Loader FEL damage possible/likely?

[k0ua]

When I lived in open country, I just relied on an implement on the rear (mower) for ballast, and it worked fine, now that I live in the woods, I made a ballast barrel, It is much shorter, and a lot easier to not have to worry about hitting trees all the time. It also is used to hold handle tools and chains, extra water etc. Do a search for ballast and come up with dozens of ideas.:thumbsup:

James K0UA

 

[IslandTractor]

One point that has not been made: it is probably best to be aggressive while driving forward with the ratchet rake. Not much damage you can do so long as you start in low range and push/scrape until the tractor stops. In reverse however it is possible to damage the extended FEL hydraulic cylinders as they are not designed/engineered for that "pulling" force. Snagging a stump or rock while moving in reverse is potentially more harmful to the FEL than stalling against the same object while moving forwards. It is fine to use reverse with the RR to drag debris and smooth the land. I also have a RR and find that using it this way is quite effective. You don't need to be fussy, the FEL will certainly tolerate scaping in reverse but I think it is sensible to do aggressive work in forward. (I define aggressive as when you push into something that is likely to "stall" your forward progress).