OPERATIONAL TIPS FOR NEWBIES

[LBrown59]

28)
Please, please, please! *Think of the neighbors.
Good luck, Wm

*Think what about them?

 

[woodyacres]

36. Careful while raising loads in the FEL, going too high could result in contents of bucket landing on hood of tractor or worse yet, on the operator.

My neighbor warned me of this one long before I bought my tractor. Showed me the dent in his hood. So, I am wondering how many of you learned old school style and have this dent in your hood?

37) Always be mindful of your loader or attachments when turning especially around the house! I've got some trim to replace.

 

[Westendorf-RR]

38) When backdragging or backfilling with the FEL do not dump the bucket to engage the front blade while apply down pressure with the lift cylinders. Keep the bucket level. This can damage the rams or the entire bucket cylinders (I've seen severe cases - especially after they've something like a stump or rock). We recommend using the heel of the bucket, or very slight angle only.
39) Never work or enter the area under a raised loader.
40) Never sit, stand or ride in the bucket of your FEL.
41) Set your tires on their widest setting for the most stability when doing loader work. Use a ballast.
42) Respect hydraulic fluid under pressure. It is poisonous if it gets under your skin. You should seek medical attention. When checking for leaks, use a piece of cardboard or something similar, NOT YOUR HAND. Small pinhole leaks at high pressure can penetrate skin like a needle.
43) Always READ YOUR OPERATORS MANUAL and SAFETY PRECAUTIONS - it will educate you on procedures and applications that your common sense lacks. - Did I mention. Use a ballast.

Just a few that came to mind--- oh and the most important. Always have ROPS and use a SEAT BELT!

 

[johnk]

My neighbor warned me of this one long before I bought my tractor. Showed me the dent in his hood. So, I am wondering how many of you learned old school style and have this dent in your hood?

37) Always be mindful of your loader or attachments when turning especially around the house! I've got some trim to replace.

I have a dent in mine. Had the buket full of logs and was loading onto a truck when one came rolling out the back and dented the hood. I guess it gives the tractor character even though I wish it didn't have the dent...

 

[lungdoc]

My neighbor warned me of this one long before I bought my tractor. Showed me the dent in his hood. So, I am wondering how many of you learned old school style and have this dent in your hood?

I learned this with a bucket of soft snow dumped on my hood and head, was very glad it wasn't gravel!

 

[CurlyDave]

So, I am wondering how many of you learned old school style and have this dent in your hood?

My hood is plastic, the rock just bounced off...

 

[CurlyDave]

The tractor's draw bar is made for hard pulls, and the tractor won't flip over backwards using it. Front axles or front end loaders are NOT made for hard pulls. Pulling from the front may cause severe equipment damage....

Just to be sure newbies understand this, the drawbar referenced here is one solid piece of metal usually attached to the underside of the tractor. It is not attached to the 3 point hitch where I have often seen trailer balls. As tempting as it looks, a hard pull with that trailer ball can flip the tractor.

In my case, the backhoe prevents using a drawbar, so I do pull in reverse using the FEL. So far, no damage to anything, and if worse comes to worse, a FEL repair beats repairing my head.

 

[woodyacres]

*Think what about them?

I think about my neighbor everytime I start up my tractor. Think about how jealous he is!!!

 

[studor]

44) The bucket on the FEL is meant to carrry things that can be dumped (not your chainsaw and other tools) --AMAZING WHAT YOU CAN FORGET IN A COUPLE OF HUNDRED YARDS OF TRACTOR DRIVING!

 

[jimmyj]

Never operate with kids or pets on the loose in the work area.

Good thread.

 

[kebo]

25) Hard pulls are best done from the front of the tractor. You can't pull as much from the front, but there is almost no risk of it flipping over backwards that way. TOO MANY operators have been killed making hard pulls from the rear by revving it up and dumping the clutch.


The tractor's draw bar is made for hard pulls, and the tractor won't flip over backwards using it. Front axles or front end loaders are NOT made for hard pulls. Pulling from the front may cause severe equipment damage....

True, the drawbar is the strongest attachment point on a tractor, and it's always below the axles. That will tend to help keep the front end down when pulling a heavy load attached to the drawbar. However, having said that.....

ever been to a tractor pull?? Ever watch the pullers pop a wheelie about 1/3rd the way down the 100yd track? With low gearing and enough engine torque, you can flip it over backwards with something attached to the drawbar. There are enough dead operators to prove it to. Pulling from the front might damage something, but better that than to damage the operator. Jmho!

 

[tydp]

There's a reason they call it a draw bar. See number 35.....Also never saw a tractor flip over backwards at a tractor pull and I have NEVER once seen them pull anything from the front at a tractor pull, either. If you want to break something on the front end or tweak your loader, go ahead. Jmho!

 

[Wildbill34]

If you are buckled up in your tractor and it starts to roll, DO NOT PUT YOUR LEG OUT TO STOP IT. Keep all appendages in the tractor and roll with it. You are not going to be able to stop it with your leg. Learned that one moving stones. This also assumes that the ROPS is up. Always be prepared to lower your FEL in a hurry if you feel the tractor starting to tip or if it is feeling tippy, reconsider what you are doing.

 

[shane]

Engage four wheel drive for greater braking abilities. Do not engage four wheel drive on hard surfaces. The three R's. Read the manual. Read ALL safety literature. Read here daily.

