Tipping angle 3320 cab W 300cx

[nebraskasparks]

Welcome spylake,

Quite a few fellas at TBN are working on this issue...self included as the industry has hid the information due to our wonderful legal? system.

Check out the thread - How to kill yourself without knowing - and ditto what RoyJackson says about filling your tires. Just purchased L5740 and had weights put on the wheels before delivery and it's still not enough. The grapple I have weighs 860 lbs and the hydraulics can lift that and another 1800 lbs... This means that filling your tires isn't even an option. Why the dealers don't address this is almost criminal in my opinion.

Check out your FEL manual. This will have some basic charts...

Best advice I saw with Tilt meters was to go out with the tractor and measure the slopes before working them. With that knowledge you can start your weight and balance.

 

[Rob-D]

Rob, my 3520 is fairly tippy, so I think it just depends on your terrain and how you use it. My property isn't too bad but is sloped a bit, but it is the small holes that kill you with this tractor. For example, got a decent sized cow elk about a month ago. Was able to gut it on site and load it whole and bring it back to the house. Used my tractor to lift it up to skin it. While that in itself was not a problem, I was backing up and my rear right tire hit a really small hole while on a very slight decline and my front left tire came off the ground. I am pretty quick on the draw so I was able to steady it but it was enough to about give me a heart attack and remind me how tippy this thing can be.

Jeff,
I agree some tractors are more prone to tipping than others but a lot of factors come into play. Is your tractor balanced correctly? When you were moving that cow was the loader up or low to the ground? I keep things as low to the ground as possible.

I think a 4 series will be less tipsy than a 3 series. With that said, I have had no issues on my hilly property in the mountains here even with the occasional woodchuck hole and I've been on some steep inclines.

Rob

 

[Lt220]

Hi Lt220,
I had the 2320 and went to the 3320 also. First, the 3320 sits higher and I think this may give the feeling of tipping more when in fact you're relatively safe.
There were a couple of things I did. I put on a tiltmeter, put the rear tires in the widest position and will put on weights in the spring. I personally don't find the 3320 to be all that tipsy. It's not the 2320, agreed, but the 2320 can't do what the 3320 can either.

I agree 100%. There are times I wish I still had my 3320. I really miss the HP....and the bells and whistles that the 2320 doesn't have. I had fluid in the rear tires and also had them set to the widest position. My properties that I own and lease are very hilly. I was just too uncomfortable on it.

 

[hilld]

On the 3320 with R4's are the valve stems pointed to the inside or outside in the "wide" position?

 

[arrabil]

There is a hill on my property that I have to traverse sideways. Man is that scary. You get off the 4200 and look at it and you have to wonder what the big deal is. Get back on the tractor and you hold on for dear life. Has to do with sitting up high and nothing else it seems. My wife was making fun of me so I put her on the tractor. She went two inches and apologized.

I turn around on this hill with the X475 and never give it a second thought.

RobD, what angle does your tilt gauge show before you decide enough is enough?

 

[RoyJackson]

On the 3320 with R4's are the valve stems pointed to the inside or outside in the "wide" position?

Every tractor I've seen had wheels with more offset inside (when from the factory). This means the stems would be inside when set at the widest position.
However, always measure that offset first, before you do all the work (and filled tires are heavy!!).
Don't forget that R-4's are unidirectional which mean you must swap side to side (rather then jst reverse the wheels).

 

[foggy1111]

I expected the 3320 to feel a little awkward, or "tippy", compared to other tractors....from reports I have read here on TBN. While I have not operated mine a whole lot yet.....it certainly does NOT feel any more tippy than other, similar sized, tractors to me.

Still, when loading my rear tires (which added about 800 lbs) I swapped sides with my R4's to pick up about 2" of extra width. Maybe this helped to eliminate the tippy feel too. I did notice lots more "bounce" while driving on air...which could be a contributor to "tippy" feelings (and results too).

I like to think I'm pretty cautious around machinery.....and my pucker-factor is set pretty low (especially compared to time gone by).....but I have not experienced a big tippy feel from this model.....yet!

Maybe allot of the tippy issue results from cabs or as a result of sitting higher on this model compared to straddling the tranny in past tractors?
FWIW......I think cabs belong on flat, farm land.....and not on un-level ground or in the woods. (IMHO )

 

[jeffster]

I think the biggest issue with my 3520 is just coming from a similar HP but heavier 820. Jumping between those two is a huge difference. I also notice a large difference between my 3520 and the neighbor's 4320 (both open station). Like anything, just being careful goes a long way. In any case, I love my 3520. Great tractor.

 

[jimgerken]

For everyone who owns a 3000 or 4000 series JD, there is a thread on TBN about wheel spacers. Someone figured out that the rear hubs on these tractors match the standard skidloader hub, so wheel spacers are available to allow putting track kits on the skidloaders. The spacers are available from Grouser or other suppliers (cheap). I put four inches per side on my 3720 this summer. HUGE difference in how it feels. The spacers are heavy cast iron, so that is also helpful. Wheel weights are expensive but worthwhile in safety and lifting capacity. I am sure that liquid loading the tire is even better but I cannot bring myself to do that to them.

That thread: http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...rating/177020-jd-cut-wheel-spacer-answer.html

 

[soulasphil]

I drive an open station 3520 with ag tires and my property has a lot of slopes and holes. The tires are not loaded and I have no wheel weights or spacers. I've left the wheels as they came from the dealer and not put them in the widest position, a narrow tractor being precious when you want the implement to cover your tracks or you wish to drive into a garage with a narrow door. I've had the 3520 for 16 months now so I'm really used to it. The tippy feeling that really frightened me at the beginning has completely disappeared. I think it came from sitting high on a narrow tractor, which gives a feeling I had not experienced on other tractors of that size. My confidence has completely returned and I now do exactly the same things I used to do with my Massey 35 which was a foot wider and had a much lower seat and FELT much more stable.