Ballast almost flipped the tractor, really need some help!

[Phil48]

You've gotten a lot of good advice. I wont add to it other then to say the views are awesome. Lovely place. Looks like a river n the valley?
I'm sure you weren't enjoying them from the elevated position of the tractor seat tho.

X2:laughing:

Phil

 

[Mark Page]

Why not just lower the bucket which should right the machine. I've done it hundreds of times with a skid loader.

 

[vtsnowedin]

Why not just lower the bucket which should right the machine. I've done it hundreds of times with a skid loader.

Hundreds of times???:shocked: Even with a skid steer I'd learn how not to need to do that on a regular basis.

 

[daugen]

I appreciate the OP starting this thread, which I'm just reading, and wondering how he felt sitting up in the air like in a stuck ferris wheel. Don't ever want to do that again, so my guess is that he will load up that tractor with all the weights talked about here, and do some more load testing with that bucket on something other than a steep slope.

Nice tractor, beautiful property, glad the OP didn't get hurt. And he was a good guy for sharing this with us.

Meaningful to me as I'm going to be getting my first FEL next year and boy that could be me me hanging up in the air too. Course I like weights, and those suitcase ones, though ridiculously priced for green or red iron, do keep the profile of the tractor slimmer up front, and there are lots of reasonably priced ballast boxes out there for three point hitches. And having read this thread, I think if the FEL is on, so must be the ballast box. You can't get around certain laws of nature, I like the reference to teeter totter a ways back, so it gets down to knowing your limitations. The OP found out the hard way, but since he didn't get hurt, this is a happy ending story.
I bet more than one of us will be adding some more weights on.
Easier than taking weight off, huh?

 

[AGGIE00]

Hundreds of times???:shocked: Even with a skid steer I'd learn how not to need to do that on a regular basis.

As a weekend warrior you would think that, but in an industrial environment doing real work where production means profit it happens quite often on a skid loader. Maybe not to this extreme every time, but dropping the load in a hurry does happen quite a bit. You'll also see it with articulating loaders working on uneven ground.

 

[vtsnowedin]

As a weekend warrior you would think that, but in an industrial environment doing real work where production means profit it happens quite often on a skid loader. Maybe not to this extreme every time, but dropping the load in a hurry does happen quite a bit. You'll also see it with articulating loaders working on uneven ground.

I've done highway construction for thirty six years and seen a lot of loader and skid steer work. Daylight unintendedly under more then one tire is vary rare thing and cowboys flogging around beyond their ability get pulled off the machine. They are much faster then a weekend warrior but they "know their limitations".

 

[wcampbell47]

Well your 4105 is only 2 inches longer than my B3200. Seems like a short wheelbase for a larger tractor. That being said - I would rethink on the reasons you need such a heavy bucket. Change to a lighter bucket. Fluid in the rear tires would help. Acquire lots of ballast. Run in the lowest gear traversing the slope.

I recently visited a tractor junkyard where I found numerous tractor ballast pieces. I selected two flat pieces that I U bolted onto my rear tool bar which is similar to your ripper. They were inexpensive and bolted right on. I could opt for more ballast just by using longer U bolts.

 

[NICKB304]

Get some weight on that back and keep that bucket low. There is no reason to have it more than a foot off the ground when traveling. I use mine with a full bucket of dirt to drive up and down the jumps on my motocross track to pack them down, they look to be steeper than what you are dealing with. Loaders should have down pressure also. You could slide down the hill on your bucket with the front tires off the ground if you wanted to.

 

[FastPauly]

Yikes....glad to hear there were no injuries as a result of this.:thumbsup:

In that short amount of time that the tractor switched states...dynamic to static....brings up an interesting engineering challenge. Not considering the strap that is attached.....If left alone in the static state as the picture shows, which way will she go as the FEL hydraulic pressure leak-bye occurs? Don't jump to a conclusion too quickly here...there are always the not so obvious factors to think about.

Do I have the definate answer.....heck No.

 

[JWR]

Well your 4105 is only 2 inches longer than my B3200. Seems like a short wheelbase for a larger tractor. That being said - I would rethink on the reasons you need such a heavy bucket. Change to a lighter bucket. Fluid in the rear tires would help. Acquire lots of ballast. Run in the lowest gear traversing the slope.

I recently visited a tractor junkyard where I found numerous tractor ballast pieces. I selected two flat pieces that I U bolted onto my rear tool bar which is similar to your ripper. They were inexpensive and bolted right on. I could opt for more ballast just by using longer U bolts.

Good points. I would add that it is torque and the moment arm that matter. The ripper is not as good a place to attach extra weight because it so close to the tractor. A better effect would be had by something that sticks out further (such as a good heavy bush hog.) Anyway, every pound of ballast is twice as effective on a moment arm twice as long, BUT the pivot point in your case is the front axle, so the ripper is still on a long moment arm from the front axle.

 

[Diamondpilot]

Fill the tires. There is no way I would operate my tractor without it and I would also fill about 2/3 of a 55 gallon barrel with concrete and cut it down and set it up to fit into your 3 point. I did for my tractor and it keeps things stable and safe. I also set my tires to the widest stance that they would go to.