 

[kebo]

There's a reason they call it a draw bar. See number 35.....Also never saw a tractor flip over backwards at a tractor pull and I have NEVER once seen them pull anything from the front at a tractor pull, either. If you want to break something on the front end or tweak your loader, go ahead. Jmho!

Didn't mean to imply that I had watched pulling tractors flip over backwards while running full speed down the track, because I haven't. My point was to counter your point that they CAN'T flip over backwards when pulling from the rear drawbar because THEY CAN. If they can rare up, then they can flip over! That was my point.

I don't want to break anything on my tractor thank you. If needed, I'll get a snatchblock and tackle to gain more advantage and ease the load on all of the running gear when pulling from the front end. If that's not enough, then will just have to go get something bigger.

 

[tydp]

I think you will find that tractors that flipped over backwards were because someone attempted to pull using the top link or using something attached to lift arms (that were raised above COG). To say all hard pulls should be done from the front of the tractor kind of defeats the purpose for which tractors were made. Let's refer this discussion to 2 folks on here that I have alot of respect for and have lots of real world tractor experience, Soundguy and Farmwithjunk. Gentlemen, if you are reading here, what say you? Hard pulls from the front or from the drawbar?

 

[LD1]

Didn't mean to imply that I had watched pulling tractors flip over backwards while running full speed down the track, because I haven't. My point was to counter your point that they CAN'T flip over backwards when pulling from the rear drawbar because THEY CAN. If they can rare up, then they can flip over! That was my point.

I don't want to break anything on my tractor thank you. If needed, I'll get a snatchblock and tackle to gain more advantage and ease the load on all of the running gear when pulling from the front end. If that's not enough, then will just have to go get something bigger.

Most of the tractor pulls that I have been to they aren't pulling from the drawbar, they are pulling from a modified drawbar that is raised well above the axle center line.

There is a reason they do this and that is to lift the front tires in the air. The tractor weighs the same no matter how many wheels are on the ground and when the fronts are in the air, all that weight went to the rears, and everyone here knows that weight= traction.

Actually the tractor will have more weight on the rears than the tractor weighs due to the high hitch point and the angle of the chain acts to "lift" the load and put more weight on the rears.

All that being said.....Pull from the factory drawbar. Thats why it's there. It is the safeist point to pull from but that don't mean accidents can happen so be careful and use common sense.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

Why do I let myself get dragged into these things....?

There's a reason why tractor pullers see the front ends reach for the sky. They PURPOSELY position the drawbar as high as rules will allow with the INTENT of creating weight transfer that will cause the front end to "un-weight", shifting as much weight as possible to the rear wheels. With a "stock" drawbar position, at the very WORST, the front wheels would most likely only lift a very few inches, if at all.

Parts and pieces (like the ring and pinion) are designed to pull in one direction under heavy loading. And that ISN'T in reverse. Tractor tire tread is designed to pull primarily in one direction. Again, NOT in reverse.


Now, take your typical 2wd tractor and hook something heavy to the front end and start backing up. Weight transfers and you get instant wheel spin as the REAR END unloads. Go with a 4wd, and hooked to the front and you get the very same inclination to flip over, only FORWARD instead of backwards. Now I'm a little slow on the uptake sometimes, but why would a frontward endo be any better than a backwards endo?

In MOST cases I know of, the primary reason why a tractor would flip backwards is because of poor judgement on the operators part. Poor judgement when attempting to pull/move something far beyond the tractors capabilities. Poor judgement has no forward or reverse. Poor judgement is sort of a permenant neutral.....You ain't goin' anywhere.


My #1 rule for ANY operator, new or experienced, shift brain into proper gear before inserting ignition key.

 

[tydp]

Why do I let myself get dragged into these things....?

There's a reason why tractor pullers see the front ends reach for the sky. They PURPOSELY position the drawbar as high as rules will allow with the INTENT of creating weight transfer that will cause the front end to "un-weight", shifting as much weight as possible to the rear wheels. With a "stock" drawbar position, at the very WORST, the front wheels would most likely only lift a very few inches, if at all.

Parts and pieces (like the ring and pinion) are designed to pull in one direction under heavy loading. And that ISN'T in reverse. Tractor tire tread is designed to pull primarily in one direction. Again, NOT in reverse.


Now, take your typical 2wd tractor and hook something heavy to the front end and start backing up. Weight transfers and you get instant wheel spin as the REAR END unloads. Go with a 4wd, and hooked to the front and you get the very same inclination to flip over, only FORWARD instead of backwards. Now I'm a little slow on the uptake sometimes, but why would a frontward endo be any better than a backwards endo?

In MOST cases I know of, the primary reason why a tractor would flip backwards is because of poor judgement on the operators part. Poor judgement when attempting to pull/move something far beyond the tractors capabilities. Poor judgement has no forward or reverse. Poor judgement is sort of a permenant neutral.....You ain't goin' anywhere.


My #1 rule for ANY operator, new or experienced, shift brain into proper gear before inserting ignition key.

Thank you, sir...

 

[Soundguy]

I agree with FWJ.. the ag tires wich give the most traction are for sure directional.

Add to that that the front bolster on many tractors is not the strongest point on the tractor.

For the average drug load.. I'd be inclined to use the drawbar vs the front end.. I' sure an exception to this can be found if you look hard enough.. however.. I'm refering to the 'average' farm or utility use situation...

soundguy