Grading Front loader use questions.

[Cherokee140]

Most of you guys know I am new at this.....so forgive me if this is a silly or stupid question.

On the front loader on my machine you can make it push down hard enough to lift up the nose of the tractor. I just got this ratchet rake thingy (see day in the life thread, driveway maint. in general operating section) and I push down so hard it makes nose lift up....then I will drive forward or backward. Is this hard on the tractor itself...transmission? or the loader. I know you have no steering...no individual brakes on this machine. But is it hard on the machine. I also sometimes do this when using the backhoe.

We also have some VERY LARGE vines all in the trees....I can usually lift the loader up and hook the vine and pull down and backup....the tractor really works....is this hard on the machine.

thanks.

 

[k0ua]

Most of you guys know I am new at this.....so forgive me if this is a silly or stupid question.

On the front loader on my machine you can make it push down hard enough to lift up the nose of the tractor. I just got this ratchet rake thingy (see day in the life thread, driveway maint. in general operating section) and I push down so hard it makes nose lift up....then I will drive forward or backward. Is this hard on the tractor itself...transmission? or the loader. I know you have no steering...no individual brakes on this machine. But is it hard on the machine. I also sometimes do this when using the backhoe.

We also have some VERY LARGE vines all in the trees....I can usually lift the loader up and hook the vine and pull down and backup....the tractor really works....is this hard on the machine.

thanks.

Well, others may disagree, but in general no, not too much problem with your machine. It is possible to overpressure a hydraulic hose and rupture it, and it is possible to bend a hydraulic cylinder by backdragging, with the blade nearly vertical but I have done it, and broken nothing. Just use common sense and try not to overstress things. As for pulling the grape vines, you will probably just loose traction before anything breaks. If you had a bigger tractor you could pull the vine and your tractor would not even know it was hooked up to it Just had to throw that in, you know you deserved that All machines have limitations, and you can do what you can do. You are getting a lot of work done with the size of machine you have, it is just a bigger one would do more quicker.

 

[hhsco]

Do you have a "float" function on your loader? You can keep some weight on the front axle and off the loader arms using the flat while not digging in more than necessary. That said I've lifted myself off the ground many many times and although it just does "seem right" I've never had a stress problem from doing it. That's just my experience.

 

[kcender]

One thing I noticed in your introductory thread was a photo of you using the backhoe with bucket in full dump position.In my opinion this can lead to excessive forces on your loader and possibly lead to problems.When using the backhoe the FEL bucket should be placed flat on the ground to avoid unnecessary stress on your bucket cylinder.Just some friendly advice,I did the same thing with my first tractor.

 

[Baby Grand]

I try to avoid any heavy "pulling" loads when using the FEL and moving in reverse.
If backdragging, I do it in "float" position, so the bucket can move over obstacles.
If I have something that's really stubborn, I turn around and hitch to the drawbar.
By drawbar I mean that thing under the rear axle, not the one attached to the 3pt hitch.

 

[Cherokee140]

To answer a few questions....and try to clear some things up starting at the top and working my way down.

I scared the crap out of myself in trying to pull vines out of trees....I am just amazed how strong they are....I was doing it with the 8n and a pull rope for pulling cars. The tires on the 8n I think are as old as the machine and they just did not grip....I would get a little bit but then they would dig in and spin....hay I have that 70...lets hook it to that....the front end on that thing came up so fast....and it has a hand clutch that took me a minute to think about....never again....we started cutting them down as high as we could reach....but you can't lean a ladder to the three as you will climb into the thorns very fast. Going backward was the best way I found to keep all wheels on the ground. I need to post up pictures of those other two tractors. If you go in front ways...use the bucket to kinda clear the way....then you can drop the bucket and clear...get a little further in each time.

Manual says it has a float but that would seem to be against what I want to do...I want the pressure to push down and pull out that brush. Manual also says the loader bucket cutting edge should be lowered vertically into the ground surface. This will assist the stabilizers. Page 67 As I read it that mead the end of the bucket points down....am I wrong? I know I was lazy and did not do it every time....but I thought that is how it should be done.

I know many think I am....stubborn .... but I really don't mean to push call into question anyones advice here....I am just not really clear. I don't want to tear it up.

 

[murphy1244]

Give us a picture of what your doing?

 

[J F]

Post the video of what you're doing. (I'm not crazy, right? I'm pretty sure it was your (op) video of this stuff). It's been very interesting/informative watching what you're doing. :thumbsup:

 

[Cherokee140]

Post the video of what you're doing. (I'm not crazy, right? I'm pretty sure it was your (op) video of this stuff). It's been very interesting/informative watching what you're doing. :thumbsup:

You only have to watch the first 30sec of this video.

 

[motownbrowne]

If you haven't tried the float position, give it a shot. If you want it to dig more, tilt the bucket down, to float, tilt it up a little. It's amazing what a degree or two of tilt does with an implement like that. I don't think anything looked wrong with your video, float is just a good technique to use in some situations. Give it a try.

