CK30 - left wheel up with loader up

Bill McGonigle · May 30, 2011

Hi, all. Been watching for a while, first post. You guys convinced me to get a CK30 (gear) last winter, learned to run it in the snow, now I'm doing some digging.

I'm in the process of digging into a hill for what will eventually be a slab for a chicken coop. I'm in New Hampshire, so we don't have any flat spots unless you make 'em. The area I'm working in has lots of 'muck' on top of the dirt so I'm digging in a few feet to get to the good dirt for putting a slab/drainage/insulation on.

Anyhow, I've made a little ramp to get down into the area, I'm digging into the hill with the bucket, taking out a scoop of the muck and backing it up the ramp (1st/Low, 4WD). Here's where it gets tricky - and I don't understand what's going on.

Sometimes, not all the time, when I back up the ramp, I wind up with the left rear wheel up in the air. It doesn't feel safe. I've figured out I need a ballast box tonight (I do have loaded tires) - I'll get on that this week.

What's odd (probably because I don't understand it) is that if I drop the FEL, the left wheel goes down. I can then pick the FEL back up to the same point it was at before and continue out, safely. This seems to happen with or without the differential lock engaged. I'm more attuned to the problem at this point so I can stop it earlier but it's still not right.

So, aside from needing the ballast, any ideas why this would happen sometimes but not others? I've got to be doing something different/wrong but I don't know what. Also, what's going on inside the tractor that would bring the wheel down when I drop the FEL? I'm not sure if this is just something that happens or if there might be something not functioning correctly. I've got 21 hours on it, hopefully 25 before the weekend is up. My dealer is great (heck, I bought from him after seeing how helpful he was here), but since it's the long weekend I figured I'd ask here.

jpm1 · May 30, 2011

Welcome Bill, sounds to me the "Muck" in the bucket is just a bit more than the tractor can handle and with loaded tires in the back they will still come up in the back. If your bucket is loaded un-evenly that will do it, and when you drop it and raise it back up it probably levels out and every thing is fine. Yesterday i took a break from mowing and i went for some topsoil in a swamp. when i scooped up a bucket load both tires came up in the back even though they are loaded with rimguard and a 6 foot finish mower on the back. After dumping some out of the bucket, the front wheels on my DK35SE Hst went out of sight and we went no where so i'm out of business for now trying to get good black topsoil. Personally i would load a little lighter in the bucket and before i backed up very far shake the bucket by curling it back a couple of times and you will find all 4 tires are on the ground. . . .Good luck, John

k0ua · May 30, 2011

Its pretty simple really, you need more ballast on the rear. Remember the front axle is on a single pivot, so if the ground slopes a little or your bucket is not loaded exactly evenly it will always tilt to one side or the other. anytime you raise either or both rear tires you are way way too light in the rear end. Obviously when you drop the bucket, the weight on the front axle reduces and you stop "levering" the rear off of the ground. If you did not have 4wd you would not even be able to move the tractor. You need at least 600 or more lbs on the rear.. What do you have on the 3pt hitch now?

James K0UA

SixHoeBob · May 30, 2011

The engine power is transfered through the drive train to the front and rear axles. The rear drive line is all enclosed in fixed castings. I.e. engine, transmission, rear axle. The front drive line is essentially two fixed castings, connected by the front axle oscillation pin. I.e. engine, transmission, pivot point, front axle. The torque of the front drive shaft causes the tractor to lean over.

Add a lot of ballast to your rubber tired bulldozer and you will be fine.

The down side to more traction, is broken parts. If you force the tractor to dig more than it was designed for. it may break.

You need rear ballast

donn12 · May 30, 2011

Im sure you know this but keep the loader as close to the ground as possible when backing up. Very few bad things happen when you get one wheel 3 inches up but if you get one 30 inches up it is hard not to flip.