LOVE my 2230...hate tipping it over...

[RobJ]

REally glad your Dad is ok. But not trying to flame anyone but I've always wondered if the BX's were really to small to handle a FEL. I think a BH is a little safer. They seem to be just a tad bigger than a riding lawnmower. And 400# in the bucket is about 1/3 of the tractors weight?

Be careful with the light tractors.

 

[RobJ]

REally glad your Dad is ok. But not trying to flame anyone but I've always wondered if the BX's were really to small to handle a FEL. I think a BH is a little safer. They seem to be just a tad bigger than a riding lawnmower. And 400# in the bucket is about 1/3 of the tractors weight?

Be careful with the light tractors.

 

[beenthere]

Good points, IMO. I'll bet your Dad feels terrible that you now don't trust him to run your 2230.
I don't loan my tractor for others to use (and/or abuse) but certainly wish my father was still around to let him use my tractor. Those days are gone, and tip over or not, as long as he wouldn't be hurt, I'd still would love for him to be around to drive my tractor. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

I have an old neighbor, who still is taking care of the old farmstead. He has a bad heart, shouldn't be driving, and almost died this winter due to a very weak heart. He has made it out every day to his farm to mow lawn and till and plant a small garden. Don't ask me how he does it, but it's difficult. Not long ago, we were pulling out steel posts to remove a fence, and he was having trouble throwing the chain around the posts. So I asked him to run the tractor. It had been years since he was on one bigger than the lawn tractor. But he adapted to using the bucket and the hydro tranny quite well, and really enjoyed the opportunity to use the easy way to pull posts.

Sounds like you need the proper ballast on the 3pt for the load in the FEL. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[beenthere]

Good points, IMO. I'll bet your Dad feels terrible that you now don't trust him to run your 2230.
I don't loan my tractor for others to use (and/or abuse) but certainly wish my father was still around to let him use my tractor. Those days are gone, and tip over or not, as long as he wouldn't be hurt, I'd still would love for him to be around to drive my tractor. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

I have an old neighbor, who still is taking care of the old farmstead. He has a bad heart, shouldn't be driving, and almost died this winter due to a very weak heart. He has made it out every day to his farm to mow lawn and till and plant a small garden. Don't ask me how he does it, but it's difficult. Not long ago, we were pulling out steel posts to remove a fence, and he was having trouble throwing the chain around the posts. So I asked him to run the tractor. It had been years since he was on one bigger than the lawn tractor. But he adapted to using the bucket and the hydro tranny quite well, and really enjoyed the opportunity to use the easy way to pull posts.

Sounds like you need the proper ballast on the 3pt for the load in the FEL. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[_RaT_]

I've seen Ford 545's laying on their side. They are an industrial tractor. A loader raised on a slight side hill is all it takes. Same applies to dump trucks.

 

[_RaT_]

I've seen Ford 545's laying on their side. They are an industrial tractor. A loader raised on a slight side hill is all it takes. Same applies to dump trucks.

 

[KeithInSpace]

I hugged him at breakfast, discussed it with him, and let him run it the next day (under my DIRECT AND IMMEDIATE supervision) just to prove the point that I love doing things with him. Life is a collection of memories, good and bad. Those days have to be cherished, as you pointed out. And yes, he felt terrible.

Re: Ballast
I normally run my BoxBlade on the 3PH whenever I'm using the loader for anything other than taking out the garbage. It is good for at least 250#. I also run rear wheel weights (90# per side or something like that?). Don't run loaded tires, but have read that those don't make much of a difference in a BX. Only when I have a solid 450+ lb load (don't know the weight, but very near the limits of the bucket by the "feel" of it...and evidenced by the squished front tires) do I even begin to feel the rear end do so much as shimmy. Do you think I should be doing something different?

Let me be clear...those large loads are run about 2 inches above the ground at a very, very low speed and I'm ready to drop them at a moment's notice.

 

[KeithInSpace]

I hugged him at breakfast, discussed it with him, and let him run it the next day (under my DIRECT AND IMMEDIATE supervision) just to prove the point that I love doing things with him. Life is a collection of memories, good and bad. Those days have to be cherished, as you pointed out. And yes, he felt terrible.

Re: Ballast
I normally run my BoxBlade on the 3PH whenever I'm using the loader for anything other than taking out the garbage. It is good for at least 250#. I also run rear wheel weights (90# per side or something like that?). Don't run loaded tires, but have read that those don't make much of a difference in a BX. Only when I have a solid 450+ lb load (don't know the weight, but very near the limits of the bucket by the "feel" of it...and evidenced by the squished front tires) do I even begin to feel the rear end do so much as shimmy. Do you think I should be doing something different?

Let me be clear...those large loads are run about 2 inches above the ground at a very, very low speed and I'm ready to drop them at a moment's notice.

 

[KeithInSpace]

In relative terms, they are huge loads for the machine itself. Of course, the bucket assembly adds ~400# to the tractor, so really it is like 1/4 the weight of the tractor, but point made.

When used for what it was made for (moving around stone and dirt, a hay bale, light grading, a log or two) it is an amazing tool attached to a vehicle small enough you can park it in your shed. That is exactly why I bought it. If the BX (or sub-compact class, any make) was not made, I would not have a tractor or a FEL. Anything larger would look stupid and wasteful in my yard.

I was white with fear the first 10 hours on the thing simply because of the destructive power in my hands with this thing just a little bigger than Pop's Craftsman. Getting more comfortable only now.

Hate to get the lawyers involved with them doing away with the FEL or only making it able to raise 2 feet without signing a release form each time. It really is an amazing tool.

There just needs to be a way to etch in the brain of anyone who steps on and turns the key the words "RESPECT THIS THING". I could get into trouble on Pop's Craftsman, just not as serious and certainly not as quick.

 

[KeithInSpace]

In relative terms, they are huge loads for the machine itself. Of course, the bucket assembly adds ~400# to the tractor, so really it is like 1/4 the weight of the tractor, but point made.

When used for what it was made for (moving around stone and dirt, a hay bale, light grading, a log or two) it is an amazing tool attached to a vehicle small enough you can park it in your shed. That is exactly why I bought it. If the BX (or sub-compact class, any make) was not made, I would not have a tractor or a FEL. Anything larger would look stupid and wasteful in my yard.

I was white with fear the first 10 hours on the thing simply because of the destructive power in my hands with this thing just a little bigger than Pop's Craftsman. Getting more comfortable only now.

Hate to get the lawyers involved with them doing away with the FEL or only making it able to raise 2 feet without signing a release form each time. It really is an amazing tool.

There just needs to be a way to etch in the brain of anyone who steps on and turns the key the words "RESPECT THIS THING". I could get into trouble on Pop's Craftsman, just not as serious and certainly not as quick.