Loader OK to leave my loader up?

[MasseyWV]

I probably shouldn't tell you about crawling under the brush hog to unwind fence wire ( would have had to drive all the way back to the barn to prop it) or lifting the loader part way up to grease it. I think this falls under the heading of "Acceptable Risk".

If the hydraulics were to fail as you're under the brush hog or the loader you'd be thinking differently... in a hurry.

As far as "Acceptable Risk" is concerned, I think risks such as the one's you cited are easily mitigated by planning ahead. You know you may encounter fence wire when brush hogging so having something to prop it up with (just in case) would mitigate that risk, with the same being true for working on the loader.

 

[RickB]

I probably shouldn't tell you about crawling under the brush hog to unwind fence wire ( would have had to drive all the way back to the barn to prop it) or lifting the loader part way up to grease it. I think this falls under the heading of "Acceptable Risk". Next thing you'll tell me is I shouldn't crawl under my tractor without propping the back tires up in case they blowout causing me to be trapped underneath it . Life has risks.

Jeff

Telling us about it is one thing; it sucks to read about it in the newspaper.

"Acceptable Risk" and "Unnecessary Risk" are decidedly different categories.

Consider the affect of a serious injury or death on loved ones if you care little about your own health & safety.

 

[Gary Fowler]

If the hydraulics were to fail as you're under the brush hog or the loader you'd be thinking differently... in a hurry.

As far as "Acceptable Risk" is concerned, I think risks such as the one's you cited are easily mitigated by planning ahead. You know you may encounter fence wire when brush hogging so having something to prop it up with (just in case) would mitigate that risk, with the same being true for working on the loader.

I am with being safe as much as the next guy, but come on folks much of what you are siting has about as much chance of happening as getting hit by a meteorite. Lifting up your FEL to drive a lawnmower out from under it and having it accidently blow 2 hydraulic hoses and fall on you is pretty slim to none chance. Having hydraulic failure is also pretty slim to none chance. I would almost guarantee that if someone is trapped under a piece of hydraulic equipment, it was because of human error, someone let it down on them, not because the hoses blew or the earth suddenly increased gravity to the extent that the hydraulics could no longer hold the equipment up.
After saying that, I do have a 4x4 block that I have especially cut to set up under my bush hog if I need to work on it but this was because my old Yanmar leaked down. I would trust my LS to hold the 3 PH up for months and not leak down which it has done many times. If you have kids, grandkids, wife, etc that wander around and mess with your tractors, DO lower, lock, take precautions to keep them from hurting you or themselves. I have no issue leaving my 3 PH raised if I want or the FEL if I want which by the way has to be raised up to get to the grill protector which has to be moved out in order to raise the hood. You can do it with it down but you have to be a contortionist and it is a head knocker for walking around so I raise mine up if I need to be under the hood and don't worry about it falling on me because no one is out playing around in the cab (I could lock it up if it were ) To me that is Acceptable RISK. NOW would I crawl under my raised disc to work on it, **** no even though I know it isn't going to fall, the consequences are too great if it did, so that is not an acceptable risk.
Working on the tractor with FEL up, no risk as if it did come down it is not a pinch factor (unless one were standing under the bucket which there is no reason to do that), just tight quarters.

 

[rhc1945]

Any issues with parking my tractors with the loaders up? Takes up way less walking room in the barn with the buckets in the air, but am I causing any premature damage by doing it?


And/or, is there an acceptable time/period that is safe to leave them up?

Thanks in advance

View attachment 302682

Sent from my Motorola Photon using TractorByNet for Android

SAFETY....dont want kids playing farmerand drop bucket on another....rhc

 

[TSO]

LOL, you guys are cracking me up. I'm always a safety first guy too, once again, the point of this thread was addressing any concerns 4 damage and wear & tear to my loader, if I leave it up for any length of time.

Sent from my Motorola Photon using TractorByNet for Android

 

[Gale Hawkins]

Just passed by a job site they had it parked for the night with arms raised and loaded with scaffold boards, etc.

My welding shop owner's BH did belong to his late BIL before the FEL came down and crushed him when he was working on it.

He was using ropes to make it go up and down while he was under it and the user designed rope control system failed for some reason.

