Safest way to Park on slope with engine running???

[Anonymous Poster]

Hi,

How do you guys feel about parking your tractor on a slope with the engine running? What is the safest way?

Sometimes this needs to be done. Like maybe if using a chipper or some other attachment that needs the pto turning. Sometimes it is just convenient to do so.

My tractor is a Kubota B2910 with HST. The parking brake is released if you push the brake pedal. I imagine if something fell on the pedal, or it was somehow accedently depressed, the brake would release.

If this happended and I had the gear range selector in neutral, the tractor would start to roll I believe. So I leave the tractor in gear and rely on the hst as a back up to hold the tractor should the brakes release for any reason.

I know with a gear tractor, under the same circumstances, the tractor would have to be in neutral. So gear tractor users must rely on thier brakes.

Logic tells me unless I am in need of using the PTO, when on a slope I should turn the engine off, but if I am stopping for only a couple minutes, like to put some cut wood on my loader or stones or whatever, I don't feel good about starting and stopping the engine multiple times every hour.

I guess my question boils down to my asking, when I park my tractor on a slope and get off it with the engine running:

* Should leave my hst in gear when stopped on a hill, and set the brake?

* Should I put the tractor in neutral and set the brake?

I guess to be absolutely safe I should [assuming I need the engine running]:

+Park at an angle to minimize drift if the brakes would release for some reason.

+Rest the loader or a tire against a tree or big rock?

+Lower the loader to the ground, and dig in a bit if possible

+Set the Brake

+Put tractor in neutral[to avoid possible engine driven movement]

+Chock wheels

What is the safest practical way to get off the tractor with the engine running on a slope?

Would highly appreciate any pointers...hopefully it won't be long until we in the north are all back out there in warm, sunny weather and I want to be as safe as possible!

 

[RoyJackson]

+Lower the loader to the ground, and dig in a bit if possible

+Set the Brake

+Put tractor in neutral[to avoid possible engine driven movement]

+Chock wheels

At the very minimum, do those three. For me to run the PTO with the operator off the seat, I have to put the range lever in neutral, then the shift lever in gear (the way I read it, this keeps the tranny lubricated and prevents overheating of the tranny oil).

Just make sure you always stay out of the path the tractor will move, it the chocks and brakes don't hold.

 

[ronjhall]

Bill
I always set the brakes when I get off tractor with or without the engine running. The HST will only hold the tractor in place for a short time. Then it will start freewheeling if there is any angle to ground. I may not have the loader on, but as Roy said it will help to keep tractor in place also.

 

[brantley]

Re: Safest way to Park on slope with engine runnin

I do most of the things mentioned, except chocking the wheels. I also turn the steering wheel in a safe direction. This is either to save me from getting run over or point it towards something like a tree so it does not keep on going or rolls into a ditch.

Of course the other thread about a person getting run over by his tractor twice will make me think a little more carefully about situations where it may be better to leave the steering wheel straight.

 

[Hoeman00]

I was putting in a septic system last summer on top of hill
for a new house.
The home owner was brush hogging w/ a nice 9n.
He stopped on top of hill put mower on ground and set brakes.
Left tractor running because of hot starting trouble.
I was digging and heard some noise and looked up to see him
running down other side of hill. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif
Later i went over and saw the TOTALED 9n.
Hit tree on front axle and grill area, broke axle,radiator,water
pump,transmission and many other parts. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif
The brakes weren't real good on tractor so they didn't help much.
What ever u do, DO EVERYTHING THAT U CAN TO KEEP IT FROM MOVING.

 

[OkieG]

<font color="blue"> The HST will only hold the tractor in place for a short time. </font>

I wish I had a picture of me running to catch my tractor as it was making it's way down the backyard heading for brush and an even steeper slope. The engine was off and the HST gave way (just as folks here on TBN say it will). It wasn't traveling very fast (thank goodness), so it was successfully saved from catastrophe. I learned my lesson. Parking brake engaged and implements down for sloped parking. Either one or the other will usually do OK for level parking. But, something should always be done. Extra precaution is always a plus, especially if the tractor is unattended or you need to be in a precarious position.

When I flew in the Air Force, we always chalked the wheels of aircraft when we parked. My personal experience with chalking has not been very satisfying though. For me at least, chalks will often skid along the ground. Sometimes they may work, but not reliably enough for me to count on them.

For you successful chalkers...what do you use for chalks?

The boxblade works great as an adjunct brake...usually better than my loader does!

OkieG

 

[Bird]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( For you successful chalkers...what do you use for chalks? )</font>

Well . . ., I generally call them chocks instead of chalks /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif, and I've used everything from rocks, bricks, blocks of wood, etc. to store bought ones. I think these from Camping World are about as good as any.

And when you talk about the chocks sliding, yep, some do, especially since you were parking those airplanes on hard, relatively smooth, surfaces; not quite the same as where you're talking about parking your tractor.

