge boulders out, like this


And don't try and pull out stumps without digging around them first the cylinders will bend and break themselves like this


To echo what was said before, not a bull dozer, and build up your grill guard, the grapple is one of the handiest tools I've ever used, but it can lead you into things you shouldn't do with a FEL.
Enjoy!

 

[mbohuntr]

Here's one. Avoid hooking a load onto the center of the cutting edge of the bucket, If you bend it, you can spend a lot of time and money trying to flatten it out so it will scrape properly again.

Speaking of scraping, place the tractor/loader on a flat level surface, place the bucket flat on the ground. Take a can of fluorescent paint and spray the top of the level rod very bright. Now, when you go to scrape snow, place the loader in float, bucket flat on ground using the level indicator, then roll the bucket up ever so slightly so there is a very small gap under the cutting edge.
Now you can push snow without tearing up your driveway and lawn and avoid those jarring stops when you hit something big like stone and concrete edges..

 

[tractorgp]

If you feel something is going wrong (like tipping or lifting too high) and you feel panicky immediately take your hands and feet off all controls settle down and assess the situation.