Chris

 

[FastPauly]

And....if a ballast box or the like is used, be sure to fill it with something that becomes one with the box. The practice of filling them with loose heavy stuff could end up being a fatal error. With ROPS and seat belts being used...the chance of surviving an en-do are quite probable....but that tunk on the back of the head from a cast iron head off a V-8 will definitely leave a mark.:confused2:

 

[RoyJackson]

And....if a ballast box or the like is used, be sure to fill it with something that becomes one with the box. The practice of filling them with loose heavy stuff could end up being a fatal error. With ROPS and seat belts being used...the chance of surviving an en-do are quite probable....but that tunk on the back of the head from a cast iron head off a V-8 will definitely leave a mark.

I use sand...even in a roll over, loose sand shouldn't do any real harm and one can add or remove it easily if desired.

 

[FastPauly]

Yea....using other things is better than some things as is using some things is better than others. I am not so sure that several hundred pounds of wet sand falling to the back of the head in what could be a very short amount of time would be a harmless event. I am not trying to pick a fight here.....just tickling the potentials.

 

[RoyJackson]

Yea....using other things is better than some things as is using some things is better than others. I am not so sure that several hundred pounds of wet sand falling to the back of the head in what could be a very short amount of time would be a harmless event. I am not trying to pick a fight here.....just tickling the potentials.

I'm pretty careful when I operate the tractor. I'm strictly a residential owner/operator and never in any hurry. And, it's a rare occasion I'm operating during wet weather (except snow plowing).
Main thing...working on a slope (in any direction) requires slower travel and a bit of forethought.

 

[FastPauly]

No doubt how forethought plays in......it prevent accidents which in turn eliminates injuries. :thumbsup:

 

[daugen]

I am reminded of the fifties and sixties when some of us on a budget used to put 6x9 speakers, the ones with the biggest magnets you could afford, up on the rear deck to get better sound. Now the smart way to install them was of course in the deck facing up, not sitting loose on the back deck.

One slam on the brakes and too many kids got head injuries from flying Jensens and Audiovoxes becoming genuine high speed missiles. Rarely would the twisted on speaker wires provide much resistance to forward motion. One of the strange bits of knowledge I picked up in the insurance industry for many years.
If something is going to go on the back seat deck, it ought to be a box of Kleenex...

Those of us with ROPS and seat belts have to keep this in mind, what will go flying around, or come loose, if we tumble? I had thought of using a large collection of Universal Gym weights I have, the flat kind that are 15 pounds of perfect iron that stack marvelously. And after reading this, I will make sure I build some kind of very strong retaining strap or top on it for sure. I think those weights would hurt more than wet sand, and I don't think either of us want to try.

 

[k0ua]

I am reminded of the fifties and sixties when some of us on a budget used to put 6x9 speakers, the ones with the biggest magnets you could afford, up on the rear deck to get better sound. Now the smart way to install them was of course in the deck facing up, not sitting loose on the back deck.

One slam on the brakes and too many kids got head injuries from flying Jensens and Audiovoxes becoming genuine high speed missiles. Rarely would the twisted on speaker wires provide much resistance to forward motion. One of the strange bits of knowledge I picked up in the insurance industry for many years.
If something is going to go on the back seat deck, it ought to be a box of Kleenex...

Those of us with ROPS and seat belts have to keep this in mind, what will go flying around, or come loose, if we tumble? I had thought of using a large collection of Universal Gym weights I have, the flat kind that are 15 pounds of perfect iron that stack marvelously. And after reading this, I will make sure I build some kind of very strong retaining strap or top on it for sure. I think those weights would hurt more than wet sand, and I don't think either of us want to try.

I am thinking the sand is not going to be a big deal, tho the mental picture of Roy spitting out sand is kinda graphic.. But I am thinking about the log chains I usually keep in the top of my ballast barrel. Not to mention a rock fork or chainsaw over the head. Best keep the tractor on 4 wheels.:thumbsup:

James K0UA

 

[daugen]

focusing on the lighter side:

like not spilling your hot coffee, perhaps a coffee/drink holder on a gymbal....Roll right over and have a sip... Of course,
perhaps in today's deluxe cabs, like the airlines, something would drop down to help you if you were hanging vertically in your straps. I might suggest a really ice cold beer, the phone number of the local florist to put your wife in a good mood before she hears about this..., and your best buddy's beeper number to come help you.

Just think, in the near future's closed cab tractors, I bet airbags are mandatory.
Guess they'll need a ceiling bag.

It takes so little time to be safe, and so little time to get in a bad way,
let's all take the time to be safe. Drew

 

[RoyJackson]

I am thinking the sand is not going to be a big deal, tho the mental picture of Roy spitting out sand is kinda graphic.. But I am thinking about the log chains I usually keep in the top of my ballast barrel. Not to mention a rock fork or chainsaw over the head. Best keep the tractor on 4 wheels.:thumbsup:

James K0UA

Better sand then blood, Bro!