daTeacha
Veteran Member
You could also carry less in the loader and try to keep it on the uphill side of the bucket. Two safe trips are better than one rollover any day of the week.
Keep from tipping
- Thread starter rickmacheske
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dieselsmoke1
Platinum Member
Done that often myself. Had to tie a big stump off center to the high side of the bucket to wrestle it up the hill a while back.daTeacha said:
I always keep my hand on the loader valve when in precarious positions, ready to drop it if things get spooky.
daTeacha
Veteran Member
I had some spooky time yesterday. A while back, a big maple went down in a storm. I was considering making lumber out of it, so had it all cleaned up except for a 32 foot log, about 18 inches at the small end. I decided I had enough lumber, so the log is becoming firewood.
I cut it into 4 sections and used the grapple to grab each one, rolled the bucket back and lifted them. The tractor lifted them all right, but the tree was laying perpendicular to a 20% or so slope which I needed to carry them across, no up due to a fence, no down due to trees, gas meter, etc. I have no idea what each section weighs, but they did take considerable weight off the rear tires when I picked up.
With a log loaded, 900 lb on the hitch and 250 or so on the wheels, the tractor still had a pronounced tendency to move sideways down the hill as I crossed it. I had to countersteer the entire distance to the driveway, either forwards or backwards. It felt stable, wasn't tilted too much, just kept wanting to move downhhill as it went along. I went VERY slowly with both the bucket and rear weight just off the ground.
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I cut it into 4 sections and used the grapple to grab each one, rolled the bucket back and lifted them. The tractor lifted them all right, but the tree was laying perpendicular to a 20% or so slope which I needed to carry them across, no up due to a fence, no down due to trees, gas meter, etc. I have no idea what each section weighs, but they did take considerable weight off the rear tires when I picked up.
With a log loaded, 900 lb on the hitch and 250 or so on the wheels, the tractor still had a pronounced tendency to move sideways down the hill as I crossed it. I had to countersteer the entire distance to the driveway, either forwards or backwards. It felt stable, wasn't tilted too much, just kept wanting to move downhhill as it went along. I went VERY slowly with both the bucket and rear weight just off the ground.
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bugstruck
Platinum Member
daTecha, Hope it was less stressful than the post read. Had me on the edge of my seat reading you were at 20% with that load. Sometimes things just need doing and the maniac in us has some useful purpose. Tough to know when to call that off in every instance though. Be safe wildman 
MikeBurr
Silver Member
If it feels a little tippy, then you really need to be careful. May times I have driven over an area and everything is ok. A rock drops off the loader and the next time I go over the area I end up with a tire in the air because of the rock. Haven't tipped yet, but there have been some close calls with the loader full and driving over little rocks. Just added about 300lbs to my box blade and the tractor is starting to feel solid with full loads.
Would say hang in there, but it maybe better to jump
Would say hang in there, but it maybe better to jump
daTeacha
Veteran Member
The tractor felt stable enough, no signs of wheels coming up and stuff like that. I was moving about 25 yards to the driveway. The recently fabricated and installed wheel weights make a big difference. I was just surprized that it wanted to move downhill, despite having Ag tires and not tearing up the grass. It was definitely low and slow as you go time, and there was some pucker factor involved, but it all felt stable except for the tendency to move downhill instead of across it. If I was going much further, I would have cut it into smaller sections, but this way, all the mess that comes with cutting and splitting is in the barnyard instead of the lawn.
3RRL
Super Member
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- 55HP 4WD KAMA 554 and 4 x 4 Jinma 284
Rich,
I know you are a pretty safe operator but I wanted to remind you
I had to countersteer the entire distance to the driveway, either forwards or backwards. It felt stable, wasn't tilted too much, just kept wanting to move downhhill as it went along.
When you turn the wheels away from the sliding direction the tractor becomes even more subject to tipping than if you steer into the sliding direction. I realize you had very little room to manuever but just keep that in mind. To me, that in itself is an indicator of approaching the "pucker factor" and I'll try to re-position at that point...if I can??
I know you are a pretty safe operator but I wanted to remind you
I had to countersteer the entire distance to the driveway, either forwards or backwards. It felt stable, wasn't tilted too much, just kept wanting to move downhhill as it went along.
When you turn the wheels away from the sliding direction the tractor becomes even more subject to tipping than if you steer into the sliding direction. I realize you had very little room to manuever but just keep that in mind. To me, that in itself is an indicator of approaching the "pucker factor"
and I'll try to re-position at that point...if I can??
Slamfire
Veteran Member
I have read that if an imaginary plumb line drawn from your most puckered part fell on the inside of your rear wheel you were ok. If it fell on the outside you were already tipping over.
daTeacha
Veteran Member
That plumb line rule of pucker would be affected a lot by where the seat is located. My DX seat is way higher than on an 8N, which is about the same size and weight. My personal sense of tipping is much enhanced by the higher seat since I get farther out of "plumb" with less tilt.
For the countersteering thing, I turned the wheels to direct the front end up the hill. Sometimes one way, sometimes the other, depending on whether I was going backwards or forwards. As I rethink the situation, it was the front end that tried to go downhill and the back end just followed along. The rears weren't sliding. So, when I was going backwards, the tractor tended to rotate the nose downhill, making the rear go uphill and being in reverse I tended to climb up toward the fence and woodpile. Going forwards, the front tended to slide downhill too, and the travel direction was toward the trees and gas meter. There was no real sense of roll instability, just a lack of normal directional control, kind of like driving with bald front tires on ice.
I'm pretty sure I couldn't/wouldn't have done it without the new rear wheel weights. Those things really make a difference. I'm probably going to add another 40 or so pounds to each side and maybe cut some of the concrete off the 3 point weight. 1300 lb total rear weight seems excessive -- that's like having my old B7100 as a counterweight.
Okay, topic change. I just tried to put a smiley on the end of that paragraph. I clicked on the icon and it went up in the title. Now I can't get it to go away. Where do I click to put the smiley in the text and not the title and how do I erase the one in the title?
For the countersteering thing, I turned the wheels to direct the front end up the hill. Sometimes one way, sometimes the other, depending on whether I was going backwards or forwards. As I rethink the situation, it was the front end that tried to go downhill and the back end just followed along. The rears weren't sliding. So, when I was going backwards, the tractor tended to rotate the nose downhill, making the rear go uphill and being in reverse I tended to climb up toward the fence and woodpile. Going forwards, the front tended to slide downhill too, and the travel direction was toward the trees and gas meter. There was no real sense of roll instability, just a lack of normal directional control, kind of like driving with bald front tires on ice.
I'm pretty sure I couldn't/wouldn't have done it without the new rear wheel weights. Those things really make a difference. I'm probably going to add another 40 or so pounds to each side and maybe cut some of the concrete off the 3 point weight. 1300 lb total rear weight seems excessive -- that's like having my old B7100 as a counterweight.
Okay, topic change. I just tried to put a smiley on the end of that paragraph. I clicked on the icon and it went up in the title. Now I can't get it to go away. Where do I click to put the smiley in the text and not the title and how do I erase the one in the title?