Can my John Deere 2155 lift/move 1 ton armor stone?

[Black Acreage]

Hope to build a retaining wall without having to rent another machine. Obviously it would be easier/safer with a fancy excavator with thumb/sling/etc. attachments (or maybe even just a skid steer with forks) but I just need to know if this can be done.

Can my '89 JD2155 handle it?

Looking at Tractordata I see lift capacities ranging from 1657lbs "full at pin" to 4350lbs "breakout" depending whether a 520 or 540 loader. I don't know which one I have and I don't know what these terms mean. Time is of the essence so I'm just hoping for a more or less bottom line answer before I order a pallet of these things

Thanks in advance to those in the know!

 

[sandman2234]

If the numbers you are quoting are correct, then no you can't lift it.
I assume that you are concerned about taking it off a truck when they deliver it? That would be an issue!
. However, if you are just wanting to know if your tractor can move it around if you go after it in your truck and are able to move it, then you are looking at the wrong end of things. A 3-point set of forks is a lot stronger than a FEL, so keep that in mind.
David from jax

 

[sandman2234]

1657 Full at pin means 1657 pounds at the pin that is basically the back of where a pallet would set up against the forks. As weight goes forward from there, it is harder for FEL to lift it. (Weight at tips of forks is harder to pickup than if it is slid up against the rear of forks)
The Breakout force is the weight the bucket curl will pick up, so basically what you can pick up with it against the rear of forks just enough to clear the ground when you roll the bucket backwards (or up-ish)
David from jax

 

[repete]

Lets look at all of this.

You have a tractor that weighs 5900 pounds. You add a loader for an additional maybe 1000 pounds. To this you add a 2000 pound load in the bucket. You are now looking at a total weight of 8900 pounds. Lets add you in the seat and call it a total weight of 9000 pounds.

Next you realize that when you lift the load the rear end comes off the ground. Unsafe but when the rear wheels are off the ground you are now loading all the weight on the front tires. 4,500 pounds per front tire.

To counteract the lifting of the rear wheels you add 1000 pounds of counterbalance on the three point. Counter balance works, you now have 500 pounds of down force on the rear wheels but have added the other 500 pounds to the front axle.

Final question is, can every component in the load path to ground safely handle that weight? Sadly, these situations frequently are why we have tractor operator fatalities.

Just my 2 cents.....

 

[jonsstihl]

I think your weight transfer calculations are a little oversimplified but I get the point you are trying to make. I'm pretty sure there is a video out there where someone has done tests with scales to determine how much adding counterweight unloads the front tires. think of your example. if you add enough weight to the back the front axle will lift off the ground. plenty of videos to support that theory. Mostly from developing countries.

ratings for loaders (depends on the manufacturer) are usually to full height so your loader could lift 1657 to full height at the pins, capacity at ground level would be significantly higher, its not double but it is more than just a hundred pounds. My loader owners manual has a graph that shows lift capacity VS height.

my 854 loader can lift roughly 2489lbs at the pins to full height but can lift close to 4070Lbs at ground level.

are you talking metric ton = 2200lbs or 1000 lbs.

technically you could use the break out force to lift 4350 lbs a couple inches off the ground but that is probably not safe especially if your working on hills.

 

[LD1]

Clamp on forks.....probably not.

Bucket off and either QA or pin-on forks.....I'd say it has a pretty good chance of lifting and moving.

Loaders lift way more at a lower height due to the geometry and angle change of the cylinders.

Make sure you have something heavy on the back. But the 2155 is a pretty stout little utility tractor

 

[LD1]

1657 Full at pin means 1657 pounds at the pin that is basically the back of where a pallet would set up against the forks. As weight goes forward from there, it is harder for FEL to lift it. (Weight at tips of forks is harder to pickup than if it is slid up against the rear of forks)
The Breakout force is the weight the bucket curl will pick up, so basically what you can pick up with it against the rear of forks just enough to clear the ground when you roll the bucket backwards (or up-ish)
David from jax

Incorrect about breakout.

Breakout force is how much the loader will lift at ground level. Curl/rollback force is something different

Some loaders list capacities at ground level (breakout).....capacity at 1.5m (59") and at max height.

 

[jmc]

I'll post this anecdote, re- just because you can lift something near the capacity of your tractor doesn't mean that you should.

Neighbor asked me to move a full pallet of cement blocks to the other end of his yard. Forks on loader, medium heavy box blade for ballast. Tractor wouldn't lift it so we removed some blocks until it would. So we were within maybe 100 lbs of actual* lift capacity. Even though the yard was flat and smooth(for a yard), that trip across the yard was SQUIRRELLY. Wouldn't want to do it repeatedly, or across a pasture, or on the slightest slope.

*I don't know but rated lift capacity might be lower than actual lift capacity for stability reasons.

 

[ROUSTABOUT]

Can you get an extra pallet and split the load?

 

[IndyIan]

I assume the 4wd version has the HD loader, which has half a chance of lifting a ton rock. If you are doing dozens of these and 8' high I think a good size excavator would be a good idea. Or if you have a sloped working area. I think it would be hard to eye ball a 3000lb rock vs a 2000lb one as well.

A dozen rocks and only 2 layers tall?, sure give the tractor a try, keep the load low and go slow, with a ton of something on 3pt. Leaving the tractor in 2wd also lets you know if one side getting light, and be ready to drop the loader arms if you feel a bit tippy.

 

[LouNY]

It certainy would not be my first choice of loader for that weight.

By the numbers it should be close, but it would be any easy way to have something screw up.
My Branson 8050 handles a ton nicely but it doest like a lot more then that and it's much heavier with a much larger rated capacity..

 

[LHF2019]

You don’t know what you have for a loader?

Hang something heavy on the 3pt and go at it. Pump your front tires to 50psi whether they are 2 or 4 wd and take it slow. ONLY use pallet forks

 

[sandman2234]

Incorrect about breakout.

Breakout force is how much the loader will lift at ground level. Curl/rollback force is something different

Some loaders list capacities at ground level (breakout).....capacity at 1.5m (59") and at max height.

Actually breakout force is the combination of all cylinders at their max pressure at ground level. Most people realize that when trying to lift something at ground level, you gain capacity if you operate both at same time. Some loader control valves do not allow that to happen, so a lot of times actual breakout is less than what the engineers calculate it to be, because they use max pressures on all cylinders to calculate the advertised numbers.
I stand corrected on my original statement, because I mentioned just curl, instead of curl and all other cylinders available to use, which is the correct way of measuring breakout force.
David from jax

 

[jyoutz]

Can you get an extra pallet and split the load?

That is always the best option.

 

[4570Man]

That is always the best option.

The op is probably going to be pissed off when you start cracking his retaining wall blocks in half.

 

[jyoutz]

The op is probably going to be pissed off when you start cracking his retaining wall blocks in half.

My tractor can lift a ton with pallet forks on the loader, but it’s always at maximum load and I don’t like to travel far with one ton on a pallet. I usually offload a few rows of feed sacks, bricks, or whatever onto another pallet, then move each pallet separately. No need to crack blocks in half

 

[4570Man]

My tractor can lift a ton with pallet forks on the loader, but it’s always at maximum load and I don’t like to travel far with one ton on a pallet. I usually offload a few rows of feed sacks, bricks, or whatever onto another pallet, then move each pallet separately. No need to crack blocks in half

When I was machine shopping the ability to move pallets of material was an important consideration. For one I’m already loosing money shuffling materials. I don’t intend to make it worse by having hand stack them. And the other problem is you can’t really cut the bands. If you cut a bundle of studs you’re going to have a mess to pickup. My wheeled machine doesn’t have much capacity to spare but the tracked one does it good.

 

[Hay Dude]

Overloading the front axle can trash your front axle bearings & seals.

 

[LD1]

Actually breakout force is the combination of all cylinders at their max pressure at ground level. Most people realize that when trying to lift something at ground level, you gain capacity if you operate both at same time. Some loader control valves do not allow that to happen, so a lot of times actual breakout is less than what the engineers calculate it to be, because they use max pressures on all cylinders to calculate the advertised numbers.
I stand corrected on my original statement, because I mentioned just curl, instead of curl and all other cylinders available to use, which is the correct way of measuring breakout force.
David from jax

Incorrect still.

Breakout force is ONLY the lift cylinders and how much it can lift with a level bucket at ground level.

There is no specification that is comprised of trying to use BOTH functions.

The whole notion of trying to use BOTH functions at the same time and calculating some number higher than what either the lift or curl are independently capable of.....this is something that has been made up and continued to be BAD information spread as if it were gospel on tractor forums....especially TBN. So now others that DONT know.....read posts like this and think they are getting factual information.....but it isnt. So they continue to spread the FALSE information. Its frustrating

 

[oosik]

When speaking of a heavy load. Moving the load and lifting the load can be two completely different jobs.

Max lift will be achieved when the load is at MINIMUM height. Lifting this load can be dangerous. If you are lucky - you might move the load but not be able to lift it. If you can lift the load - be very careful of - rear wheels lifting - entire tractor tipping off to one side or the other - something breaking.