 

[MasseyWV]

I am with being safe as much as the next guy, but come on folks much of what you are siting has about as much chance of happening as getting hit by a meteorite.

Perhaps, but it only takes once to kill you. Trust me, I know.

 

[puckgrinder85]

I use a piece of angle steel as a boom cylinder lock and leave my loader securely propped up all the time in my shed. I lower the cylinder against the lock so tiewraps, velcro, etc are unnecessary. One prop is sufficient, if two makes somebody feel better, so be it. If this method satisfies OSHA as being acceptable for use in repair shops, (and it is) I'm OK with it, and this community should be as well.

This is exactly what should be done if you plan on doing something under the bucket, even just driving under it for a split second.

I probably shouldn't tell you about crawling under the brush hog to unwind fence wire ( would have had to drive all the way back to the barn to prop it) or lifting the loader part way up to grease it. I think this falls under the heading of "Acceptable Risk". Next thing you'll tell me is I shouldn't crawl under my tractor without propping the back tires up in case they blowout causing me to be trapped underneath it . Life has risks.Jeff

Its your life, only you can determine how you go through it. I for one dont want to be found under some implement hours/ a day or two later suffocating under its weight or bleeding a slow death. You never know, thats the point. Even if its just something stupid like a log laying there or a rock thicker than your body is all it could take to save your life. I've had a lot of oh **** moments to the point I know when its not worth it or thought out how it could have went. I've been lucky and it opened my eyes.. I know you dont think it can happen or the chances are slim, but the bad luck floats around and lands on someone everyday! Im sure we could all share stories of seeing bad things happen, which really leads me to wonder why dont you guys think its all that unlikely this stuff couldnt happen to you?

LOL, you guys are cracking me up. I'm always a safety first guy too, once again, the point of this thread was addressing any concerns 4 damage and wear & tear to my loader, if I leave it up for any length of time.




Sent from my Motorola Photon using TractorByNet for Android

No, it wont damage anything. Everyone is just addressing how dumb it is to do so without making sure it cannot come down without some sort mechanical locking device.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Just passed by a job site they had it parked for the night with arms raised and loaded with scaffold boards, etc.

My welding shop owner's BH did belong to his late BIL before the FEL came down and crushed him when he was working on it.

He was using ropes to make it go up and down while he was under it and the user designed rope control system failed for some reason.

Now see, this is the kind of stupid **** that kills people. It wasn't working under the backhoe with the engine off, it was an idiot and the gene pool is cleaner now.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Perhaps, but it only takes once to kill you. Trust me, I know.

I worked heavy construction for 45 years (never injured more than a band aid fix)and saw a few folks killed and a few hurt pretty bad. Never was it equipment failure, it was always lack of attention to ones surroundings either by the person injured or someone else, like a person dropping something onto someone else or someone doing something so idiotic that there was no way they wouldn't suffer from the consequences. Pay attention, think "what if", make preparations for worst case and then do the job. The most dangerous place in the world is your bathtub but I am not going to stop bathing because of it, but I also am not going into a room full of gun powder and strike a match. Will I walk under an un-blocked hydraulic controlled FEL, absolutely as long as no one is in close proximity to the controls. I trust the equipment not to fail, but I wouldn't trust anyone to not touch the controls or hit the wrong one. Would I walk under something with ropes or cables holding it up, no way, I've seen them break without warning.

 

[npalen]

I use a piece of angle steel as a boom cylinder lock and leave my loader securely propped up all the time in my shed. I lower the cylinder against the lock so tiewraps, velcro, etc are unnecessary. One prop is sufficient, if two makes somebody feel better, so be it. If this method satisfies OSHA as being acceptable for use in repair shops, (and it is) I'm OK with it, and this community should be as well.

