Has this happened to you?

/ Has this happened to you? #1  

jmc

Elite Member
Joined
Jul 21, 2003
Messages
3,197
Location
SW Indiana
Tractor
Ford 1920 4x4 (traded in on Kubota). Case 480F TLB w/4 in 1 bucket, 4x4. Gehl CTL60 tracked loader, Kubota L4330 GST
Hello,

On several occasions with my former tractor, (Ford 1920) I had the left side of the tractor come completely off the ground when pushing hard in reverse. It's kind of un-nerving and it's one of the reasons I like vehicles with clutches- when things go wrong, pushing in the clutch often helps. Anyway, the first times it happened was when using a 3PH implement I built to uproot small trees. It was a sharpened steel channel to push in under the root ball in reverse, then pop out the tree with the 3PH lift. Another time, I had a heavy log in the FEL and was starting to back up a hill. If I hadn't used the clutch, I'm pretty sure the tractor would have rolled over. I'm wondering what causes it and if its a general problem with compact tractors or just that Ford. It's hard to imagine that little engine had enough torque to inadvertently lift the whole side, and if so, why only in reverse?

John
 
/ Has this happened to you? #2  
I can't believe you are asking this without a smiley face.

Even a SCUT has enough torque to flip over. How many horses do you think it takes to make the tractor rotate around the axle?

In the case of a side coming up, I'd guess you had more traction on one side than the other.. or lost it on one side and were using the diffy lock.. or your ho-made suicide machine cocked at a slight angle.

A 1920 is a fine machine, and quite strong. Mine had the 12x4 gear tranny.. and had a clutch. i was under the impression that the 12x12 shuttle also had a clutch.. what tranny does yours have.

Remember.. SCUT and CUT are not logging machines.

I find it laughable that you type that you had a huge log in the bucket, and backed up a hill, and then had a problem. That's just plain physics and geometry ...

Good luck... I think you need to trade that 1920 before you destroy it , and kill yourself. My sugestion is for you to get a track dozer.. it will probably last longer in your hands.

Soundguy
 
/ Has this happened to you? #3  
Yes I have had it happen to me. I had a Ford 1900 and also a 1925. I am always extremly catuious when picking up a full bucket of dirt. I only lift it a few inches off the ground, before moving. The 1925 (same as the tc33) was real bad about tipping. If I am picking it up very high to load over my dump truck side, I will usually load no more than 1/2 bucket and when lifting any height, I make sure I am on level solid ground with a straight shot to the side of my dump truck. I loaded the tires and that helped a little but I am still catuious.
 
/ Has this happened to you? #4  
Sound man,that was kinda rough wasn't it? thingy
 
/ Has this happened to you? #5  
Soundguy was not too tough on you. When you have any kind of a load in the loader bucket you are best advised to keep it as low to the ground as possible to keep your center of gravity as low as possible. Period.

I have the same tractor and so far have not any stability issues.
 
/ Has this happened to you? #6  
Opti-Mist said:
Soundguy was not too tough on you. When you have any kind of a load in the loader bucket you are best advised to keep it as low to the ground as possible to keep your center of gravity as low as possible. Period.

I have the same tractor and so far have not any stability issues.

I agree with Soundguy and Opti-Mist. I have had a few "pucker episodes" :eek: with my NH TC29DA and in each case it was caused by not keeping my FEL "load" slow, low, and level. I obey the "rule" and I do not have any problems. Jay
 
/ Has this happened to you? #7  
Mist,I know he wasn't being tough on me,,well,not here anyways,,,,I was talking about the poster, john. Must be that tough love stuff I've heard about?,Yeah,that must be it,,my mistake,sorry. thingy
 
/ Has this happened to you?
  • Thread Starter
#8  
Let me clarify the log episode. I've got a log hanging close to the bottom of the FEL bucket with the log about a foot off the ground. I'm backing up the flat part of a paved driveway at partial throttle and when I start up the incline, the left side of the tractor mysteriously starts to lift. By either letting off the throttle or using the clutch, the tractor drops back down. This phenomeneon was not due to an elavated load or being oblique to the incline.

My hunch is that it was the REACTION torque of the motor thru the frame. This is different than the OUTPUT torque Soundguy is talking about in his tirade. Ouput torque is amplified by gear reduction. This reaction torque is the raw torque that twists a funnycar's frame, for example. But it seems like a stretch for a little tractor motor at partial throttle to be capable of doing this.

Anyway, I'm curious if anyone can explain it or if others had encountered it.

John
 
/ Has this happened to you?
  • Thread Starter
#9  
thingy said:
Mist,I know he wasn't being tough on me,,well,not here anyways,,,,I was talking about the poster, john. Must be that tough love stuff I've heard about?,Yeah,that must be it,,my mistake,sorry. thingy

Thanks, thingy. I thought so too. Maybe he's just having a bad day.

