3-Wheeling on my CUT :o

Anonymous Poster · May 13, 2003

Did you consider only using one fork and picking up as close to the back of the van as you could? That would have limited the load the FEL would have had by a little bit, and with the one fork there would have been no problems with stability since the load was already tipped. Just a thought 

Interestingly, when I picked it up so the wife could pull the van away, the load was balanced OK.

It was just when I was positioning it that the tractor lifted the rear wheel...

I never felt any concern really. Everything was slow and predictable. I think the lesson learned was that you need to be really carefull, as you never know how close you might be to being in danger UNTIL the tractor tells you.

Sort of like driving past a phone pole. Miss it by ten feet or 1/16 of an inch. You still missed it. On a slope...or whatever...until the tractor tells you, you really don't know [for sure] how close you are to REALLY changing the seat color to BROWN big time.

Anonymous Poster · May 13, 2003

It almost looks like the tractor aligned itself with the forks and the slope of the hill when it lifted the tire off. The frame couldn't flex so the tractor pivoted on its front axle and kicked the low side tire up. Says alot about the Kubota frame.
DaveL

Rick Jay · May 13, 2003

Hi Bill,

Glad to see that no one was hurt during this whole ordeal.

Apparently, that heavy load up front must have brought the center-of-gravity of the tractor right up to the front axle line (with your weight). Without your weight, the COG was a little in front of the front axle. Since the front axle pivots, it didn't take much of an imbalance on the loader to raise the opposite rear wheel. (I guess this is a similar dynamic to trying to lift a pile of dirt with only one corner of the loader in the pile.)

Very interesting situation. Pretty ingenious way to carry those long boards too!

O.K....now let me have some fun.... /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Look, Bill, if you're not going to play nice with the tractor, we're going to have to take it away from you. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

or, how about this...

Let's see...you originally started looking at BX2200's, didn't you? Imagine what would have happened with one of those? /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Or...perhaps the best one....

It's quite obvious that your B2910 isn't up to the tasks you have in store for it. Go right down and trade it in for a new, shiny L3130! You obviously need a heavier tractor. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Again, thanks for sharing your experiences with us. Seeing stuff like that will hopefully cause us all to think about the forces at work when using our equipment. A post like yours just might save someone some serious injury in the future.

Thanks,

~Rick

frank_f15 · May 14, 2003

don't take long for it to go wobbly on u does it? /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif remember that that lumber was long , so just a little off center and it is magnified.u were right tho, it was not going anywhere, as long as u had them low, once they hit the ground the tilt will stop. but it sure do get your attention don't it /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif.btw. looking at that photo wonder what kind of tires u have ? they look quite different from my R4's more aggressive or is it just the photo? nice looking rig.

timb · May 14, 2003

Bill - glad to see nothing nasty happened. Slightly OT question - what did 84 nail you for the 6x6's? Are they treated (40 or 60)?. I've going to need some myself this summer - hadn't gotten around to pricing them yet.

Tim

hazmat · May 14, 2003

1st, glad you didn't tip the thing over and injure yourself.

2nd. (Surprised no one else mentioned this yet) You don't have anything on the three point hitch /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif. Most if not all compact tractors require counterweight on the rear when lifting at or near the FEL's capacity. Loaded tires & or wheel weights aren't enough. Refer to your owner's manual for how much is required.

herbenus · May 14, 2003

What I don't understand: Is how did you know to have someone taking pictures so that you'd have them for posting here when describing this episode that you didn't yet know you were going to have? Must be psychic.

Anonymous Poster · May 14, 2003

Maybe he had so much fun he did it again for the camera...all I know is that when you're sitting in the seat, getting 8 inches off the ground feels like 8 feet! My son-in-law was laughing at me when I was lifting a wheel the other day, while trying to lift a root bigger than the tractor. A few minutes later it was his turn, and I almost split a gut at the look of panic on his face when it went up about 4".

Please note that I'm not making light of lifting a wheel, but we had been doing it so regularly that day that we got to know the feeling just as it happened and immediately dropped the loader a little and backed out.

tc35dforme · May 14, 2003

I think getting a tractor up a bit is good in a "controlled" situation. It's like learning to control a skidding car by sliding around in a snowy parking lot ( a northern thing we all do as teens !! ). Getting that feeling and learning how to react smoothly and properly is invaluable.

Glad to see all went well. Sometimes we forget how strong our tractors are and how much "preload" we build by lifting or prying something.

Anonymous Poster · May 14, 2003

Hi again!

Today was a break in the rain so I got an early start...well, if 9 am is early...and did not get done till 9 PM. Have those 6x6s planted and cemented in...the tractor is demanding a new roof...I guess it is getting tired of blocking the barbeque grill.

How can it take so long to place 5 posts? Well, there were two trips to Home Depo for some things, and I had to mount the new Post hole digger...what a wonderful device! I totally enjoyed cleaning out the hole with my hand digger. Night and day. Until now I had to dig with a digging bar and pull out with the hand digger. Man a tractor PHD is nice! Still...when you are retired...12 hours non stop is a long day!

I am going to reply in mass...too tired to answer each comment individually...

I don't know about the r4s. They are the standard ones here in the US...my experience is that they are not aggressive enough when you are on a muddy hill!

The 16' 6x6 at 84 lumber were about $32 each. I think home depot was $31. 84 is better as you get in and out quickly. Maybe better quality, not sure.

My tires are loaded, and I would normally have had something on the back like my backhoe or box blade, but I didn't this time becaue I wanted to put the carry all on. I have a narrow path down back and could not carry things wider than maybe 7 feet. I could make it wider but don't know if I want to remove the bamboo the path goes through for the sake of making it wider, when almost always I don't need it wider and I like the bamboo...

The wife got a new digital camera and needs some experience using it. I just told her to come out and take some pictures...luck of the draw so to speak.

Also, it wasa non-event really, as far as danger goes. Just interesting that a pretty much centered load could cause the tractor to tip. I would have expected it to lift the rear wheels together...I still don't fully understand the lesson here...but it did get me feeling less confident again on slopes!

This kind of situation is different from tipping with a loader full of something. My long timber load was a self adjusting load. It hit the ground and stopped the tip. I could do that all day and not worry a bit. Now if it were to happen with a full loader the only way to stop it would be to drop the loader asap!

I too am of the "spin dounuts in the parking lot" croud on snowy days. Wife always got excited so I stopped. Nothing beats pushing the limits once in a while to know what ones limitations are.

This event was a real learning experience for me. It was about 'zero danger" but still showed that there are times when the unexpected can happen. I never dreamed that if I centered the load by eye, that the tractor would want to tip. I expected that the tractor would lift the rear wheels together if the load on the loader was greater than the ballast in the rear tires and the weight of the tractor.

Just goes to show ya'. All is not what we expect all of the time!

Be safe and have fun!