What is that shhhhhhing sound?

[blklab68]

Scenario...
I've been cutting /grubbing saltbush out with the FEL and creating the requisite brush piles every 150' or so. After a full day of this on Good Friday I noticed that my first pile of the day was somehow too close to a young saw-tooth oak that I wanted to survive the impending fire. So.... since the TC 45 and I are both bulletproof, I lowered the 66" bucket, engaged the front drive, locked the diffs, put her in LR 4th and proceeded to push said pile. All was proceeding according to plan, the pile was moving nicely as the '45 leaned into her work when unbeknownst to me a dastardly stick snuck under my machine and snapped off the valve stem on my RR tire. This created a shhhhing sound. I watch the radiator like a hawk..so I put her in HR 4 and ran for the house. Getting a loaded R4 off the 45 and into my truck by myself can be done... However, I can assure you.. it SUCKS. Moral... she ain't a bulldozer.. maybe I should weld little pieces of pipe over the stems... I've seen this before.. What do y'all do..?

 

[mikim]

yep .... must be a rite of passage or sumpin' .... hope you learn faster than I did .... it took me 3 different experiences before I learned to back off trying to use it as a dozer. I still do you understand - but just not nearly as aggressive. Watch out for those sticks reaching under ya ... they'll get your radiator drain hose, power steering lines, clutch linkage, and poke your tires all day long (try a 1.5" hole in the LR in the middle of the woods - ran over a hidden dead cedar and a 4" limb nub got me)---- most all this, particularly when backing up. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[blklab68]

Mikim,
I hope to learn from this. Just because I CAN do something, it doesn't mean that I SHOULD do that thing. For example, my 65" Bushhog BB will flat rip out a saltbush but, it traps the tree under the 45 with all those branches under there. AND.. the tree doesn't let go of the BB easily..

 

[mikim]

<font color="blue"> Just because I CAN do something, it doesn't mean that I SHOULD do that thing </font> YOU BEEN TALKING TO MY WIFE ?? /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif You sure sound like her! /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[DieselMonk]

I'll would do the same thing you did and when all is repeaired, I'll continue my work. I never had anything happen yet to my rear tires but many times on the front ones. I love playing dozer with my TC55DA!!! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[daTeacha]

That's a big part of the reason I'm spending $500 on a grapple for the DX29. If I can pick it, it won't be under the tractor trying to do harm.

 

[jinman]

Rich, I love my grapple and I'm sure you will also love yours, but I don't have eyes in the back of my head. I can't tell you how many times I've been concentrating on the front and drove backward over something. I need a Star Trek force field to protect me from my own bonehead mistakes. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

 

[daTeacha]

I've been lucky and/or careful so far. I just hope it holds up when the new machine finally gets here. I swear they must have shipped the grapple by mule train from Missouri.