How much abuse can a FEL handle?

[ProjectKing]

I'm only one data point but I have beat the crap... I mean worked my BX25D loader hard. One of the first things I did was to add a Piranha tooth bar to dig in very rocky hard soil. It has performed wonders. Being my first real tractor I didn't give it much thought until reading that was possible to damage your rig with offset lifting loads, and ramming into the side of a hill and lots of side hill digging.

I have to say, that I haven't been careful but after 400+ hrs of use (no mowing hrs) my BX is looking and working as new.

I also strongly recommend a Piranha toothbar. It’s greatly reduces stress on the loader. Think about sharp knife versus a dull knife. It’s that big of a difference!

Here’s a video where I talk about my tooth bar.


Kubota Loader Demo! Moving some Dirt with the L3301 Tractor Loader - YouTube

 

[Industrial Toys]

I think it all depends on the size of the machine. It might be harder to break a toy, because the forces just aren't there. Bigger HP and traction mean the potential for greater damage.

 

[ProjectKing]

I think it all depends on the size of the machine. It might be harder to break a toy, because the forces just aren't there. Bigger HP and traction mean the potential for greater damage.

This is a good point. The loaders on mid size John Deere Farm tractors are really weak. My relative had a cylinder mount completely snap off his tractor. And he did very little work with it. That 85 horse Deere had smaller thinner cylinder mounts on the loader than my compact Kubota L3301!

 

[ultrarunner]

My BX23 is a stellar performer... moved hundreds of yards of material and terraced an acre of unusable hillside... steep hillside.

I did early on by a tooth bar recommended on TBN... the company is no longer in business but the tooth bar worth every penny!

 

[oosik]

My soil is mid range. Not sand-not solid bedrock. However, I DO have a lot of exposed bedrock. I dig landfill disposal trenches with my M6040. If I'm lazy I'll use my heavy Rhino rear blade. Otherwise, I'll swap over to my Bush Hog roll-over-box blade. The trench will be eight feet wide - 6 to 8 feet deep and 50 to 60 feet long. The first foot or so of depth is interesting. Then its boring. Back/forth - deeper and deeper.
Its a very simple, easy job. Here in the area called the Channeled Scablands we have many mounds. Technically they are called bunns. They are mounded soil deposits from the outwashing of ancient Lake Missoula. They can be 300 feet high and half mile in diameter. The ones I have are 8 to 10 feet high and 45 to 60 feet in diameter.

So, creating a trench is simply - back/forth - right across the center of the bunn. I go till the trench is roughly one foot above bedrock. That's my landfill disposal trench. Dump my garbage in the trench - cover with the soil that came out of the trench. Each will usually last 5 to 7 years.

I've used the FEL/bucket with tooth bar to dig/scrape. It's just a whole lot easier to use the rear blade or ROBB. Back the tractor up to a sidehill - drop the ROBB. Use the hydraulic top link to put a steep, aggressive angle on the ROBB - I'm in business. Back & forth - over and over. I can dig a good sized hole into the sidehill a lot faster with the ROBB or rear blade.

Oh - I do use the bucket to clean the neighbors big feed lots. Every year - about 90% of the work is done with the rear blade. I get the corners/tight spots with the bucket.
It kind of a sh**ty job but he really appreciates what I do. I think the cows do also. They stand at the fence in an adjoining feed lot, supervise and give helpful advice.

 

[TerryR]

It kind of a sh**ty job but he really appreciates what I do. I think the cows do also. They stand at the fence in an adjoining feed lot, supervise and give helpful advice.

:laughing: :laughing: