Loader Bucket position when parking tractor

[davrow]

Is there a consensus on the best way to position the bucket when parking your tractor? Level, face down so water won't pool, other? Wood under it to keep it off the ground, etc.

Or is this controversial, too? :laughing:

 

[two_bit_score]

I wouldn't leave it raised up, unsupported. Mainly because I never have seen anyone do it that way but also to prevent a tripping hazard somewhat.

 

[dragoneggs]

Is there a consensus on the best way to position the bucket when parking your tractor? Level, face down so water won't pool, other? Wood under it to keep it off the ground, etc.

Or is this controversial, too? :laughing:

Oh boy... now you have opened another can of worms! Well I think it should be on the ground and I always relieve the pressure (wiggle the stick) after shutting it down. I store in under cover so I don't worry about water pooling but if it could catch water I would tilt it accordingly so it wouldn't. I will say that I like to keep it level especially after adding a Piranha tooth bar. It's smarts to knock your ankle on the corner of the bucket if it is raised a bit! :yell: My :2cents:

 

[NVBigBlue]

Is there a consensus on the best way to position the bucket when parking your tractor? Level, face down so water won't pool, other? Wood under it to keep it off the ground, etc.

Or is this controversial, too? :laughing:

I think just about everything can be controversial. :stirthepot:

I usually just level the bucket. That should keep the bucket from holding too much water.... If it's going to be parked for quite a while, then I try to throw a thin layer of grease on the exposed parts of the cylinder rods. I would think that a piece of wood under it might help stop rust as well.

I didn't think San Diego got rain.

 

[crash325]

turned all the way back & all the way down. :laughing:

:grumpy: All the rest of you are wrong.

 

[D7E]

turned all the way back & all the way down. :laughing:

:grumpy: All the rest of you are wrong.

As we were required to do with equipment when i worked on pipeline to ensure all rams wre closed and oil was back in the tanks to make pulling the dipsticks more acurate every morning (Allowing for the college kid drivers ) ?

 

[Gordon Gould]

I try to lay the bucket flat on the ground. A little contest with myself just to keep my eye in practice.

 

[GManBart]

Some manufacturers recommend that all the rams be retracted to keep them protected from rust.

 

[pacerron]

It makes sense to keep the cylinder rods retracted but there is always some exposed. Wiping with hydraulic oil might help but would attract dirt.

My tractors are inside a barn with a dirt floor. In the winter, for convenience, since the battery is up front under the hood which is hard to raise unless in front and close to it; I put the bucket so the bottom is 90 deg to the ground and drop it down on the dirt. It can't go any further down and cannot slip forward or backwards with the tractor stationary.
All this to have easy access to the hood and battery which I keep on a trickle charger during the cold months.

In the warm months I keep the bottoms of the buckets flat on the ground. Buckets are different shapes but I find less of a trip hazard that way.

Like somebody said, there are many ways. Just don't leave it hanging off the ground.

 

[bigbull338]

i like to keep my fel down on the ground.that way it wont leak down an drop the fel.an keeping fel down is safer.

 

[hr3]

Turn the tractor off and walk away,, It will be on the ground when you come back..

 

[Zebrafive]

I park in a barn, so no water worries. I make sure the cutting edge is on the floor so I am less likely to trip over it. There have been times when I wanted more room in front of the tractor so I drop the bucket off outside.

 

[newbury]

It doesn't matter.
Just park it in a climate controlled garage

I wish.
Retracted and dumped.

 

[Gary Fowler]

For my big tractor that I have a short parking space, I dump the bucket so the bottom is straight up vertical. This allows for the shortest length so I can pull under the shed the furthest and still be able to walk by the FEL and get thru my mandoor into the shop. For the B26, I just drop it to the ground with the bucket flat, kill the engine and wiggle the stick to expend any pent-up hydraulic force which always has some movement. Both are out of the weather so no worry of rain.
I don't bother to put oil, grease etc on hydraulic cylinders either. We parked our equipment on the farm outside 365/366 days per year and never did anything to the cylinder rams other than bleed off the pressure prior to unhooking them from the tractor. Never had one rust or pit and some of them were 25 years old, still worked fine and never had to re-pack the seals either.

 

[pacerron]

Turn the tractor off and walk away,, It will be on the ground when you come back..

And then... You can bury your dog who was sleeping under it before it dropped.

 

[creekbend]

My tractor stays parked under a shed. I rest the bucket with the Tooth Bar level with the ground.

 

[Wagtail]

I just drop it to the ground with the bucket flat, kill the engine and wiggle the stick to expend any pent-up hydraulic force which always has some movement. Both are out of the weather so no worry of rain.

The same down here, with whatever I've got hanging off the FEL at the time. I do put a couple of 4x4 wood blocks under the implement prior to expending the hydraulic pressure, but that's to protect the floor of the shed.

 

[LOOPHOLE]

How 'bout the backhoe bucket ?
curl up to catch rain or stick teeth in the dirt so it won't fall ??

 

[Thomas]

Fel loader I like to tip forward just little piece wood under bucket than push float take pressure off.
Scraper blade etc. during winter wood under attachment so doesn't freeze in.

 

[Looking4new]

When I take the FEL off for the winter it is flat on the ground and I grease the exposed rams. In the summer I dump the bucket and leave it with the tooth bar speared into the ground a little and relieve the pressure on the lines. (There is no door on the shed I park in.)