Almost Rolled the New Holland Yesterday

[Haneyrm]

Had a bit of a scare yesterday evening. I was working on our motocross track on the farm and was carrying a full bucket of clay down a steep hill. Front end dipped into a hole, back wheels came off of the ground what felt like about 3 feet. Rear of tractor began to swing around and got sideways on the hill. Luckily the swift minded operator slammed the loader stick all the way forward as he launched himself off of the uphill side of the tractor in fear for his life. Bucket dropped, tractor leveled out and stopped. Luckily I did not have the cruise set or the tractor would have went through my fence and into the woods. I'm really surprised the rear end popped up the way it did. I had my 6' box blade on and usually that is enough. I guess I had enough momentum to make it jump up. I thought I had the bucket pretty close to the ground as well. Live and learn. Luckily, I get to continue doing such.

Mike

 

[Haneyrm]

I forgot to mention that I had to pressure wash my shorts when I got back to the barn!

Mike

 

[AndyMA]

How high was the bucket off the ground. In situations like that I usually carry my bucket about 6-12" off the ground and adjust it to keep it from digging it. I also lower the box blade to almost scrape. Were your tires loaded?

Andy

 

[BizDoc]

It's amazing how many times I have read where someone was up on 3 wheels and going over, or in your case having the back end come up, and everyone states they immediately dropped the bucket to save their shorts. I have had this situation a handful of times where quickly lowering the bucket saved the day. However, I have read in my manual that it states the FEL should be removed for mowing. My dealer also suggested I remove the FEL for mowing. I explained to the dealer that the FEL would stay where it was because it saved me from disaster several times. As hard as we all try to be safe it's so easy to find yourself in a bad situation.

 

[Larry The Tractor Guy]

As a dealer, it is our responsibility to STRESS the importance of proper counter-weighting on the tractor. Often times, a 3 point attachment is not near enough weight to counter a heavy load like sand or clay. The machine is powerful enough to scoop a full bucket but that is not always the best action to take. Sometimes taking 2 smaller loads is safer.
We calcium load all our tires (with tubes) and still recommend additional weight when the customer will be doing heavy loader work.
As far as removing the loader for mower work, that is a user preference. A mid mower is easier to use with a loader attached than a rear mower but getting in close is difficult in either situation.
I personally remove the loader during mowing work but I have sub-compact and just a few rolling hills which I save for the small rider or push mower.
My 15 year old son loves to mow with the sub-compact but I dont allow it unless he keeps the seat belt buckled. He simply puts it on now without being told. He does fail to keep an eye on the ROPS height and occasionally clips the cloths line posts or low branches. He popped the front end up once by hitting the cloths line so now he's extra careful. Its an uneasy feeling if ANY of the wheels come off the ground and its not always obvious on how to correct it. Only respect for the machine will keep you safe no matter how many times you've run it.
Stay safe out there and enjoy your CUTs.

 

[davcon]

snip I was working on our motocross track snip

Glad you're ok! Motocross track! Just bought a WR250 and very tempted to do some work on the "back 40". The neighbors would probably have a knip!

 

[daTeacha]

If you picture your tractor with loaded bucket and load on the 3 point going downhill, it forms a kind of a shallow V shape, with the front wheels at the bottom of the V. When you dropped them into a dip, you tilted the whole V shape to the downhill side, pretty much at the balance point. Dropping the bucket was good, presuming you dropped it completely to the ground. Dropping the 3 point would have helped, too, but about then you were probably running out of hands and time. When you do find yourself in one of those situations we all hope to avoid, the thing to do with the FEL is drop it all the way so it stays there as the tractor comes back to stable -- push the lever to float position.

 

[Haneyrm]

Glad you're ok! Motocross track! Just bought a WR250 and very tempted to do some work on the "back 40". The neighbors would probably have a knip!

My farm backs up to 2000 acres of State owned forest and my track is at the back of the property. Neighbors are a non-issue. My track is about 3/4 mile long with a mix of doubles, table tops, step ups, etc. It is incredible how much work it is to keep it in good shape. I really need a nice Cat D6 to do it right. For now, the NH is going to have to do.

Mike

 

[daTeacha]

So you anticipate any problems from the state if you get erosion of your dirt into their streams or something like that? MX tracks seem like a place where erosion would be a constant problem.

 

[Haneyrm]

I don't think erosion onto state property is going to be a problem. I am on the low side of the property line. With that said, I do get quite a bit of erosion on the uphill sections of the track. I try not to ride on it every week. If I let it sit for a week or two, I get solid weed/grass growth which seems to help keep the erosion in check. The track itself is built into the side of a hill to make best use of the naturally hilly terrain. The jumps on the hillside also act as a natural silt fence and dirt piles up on the uphill side of them.

Mike