</font><font color="blue" class="small">( In using the FEL, the huge blind spot in front of the FEL bucket makes any precision work difficult. )</font>
Hipilot, congratulations on your new tractor and implements. You got a very good deal and it seems you are more happy with your purchase every time you do something with it. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif It can be addicting, but it's one of the best addictions you could ever have. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
About using the bucket when what you are working on is not visible.... Well, you most likely have some type of level indicator on the FEL. Someone who knows your tractor better can tell you where it is. Mine is a rod on the right loader arm. It's a combination of using that indicator, watching what the bucket is doing, and the experience you get over time listening to your tractor and "feeling" things in the seat of your pants. Let's take these things one at a time.
Level Indicator: This indicator is normally set so it has a mark where your bucket is completely level when the bucket is lowered to a flat surface. If you are on a concrete slab, the tractor is level, and you lower your loader arms, you can curl the bucket to this point and the bottom of the bucket will set level on the slab. For what it's worth, that's the only time this indicator is accurate. As soon as you lift the bucket or the front and rear wheels are not in a flat plane, this indicator is not accurate. For example: On rough terrain, you will have to roll the bucket below or above the level point to be able to load the bucket. When you lift a load up high, you need to roll the bucket down as you lift, or everything you have in the bucket will spill out onto the hood of your tractor or on you. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif More expensive loaders have an auto leveling mechanism to reduce this problem.
Watch the bucket: Detecting the ground in front of your bucket is fairly simple. You lower the bucket down until it touches the ground and then lift it slightly. If you start to dig and the bucket digs in too much, your tractor will start to bog down and you'll need to roll the bucket up slightly or lift the arms slightly. Practice, practice, practice is the best suggestion I can make.
Feeling your tractor through the seat of your pants may be the most important factor and the one none of us can really describe. It's sounds, feels, and intuition that separate the experienced operator from the beginner. Every tractor is different. It's like driving different vehicles with a standard transmission. Each one has a different feel to the clutch that you have to get used to until it becomes second nature.
Finally, that blind spot in front of the loader has caused lots of incidents. The top of the bucket is almost always pretty far behind the cutting edge and it's easy to bump into trees, rocks, barns, houses, and vehicles when you thought you had lots of room. We've all done it and you will too. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif
Good luck with the new tractor. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif