Finally got a inclinometer

[Kenneth in Texas]

wow i really had no idea about the angles on my land and places where i use my tractor until i got one of this things. Amazing little item, tractors should come with them from the factory or dealer. 15 degrees is a pretty good angle to me, i cant imagine even staying on my tractor at 30 degrees

For those of you that have them, whats the biggest slope youve been on and at what degree do you start feeling uncomfortable? Around 19-20 and the pucker factor starts coming in to play. :laughing:

 

[whistlepig]

Inclinometers are nice. As are GFI circuit breakers. If you trust your life with those sort of things.

 

[Kenneth in Texas]

no but it gives me an idea of the slopes when before it was just a guess.

 

[whistlepig]

I understand and meant no insult. On hills I simply would not trust a gauge. Just too many variables. I wouldn't send my wife out on a tractor and say "as long as the inclinometer reads this you are perfectly safe." And wouldn't want others to do this also.

 

[Kenneth in Texas]

no insult taken :drink:

youre right, cant trust a gauge 100% because you can drop in a hole and that angle change in a blink of an eye but for $15 it helps me know generally what angles im at a given spot, of course the pucker factor is the ultimate gauge for me.

 

[whistlepig]

I have a well worn pucker meter. Let us know how well your inclinometer matches your pucker factor. Your tractor is close to the same size as mine.

 

[JOHNTHOMAS]

I live on a hillside. I've got a gauge that has a magnetic base that shows degrees of angle that I bought at Harbour Freight for a few dollars which I've placed on my hood before to test angle.
Now come my "issue/concern". Mowed across some of my slopes with a BX1500 MMM and "felt" fairly safe. Did it with a BX2350 MMM and BX2660 and "felt" less safe. Did it on a couple of B models and "felt" even less safe and did it on a L3240 and "felt" scared and muscle contracted to extreme closed limit!!! Now do it on a Kubota F3080 with a 6' deck and "feel" as safe as I did on the BX1500 MMM. Now my question is Did the angle change on the different machines?:confused3: :anyone: If I was using the angle measurer would I have felt different or would I have been safer or less safe?:shocked:
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/kubota-lawn-garden/280786-f3080-mowing-hillside-video.html
I have posted a You tube video going across my slope on my F mower on the TBN Lawn and Garden forum.

PS Have "felt" less safe/secure since laying my BX25 on its side.

 

[Kenneth in Texas]

I have a well worn pucker meter. Let us know how well your inclinometer matches your pucker factor. Your tractor is close to the same size as mine.

biggest angle was 21 degrees just for a second but anything over that and i would feel like the need to jump off, in fact call me what you want but on my tractor i wouldnt even consider more than that. Think ive read in the manual not to operate at more than 30 degrees, they wouldnt have to worry about that from me, aint no way i would even approach that. This gauge wasnt as much as a safety factor for me as it was a curious factor since ive often wondered about some of the slopes on my place while driving, well worth the $15 for me.

 

[TripleR]

One of those things I keep meaning to get and will someday more out of curiosity than anything else as like JOHNTHOMAS while angles don't change my internal pucker factor sure does from one machine to another.

 

[RedNeckGeek]

I've had an inclinometer for a few years now, as my property is all on a slope and some is pretty steep (>30°). It's one of these:

It only lasted a couple of winters, as I have no shelter for my tractor yet. I'm wondering what inclinometer you purchased, and if it's waterproof?

Pucker wise, I'm pretty comfortable as long as I'm going straight up and down a hill. If it's steep, like it was today while I was bush hogging, I prefer to have the rear wheels uphill. Side hilling is a whole 'nuther story. I start to get nervous at 20°, the tractor gets tippy at 30°, with the uphill rear wheel starting to float up much above that. That's if the traction is good; usually the front will start to slide to the down hill side before the wheel comes off the ground. But many is the time I've had to slam down the FEL to keep from going over, and I pretty much always have it on the tractor for that reason. I also move very slowly at those angles, my hope being that I'll catch something bad happening in time to back out of it. My biggest fears are dropping a down slope wheel into a hole, bumping an uphill wheel over a rock or stump, or getting the thing sliding sideways only to have it regain traction and flip as a result. The bigger the tractor, the higher will be the center of gravity, and the easier it will tip over. That's probably why the smaller B series Kubotas and dedicated mowers feel less tippy: They're built closer to the ground.