Newbie terror, need experienced advice

[Deepdrop]

I've watched dozens of videos about being safe on a tractor, but none of them prepared me for the reality of using my first tractor. I have a Kioti CX2510 (25hp CUT) and I've been using a grapple to move some large rocks around. Some of these rocks are probably 3-4 feet long and 2-3 feet wide and thick.

My rear wheels are loaded. When I lift the rock, I am careful to only lift it enough to clear the ground. Despite this, I've had several times when a rear wheel came off the ground and I do believe my tractor's color is now brown, not orange, if you get my drift. At least the seat is.

My property is hilly, but this has happened on very minimal slope. I never run across a slope, only directly up or down, although some small degree of sideways unevenness is inevitable.

I have my seatbelt on and the ROPS is up of course.

How dangerous is this? Am I in imminent danger when this happens? Each time, I've lowered the rock to the ground and the wheel comes down to the ground.

I don't have a backhoe so there is no additional rear weight.

I really don't want to die on my tractor, so I would be very grateful for advice.

 

[4570Man]

You need more rear weight.

 

[nybirdman]

You need smaller rocks or a bigger tractor!

 

[K5lwq]

Getting scared is a good thing. Most likely you will never have a problem because you are aware of the danger. However, you need to get some weight on the back of that tractor for the work you are doing. The front end is not designed to carry that kind of load.

 

[D2Cat]

Yes, you need more weight on your 3pt arms. I made a ballast out of weight off of an old weight machine and modified an old dirt scoop to get a 1000# ballast. You can purchase one, or get creative and build one.....but the backend of your teeter totter needs more weight.

 

[dodge man]

Ballast box can be cheap rear weight, you can fill it with all sorts of things, sand or gravel, concrete, I have old rotors and weight lifting weights in mine.

 

[Deepdrop]

OK, that makes sense. As an aside, I think it's a shame that these lessons are learned the hard way. I'm not trying to avoid my own responsibility to educate myself. but there is only so much you can learn watching youtube videos. I think there should be some responsibility for dealers to offer safety information. If they know it's your first purchase of a tractor, I think a good dealer would sit down and do a little teaching. I probably would have sprung for the next bigger model, and I also would have bought something for weight in the back. He would have sold more, and I would have avoided nearly leaving my kids without a father.
I've been toying with the idea of getting a box blade to try to smooth out some of the hills on my property. I don't even know if that's something a box blade can do, but would carrying a box blade be a significant help in terms of rear weight?
Alternatively, I could save up for a backhoe.
Which would be a better choice in terms of adding ballast for safety? Pros/cons of each?

 

[Big Barn]

When going downhill with a loaded FEL you should be travelling in reverse.

Travel forward up a hill with load.

 

[dodge man]

The owners manual most likely has a section on rear counterweights. My tractor is not that big and they call for loaded rear tires AND about 750 pounds of counterweight. I do not 100% understand the physics but the loaded tires do not help until they are actually starting to get picked up. Counterweight will help with the rocking forwards and backwards when traveling with a heavy load.

 

[ultrarunner]

Check operators manual...

These tractors are so versatile and conditions so varied it would be impossible to cover every possibility...

This is where TBN is priceless...