John
 
/ Has this happened to you? #10  
I do not know why, but I do know the sensation you are speaking of with my NH 1925. In the fwiw I have a hydro. I too would be curious as to why it happens, but usually I am just trying to make it STOP at that moment :)
 
/ Has this happened to you? #11  
jmc said:
Thanks, thingy. I thought so too. Maybe he's just having a bad day.

John

I'm not having a bad day. Just trying to impress upon you safe tractoring techniques before you darwinize yourself. What I said may have been coarse.. but if it later on saves you by making you think twice before doing something risky.. then I'll take the heat for making the 'tough love' comment that may have kept you alive. had this same type of situation occoured with different circumstances, like someone posting about having problems with cleaning his loaded rifle.. my response would have been an equally coarse "unload the dad-blame gun before cleaning".. etc.. same intent.. ( your safety ).

Soundguy
 
/ Has this happened to you?
  • Thread Starter
#12  
Soundguy said:
I'm not having a bad day. Just trying to impress upon you safe tractoring techniques before you darwinize yourself. What I said may have been coarse.. but if it later on saves you by making you think twice before doing something risky.. then I'll take the heat for making the 'tough love' comment that may have kept you alive. had this same type of situation occoured with different circumstances, like someone posting about having problems with cleaning his loaded rifle.. my response would have been an equally coarse "unload the dad-blame gun before cleaning".. etc.. same intent.. ( your safety ).

Soundguy


While we're in agreement that it was a dangerous situation, I take offense at you inference that I am an incompetent boob in not being able to anticipate that this would happen. Your mechanical explanations, cocked load or differential traction, are not plausible to me. Nor is your vague explanation of "it just physics and geometry". You can't explain this phenomenon AFTER it happened yet you infer that I should have been able to anticipate it, and furthermore, that I habitually abuse my equipment.

On a related note, you have a vested interest in the quality of this message board. In particuliar, the Safety Forum is a helpful venue for, among other things, confessing to stunts that may benefit others from making the same mistake. Take the guy who posted his ASV on its nose. That did not make him look so favorable yet he was willing to make that sacrifice for the education of others. How much of that will happen if some wiseass takes potshots at people who try to be helpful?

That's some "tough love" for you, Soundguy.
 
/ Has this happened to you?
  • Thread Starter
#13  
Alan,

Glad to hear its just not me. That IS interesting that these two tractors are siblings.

John
 
/ Has this happened to you? #14  
Yes, I figured the first time I was doing something wrong, but is something to do with the weight loaded heavy to the front and pulling back.

Mine with the HST I can just feel it get to that position and start climbing skyward. I definetely like the HST at that point.

I will try and pay more attention as to what is happening next time, but it is usually as you said when I have a log in, on, or chained to the bucket and pulling backwards. I can go back and forth with the HST and set it down, and pull back and lift it up etc.

I would be curious as well to hear an explanation. I would agree with the torque thing like a racecar, but my engine is often just off idle, and I can be pulling and then it will just start doing it.
 
/ Has this happened to you? #15  
John,

I suspect the key to the mystery may be in the surface you where on. Is that tractor, by chance, 4 wheel drive?

I used to have a skidder that did interesting tricks under load whenever I had it on the paved section of my road. Took me months to figure out that imperfect alignment of the wheels and imperfect matching of wheel speed caused it to try to climb up the air between the front & rear wheels on one side.
 
/ Has this happened to you? #16  
If no one ever hears 'boy that sure was stupid'.. then what's to keep them from doing something like that again.

If you re-read my message.. I don't think you'l find the phrase incompetent boob in there anywhere.

You can choose to take offense if you want or not. All I can say is if you keep on the same course.. you may soon be dead.

At this point.. I've said my piece... .. so .. go do whatever you want to yourself and your tractor.. NMP .. If ya got family.. do them a favor and make sure your LI is paid up.

As for 'habitualy abusing'.. well.. you said 'on several occasions"... several occasions sounds habitual to me.. it does denote plural. Had you said.. 'on a single occasion.. then.. the reply may have been different on my part.

As for the heavy load in the bucket and backing up a hill.. well.. that's just hard knocks 101 that most loader owners figure out real fast.. sometimes by taking the express trip down the hill when they hit a bump and back wheels come up on a 2wd machine.. ( that's where the physics and geometry come in.. tractor front axle becomes the fulcrum .. you can follow the rest. )

As for what made the side come up.. I 'WAG'ed it.. that's about all we can do without any documentation, and pics from you.. sorry I couldn't 'mcguyver ' you a 'CSI' quality answer to your perplexing problem... I'll try to do better next time..

I wasn't taking a potshot at you.. I didn't slip in, hit and run.. I stayed here to take your rebuttal... and I said exactly what I meant to say.. no beating around the bush.. and I stated why i said what I did.. your ultimate safety. If you think that makes me a wiseass.. well.. whatever.. your perogative. i think you should focus less energy into 'hating' on me.. and more
energy into working your tractor safely.. there are many discussions on the safety ( or lack thereof ) for using smaller tractors for logging.

Also.. in reference to your first post. You mentione dthat you didn't think the engine .. little engine, that is, had enough torque to flip. Well.. tractors have been flipping around their axle since they've been built. Ask how many old low hp gasser tractors have been flipped...I'm sure you could get dozens of stories just from the members here.

As for why only lifting in reverse.?? I gave my guesses.. re.. the implement in compression betwixt the tractor and the immovable object, and a hear of 'jackknifing' or a 'cant' happened, and thus something cocked up from torsion.. perhaps the tree root deflected or the metal of the implement deflected a bit. Hard to offer more than a WAG.. as I said before..

Flaw in CUT's? or 1920's.. doubtfull... they just aren't as usefull or safe, IMHO, for logging, compaired to a larger tractor. Not a flaw.. just an issue of pplication. I had a 1920.. it was a great tractor. Wish i still had it... It was one of the strongest tractors in that frame size that I've ever driven.

As for anticipating a problem.. well.. I wasn't there and can't claim to know what you saw, or what you were doing. however.. some situations are just inherantly dangerous no matter what you are doing. For instance.. anything on a hill... I don't have to be driving or working on a hill to know it's dangerous.. it just is..or rather.. it is an aggravating factor that effects any other tasks you are doing.. the hill thing was just an example.. don't take it and run.. I'm sure every problem on your tractor wasn't on a hill.. again.. i just used it as an example. I think the 'danger assesment' thing is just something that eventually develops with some corelation of 'pucker factor' and seat time. I.E. there are probably things we all did as new tractor users, that, now, in retrospect, may cause significant pucker factor... because we NOW know how dangerous it was/is.. even though we didn't back then.. etc.

For instance.. you don't have to ask me if I'll ever where smooth soled shoes on my tractor again.. why?? cause my foot slipped off my clutch and i drove it of fthe front of my trailer once... Too many aggravating factors.. It was starting to rain.. i was in a hurry, shoes were hard sole/smooth, and tractor just got new tires... Wet smooth hard sole show slipped off the metal 'smooth-ish clutch pedal and let tractor lurch forward after I had just stopped on the trailer and was beginning to shut her down to start securing her. Took less than a second from lurch to me stomping the clutch anf brake.. but by that time she was alread pastt he front axle and resting onthe oil pan, nose of the tractor about 1" from my truck tail gate.. front tires fully over the front of the trrailer.. only king that kept her from going over at that point was the trailer jack post.. it bought me the 1/4 second i needed to re-clutch and brake... I got lucky that time... ( posted bout it here too.. )

In any case. think and say what you want about me.. as I said.. the intent of my post was your continued safety. If I was really here to make potshots and wiseass remarks.. i wouldn't be still here replying to you know.

Soundguy

jmc said:
While we're in agreement that it was a dangerous situation, I take offense at you inference that I am an incompetent boob in not being able to anticipate that this would happen. Your mechanical explanations, cocked load or differential traction, are not plausible to me. Nor is your vague explanation of "it just physics and geometry". You can't explain this phenomenon AFTER it happened yet you infer that I should have been able to anticipate it, and furthermore, that I habitually abuse my equipment.

On a related note, you have a vested interest in the quality of this message board. In particuliar, the Safety Forum is a helpful venue for, among other things, confessing to stunts that may benefit others from making the same mistake. Take the guy who posted his ASV on its nose. That did not make him look so favorable yet he was willing to make that sacrifice for the education of others. How much of that will happen if some wiseass takes potshots at people who try to be helpful?

That's some "tough love" for you, Soundguy.
 
/ Has this happened to you? #17  
Hi Defective, yes, mine is 4wd (or whatever someone wants to call it) Surface is almost always dirt, and it will do it even on the "flat" as well at times.

I am almost always (not on pavement or concrete) locked into 4wd.
 
/ Has this happened to you? #18  
jmc,

Do you have counterweight on back end ?? Although I have never experienced your circumstance, made a huge difference when I added 550 LBS of iron to my 3 pt. hitch. Never had any issues with raising a full bucket all the way up....tractor remains stable as a rock. It's a beautiful thing.

Vic
 
/ Has this happened to you?
  • Thread Starter
#19  
Defective,

If anyone figures this out, it will probably be some mechanical quirk like that. Several people mentioned it's the fel too high but that's not it. There's not many tractor operators in the hills and hollars of southern Indiana who make that mistake too many times.

Kozak,

In the log episode, I had on a box blade which may weigh 400 lbs or so. In the grubbing episodes, I was using that end of the tractor. I haven't had any issues with the FEL at full height either.

John
 
/ Has this happened to you? #20  
JMC did you have weight on the back ? Are your rear tires loaded ? I have a ford 1320 with the rear tires loaded and a backhoe. When i have the backhoe on the back the *** end rarely comes of the ground, but when i have just the scraper blade on or nothing on the rear at all it doesnt take much for the rear tires to come off the ground. When the tractor is in 4wd and you are reversing and the rear tire(s) come off the ground the front tires will continue to push them into the air. A scary situtation that is easily resolved, lower the fel. 1920 is a grrreat tractor! !
 

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