Plowing with my L48

[johnjc]

Took the BH off for the second time this weekend to plow the garden. Took about 30 min. including a trip into the house for the manual and 2 trips to the workshop, one for a Philips to align the holes in the pins, and another for lynch pins to attach the plow.
Then when I tried to back out the other tractor out so I could back up to the plow the battery was dead. No problem I will just pick the plow up with the loader and haul it out of the barn. So I go get a chain, hook it up to the plow and when I hit the lever the plow starts to lift and then the rear wheel of the tractor starts to come up. Whoa!!!
With my 275 in the seat I am able to slide the plow out of the barn.
Being able to reach in and adjust the tractor position with the HST makes hooking up implements easy.
Out in the field I drop the plow, put the HST in medium, and hit the pedal and the right wheel spins. No problem I'll use the differential lock. Same thing. So I engage the 4x4 rev the engine up to 2200 RPM and hit the pedal again. This time I make about 4 foot before I start spinning again but this time its because the plow tried to go to China.
After setting the position control to 5 and adjusting the top link and tilt I was able pull my 3 bottom 16" plows.
Replacing the R4's with a set of loaded R1 would sure help though. When going up grade or hitting a tight spot I could feel the tires starting to load up.
Didn't have my tires loaded because I tow my tractor to my woodland and my trailer GVW is right at the 10,000 pound limit.
Picture attached
John

 

[johnjc]

Re: Plowing with my L48 *DELETED*

Post deleted by johnjc

 

[Anonymous Poster]

John...

Where's the plow furrows...?

On my Massey 135, it was near its limit pulling a 2-14 with loaded Ags... I didn't have a 3 bottom at the time, but borrowed a friends... and the poor girl strained and pleaded with me to stop...

On your situation with the L48, I'd definitely get the rears loaded... it will greatly enhance your stability with the backhoe usage and increase your loader capacity with your rears parked on the ground... /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[johnjc]

This is a picture of the collier on the plow hitting the 3 point hitch arm. Keeps me from
raising the plow very high. I think I may be able to change the plow draw bar adjustment to
get clearance. Have put penetrating oil on the bolts. Don't think they were ever adjusted.
John
made the picture smaller

 

[johnjc]

Done plowing. Next task is to hook up a hydraulic valve so I can run the cylinder on my disc.
John

made the picture smaller

 

[JATO_RaT]

John, I would consider a set of Michelin XM27's for the rear. 17.5/24's. I believe they also have some 16.5's now for the front. Once you get these on, traction will be yours. They are not only radials, but also about as powerful a tread as there is. As they wear, the tread stays "sharp". Thanks for the pictures and great luck with the garden. Rat....

 

[johnjc]

John
I would like to have the tires loaded but I would be over the GVW of my trailer. Had a problem with my trailer brakes on one trip to my wood lot The road was wet and I was coming down one of the little Pa hills. Transmission in second and tachometer approaching 3000 (red line). Put the breaks on hard enough to lockup the rear wheels on the truck and kept speeding up. Don't need anymore weight!!!!!!
John

loader, backhoe, ROPS/FOPS 7760
fuel 35
HD bucket 420
Trailer 1920
Spare 50
Chains and binders 100

Total 10285

 

[JohnMiller3]

John,

I understand your dilemma...

However, your operating safety and stability is a day and night difference with loaded rears... as I said before especially in your situation with TLB...

That rear axle is the fulcrum point, if you add that ~~600 lbs. per rear tire, that extra 1200 lbs. at that spot is a beautiful anchor/ballast...

I'd start looking for a higher capacity trailer and get loaded rears... otherwise you're only utilizing ~~ 50-60% of what your Kubota L48 is capable of doing and could create an unsafe operating condition for you in the process...

 

[rbargeron]

Johnjc - IMHO, if your truck brakes lock up and the trailer brakes don't slow you down, then it sounds like your trailer brakes need some attention, whether or not you add weight to the tractor. The controller's sensitivity (gain) needs to increase or maybe the pucks, grounding or linkage in the trailer drums need service. If possible adjust your system with the trailer fully loaded. Better to have too much braking action at the trailer than not enough.

Filling the 17.5x24's will add roughly 1400 pounds - and, depending on conditions and tire type, maybe 800 pounds more drawbar pulling force. The stabilty increase is big, too. It's a pretty worthwhile addition.

 

[johnjc]

Thanks for the replies.
The reason that the brakes failed was because they ran the wires down the right side of the trailer and at each axle they split off and routed through a hole into the axle (hollow pipe) to the brakes on the Left side. The axle being un-sprung and the tires hard (100 psi) hammered the wire and shorted it out inside where you couldn't see it. When I pulled the emergency disconnect to unhook the trailer, the plastic emergency switch melted.
Luckily I had a friend coming down the next day So we got on the Cell Phone and had him bring a new one along with wire and a soldering Iron.
Thought the magnet was shorted so ended up going home with only 3 brakes working.
I would advise anyone who has a trailer to make sure the wiring isn't routed inside the axles. You can't see it and when you wiggle the wire the short goes away.
Another thing the trailer had passed the state safety inspection 2 weeks before.
As for filling the tires the dealer was going to do it. But I am currently at 10,000 lb. GTW
Trailer manufactures tag 12,000
Trailer license 10,000
My Truck with 3.54 axle & 5.9 Cummins CGW 14,500
Same Truck with 4.11 axle CGW 18,000
Over weight fines go for $1.00 per pound $1400

I have had older Case 580 for some time but when I got the wood lot I didn't want to go to the expense of a dump truck and 3 axle trailer. That's why I got the L48. Though about paying some one to haul it for me but It 1 ½ mile back a dirt road through Gladfelter Forest with no building, and I'm afraid to leave equipment there. http://home.epix.net/~johnjc

After I get a building up and don't have to trailer it every weekend I'll look into filling the tires.
John