BX2200 seems unstable with FEL

[Handymam]

Is it me or do others have issue with wheel lift and near tip-over when carrying a load with the FEL, even on an ever so slight 2% grade. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif It seems to be more right sided than left (90/10).
My husband thinks I'm crazy /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif, but I leave the MMM on as "training wheels" for an extra safety measure from tip-over.

 

[Nik]

Are you using rear ballast and are you keeping the loaded FEL close to the ground? No or insufficient rear ballast can cause your condition. Also keeping the FEL bucket closer to the ground lowers your center of gravity. Lastly check your tire pressures. You may have too low of a pressure on one of the front tires.

 

[RonR]

Do you have any rear ballast on your 3 point, such as a box blade or a weight box? Without something on there for balance, the BX is light in the rear end. That would be the most beneficial thing you can do.

Keep the loads low when you are moving. If you hook something to the loader like to lift with a chain, hook to both sides of the bucket. You can roll one over by hooking to one side.

Keep you right hand on the loader valve; if you start to tip, lower the bucket NOW!

Not trying to, but I've had mine up on 3 wheels by hooking things up incorrectly. Incidentally, if you are in 2WD, when a wheel goes airborne, it spins and you stop. Not sure in 4WD.

I had mine in 2WD towing a boat hooked to one side of the bucket when my left rear went airborne. With the wheel in the air, the tractor wheel spun, so I stopped.

I sure thought about that one a little bit!

Drive safe,
Ron

 

[BRIGUY]

Rear ballast is a must. I haven't experienced this yet because I haven't used the FEL on my BX without the backhoe being attached.

I have lifted the rear wheels on my friends 4410 Deere when using the FEL to break up and carry off ice and snow. scared me pretty bad the first time I almost went over with the bucket all the way up dumping over a big snow bank. just remember to get the bucket down in a hurry to stand yourself back up before you go over too far.

Something I have learned from operating fork lifts at work carrying very heavy peices of equipment is to always back down grade when loaded. Granted things are different on a fork truck vs a tractor (big wheels, power, and brakes up front instead of out back) but the same principle applies.

 

[Jeff396]

Did you get you rear tires loaded with liquid of some kind.....windshield washer fluid, beet juice etc.? I know my B7500 is a different animal but with the tires loaded, I have only felt the need for 3 pt weight when lifting the heaviest loads of dirt and even then it's when I'm nose down somewhere. When I bought my tractor, my delaer loaded the tires automatically when a fel was purchased.

Jeff

 

[art]

If you don't have some type of rear ballast with a loader you should. That should take care of your problem.

 

[r0GuE]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( If you don't have some type of rear ballast with a loader you should. That should take care of your problem. )</font>

Yeah, and get some ballast on the back! /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[TresCrows]

Almost all tractors require rear ballast when using the FEL near it's full capacity. Rear ballast can be a rear weight box or a box blade or such as that. My 2410 and BX both become unstable with full loads in the bucket, I now always use ballast. J

 

[RonR]

When I brought home my box blade, it was in the back of my pickup.

I was standing to the right of the tractor, hooked the chains to the bucket to lift it up so I could drive the pickup out. As I lifted the loader, the chains became taunt, the rear wheels of the tractor came off the ground.

Having no ballast on the rear and me not in the seat (I tend to think of my self as mostly ballast--a lot of ballast!), the box blade would raise the rear of the tractor.

Lesson learned for me.
Ron

 

[drcollie]

I've got a BX22 (same tractor as yours but with a backhoe). I can load up the FEL to beyond rating capacity when the backhoe is attached and it handles nicely with lots of stability, even at high lift levels.

Take the backhoe off the tractor and carry even light loads in the FEL with nothing on the back, and it's a terror. As others have said, you must have something on the back...either a ballast box, an attachment like a chipper, or aereator, or even a landscape rake. SOMETHING. It's hazardous to use the FEL without the rear weight.

-Duane C.

 

[Tom_H]

Ditto to everthing above. The BX has a low Center of Gravity but because of its low mass, it's easy to shift the CG. Three easy ways to roll the tractor with the FEL full: lift it too high, have no counter weight, turn too quickly/sharply (esp. on a grade). Do more than one of these simultaneously & the danger multiplies logrithmically. Recommendations: put counterweight on 3ph, keep FEL as low as possible during transit, turn gently & slowly, be kind to hubby but listen to your instinct more than him. Unless I had lots of manuvering room & flat ground, not so sure I'd use MMM as "training wheels"-not really what it's designed for; do the other things instead.

 

[Handymam]

Great info everyone! Thanks a bunch.

HMMM....3pt weights or fill the tires....
Is there a reason that I WOULDN't want to fill up the tires for ballast?
Is the ride or track marks or something else adversely affected?
Finally, What is the best liquid to use and how do you get it in there?

 

[Junkman]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Great info everyone! Thanks a bunch.

HMMM....3pt weights or fill the tires....
Is there a reason that I WOULDN't want to fill up the tires for ballast?)</font>

NO

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Is the ride or track marks or something else adversely affected)</font>

Yes.... the ride is smoother, but depending on the type of tires you have, your tractoring skills, you might tear the turf if you are not careful when turning.)</font>

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Finally, What is the best liquid to use and how do you get it in there? )</font>

Rim Guard is the trademarked name and beet juice is the common term. Both are the same and many tractor dealers can do the service for you. This product is non corrosive to metal and is environment friendly.

Question for you.. Why don't you fill out your profile so we know more about you and that information can help us to better advise you in the future. An example of this might be the name of a dealer near you that installs Rim Guard

 

[Handymam]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Question for you.. Why don't you fill out your profile so we know more about you and that information can help us to better advise you in the future.
)</font>

Done! Thanks again.

 

[TresCrows]

I don't have filled tires on either of my tractors. I have come close to doing it several times but I am afraid it will cause death and destruction to my grass. There are times I wish they were filled. Wheel weights are another option, they can be removed.
Let me just say this--do not operate a tractor with a full bucket and no ballast. Especially do not lift the loader more than a foot or so as raising the loader to full height could turn the tractor over when it is without ballast. Always wear your belt. Keep the bucket as low as possible all the time, even with ballast and stay off side slopes. All tractrs can be deadly dangerous if operated incorrectly, even the friendly little BX. My BX has snapped treated 4X4 posts like they were tooth picks and knocked down whole sections of fence, it did a wheelie once when dragging a tree and I had the chain secured ABOVE the center of the rear wheels--a big no, no /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif. Do not put large heavy objects like landscape timbers in the bucket and lift them up high--they can slide down the loader frame and right onto the operator--that being you I can assure you it will result in a painfull hospital stay or worse /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif. The BX is not a "glorified lawnmower" as is popular to say, it is a subcompact TRACTOR and should be treated with respect or one might be sorry for not having done so. J

 

[RonR]

Good points Tres!

I recall a docter in our area (many years ago) moving round bales on his farm with his front end loader. He wasn't using a fork or spear, but was in the bucket somehow. He was raising the bale while backing up. His head was turned as he was backing.

The bale got too high, rolled out of the bucket, crushed him in the seat, breaking his back. He survived, but was paralized.

Moral: Keep your eyes on the bucket all the time if something is in it....

Ron

 

[DannyD]

We had a gentleman in my town about 8 years ago, turned his full size tractor over on himself pulling a pile of brush. Seems it got stuck on something and he just gunned it a bit too much.....tractor flipped over backwards with him and crushed him.

Safety is first, because when make it second, we might not like the first that takes it's place