Newbie terror, need experienced advice

[Deepdrop]

I've watched dozens of videos about being safe on a tractor, but none of them prepared me for the reality of using my first tractor. I have a Kioti CX2510 (25hp CUT) and I've been using a grapple to move some large rocks around. Some of these rocks are probably 3-4 feet long and 2-3 feet wide and thick.

My rear wheels are loaded. When I lift the rock, I am careful to only lift it enough to clear the ground. Despite this, I've had several times when a rear wheel came off the ground and I do believe my tractor's color is now brown, not orange, if you get my drift. At least the seat is.

My property is hilly, but this has happened on very minimal slope. I never run across a slope, only directly up or down, although some small degree of sideways unevenness is inevitable.

I have my seatbelt on and the ROPS is up of course.

How dangerous is this? Am I in imminent danger when this happens? Each time, I've lowered the rock to the ground and the wheel comes down to the ground.

I don't have a backhoe so there is no additional rear weight.

I really don't want to die on my tractor, so I would be very grateful for advice.

 

[4570Man]

You need more rear weight.

 

[nybirdman]

You need smaller rocks or a bigger tractor!

 

[K5lwq]

Getting scared is a good thing. Most likely you will never have a problem because you are aware of the danger. However, you need to get some weight on the back of that tractor for the work you are doing. The front end is not designed to carry that kind of load.

 

[D2Cat]

Yes, you need more weight on your 3pt arms. I made a ballast out of weight off of an old weight machine and modified an old dirt scoop to get a 1000# ballast. You can purchase one, or get creative and build one.....but the backend of your teeter totter needs more weight.

 

[dodge man]

Ballast box can be cheap rear weight, you can fill it with all sorts of things, sand or gravel, concrete, I have old rotors and weight lifting weights in mine.

 

[Deepdrop]

OK, that makes sense. As an aside, I think it's a shame that these lessons are learned the hard way. I'm not trying to avoid my own responsibility to educate myself. but there is only so much you can learn watching youtube videos. I think there should be some responsibility for dealers to offer safety information. If they know it's your first purchase of a tractor, I think a good dealer would sit down and do a little teaching. I probably would have sprung for the next bigger model, and I also would have bought something for weight in the back. He would have sold more, and I would have avoided nearly leaving my kids without a father.
I've been toying with the idea of getting a box blade to try to smooth out some of the hills on my property. I don't even know if that's something a box blade can do, but would carrying a box blade be a significant help in terms of rear weight?
Alternatively, I could save up for a backhoe.
Which would be a better choice in terms of adding ballast for safety? Pros/cons of each?

 

[Big Barn]

When going downhill with a loaded FEL you should be travelling in reverse.

Travel forward up a hill with load.

 

[dodge man]

The owners manual most likely has a section on rear counterweights. My tractor is not that big and they call for loaded rear tires AND about 750 pounds of counterweight. I do not 100% understand the physics but the loaded tires do not help until they are actually starting to get picked up. Counterweight will help with the rocking forwards and backwards when traveling with a heavy load.

 

[ultrarunner]

Check operators manual...

These tractors are so versatile and conditions so varied it would be impossible to cover every possibility...

This is where TBN is priceless...

 

[ericm979]

A box blade is ok for a counterweight. My 5.5' BB weighs 550lbs. It's been sufficient for my Branson but it's got loaded rear tires and Bransons are built heavy.
I'd like more.

A backhoe is heavy enough to be a counterweight but it's an expensive way to get one, will limit your manuverabilty and can be a pain to get on and off.

Another option is to make or buy a dedicated weight. One of these:
3 Point Ballast Weight Box Attachment For Tractor - Category 1 3pt Ballast Box Attachments For Sale (Free Shipping) Titan Attachments™
filled with concrete will give you about 1000 lbs. A lot of people have posted here about the weights they have made.

 

[bcp]

I believe a general rule is a counterweight of about 3/4 of loader lift capability.

Bruce

 

[Redlands Okie]

Box blade will help. They are a nice and useful counter weight. Normally the better the box blade is built the more it weighs and the more it cost.

Box blades, preferably with rippers ( adjustable teeth) are good for smoothing up areas, such as fixing ruts.

You can also carefully add weight to a box blade for more counter balance. Just be sure the log or whatever is attached way better than you think it will ever need to be.


Your instincts (concerns) about the tires coming off the ground and it being a problem is valid. Pay attention to those instincts. If your in doubt then STOP and do something different.

Use the seatbelt, ROP kept up, front end loader absolutely as low as you can at all times. Turning (steering) your front tires when the front end loader is full changes the balance of everything, often times a lot.

 

[BRMyers]

I use a box blade for counterweight and more than once it has come in handy as an implement that I needed to smooth out the ground while I have my grapple on and not the bucket.

 

[Deepdrop]

I appreciate all the suggestions. A box blade will be my first choice, since I'd like to get a useful tool out of this ballast purchase. But I would need it to really change the landscape, lowering high spots and filling low spots. The whole area is less than an acre, however there are a lot of rocks.
If a box blade is not up to that task, then I'll probably go with the ballast box that ericm979 suggested. It looks like a nice piece of equipment.

 

[shovelmike]

The hitch receiver on the back of the ballast box is handy too, allows you to tow a trailer easily or even attach a subsoiler to it.

 

[Big Barn]

I forgot to add: always travel with your load low to the ground.

 

[airbiscuit]

If a box blade isn't heavy enough for ballast, you could always build rack on it to pile on more weight (solid concrete block, railroad rail, etc.).

 

[Agvg]

And keep your 4WD engaged so you have brakes on the front wheels, suppose you have a manual 4WD without automatic engagement when braking.

 

[Jim Nelson]

A backhoe is not a good choice for ballast, especially for a newbie. They are usually more weight than needed and can get you in a lot of trouble real quick. Their place is digging trenches etc on flat ground. I have one for my B7800 and live on a very steep piece of property. If I need to travel on steep slopes I have enough experience to know that you need to swing the hoe to the uphill side so that it helps weight distribution rather than cause a run away or roll over. For me the box blade is usually plenty but more often than not I have a mower on the back and that works too. Also,very important, if you are going up or down a slope always have your tractor in 4 wheel drive.