Is it safe

[DIRTCUTTER]

Ck 30 hst w/ Bh and box
Is it safe to operate my ck30 without attachments like my BH or Box. I will be using the front loader to pickup rocks all about the size of a standard suitcase. I need to get into some tight places.

 

[IslandTractor]

I imagine rocks the size of a suitcase would weigh 500+lbs. If you had loaded rear tires (about 600-700lbs I recall) that should give you pretty good balance. Also, with rocks there is no particular reason to lift them very high unless you are loading them on a truck and you'll be stationary when you do that. I'd think it would be safe so long as you have some sort of weight on the rear of the tractor like loaded tires. If you don't you could add or fabricate a simple weight box for the 3pt which would only extend off the rear by a foot or so.

 

[driver444]

Something else you might want to avoid doing... ...Sometimes when carrying things that are very heavy without rear weight, the tractor will pick up the rear wheels are pivot to one side on the front axle when you try to stop too quickly, or try to stop while facing downhill.

I'va had this happen more than once, and its scary. To avoid this...

1. Keep the load low
2. travel very slowly
3. Keep your hand on the joystick, and be ready to instantly drop the bucket if you get unstable

 

[IslandTractor]

Agree. Keep that load low while traveling.

 

[Highbeam]

Keep it in 4wd since if the rear end comes up you will lose your braking ability if in RWD. Keep the load low is the other big one. Also go slow to prevent bouncing which may bounce the rear tires off the ground.

I've done it alot.

 

[PaPaGus]

Keep it in 4wd since if the rear end comes up you will lose your braking ability if in RWD. Keep the load low is the other big one. Also go slow to prevent bouncing which may bounce the rear tires off the ground.

I've done it alot.

You know Highbeam that is something that most people including myself wouldn't have paid attention too....Great thought and I know I will store that in the section of the brain that still works properly.

Bruce

 

[Grrrr]

Keep it in 4wd since if the rear end comes up you will lose your braking ability if in RWD. Keep the load low is the other big one. Also go slow to prevent bouncing which may bounce the rear tires off the ground.
I've done it alot.

You know Highbeam that is something that most people including myself wouldn't have paid attention too....Great thought and I know I will store that in the section of the brain that still works properly.

Bruce

This is one of the major benefits of having a 4 wheel drive loader tractor. Makes drivng down hill with a load on the FEL much safer.

 

[Highbeam]

The downhill run without brakes and teetering on the front tires is a scary thought much like the thought of driving your tractor up onto the bumper pull trailer and having the rear end of the truck lift up off the ground. If the truck's rear end lifts up (remember both P-brake and transmission only affect that rear axle) then the whole trailer/truck combo can roll away with you halfway up the ramps. In both cases there are ways to stop the runaway by either dropping the loaded bucket or by backing off the trailer but the potential for a wreck is huge.

 

[crabjoe]

If your going down hill and you brake, because your rear tires come off the ground, wouldn't you end up doing an endo? Wouldn't it be safer to drop drop the FEL to the ground??

I've never flipped forward or backwards, but my buddy has a few times in his Skid Steer. He says it ain't fun, but I don't see how he never ends up doing any damage to his equipment.

If a tractor flip forward enough to sit on the FEL and the front tire, would there be much damage, if any??

 

[IslandTractor]

It would be pretty hard to do an "endo" in a tractor going forwards especially if you had an FEL. The FEL would hit the ground and prevent a flip. More likely, in the scenario discussed here, the too light rear would allow the tractor to pick up speed until you veered out of control into an object or turned so that the tractor flipped sideways and rolled. Nasty. Tractors can flip over backwards when pulling a heavy or immovable object with an attachment point that is above the rear axle. There are a number of discussions about that phenomenon on TBN you could find by searching.