FEL question

[GManBart]

I recently watched a guy get on his tractor and, with the ROPS down, take the time to buckle.

I have also heard of at least one case where someone was thankful they had the FEL bucket high because it kept the tractor from rolling all the way over.

No name calling here, just interesting observations.

The first one is pretty funny....if the ROPS is down, I want to be able to jump free, even if it's a low percentage jump!

The second one I think falls into the category of situations where people not wearing their seatbelt get thrown free in an accident, and would have died if they were belted in...it happens, but I'm not sure it's very common.

 

[dragoneggs]

Low and slow... and really, really slow when my bucket is in the air, loaded or not. It's the unexpected rock or pothole that is gonna get you.

 

[bdog]

I have owned close to a half dozen tractors with loaders and I have never once taken one off. Never had a desire to. I have a lot of fences I often raise loader above fence level so I can get closer to fence on turns. My tires are loaded and I have weights. An empty bucket ain't tipping me over on my flat ground. I have done this for over ten years and never had any wear problems from bucket / loader bouncing around.

 

[DT86]

NOOBS! :thumbsup:

You got that right! I always laugh when I see some dumbass with their loader raised up driving around in the field. What are they thinking? I mean come on!

 

[4570Man]

I have a QA bucket, and I drop the bucket when not needed. I always leave the arms on because they are hard to remove.

 

[Xfaxman]

When mine is way up in the air, that means I am at the brush pile. :thumbsup:

 

[4570Man]

I bet you can make a really tall brush pile with that machine.

 

[Xfaxman]

I bet you can make a really tall brush pile with that machine.

Yep, tall dirt piles too.

 

[Ross71]

Big agri tractors are heavy, and proportionally the FEL doesn't add too much. If you are on the road with say a muck fork or bale spike on the front it makes sense to lift it. A car driver might not see/recognise how far out in front those spikes are, and the thought of skewering someone, their car or whatever is not pleasant.

Small tractors are very different. The loader and bucket weigh a lot compared to the basic tractor and can make it unstable. A lot of guys who buy small tractors have no experience with tractors, and so they do what they have seen others do-except the others they have seen are on 100hp tractors. Unless they are told, the only way they are going to find out is the hard way.

My first experience of tractor operating was when I bought a compact tractor. It was unloaded, and I jumped on like a kid at Christmas. Loader up, engage reverse, full steering lock, dump clutch- switch off engine, go indoors, change underwear. The dealer simply told me "you'll turn it over like that. Always keep your loader down" Thanks Sid. Good advice.

 

[MinnesotaEric]

I run with my loader low. Today I popped a bunch of stumps out of the ground and one stump went missing. I didn't think much of the missing stump until I jumped out of the cab to grab something. Walking around the front of my tractor I found my missing stump had leashed itself to a third function hose.

Maybe those up on the air loader guys are onto something.

 

[MinnesotaEric]

No multi photos from the phone app.

 

[RedNeckRacin]

No multi photos from the phone app.

Wow, you got dam lucky you didn't raise the loader!

 

[millsan1]

I do it because it makes me appear to be doing a wheelie. :laughing:

 

[Xfaxman]

I do it because it makes me appear to be doing a wheelie. :laughing:

I have to lower mine to do a wheelie! :laughing:

I can also do a reverse wheelie!

 

[RedNeckRacin]

That bobcat looks like so much fun faxman!!

 

[crashz]

I'll give you point #1. The more you practice it, the easier it becomes though.
#2-They have suitcase weights for this that work very well. If I'm doing field work, the loader comes off and the weights go on.
#3-I can see how you justify this, but if you are ok with wearing your loader pins out by bouncing around a light duty loader then by all means.

#4-I was not calling you foolish, I was calling the act foolish. These modern loaders are very expensive and are not tolerant of abuse. Bouncing around a rough field is a sure way to need a line boring job done much sooner rather than later.


Its your equipment though, do as you wish.

I leave the loader on, in fact I don't think its ever been off. I really value it for pre-clearing a path so that I avoid hidden problems. With the buck curled, It will ride over a rock that would destroy my mower and PTO. Clearance and ballast are also reasons, and I don't actually know if it would go back on my 30 yr old machine!

But, I don't do any field work at speed that causes me to be bouncing around. Forget the loader. I value my back and kidneys!

 

[pat32rf]

My BIL used to always run with the bucket high on his old Massey because he had to switch his hydraulic lever from FEL to 3pth each time he wanted to use the other one. Over the years he left lotsa marks in walls above doors...

 

[Xfaxman]

That bobcat looks like so much fun faxman!!

Yep, fun and useful! :thumbsup: