Loader How to not damage your FEL

[brown40]

Great information.
Properly ballasting your tractor can't be stressed enough to stabilize the unit and keep the rear axle the primary weight carrier when the loader is fully loaded. Front axle wheelies aren't good for bearings, hearts or sphincters.
Tractor/loader/counterweight geometry changes during turns, so working in close quarters you have to be careful not to fetch up the front or rear corner on a swing.
Impacts at speed with momentum aren't as forgiving as prying and going into relief.
You can do a lot with a FEL, but they are designed to push into and scoop relatively loose materials.
Slow. Low. Heavy 3 pt.

 

[BrokeFarmerJohn]

He's a fun experience I can share.

I was unloading big round bales with my tractor (42in pallet forks) and I just couldn't get this bale to work with me so I decided to strap it to the forks, I got it about a foot off the ground and moved it 10-15ft when my strap got loose and the bale started rolling off the forks, being it was strapped, it started to tip the tractor, rear right tire came off the ground a few feet and I dropped the FEL to bring it back down (which I will admit wasn't my first reaction even know that's a rule I hear often, when in trouble drop the FEL)

That was about as close as I have ever got to crapping my pants, it shook me enough that I'm gonna buy a spear instead of fooling with pallet forks on round bales.

I have unloaded, stacked and fed my cattle about 20 large round bales so far with just forks, I have managed but a spear would be 10 times safer, faster and easier than forks.

So the rule is, if you think it's a good idea to secure a load with a strap, be sure it's extremely tight. That was the first time I ever tried to strap a load on my FEL and I won't do it again.

 

[Oaktree]

Common sense, but I don't think I've seen this mentioned yet: If you're going downhill with a load in the bucket, go down backwards...keep the load on the uphill side.

 

[airbiscuit]

NO STUMPS!

 

[DieselBound]

With my B7800 I've probably violated every "don't do" that's been covered here! The darn thing is indestructible! My Kioti (far more expensive to repair) won't be violating these rules! With more power now (kioti) the B7800 won't be pushed as hard.

 

[MortOz]

The other damage that you can do that is not as obvious as bent parts on the main boom or attachments is to the front wheels' final drive - have just had a tractor belonging to people I know away for repairs to both front wheel drives replacing the planetary gears and all the seals etc, at a cost equal to or better than 10% of the tractor total cost new. Cause? Power driving into compacted gravel heaps, pushing and pulling trees, stumps, etc. Tractors with a front-end loader attachment are NOT front end loaders, they are tractors with a helpful accessory. Compare the front wheels, axles and the mounting of the main boom on that pic with a typical tractor FEL and you can see the difference. The front axle and the drives to the front wheels are not made for the kinds of loads people put on them sometimes, they are designed and engineered to provide some useful extra traction to help the tractor do its real job of pulling heavy loads on its drawbar or 3PL.

 

[dieselcrawler]

The other damage that you can do that is not as obvious as bent parts on the main boom or attachments is to the front wheels' final drive - have just had a tractor belonging to people I know away for repairs to both front wheel drives replacing the planetary gears and all the seals etc, at a cost equal to or better than 10% of the tractor total cost new. Cause? Power driving into compacted gravel heaps, pushing and pulling trees, stumps, etc. Tractors with a front-end loader attachment are NOT front end loaders, they are tractors with a helpful accessory. Compare the front wheels, axles and the mounting of the main boom on that pic with a typical tractor FEL and you can see the difference. The front axle and the drives to the front wheels are not made for the kinds of loads people put on them sometimes, they are designed and engineered to provide some useful extra traction to help the tractor do its real job of pulling heavy loads on its drawbar or 3PL.

Guilty as charged... the front axle on my 3005 is visually underwhelming, as I sit in the operator's seat, watching the tires bulge, lifting alot more than I should...

By comparison, the front axle on my buddies Kubota L2850, while only slightly higher HP, is a much heavier built machine.

It boils down to awareness. I know I'm overloading it and proceed with caution, going slow, and lowering the load asap. But I still do it, and will pay the consequences when it breaks, be it front axle, loader, etc.

 

[N80]

All good advice. And I've pretty much done everything they've told you not to do in the posts above and my FEL (LA 703 on Kubota L4400) is still fine after 10 years. So take the advice given but realize that they are generally well designed and quite tuff.

I back drag with the edge of the bucket all the time just not with it in full extension. I think bulldozing (forward motion) with the bucket in extension is much worse for it than back dragging.

 

[Dadnatron]

Remember it sticks a LOT further out than you think... when you are backing up into a turn.

 

[N80]

Remember it sticks a LOT further out than you think... when you are backing up into a turn.

Yep, I've whacked a lot of trees with the FEL while trying to back up in the woods.

Also, as mentioned, all the abuse I've put on my FEL (stumps, boulders, trees, back dragging, digging without toothbar, using one corner of the bucket, etc etc) hasn't hurt my FEL at all. I do, however, have a leaking bevel gear seal on the front axle that was undoubtedly caused by bad FEL practices. So keep that in mind too.

However, the reason I got my FEL is to do all the things you're not supposed to do with one and it has been immensely useful and effective so I have no regrets. The leak in the axle has been controlled with heavier gear oil and I'll do the repair myself when the time comes (it is a well documented DIY repair here at TBN).

Again, go slow, be safe and always think about the balance of the tractor and you'll be fine and will find out how useful these things are.