One stuck Boomer!!!

[gmason]

I've done it again /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif I've buried my TC35 Boomer. Last week I was moving a few pieces of firewood from the backside of the house and as I started up the hill the wheels just fell through the surface of the ground and sunk. I had gone over this area once earlier and it seemed solid enough. But twice...NOPE! I had to leave it there through an ice storm and another recent rain.

Yesterday, I tried to dig some of it out and channel the water away. I have access to a few large trees to chain the loader to and use the bucket to help pull me out.

I will have to shore-up the wheels since it's sunk to the axle now.

Here's my plan. first to use the loader to lift the front wheels off the ground and put some planks under them. Then I need to get the rears up higher. I'm probably going to have back up a bit to get something under them.

I'll attach a few pictures tonight so that ya'll can see my dilemma.
thanks
gary

 

[thcri]

Gary,

Please do post some pictures. One of the other guys here in an earlier post said to chain a 4 x 4 block to your back wheel or wheels. Watch out for the tire core though, if you can get a chain through. Sounded like a good idea to me. All in all though it could be safety issue. If you only blocking one tire you may have to use your other brake to prevent that wheel from spinning. Lucky you have a loader, that will help you tremendously

Good Luck
Murph

 

[tc35dforme]

Gary, No access to a winch or come-a-long ?? With trees to grab to, a winch would be a piece of cake. A steady pull is better than trying to 'wheel' it out.

For my money, before I'd go and chain a board to my wheel and subject the tractor to some unusual stresses, I'd call in a tow truck and pay the $75. Sure beats dealing with some hefty damage and 'wasting' a bunch of time.

Just my thought.

 

[thcri]

Gary,

I do like tc35forme's idea better if you can. I only added to what you were doing from another post. If raising the front wheels and then putting a bridge under them and the blocking idea is you only way out then it must be. As I said it would kind of be a safety issue. I only added to your post based on a post I read a while back. The block idea has to be a last resort. I don't think I would ever really do it myself.


ps: I hope I didn't steer anyone wrong.
Murph

 

[ScottAR]

Many farmers have been killed tying timbers to the tires. My dad did it on the farm years ago but I'd never try it.

 

[herbenus]

I've always wondered about this. Is there any documentation showing "farmers have been killed"? Or has anyone direct experience? This method has been mentioned many times but I don't recall anyone actually talking about fatalities. I'd be worried about getting hit in back of head. But I guess danger is really in flipping?

 

[beenthere]

Years ago the farm tractors did not have ROPS and sometimes not even fenders. Chaining a timber to the wheels sometimes would mean that it would come around the back and hit the operator, making it uncomfortable, to say the least. Now with the ROPS, the timber would be stopped before hitting the operator, but may ding up some paint and lights and other pretty things. Not fun. Tipping the tractor over backwards is another problem, but unless one knows just what they are doing and what the reactions will be, I wouldn't recommend chaining a timber to the wheels. My last experience with a tractor mired in the Iowa spring mud was when I was 14 years old (50 years ago!) , and there were no trees around. The planks chained to the rear wheels and moving very carefully did the trick. Once the rear wheels were up, then laying a plank "road" to get away from the mud was the "way" to get out.

 

[thcri]

Please everyone, don't do what I mentioned above. I got to believe it is a serious safety issue and I would not want anyone to say, "Well Murph said we could do it". I really think any safety director would just chew us out good if heard of that option.

That was an option listed in another post someplace and I kind of thought, good idea, but the more I think of it, the more I don't like it.

Murph

 

[gmason]

here's first pic

 

[gmason]

another looking up the hill to the chain tree

 

[gmason]

left rear wheel

 

[gmason]

rear end

 

[MossRoad]

That doesn't look too bad, but could be the angles. How far can you go backwards, or does it just keep getting deeper and steeper the farther back you go?

 

[Steelfan]

Hi, Maybe, I'm out of my league here, but what I would do is put 2 heavy planks under the rear tires as far as I could. The tractor may creep out of the hole if the ground is solid behind it. Also this gives you one other bit of help. It lowers the FEL. There is a chance that your fel will be able to either add weight to the rears, or push you out of the hole. Also I'm not sure about your bigger tractor, but my little guy (TC21D) has a rearend lock for these things. Its the foot pedal by the fender on the left side. If all this fails, hook a chain to the nearest tree, and buy a come-along. Pull the tractor out the old fashion way. This is just my thoughts, but I think one of them will work for you. Only my $.02.

Kent

 

[bigpete]

It looks like there's a nice little spot about 50 feet up that hill that would be a much better place to sit in the tractor seat and eat tomorrow's lunch. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[em14]

Once upon a time long, long ago we used the "chain a log" to the rear wheels method ... it was the last resort to get a tractor out of the mud ... We always put the tractor in reverse ONLY .. that way the log would hit the chassis of the tractor and not the operator if you allowed the wheels to rotate to much... once the rear wheels where out of the mud we would lay logs, brush, or boards under the wheels, remove the chains holding the log and slowly back out … we sometimes had to do this with trucks … and yes this can be dangerous … but if you will make sure and use reverse only and move very slowly you can lower the danger ….
Leo

 

[herbenus]

"Reverse only". Now that's a good idea. You're just trying to lift the tractor up, and get something under it. Then park it and wait for suitably dry ground.

 

[thcri]

One other option,

Put your chain or cable on before you know your going to get stuck. You see then you don't have to climb down in the mud or anything like that. But you must make sure you both go at the same time. This one is hillarious, thank god it wasn't me on either end. But if you wanted to see a bunch of grown men laugh, this was the place to be.

Notice he isn't sitting on the seat no more.

Murph

 

[gmason]

Mossroad, I can only go back about 8-10' til I run up against another tree. That's sorta where I started out and pulled myself to this point using the FEL and a chain til it sank right here.
Going backward and laying planks is what I thought about until I can get the tractor on top, then fill-in the holes and plank my way forward. Some spots are so soft that just walking on them I sink in over my boots.
gary

 

[gmason]

bigpete, yes you are correct, about 50' up there's a nice dry firm spot, the tires wouldn't even scratch the ground, but the problem is that the longer I wait the wetter it's going to get.

We have been getting rain/snow about every 3-4days now thanks to el nino, and where the tractor is sits at a low spot of about 30ac where water will drain down through the soil 7-10days after a rain. Where I've trenched to channel the water, it's still flowing a almost the same rate that it did 2 days ago.

I think I just need to get it on top of the soil and pull it out slowly with my chains. I have about 30' to cover til I reach solid ground and about a 5-6' rise.

gary