Tractor Rollover

[yanmars]

Filled tires might help lower the center of gravity?

 

[boutym]

We all know that (pucker) feeling when driving a tractor sideways on an incline. Is there any information on how to determine a safe angle of tilt? Do wheel weights and loaded tires make any difference on turn over? When going from smaller tractor to a larger one with a wider wheel base how much does the rollover decrease? Would having a bush hog attached low to the ground help or just be neutral? I wonder if one had a simple inclinometer, would this be of any help?

I posed this question to a Massey rep and was told there was no published incline limitations because it wouldn't be easy to test every possible configuration of the machine. I can see where it could be a liability to put something in black and white because you can never accurately estimate the idiot factor.

The bottom line with tractors in my opinion is if in doubt, don't do it. If you're going to do it, keep the CG as low as possible. How much a bush hog will affect rollover is a moving target since several variables exist. Bottom line is if an incline could be a problem, don't do it sideways. That said, weighted wheels and a wider stance will help, but to what degree all depends on the math.

I've had a few heart stopping moments with tractors, loaders, and backhoes and in one case years ago what saved my butt was having the presence of mind to reach back as soon as I realized a rollover was happening and simultaneously extend and swing the backhoe over to counter it. Scared the crap out of me and that was the day I became wiser. I was lucky to have a TLB that could do compound movements with the backhoe.

The other thing is make sure you're using a ROPS and a seatbelt and never jump from a tractor that's rolling over if you can help it.

 

[thankyouTBN]

Right!? I still get very uncomfortable crossing an incline. I got an inclinometer. I drove my tractor to the steepest bank on my property, it is JUST within the parameters in the owners manual. I turned off the tractor, got off and was rocking the tractor by hand and it was SCARY. I seriously thought if I put my back into it I could push the tractor over. (I can’t remember right now, but I think Kubota said 30° max.)

 

[careyo63]

To many Variables with relying on a inclinometer. What happened to me and set The pucker factor off went astronomical!! Clean to Uranus. INKY!! Luck have it I realized how bad it was. Stuck sideways on a incline. I reversed the rear tires and added quite a bit of Displacement so wasn't all that worried about it until my R. tire fell in a small hole that the grass grew up in. I only cut that area one or twice before. Neighbors' property. The tractor fell sideways and lifted the Drive Wheel off the ground. Talk about moving slow in the seat!! Only a few inches but enough. Shut everything down and turned the steering wheel downhill. In knew this and have a Reversable drive wheel I can change the Rear drive with. When it came out of it hole it rolled down hill.
On my Yanmar! well familiar with that roll over. Mother was the Kids bus driver and at the seen when it happened. Chained to a Fence post though.

 

[Gord Baker]

We all know that (pucker) feeling when driving a tractor sideways on an incline. Is there any information on how to determine a safe angle of tilt? Do wheel weights and loaded tires make any difference on turn over? When going from smaller tractor to a larger one with a wider wheel base how much does the rollover decrease? Would having a bush hog attached low to the ground help or just be neutral? I wonder if one had a simple inclinometer, would this be of any help?

Just don't do it.

 

[WinterDeere]

I just swapped the rear tires side to side. The dish of each tire is now out and literally made a difference of almost 2 ft. In width.

Filled tires might help lower the center of gravity?

Most or all loader manuals I've read specify both swapping rear tires to "offset in" (i.e. "wide stance") position and filling the rear tires with ballast. Swapping the wheels around usually reduces max load the rear axle can handle, and wheel spacers make that infinitely worse, but usually rear axle load bearing is not the primary constraint on a loader operation.

Just be mindeful of these deratings next time you're loading up the 3 point hitch to max capacity, esp. for those going the wheel spacer route.

 

[Dr_Zinj]

We all know that (pucker) feeling when driving a tractor sideways on an incline. Is there any information on how to determine a safe angle of tilt? Do wheel weights and loaded tires make any difference on turn over? When going from smaller tractor to a larger one with a wider wheel base how much does the rollover decrease? Would having a bush hog attached low to the ground help or just be neutral? I wonder if one had a simple inclinometer, would this be of any help?

Speed + dips, holes, rocks, bumps, and slipperiness are your nemesis when operating anywhere near rollover point. You can go from doing just fine to looking at tractor and sky over you in seconds. And CG can change simply based on how much fuel you have in the tractor. My recommendation is get a tilt meter, find out what the manufacturer says is the rollover angle, and then subtract 20% of the angle for your operating to red zone.

 

[panamaguy]

We all know that (pucker) feeling when driving a tractor sideways on an incline. Is there any information on how to determine a safe angle of tilt? Do wheel weights and loaded tires make any difference on turn over? When going from smaller tractor to a larger one with a wider wheel base how much does the rollover decrease? Would having a bush hog attached low to the ground help or just be neutral? I wonder if one had a simple inclinometer, would this be of any help?

Yes general rule is dont drive on side hills unless you have your paperwork in order and have spelt my name correctly

 

[careyo63]

Most or all loader manuals I've read specify both swapping rear tires to "offset in" position and filling the rear tires with ballast. Swapping the wheels around usually reduces max load the rear axle can handle, and wheel spacers make that infinitely worse, but usually rear axle load bearing is not the primary constraint on a loader operation.

Just be mindeful of these deratings next time you're loading up the 3 point hitch to max capacity, esp. for those going the wheel spacer route.

No FEL. or antifreeze loaded rear tires I keep this as light as possible. I have that on a Ford. loaded rears and a FEL. The Org. lugs are still huge!! And in my Ga. clay I don't leave any tracks. If it's wet I can dig and tear up the soil.
I've had wheel bearing issues over the decades. And the only thing it gets used for. FM. and BB. the gravel Rd. It's a rice patty tractor! and the only thing that has worn out. The wheel ball bearing fell out!! I knew there was wear but didn't expect that.
No Grease Zerks either sealed!!
If spacer on the tractors there is a high probability of breaking something. The front bearings wearing scared the front Axel spindles.
After I relined the rear from wear/cracks. I had to reline them Gempler! and while they was off I check it in the Org factory mounted wheel. The fender and tire matched the same. You can see how weak that would be extending the wheels.

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[AntiqueIron]

We all know that (pucker) feeling when driving a tractor sideways on an incline. Is there any information on how to determine a safe angle of tilt? Do wheel weights and loaded tires make any difference on turn over? When going from smaller tractor to a larger one with a wider wheel base how much does the rollover decrease? Would having a bush hog attached low to the ground help or just be neutral? I wonder if one had a simple inclinometer, would this be of any help?

The thing to bear in mind is that on a side hill part of the problem is you are at the mercy of a wet spot, chuck hole, whatever.

All I know is when my gut says STOP, I listen.

 

[YLee Kioti]

Those meters are great and all, but speed and a rock or a hole can dump you over even if your incline is 'green'. The incline adds to your risk, certainly. For me, having a meter would likely add to a dangerous level of complacency. Ymmv.

I am probably overly cautious, but my life doesn't depend on anything I'm doing with my tractor. It certainly isn't worth the risk to push the limits.

Basic physics things can help. Wider stance. Lower center of gravity. Weight in the seat (wheels). Inertia (slower is better). Keep your loader as low as is practical. Similar to driving on ice, sudden changes are not your friend.

Not so sure about complacency heh...heh..
My pucker factor ever went away.
I just grit my teeth and remind myself to look at.the terrain closely.
It's another tool but vigilance is key for us all...

 

[Elviscaretaker]

The stated slope sideways for my 5110 is 30 degrees in the paperwork. That said I've had it on 2 wheels at 14 degrees and the pucker factor is real. I still do it but at crawl speeds for turning around is all. Now on my tc-30 I'll do 30 degrees as long as I don't have a loaded buck. If the backhoe is on even more if I swing and extend it uphill I just think maybe I'm more careless in the small one vs the big one.

