lifting arms bend easily

[Randaroo]

Anybody else having this problem?

Snow clearing with a V blade , new machine, first day out hit a manhole cover and slightly bent/twisted the lifting arm(s)
We're able to straighten them in the shop by chaining down the oposite side of the yoke and lifting with the overhead crane, the whole machine lifted so we also chained the machine down and that did it.
However the next day a small clip of another lip edge of a submerged item re-twisted the arm.
Are these arms weak and/or under designed? It looks that when the arms are down and the plow is in the working position that the rotational force to failure would be easy to achieve, same problem when scraping with a bucket.
Is thier a Bobcat technician out there that dares offer an opinion?
The arms could be designed to be much wider apart allowing the 'twisting" motion at the bottom of their arc to be less likly to cause this problem, something like the rest of the skid-steer loaders.
I'm curious if others are suffering this issue.

 

[dsb5610]

Randaroo,

I've never heard of anyone tweaking the boom. Are you running in float mode when it happens? With the plow down is the boom all the way down?

When I use the bucket I usually put the boom in float. With the boom in float and the bucket curled up it doesn't touch the ground until I roll the bucket forward. I can't picture how I could twist the boom in this position but I guess I haven't looked at it with that in mind.

dsb

 

[dylan]

Hm, that is no fun. Sorry to hear about that. Does your V blade have a trip edge? Could you run urethane on the edge if it does not have a trip. the urethane will glide right over manholes.

i don't like to use the bucket in the winter for snow removal because i don't like the quick stops that come from hitting things. come to think of it, that's why i don't like using my snowblower either. My plow, pusher box and sweeper all just go right over obstacles with no problem.

Just so you know you are not alone, my buddy bent the three point hitch hook up on his brand new, less than one hour old snowblower.

Good luck dylan

 

[Westendorf-RR]

Randaroo,

I've never heard of anyone tweaking the boom. Are you running in float mode when it happens? With the plow down is the boom all the way down?

When I use the bucket I usually put the boom in float. With the boom in float and the bucket curled up it doesn't touch the ground until I roll the bucket forward. I can't picture how I could twist the boom in this position but I guess I haven't looked at it with that in mind.

dsb

Whether you had the unit in float was my first thought too. The second is how wide is that v-plow? The wider the attachment, the more chance of twisting the booms... Are there adjustment or floater plates on the V-plow to help it float over the ground, do they need to be lowered?

 

[theoshin]

width does matter significanlty from a rotational force mathematical standpoint. i think that is one reason why the tc is approved only for narrow buckets. i also wondered about bending the arms when a push my blower which is 1000lbs. problem is once they bend it is more likely to happen again.

thx
ted

 

[radman1]

Having the boom toward the middle is going to make it more prone to twisting. If you want visibility on a toolcat, it it difficult to design conventional lift arms like on a FEL or skid steer with the view of the arm directly in front of you. If you push snow with a plow/toolcat weighing about 6K at several mph and hit an obstacle, something usually either gives or breaks - especially if it is a corner. Hopefully, the plow will trip or the unit stops before something breaks or bends. I wouldn't want to to hit an object moving fast with the corner of the bucket on a toolcat. JCB skid steers have a single lift arm which is heavy built but still probably more prone to bending or twisting.

 

[Randaroo]

the V-blade was supplied as part of the package from the dealer. it is the one pictured in the advertising and, I assume, speced for this machine.
As to the "floater shoes", they have never lasted more that a day in the municipal environment. We plow about 30 kilometers of pavement per shift with these things, as well the cutting edge supplied was only good for two shifts and had to be flipped. We order much thicker and harder cutting edge(1/2") than suppied frrm the manufaturer, Kwick-Way with a Bobcat sticker on it.

thank you for your suggestions and experiences. i guess this machine may prove to be too lightly speced for municipal snowclearing purposes, unfortunatly it is new , paid for, and on a 5 year replacement program.

I'm sure this will come up more frequently than bobcat expected but in a municipal environment is where the testing should have taken place. i have a "trackless" machine and a JCB 212 with sander and the same front blade on it. I would prefere the advantages of the Toolcat, there are many, but may have to go back to another Trackless or JCB 212 if i want to keep the plow on the ground and the machine out of the repair shop.