Driving tractor with the front end loader bucket elevated .

[RidgeTopWVA]

why even have the bucket on in first place...you can't see where your're going....

Just speaking for myself I can see fine , with my particular tractor the bucket has been on my tractor for 21 yrs , my tractor would be of little value to me myself with out the bucket along with 4WD and hydro transmission and a Fransguard skidding winch on the back but I cannot speak for anyone else. I have a 4 in 1 bucket and it is very essential to me .
Again that is what works for me with my particular needs.

 

[BubbaLouie]

I have noticed some people driving there tractors with the front end loader bucket about 3' to 4'ft
off of the ground while mowing or brush hogging and I am wondering why some people do so . I always keep the bucket low to the ground .

If you're bush hogging, and near a fence, having the FEL up keeps it from smacking the fence when you turn. It goes over the fence. Don't ask me how I know.

 

[RidgeTopWVA]

If you're bush hogging, and near a fence, having the FEL up keeps it from smacking the fence when you turn. It goes over the fence. Don't ask me how I know.

 

[SwingOak]

As others have said, I will raise the bucket up for two reasons - to clear fencposts and avoid knocking seed heads and clogging up the radiator and transmission cooler. Otherwise, I take the bucket off, but will still keep if higher around fence posts and above the tops of the grass.

I did brush hog a new field a couple of years ago, made sure I mowed early the first time so the grass was low and ran the bucket on the ground tilted back a little and in float. Found big rocks, a tire or two, cinder blocks, and some fenceposts and car parts with the bucket instead of the mower.

 

[Ed Weber]

I see people driving with the bucket up all the time and all I can say is they don't understand.
The examples above for pushing down grass are intentional and provide a function but you see people just tooling along with the bucket 5'-6' in the air for no reason.
If you can't see over it or don't know where it is, either take it off or get off the tractor.
Most times mowing I do the same as scootr. SSQA takes less than a minute to remove.

 

[diesel85]

When I was very young, a fellow down the street was bush hogging their property. They had their loader raised all the way up and one of their front tires went into a hidden hole, and the tractor tipped over.

The operator got lucky and only ended up with a broken rib and a broken arm.

He said it happened like slow motion, all he knew is that the tractor started rolling over and blacked out after that.

When doing a lot of farming, I tested this to see if it really happens, and yep, the tractor gets unbalanced when that loader is all the way up even with nothing in it. Same with my BX. While I never rolled over, I knew that 1/2 way lifted is the max you want unless you were actually doing loader work.

I mow with my loader on, and I only lift it when I need to get around objects and take it easy on the turns. After, I lower it back down.

 

[beenthere]

I have noticed some people driving there tractors with the front end loader bucket about 3' to 4'ft
off of the ground while mowing or brush hogging and I am wondering why some people do so . I always keep the bucket low to the ground .

Depends, IMO, what you are mowing and what you want the bucket to do or not do for you.
I wouldn't worry about what others are doing, but figure out what I want the bucket to do ahead of my tractor. Could be knock down dead limbs, or allow me to see what is ahead if the bucket is up. Usually mine is low enough I can see over it, but it all depends on what is or might be out front.

 

[Jstpssng]

I'm one of the few many who have got stuck and needed the bucket to curl myself backward out of the hole

You made a slight error, but I fixed it for you. On a couple of occasions I've had to put a chain on the bucket with the other end on a tree... NOT a safe practice if the chain breaks or the weld on the bucket hook lets go.

 

[diesel85]

You made a slight error, but I fixed it for you. On a couple of occasions I've had to put a chain on the bucket with the other end on a tree... NOT a safe practice if the chain breaks or the weld on the bucket hook lets go.

I've done the old axle trick with the chain and tree to get unstuck. That works really well. No need to carry a winch.

 

[bearthebruce]

We mow a pretty steep hill - 15 acres.. First time mowing, we did not have a FEL. Like someone else, we were hoggin 10' material - could not see what was on the ground nor how the ground was shaped.

Went super slow..

Found lots of scarey stuff in the field. The previous owner had a passion for rock piles. He made them about 18" above the ground. You might say they were fun surprises to find!

The next year we put a FEL on the tractor and ran the field with the bucket low and curled for stability on the hills and as a braille method to find those damn rock piles.

By the third year, had a great idea of the lay of the field and wanted better vision. Dropped the bucket from the SSQA but wanted some weight out front on the arms so we run the fork frame without forks. Gives just the right stability and still allows the braille method when needed. As I am training others to run the field so I don't do all the mowing, I always suggest the fork frame be 12" off the ground. Doing so keeps them from trouble on the rock piles on a steep hill.

Arms up high? Not on these hills. Arms are put up around fences and speed is reduced to Turttle-1! We do not operate with arms up on hills. Ask how we learned... tippy tractors cause a lot seat pucker.