TiltMeter question...

[FN in MT]

I've got some hilly areas I'd like to mow, with both the MMM and the bushhog. With safety my prime concern I've thought of buying a TiltMeter.

How MUCH "tilt" is allowed before your in trouble?? I know there are many other factors but on dry terrain, whats the guideline??

FN in MT

 

[bx24d]

This is a re-post from a previous thread....

Depending on speed, turns, potholes, full raised fel, swinging rear implement, it can become quite easy to tip a tractor at 12 degrees. IMHO, when you're in the range of 10-20 degrees, the actual angle is not the most important variable. So if you measure a 12, 13, 14, 15, or more on your hill, it really doesn't matter. Don't waste your time with the protractor. You know its dangerous going out there and a 14 degree measurement shouldn't give you any more confidence than you already have. I admittedly pucker fast and that's a good thing I think. If you want to drive sideways on that hill, I suggest all the low ballast you can get and slow, deliberate driving with the seatbelt and rops in place to test her out. If you pucker, listen to it and back off. Then mow up and down and raise the mower so as not to scalp. That night, you'll be eating your wife's dinner instead of hospital jello.

 

[Bird]

I don't think anyone is going to commit to any particular amount of tilt because of the variables that can be involved. I've heard that tractors are designed to not turn over at 20 degrees, but that's the bare tractor with no implements. And of course if you assume 20 degrees is the maximum and you get there, then a wheel on the high side runs over a pebble, or something larger, or a wheel on the low side finds a tiny depression . . . well, you get the idea.

bx24d has given a good answer.

Now if you search back far enough, you'll find that I had 2 tiltmeters on my B2710; one for fore and aft and one for side to side, and I once parked sideways on an 18 degree slope, got off, and pushed on the high side without turning it over. But I can also tell you that 12 to 15 degrees was the steepest I wanted to get to and I moved very slowly and carefully at anything over 10 degrees.

 

[KeithInSpace]

Agree with others. And said it in a thread not 1 month ago. I would NEVER go by a tilt-meter. Just no point.

This is about the steepest thing I mow. I always slow down when I mow this and don't go the other way since the mass of the bagger would be downhill instead of uphill (see impeller offset in "front" picture). I think I'd make it, but as others have said, if I ran over a twig, hit a soft spot, found a chunk of dirt or a pine cone, I'd suddenly find myself at a very different "slope" and further risk a rollover.

I have tried this slope with FEL/BH and MMM/Bagger disconnected...couldn't do it. The COG was so much higher that I was simply too uncomfortable to continue.

I just measured the slope in AutoCAD off this picture...17 degrees. Doesn't look like much in the picture. But it feels steep enough on the tractor to prompt me to get off the tractor, take a picture, and share it with others.

Go with your gut. Look at what your doing. Don't stare at a tilt-meter and figure "you're good". Way too much can happen.

 

[Bird]

I would NEVER go by a tilt-meter. Just no point.

As I've said on here many times, a tiltmeter won't keep you from turning over, just like a fuel gauge won't keep you from running out of fuel, so neither one is "necessary", but they both provide me a little information that I like to have.

 

[slewisma]

Can you share pictures of those hills? If you can mow 'em up and down, do so. Side to side is risky with or without a tiltmeter. A bump or depression you'd hardly notice on flat ground can be really dangerous on a hill.

I have a lot of short but steep hills here due to raised septic field mostly and while I sometimes do go side to side I usually go up and down to feel more comfortable and safe. Either way when I'm mowing the hills, it is MMM only for me. FEL and BH sit in the garage to help lower center of gravity and remove awkward physics "moments" from having things hanging off the far reaches of the tractor.

 

[ccsial]

You have to calibrate it. Jack up one side of the tractor while wathcing the tilt meter until the tractor tips over. Then mark that spot.

Now I hope you all know I'm KIDDING.

All good advice above.

 

[Willl]

How MUCH "tilt" is allowed before your in trouble?

Just before you start to go over completely, stop and make a mark in felt pen on the gauge.

 

[megaboz]

You have to calibrate it. Jack up one side of the tractor while wathcing the tilt meter until the tractor tips over. Then mark that spot.

Now I hope you all know I'm KIDDING.

All good advice above.

I know you are kidding, but that is one idea. I have mine on a couple of really steep angles. And once I was able to get the seat out of my cheeks I decided not to do that again.

The tilt meter could make you a little over confident. I mow on some steep hills and usually never had a problem until onde day a pring decided to surface in a spot that never had one. The tractor slid down the hill sideways and when it stopped, it almost tipped over. I'm sure that that won't happen to probably anyone, but the point is that even in places that you have been across before can be dangerous.

When I first got my tractor it felt like it was going to flip over all the time. Made it really hard to use the tractor. So I decided that I would drive it onto a hill, get of (on the up hill side) and see if the tractor would tip over, if it didn't then I would get back on it and have my wife see if it would tip. I was playing on the theory that if it just needed a little to tip, just a little would keep it from tipping over. It helped to give me a little confidence in the tractors abilities.

In the really steep parts I go at an angle just enough to be safe, but enough that I don't have to keep doing the front to back up and down the hill all over the place.

Like others have said, a little bump on the up hill or a depression on the down hill will totally make the tilt meter worthless if you are solely looking at it. If you are going to look at anything, watch your front tires, especially the up hill side, that is going to give you a better indication that you are about to be in trouble.

One last final bit of advice, leave the BH and FEL off, it does raise the center of gravity even more and make it a whole lot more dangerous IMHO.

 

[rxk9394]

another point in favor of the tilt-meter...

I bought one just to validate that my own "pucker-meter" calibration was set correctly. I always wondered if I was being over-confident on the few slopes that I do mow.

It's nice to know that the meter on the seat pretty closely matched the meter attached to the tractor.

Now after validating those slopes I rarely look at my tilt-meter but it's nice to know it's there if I end up on any new slopes.

Rex