Loader How to not damage your FEL

[k0ua]

Well, I take that back.. I have a little bit to say. As far as pushing things sideways with your bucket by cutting the wheels hard, you can do it without damaging your loader to a point. Pushing a downed tree branch sideways to get it where you can pick it up or something is OK. You just have to use common sense. Don't try pushing a 1 ton boulder sideways, or anything really heavy and stuck to the ground, but something you could probably move by hand if you had to is OK, and I do it all the time.

Same as pulling something with the loader backwards.. You must use common sense. Pulling a grape vine out of a tree by latching on to it with your grapple or even chaining on to it and attaching it to a bucket is OK,, But don't yank on something that might not move. You can pull out most grape vines by hand, but reaching up with your grapple and pulling it out is way more fun and wont damage anything. Again use common sense, and if you just don't know, then err on the side of caution. Be extra cautious when the loader is in the air, especially if the ground is not flat. That is when rollovers happen. I don't even like driving around with the bucket up with no load in it. Even on flat ground. Keep you load as low to the ground as practical. Oh, and have fun with your new tool.

View attachment IMG_20160919_123217537_HDR.jpgView attachment IMG_20160919_123751888.jpg

 

[DK35vince]

I know I may catch some flak about this but mounting a snow plow on the front of a FEL is asking to twist the frame. Pushing with the blade straight applies force inline with the tractor/FEL but when the blade is angled a side load is applied the frame which can twist it. This is made even worse when the angled blade is forced into a large pile of snow that does not move. The blade is way out front and angled from the attachment points on the tractor.

There are a lot of TBN members that plow snow with a plow blade on the loader. Don't recall ever reading about a twisted loader frame from it.
I know I run a 9' power angle front snow blade on my 35 HP tractor for years. No issues.

 

[jmelvin]

Buy a tractor 3.75 times bigger than you need, and it should be bullet proof...

* grin * just kidding...

Careful use, and common sense go a long way. Remember it's a loader, ment to lift and scoop, not a bulldozer. Digging in settled ground is putting alot of force on loader masts and cantilevered mounting points... be aware, and understand how you are applying the forces, and it will last longer.

What are your planned uses?

So by your standard I'm OK running a 5 foot brush hog on my 706 farmall?

 

[BrokeFarmerJohn]

So by your standard I'm OK running a 5 foot brush hog on my 706 farmall?

I think you MIGHT get away with a 5 ft cutter on the 706.

That's literally 3 times too big, 15.2hp per foot.

 

[DieselBound]

Might have missed this having already been mentioned, but...

Careful about TURNING with a lot of weight on the FEL, especially on uneven ground. It's amazing how just a little dip in the ground can can amplify things.

I've done everything that one should NOT do with my B7800. I've applied so much force on to the corner of its bucket that I managed to pop off the tooth bar: bent the bar; was concentrating the force all on a single tooth! With 1,100 hrs of seat time on this tractor I can proclaim that one cannot break it! I am retraining myself that I cannot do these bad things with my Kioti!

 

[kevin37b]

Yep, that wide front end looks good . But , there is a pivot point right in the center of the axle . And it will pivot enough to unload you .

 

[dieselcrawler]

So by your standard I'm OK running a 5 foot brush hog on my 706 farmall?

If the brush hog was the loader in question... not exactly an apples to apples comparison... however... if you try that, please post pictures, its gonna be the tractor version of an elephant riding a bicycle! He!!, just post pics of the 706, I like IH iron!

 

[Msamt]

I'll add a few things not to do.
Don't try and dig huge boulders out, like this


And don't try and pull out stumps without digging around them first the cylinders will bend and break themselves like this


To echo what was said before, not a bull dozer, and build up your grill guard, the grapple is one of the handiest tools I've ever used, but it can lead you into things you shouldn't do with a FEL.
Enjoy!

 

[mbohuntr]

Here's one. Avoid hooking a load onto the center of the cutting edge of the bucket, If you bend it, you can spend a lot of time and money trying to flatten it out so it will scrape properly again.

Speaking of scraping, place the tractor/loader on a flat level surface, place the bucket flat on the ground. Take a can of fluorescent paint and spray the top of the level rod very bright. Now, when you go to scrape snow, place the loader in float, bucket flat on ground using the level indicator, then roll the bucket up ever so slightly so there is a very small gap under the cutting edge.
Now you can push snow without tearing up your driveway and lawn and avoid those jarring stops when you hit something big like stone and concrete edges..

 

[tractorgp]

If you feel something is going wrong (like tipping or lifting too high) and you feel panicky immediately take your hands and feet off all controls settle down and assess the situation.

 

[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.