Will the CUT let you know you're asking too much?

[Kschwennsen]

I've found that the OE cylinders wont let you lift any more that the loader can handle.

One way around it would be to have your forks angled and drive into a load to pry it up. I did this in a very controlled environment with a lot of counterweight and blocks added to support the load when possible. (lifted a semi trailer with a JD 4105).

 

[Cougsfan]

Most tractors have enough safeties built in to where you can't lift more than what is safe with either the fel or 3pt. What I see done most frequently when it comes to abusing a tractor to do what it isn't designed to take is to use the FEL as a battering ram.

 

[lorandroehl]

Too heavy and the load will not lift.

Drawbar pull is too much the engine stalls or the tires slip. In some cases the tractor may rotate backwards around the back axles. This happens quickly and may kill you.

The drawbar pull warning is not to be taken lightly. I have a cousin who was pulling a stump and this happened to him. Crushed pelvis, fractured liver, broken ribs, punctured lung. He nearly bled to death by the time someone found him. He was in ICU for several days and hospitalized for a couple weeks. LONG recovery. He survived, but has never been the same. I became much more aware and cautious after that.

 

[deezler]

If you need to turn on 4WD because the rear wheels are spinning you've done too much.

Aww c'mon now, this is the only way to know if you need to use 4WD or not, lol. It took me a while to simply learn that If I'm doing any digging, or heavy front loader work, I need 4WD on first.

 

[Tony H]

FEL and Rear lifting hitch. Yes different lift capacities bit it's worked out so the pressure valve will not let you identify on over the other. The lift weight is different but Pressure at the valve is what causes the safe over ride. Your tractor is safe if you are lifting.. Bit as someone mentioned, you will break something occupy think your FEL is a battering ram.

 

[Williy]

If you are going to pull something without
wheels if you can get the front part up a few
inches puts some weight on the back tires and
it will be easier to move as the front will not be
digging into the ground!

willy

 

[bearthebruce]

Tractor noob question. I've been watching videos of folks moving rocks and other stuff with their tractors, and some of it looks really surprising what they're asking of the equipment. Obviously they know best as it's their machine (and their risk) but I'm curious to know if I can screw it up when I get my tractor. I know you can break the things, so I don't mean trying to lift something stupid...I mean if a rock or a log or some such thing looks like it's within the capabilities of the machine and I give it a go, will the tractor stall or some other 'self preservation' thing if it becomes too much or does it go until it breaks? Things like lifting up the other end of the tractor and/or the 'bogging down' sounds they make are certainly clues to stop and reevaluate, but I'm hoping to get insight from some of you folks. Thanks.

For me, I have found seat pucker to be the best indicator that I might be overdoing it. A recent noob now with about 200 hours in the seat, I get more brave all the time. In the early days when I had did not have a clue, I was overly cautious, didn't want to hurt our baby and didn't want to hurt me.

Going down hill with a load, make sure you have 4 wheel engaged... that was exciting the day I didn't... if I had set the bucket down to help slow me, I feared a nice front flip.. I had a grader blade on the back and slowly lowered it to get contol. Read brakes are only so good.

Lifting - my partner and the owner of the tractor tried to lift a heavy tree trunk.. 21" diameter, 21' long, Poplar... no implement on the back and nothing in the tires.. the back wheels lifted very nicely but he had no idea what to do. We talked him down. No harm done except to egos.

Moving long objects on on even ground? make sure you barely lift them. Don't go higher than the axle.. at least I don't.

Moving? Slow is good.. the slower the better. As you gain skill, you can go a little faster. When I am doing something new, I creep until I understand how the machine is reacting to the implement I am using.

Then there is the brain... tired? get off the machine. Too many things to think about and my biggest mistakes have occurred when tired. Once things become muscle memory, perhaps we can work longer... An example: Last month I was grading the drive way down the mountain. Water has been causing us trouble and the ditches are grown full of weedy crap. It needs cleaned.. Late in the day when I was tired and was on the steep part of the hill, I knocked the machine out of 4 wheel drive. Guess what that did? The grader blade to the rescue again.

I agree with others who have commended you on asking about this. I wish I would have thought to do that. I might have learned a bunch of things.. But to be honest, someone said you need seat time. Seat time, read that seat pucker, is the best teacher.

Stay slow, keep FEL lifts and rear lifts low, stay safe.

 

[John Atkisson]

Something I’ve worried about and is related to this topic: what is the breaking point for the lift arms of the 3ph? They seem to be made of cast iron and I can easily lift the front of the tractor with a heavy weight on the 3ph. Has anyone ever broken one of these arms?

 

[ljjhouser]

Lifting something too heavy won't stall the tractor or slip the clutch.

If it's too heavy you'll trip the relief in the loader valve. If you lifted the object part ways and the relief trips, you won't be able to lift it any farther. All loaders can lift more at the bottom of their travel (the "breakout" value) vs the top.

If you lift the back of the tractor then the object you're lifting is too heavy. And you need a heavier counterweight.

What can be dangerous is lifting something heavy that doesn't lift the back end... until you go down hill or hit a bump or jerk the loader or do something else that shifts the tractors weight forwards. Keep in mind that the front axle is on a pivot. Lateral stability is provided by the back tires on the ground. When they're not on the ground you don't have it.

When you lift something anywhere close to the tractor's capacity you need to be mindful of what you're doing. Keep the load as low as possible, go slow, back down steep hills slowly. Be ready to drop the load to the ground at the first sign of trouble. Make sure the load is not out of balance to one side. It's possible to bend the loader frame doing this, and it would make the tractor less stable.

There are several important points in this post. It would be good to read all of it, understand each point, and then read a second time. If the rear axle comes off the ground, it is usually one wheel first - very unstable. I think this is what we all learn, sometimes by a mistake. Welcome to TBN.

 

[ericm979]

The 3pt lift arms should be designed to handle the weight the 3pt is rated for plus a safety factor. Anything less would be a failure of basic engineering. Of course one could have a manufacturing defect but that's unlikely. It's not something I worry about.

Getting the front end off the ground would be however. It's more common on CUTS to need rear ballast for weight on the loader but it sounds like you need front ballast. Maybe a load of rocks in your loader bucket if you have a loader.