Side-hill safety

[hotairballoon]

I have an old garden tractor which has the forward reverse lever just where the loader joystick is on my Kioti. Early on I was on a side hill with a full bucket but needed to back up a little to dump it. Hauled away on the reverse lever. When I carefully lowered the bucket, that thump and jolt putting me back on 4 wheels was a relief. Haven't even started the garden tractor since. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[chelydra]

Thanks for all the useful comments. Done all I could up/down hill; some work just requires the machine to run cross-hill. I could sometimes get around this by mounting the BH bucket backwards - anyone ever try this?

Like EastTexFrank, I find that my tolerance for tippiness varies widely with time of day, tiredness, how long I've been working in that area.

I've also found that reflexes (so far) seem to work in the right direction. When lurches, awkward loads, a stone or soft spot have made the machine very light on one side, hands and feet automatically move things the right way to bring it all back in balance. Main thing is to HOLD STILL and think before doing anything sudden. Nearest tipovers have actually come from a sticky valve on the BH, which I'll ask the dealer to re-repair when I can spare the machine for a few weeks.

Like Awert, I have no idea how strong that roll bar is. Can it really hold up two tons of moving iron? Not that I want to find out!

Attached pic is where I'm working now.

-NBB

 

[bigtractor]

When I was a kid we tried Vermont living for a while, back in Fla. now, and I mowed with a small tractor with dual rear wheels and a sickle bar.
Well one day I was cross slope mowing with the bar on the down hill side when she started over. I tried to turn down the hill but no hope time to jump. Well I remember very well my first thought which was "jump past that sickle bar".
She rolled once bent the sickle bar and that was all. Fixed the bar by putting a block under it and jumping up and down.
I respect hills.

 

[unhappykioti]

Don't know if you have one of those fancy seats like I have on my CK20, but if you do you may want to crank it all the way down so that you sit as far down in the tractor as possible this will acually change your center of gravity, the higher you sit the higher the CG the lower you sit the lower the CG. i find that the lower I sit the more comfortable I feel. I have a side hill that I work behind my house, makes me real nervous to cross it. I grew up on a farm in Wisconsin, always hated working side hills even in a big tractor with duals.

 

[NewToy]

If it feels like it's gonna go over, turn down the slope hard and hit the gas. That should straighten things out.


John

 

[Highbeam]

I've gotten that tippy feeling with the bucket a bit high. I thought it would sure be nice to quickly lower that thing, it just doesn't drop that quickly though.

 

[KiotiJohn]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( it just doesn't drop that quickly though. )</font>
Mine goes down very fast if powered down as opposed to floating it down. Has saved me from tipping a couple of times.
John

 

[CBB]

We live in hilly country. I can't image tipping a tractor unless I had a full bucket lifted high and turned the wrong way??? I think you would have to be working on some insane grades.

 

[Bob_Skurka]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( We live in hilly country. I can't image tipping a tractor unless I had a full bucket lifted high and turned the wrong way??? I think you would have to be working on some insane grades.
)</font>
Tractors tip over on flat ground, I've had one on 2 wheels on flat smooth asphalt. I've had several different brands nearly tip on uneven ground. There is a bulldozer near my house that is on its side in a field. The fact is a rigid frame tractor can tip over on flat ground without having a loader on the machine. When ground engaging implements are used (plow) and the tractor turns, if the implement snags you can be on your side before you know what happened. While using a FEL, if the load shifts in the bucket, the tractor can be thrown off balance and tip the tractor.

You may want to do a search of TBN and you will see many examples of tractors that flipped on their sides and owners who said "it happened before I realized . . . "

Somewhere here on TBN is a link to some film clips that show tip over tests. It shows tractors on very mild slopes rolling over. You might want to search for that thread.

I hate to preach, but if you really think it takes a lot to tip a tractor on its side, then you need to learn how easy it is to tip a tractor over. And hopefully you can learn that lesson without getting yourself injured. Please wear your seatbelt.

 

[hotairballoon]

A re-enactment This is with the bucket down, as close as I can get to the actual site, the angle is close.