 

[kcender]

I think you are referring to my post about the bucket being vertical to help the stabilizers.I don't know what the manual recommends but putting the bucket in full dump position,when using the backhoe,will cause it to anchor itself more.This can be bad if you swing the rear of the tractor sideways with the backhoe.Think of the stresses this would put on your loader and the extended bucket cylinder when the bucket wants to move sideways,but can't.If the bucket is laying flat on the ground it will slide around and cause less stress on the loader but still stabilize the front of the tractor.When I had my L3240 with FEL and backhoe I managed to break the FEL loader mount completely in two pieces by swinging the rear of the tractor with the backhoe.This was with the bucket laying flat but it got caught on a rock.This will give you an idea of what can happen by having the FEL bucket dug into the ground when using the backhoe.These machines are tough but can still be damaged.

 

[Code54]

When using my ratchet rake I personally use some down pressure and normally only use "float" for leveling. I am using a larger machine with the rake so I don't worry too much about tweaking the loader but just push down enough that most of the weight is off the front tires. I lose about 70% of the steering and mostly make multiple passes but it seems to be a safe and very effective system.
A lot of it just takes practice and seeing what works best for you, your machine, and exact situation. Good luck on your project!

 

[rbarker]

You only have to watch the first 30sec of this video. YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qh-is3NOhDU

The only point I would make is that you don't get any more downward force whether your front tires are 1 inch off the ground or 3 feet off the ground so I would tend not to push it up so far. Better stability and quicker recovery should something go amiss.

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[Cherokee140]

The only point I would make is that you don't get any more downward force whether your front tires are 1 inch off the ground or 3 feet off the ground so I would tend not to push it up so far. Better stability and quicker recovery should something go amiss.

Sent from my iPad using TractorByNet

Thanks, with this machine not having rear brakes you can use one at a time it is not going to steer....doing this before on other machines I just step on one brake to make the nose swing in that direction.

Kcender...I see what you are saying, but I am still a little unclear how you broke swinging the backhoe....is it the motion of digging a little off to the side.....or is it swinging the backhoe to one side to dump the dug up dirt.

Thanks for the advice on all this.

 

[coveredbridge]

Thanks, with this machine not having rear brakes you can use one at a time it is not going to steer....doing this before on other machines I just step on one brake to make the nose swing in that direction.

Kcender...I see what you are saying, but I am still a little unclear how you broke swinging the backhoe....is it the motion of digging a little off to the side.....or is it swinging the backhoe to one side to dump the dug up dirt.

Thanks for the advice on all this.

Sounds like Kcender was using the hoe to raise the rear wheels and move the rear end of the tractor by swinging the hoe with the boom holding up the rear of the tractor.

 

[kcender]

Sounds like Kcender was using the hoe to raise the rear wheels and move the rear end of the tractor by swinging the hoe with the boom holding up the rear of the tractor.

That is pretty much what happened but I think after doing it numerous times,it just finally broke.If you are using the backhoe with the bucket in full dump position it tends to work itself into the ground from the normal movements of using the backhoe.If you try to reposition the rear of the tractor with the backhoe,and I think most of us do,the bucket becomes a pivot point.If the bucket is anchored in the ground it will cause stress on the loader and bucket.If the bucket is laying flat it will just slide around.Most people will never have the problem I did,regardless of how they place their bucket,but I think it is good practice to place the FEL bucket flat on the ground when using the backhoe.

 

[Redneck in training]

You only have to watch the first 30sec of this video.

If it would be me I would use a bushhog to clean the place. My method is to push the mower in the bushes in reverse. If there is a bigger tree I lift the mower reverse over the tree and lower on it. I think mowing it is quicker and you don't need to clean up.

 

[cletus99]

If it would be me I would use a bushhog to clean the place. My method is to push the mower in the bushes in reverse. If there is a bigger tree I lift the mower reverse over the tree and lower on it. I think mowing it is quicker and you don't need to clean up.

That's what I was thinking. Why not just run a rotary mower over it and then spray some roundup down?

 

[Gary Fowler]

Watching the video, the first pass was optimal with just barely lifting the front wheels, while the second had way too much lift which wasn't helping any more than just barely lifting. Another thing was when you tilted the FEL bucket down to run forward, this could end up damaging your machine if you hit a rock or root. With the ratchet rake, having the bottom of the bucket flat gives you the most tooth contact and less chance of damage to the machine.
As for anchoring the machine when using the backhoe, there is nothing wrong with putting the FEL in full dump to anchor it when digging, just remember to drop the tires back on the ground if you are going to swing the rear around using the backhoe to avoid the Kcender incident. In some instances when facing down hill, you may need to have the bucket in full dump just to be able to level the tractor. TLBs always work better when level in all directions.

One thing that can help anchor the tractor when digging is to put some plates on the stabilizers so they bite into the ground. I recently saw an old thread about "Big Foot" bolt on stabilizer pads that basically form an inverted box that anchors the stabs to the ground in all directions. This was in 2008 and price was $65 per pad, but likely a bit more now. I just welded some 2" tall x 1/2" plate to my stabs on each side to keep it from sliding back. I has little effect on side motion though so I may just weld one on the side also. Since I have a welder, this is cheaper than the $130 for the Big Foot pads but those also are much larger and give more flotation in addition to stability. I could have used some flotation in some instances when the stabs would just sink into the mud.

 

[varmint]

No experience with a rake, but I would try using the float position (bucket weight alone might do the job) and a slight curl so the ground engaged teeth don't slip over the vines you have caught. That shouldn't break anything, and hopefully you can harvest your vines with little drama. Any lift of the front end will wipe out the traction your front tires could give you.