 

[OldPaint]

Anything that lowers your center of gravity is going to help. But as others have pointed out, one stump hole at the wrong time will cause a problem on even a modest slope. If you can’t go straight up and down, then it’s best avoided. NEVER pull a load of significant amount across a hillside. Even a heavily loaded trailer can make the tractor unstable by pushing the rear.

 

[dadohead]

Retired tractor engineer here. I used to study accident reports. Know that many of the rollover type accidents start as a "runaway" then end in a rollover.

Soooo, pay attention when decending a hill with that load. Diff-lock is the one feature you use  before it is needed. Without, all it takes is one tire to break traction and the other will "freewheel". It feels exactly like you shifted to neutral. Pay attention on decents, slow down, and engage diff-lock before the decent. Good discussion! Hope this helps!

 

[WinterDeere]

Diff-lock is the one feature you use  before it is needed. Without, all it takes is one tire to break traction and the other will "freewheel".

... and with today's mostly-4wd CUT's, I'd say the same about that. Always engage your 4wd on a downhill run, before you need it.

One of the few times I really scared myself on a tractor was headed down a hill with a load of maybe 10 empty shipping pallets on the FEL. Not enough weight to bother reversing down the hill or engaging 4wd... or so I thought.

You already know what happened. The rear tires were in zero danger of coming off the ground, but they were just light enough to lose the traction battle with gravity and slope acting on the weight of the tractor, and I went freewheeling down the hill!

In my case, stopping was as easy as dropping the loader. But as much as you tell yourself that's a simple way to stop, it did take my brain a second or two and dozens of feet traveled between several large trees, to gather my wits and do it.

 

[fustsgt]

The off road supply houses sell incline gages.

Going a cross a side hill that should have been ok turned into a roll over for a friend when his loaded rear tire hit a soft spot from ground squirrels… it didn’t take much

Whenever my BIL's uphill rear tire went over a groundhog mound n his steepest hay field, He would call "come shoot woodchucks"

 

[Shawn T. W.]

The manual on my Kubota L5030, in the safe operation section only says to set the wheels as wide as they go for widest practical application ... Nothing about reduced weight capacity or increased wear ... The wheels have adjustable spacing, I have them at there widest.

My Massey Ferguson GC 1725 MB doesn't have adjustable wheels, and doesn't say anything about wheel spacers, I have 3" spacers on the back, and 1.3" on the front ... Haven't noticed any "wear" or problems in the 735+ hours I have on it, I bought it new ...

My "seat of the pants meter" went off at this point, my front tires wouldn't pull/steer up hill in 4X4 .. the 5' brush hog on the back is a bit heavy for it, and I had forgotten to put rocks in the bucket like I normally do for front ballast ...

I gingerly got off the top side holding onto the ROPS hoping it wouldn't tip over, it didn't ... I gave it a little "shake" ... Rock solid ... Gave it a "PUSH" , still stable ...

You can see how the front tires had spun a little trying to pull me up ... I probably could have just backed up, but I didn't feel like it, plenty of weight on the back, and down low, tires are filled, 70 Lb steel wheel weights on each side, and 275 Lbs mounted on the BH frame, plus the brush hog , rear tires had not broken traction ... Once I added a few rocks, the front tires could steer, and I just drove out!

I can easily mow this hill sideways in 2 wheel drive with this Kubota, rear tires are not filled, but the MF needs to be in 4X4 ...

This next picture is the same place as the previous picture, the little tree near the rear tire is the same as the one 10' to the left in the previous picture, with the 5' brush hog I can mow this in 2 wheel drive, but with the 90" finish mower, I need 4X4 to pull it back up, it weighs twice as much, and all the weight is on the ground ... I mow sideways on the hill until I get to that little tree, then go up and down to get beside it ...