 

[OkieG]

Of course, chocks! The spelling correction is appreciated. I'm sure proper spelling is a sign of some greater good attribute. I think I was closer to it in 5th grade than I am now.

The chocks we used in the USAF, as I recall, actually worked pretty well. The personal experience I refer to was my own attempt at chocking in the driveway, etc. The aircraft chock profile was more or less similar to the product pictured in your link. They came in pairs connected by a length of rope. One each to keep the tire from rolling forward or back.

OkieG

 

[CTyler]

Re: Safest way to Park on slope with engine runnin

Those chocks in the link work really well. I used those with my boat and car trailer. The tire gets to roll over part of the chock creating down pressure so it doesn't slide. The driveway at my current house has a slope, no problems.

 

[JohnMiller3]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( … Safest way to Park on slope with engine running…? )</font>

Well, if you can at all possibly avoid it… Don’t park on a slope… running or not…

But if you must… park sideways… (if it’s too steep… then you shouldn’t be there in the first place…) not up/down, lower all implements into the ground, chocks should not be necessary… (and chocks could end up being the hazard, upon removal)

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( What is the safest way? )</font>

There really isn't "a safest way"...

Again, try to schedule your work on a level plane… instead of any slope… it's much safer… /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[MossRoad]

I'd use the slope for an excuse for more seat time to haul the stuff to a flat area to work on it there, if at all possible... /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

In all seriousness, there really isn't a totally safe way to do anything(you could choke on a marshmallow)... you can only minimize the risks. Use common sense. If it looks dangerous, it is. If your brain brings up questions of safety, listen to it.

With that said, why is it such an inconvenience to turn off the tractor? That's what electric starters are for... they eliminated hand cranks. I turn mine off every time I get off of it, with the exception of warming it up in the shed on cold mornings. I could see leaving it running with a chipper or log splitter, but those tasks seem better suited for flat ground and wheel chocks than hill sides and a rock or log for a chock. Good luck... and be safe /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

 

[Anonymous Poster]

<font color="blue"> With that said, why is it such an inconvenience to turn off the tractor? That's what electric starters are for... </font>

I guess I bought into the theory that every time we start our engines they suffer more wear than if we had kept them running...so...I tend to not want to to turn off my engine every time I have reason to get off the tractor.

It's not so hard to start and stop the engine, but it may be hard on the engine to keep starting and stopping it. If I did not plan to keep my tractor for decades I might not care, but...

 

[JohnMiller3]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I tend to not want to to turn off my engine every time I have reason to get off the tractor. )</font>

Hi Bill,

Exactly what do you plan on doing on slopes with your tractor?

What are you doing now, that causes you to jump on and off the tractor while running multiple times?

Right now, it sounds like you have quite an exercise program going... /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[Anonymous Poster]

John and all...

<font color="blue"> Right now, it sounds like you have quite an exercise program going...
</font>

That's pretty funny /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

I know the focus of my question has shifted a bit...get off once or get off twenty times in a day...same concerns are there, at least in my mind.

Two acres behind my pond slope upward and what is there is about 30 to 40 years of whatever wanted to grow on land that was once cleared and farmed in some manner. I want to make it more usable. It has a lot of trees of various sizes and also the smaller stuff that fills in the spaces. Very typical of ignored land...

I have done some clearing, but there is a lot more to do. Some fallen dead trees, some standing dead, and a lot of other's living. What I end up doing, it seems, is cutting stuff with the chain saw where it falls, and moving the tractor over to it, throwing it in the loader [and this summer probably the carry all too], moving to the next little pile, and repeat.

Then I take it near the fire pit and dump it on the pile for those evenings of relaxing by the fire...under the stars /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Smarter guys probably do it easier, but that is what I have been doing...the slope is generally probably 10 degrees, but there are steeper sections that I have not taken the tractor on that approach 20 degrees...

Thinking back, the real reason I asked this question is because I was not certain whether I should leave the hst in gear or neutral, when parked with the engine running. I think I will ask that question seperately...in this forum after posting this reply...

 

[thcri]

Not sure there really is a good answer. Leaving your HST in gear will hold the tractor on most hills as long as your in the lower gear. But even on the level I always worry about leaving the HST in gear. Could something go wrong with a valve and get the tractor going?? Not sure?? It just seems possible. My brake seems pretty secure but know that they can go bad or the loc could release at any time. I guess locking the bracke, putting in nuetral and blocking two of the four wheels would be the best. Wheel chocks are not too expensive for those that are on lots of hills especially with kids around. You could even build yourself a little box to hold the chocks so they are always there for you.

I thinks someone mentioned even when parked on a hill and running the PTO for an attachment. Your tractor is then running some pretty high RPM's and there is a lot of vibration there. Vibrations can cause things to happen, brakes letting go and who knows what els. To me, nuetral, brakes locked and wheels chocked.

murph