We used the angle iron with a hose clamp many times when setting up prototype machinery that used cylinders and it works well. One word of caution is to look at what the end of the angle iron bears against on the cylinder gland. (end of the cylinder) Some cylinders are a bit fragile in this area and could be damaged by the angle iron imprinting but not likely. We made production transport locks which consisted of a u-shaped piece in lieu of angle iron to which a flat horseshoe shaped piece of metal was welded to each end. The shaped piece provided much more surface area to bear against the cylinder body. Some of the service locks seen on equipment are hinged on one end over the cylinder pin so they can be simply pivoted up out of the way to disengage the lock. This requires some type of retainer to keep the lock disengaged while gravity keeps it engaged otherwise. Combine headers are a good example of this safety device. That brings the thought that there are thousands of combines around the world parked with the header raised and not locked. Yes, it is a safety issue for sure.

 

[MasseyWV]

I worked heavy construction for 45 years (never injured more than a band aid fix)and saw a few folks killed and a few hurt pretty bad. Never was it equipment failure

I'm not at liberty to discuss the details, but I almost died due to equipment failure and continue to suffer as a result of it. It may not happen often, and we may get lucky 1000000000 times, but as I said, it only takes once. Come to think of it, dumb luck is why I'm able to type this message, as opposed to being dead.

 

[MHarryE]

Combine headers are similar to loaders. During my first year at work another guy and I climbed under a corn head to clear vines wrapped around the snapping rolls. We failed to engage the safety ram stop. While we were working, engine stopped, no one around the controls, an o-ring happened to blow and the corn head came down. Fortunately it took a couple seconds to drop so we were able to scramble out but lesson learned. Mechanical things do fail without human intervention - is it really worth the risk? I also had to ,look at the coroners pictures of two guys crushed under a falling corn head. In this case we proved it was their fault and so were not liable but they lost their lives for the sake of saving the minute or so it takes to set a safety stop. My brother in law got a good deal on a combine because it was a killer. The first time the owner was pinned under the head somebody saw him and raised it so all he got was bruises. The second time the people who discovered his body also found the scratch marks where he tried to claw dirt as he was slowly asphyxiated. No, I want to be shot by a jealous husband, not die under a piece of equipment.

 

[RaydaKub]

I am with being safe as much as the next guy, but come on folks much of what you are siting has about as much chance of happening as getting hit by a meteorite.

OK, I find it ironic that you used that example yesterday. I bet these people felt that way yesterday, too.

Russian meteor causes blast; hundreds injured - CNN.com

 

[Hill Farmer]

I got into the habit a long time ago of setting the bucket down every time I got off the tractor when all I had was a tractor without brakes. Now that I have brakes I still set the bucket down.

This! Except I still don't have brakes and the bucket and 3 point are gonna leak down anyway.

Maybe someday I'll own some nicer equipment.

 

[kebo]

Sounds like TSO and some others here just need bigger barns or sheds!!!!! That will completely solve the issue of not having enough room to walk around, or drive under stuff! Don't we all need bigger barns lol.

 

[90cummins]

I store my loader up to free up floor space and use angle iron with zip ties attached in 4 places to prevent contact with the cylinder rod.
As mentioned care must be taken not to damage the gland seal.
I did not read all the posts so I will mention that you must not store the loader in the fully up position especially if the tractor is cold and will be stored in a warm area.
The problem is that as the hydraulic oil warms it expands and will create excessive pressure if the loader is fully up, there is no pressure relief to bleed pressure off.
I drop my loader down to the supports and leave it in the float position to prevent it from rising and allowing the supports to fall out.
90cummins

 

[Don87]

Just don't anyone fasten hooks from their rafters as a redneck safety to make sure the FEL doesn't drop. You can bet you will forget one day and start to back out and take half your structure with you. Oopps.

I resemble this one.

Although when I 'tied my bucket to the rafters', I also had a butchered 300 lb hog hanging from the bucket overnight.

 

[cqaigy2]

I probably shouldn't tell you about crawling under the brush hog to unwind fence wire ( would have had to drive all the way back to the barn to prop it) or lifting the loader part way up to grease it. I think this falls under the heading of "Acceptable Risk". Next thing you'll tell me is I shouldn't crawl under my tractor without propping the back tires up in case they blowout causing me to be trapped underneath it . Life has risks.

Jeff

You bet it does.

It's up to you if you want to fess up for acting foolish at times, but it's still your decision and your the one that's there.

 

[mjncad]

Now here is a true Darwin Award wannabe. Home made Firework - YouTube