Tiltmeters-Why Not?

[dmccarty]

Bird,

I agree with everything you said about the Tiltmeters. And it is why I bought some.

The TIltmeter is a tool, nothing more. How an operator uses a tiltmeter could get them in trouble. Lets say that 20 degrees is the limit for a given tractor. The operator runs the tractor at the angle because its 20 degrees and its safe. But then they hit a small stone which gets them over 20 degrees and they get the Big Rollover. I think a Tiltmeter can be interpreted two ways. Ooops! I'm at 20 degrees I had better do something to get me under 20 degrees. OR, Yeah, I'm at 20 degrees, I'm still good to go. Its the operator's choice. I"ll be in the former group not the later.

One thing I did notice when I started using the Tiltmeter is that I have a highly edicated tilt meter in the seat of my pants. I can tell pretty much without looking at the Tiltmeter what slope I just bumped through. Course prior to having the Tiltmeter I could only say that was an ok bump or that was a bad bump. I could not say how close I was to 20 degrees. Unfortunetly I did not have a Tiltmeter when I was working on a slope and the seat of my pants told me the angle I hit was really bad. I would really like to know what angle that was but I'm not interested enough to try!

I'm almost always working on uneven and/or sloping ground. The tiltmeter helps me stay in the safety boundries I have set. A book I bought on a TBN recommendation that is about tracker, FEL, and backhoe operation states that TLB, Tractor Loader Backhoe machines are good up to 30 degrees of tilt. NOT WITH ME ON IT! Maybe the larger machines can do this but I'm not.....

By the way my fuel guage CAUSED me to run out of fuel the other day. The gauge said I had a quarter of a tank. NOT! I had just backed the tractor up to one of my huge stumps and put the FEL firmly on the ground. I was setting up the backup hoe when the engine said sputter, sputter, stall. 8-( Grrrr.... Course the truck with the fuel is 3/4 of a mile away round trip..... Off I walk. Get to the truck and I really don't want to move it down the hill so I carry the 5 gallons back to the tractor. Put said fuel in tank. Try to start. Engined starts but then dies.. Try again and again and again Starting to worry about running down the battery. Fittle with the fuel pump. Scratch my head. And end up walking back to the truck to get the manual. Now the JD is supposed to just crank up after running out of fuel. There is no special pump priming procedure like on my truck. I can't find anything in the manual that helps me. Decide I'm not walking back down the hill so I move the truck even though if I get the tractor started and put it in its usuall bedtime spot I'll have to walk back down the hill. Try one more time and hold the key over in the start position ever after it has cranked over. The engine finally starts and keeps running. YES! By now it is to late to start on the stump so I have nothing to look foward to BUT starting on the stump AND walking back down that hill!

Later....
Dan McCarty

 

[Gfsimon]

Hey All! I've been a lurker here for a long, long time. I've come very close several times in the last few years to buying a Kubota, but due to a variety of reasons (usually financial), couldn't swing it. Last Sunday my small green tractor caught fire and now I'm FORCED /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif to buy one (not that I'm complaining, but now it's a need rather than a want!/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif)

Anyway, I was trying to decide between the BX2200 and the B2910 (both with FEL and mower decks). Thanks to all the advice here, I decided on going bigger and got a good price on the 2910 from a local dealer and am close to ordering it. Now, however, between this thread and the stupid tractor tricks thread, I'm a bit concerned. My property (9 acres total, 3 acres maintained), has a bit of a slope to it (don't know for sure, but more than 20% in some areas). My concern is that the slope is too great to mow with the B2910. I've checked several locations, but can't find the "maximum lean angle/roll over angle" (I assume it depends on ballast, etc, but is there such a thing?). I never had a problem with the JD 320, but wonder if I will with the 2910 (my great fear at this point is that if I buy it, I'll roll it the first time I mow/w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif). I'm sure I could get by with the BX2200, but really want the 2910! Help!

 

[Gfsimon]

That's a 20 Degree slope, not a 20 percent slope /w3tcompact/icons/blush.gif

 

[dmccarty]

Welcome GFsimon,

Sorry to hear of your Flaming Green Tractor. I don't think you will find a manufactuer/dealer stating that the maximum tilt angle for a a variety of reasons. One reason is that the angle depends on the setup of the tractor and it is very likely to change when using an FEL or backhoe. The position of the FEL/backhoe, its load, will change the center of gravity of the tractor which will have an impact on the roll over angle. The other reason I don't think you will see a roll over angle is the liability issues.

There have been other threads on TBN about how to drive up and down steep slopes. I can't remember where they were but they were in the last six months or so. You might be able to mow the slopes by going up and down instead of across but only you can decide.

Just go SLOW!

Hope this helps....
Dan McCarty

 

[Gfsimon]

Thanks Dan,
I also found this thread:
http://www.tractorbynet.com/cgi-bin/compact/showflat.pl?Cat=&Board=owning&Number=261&page=&view=&sb=&vc=1
which seems to indicate about 18 degrees or so for max side slope. Guess I'll go home and do some slope measuring.

Although, based on (I think it was VON's (the antiques dealer)) picture of what he's mowing, I don't think I'll have a problem!

 

[Soundguy]

I made one for my tractor.. took a small glass bottle... 2" od or so, and filled half way with a colored like lamp oil.. and the other half with water. Use a permanent marker to make a line arounf the jar where the oild and water meet... I used 2 pieces of masking tape with a space between, as a template for the marker.. then peeled it off after marking.. nice crisp line... looked neat. A god of rtv on the bottom holds it to a flat area on the dash.. but lits it be removable in the furure.

And you have a poor mans artificial horizon...

Soundguy

 

[Egon]

A beer mug with lines on it works well too. Just make sure it has a lid.

Egon

 

[theboman]

I have a Tilt Meter and I don't watch it, I notice it. When on a slope I'll glance to it to see what the slope says. One thing I have found out is pucker time don't happen nearly as often. If I had to do it all over again, or if I'd buy another tractor I would make sure I'd equip it with a Tilt Meter.

 

[wichiwichi]

I have to agree with you and ernie. Let common sense be the judge.

 

[RoyJackson]

Although, based on (I think it was VON's (the antiques dealer)) picture of what he's mowing, I don't think I'll have a problem!

I remember that thread...he had a picture of the slopes too. However, I believe he went up and down, not across...

 

[TWINKLE_TOES]

wichiwichi,

Speaking of ERNIEB, haven't heard from him for a bit. Hope our favorite Texas historian is doing well.

Al

 

[bubenberg]

am very sorry but i have to get in here too!@!!!!!@$@$!@!-

i have a hard time with this slope business, it seems that everyone in the USA is attempting to defy gravity not just on this sight but every other mowing, landscaping, atv and tractor site.

so far i have only seen one person to do the right thing. Mossroad went to his kohler dealer and bought the book to find out under other what the particular engine was rated for.

all the meters in the world, all the blast, the wider tires and every other darn thing mentioned by the hills side tractor engineers on this site and all the other aforementioned locations forget, that you are taking your life in both hands if your engine fails because of lack of lubrication.

not to mention the cost of rebuilding or replacing an engine due to lubrication failure. FORGET the warranties, the coloring of the engine to a trained engineer in case of lack of lubrication is very easy to detect.

then after you know what your engine is capable of as far as degrees or percentage of incline it is rated, maybe the time has come to add another thing to watch; rather THAN where you are going.

i defy anybody to come to my birthplace and work on the mountain sides to carve out a meager, living watching your inclination meter rather than where your going and you may not come out alive.

 

[Mosey]

Bird - “I did a very unscientific test by parking my tractor on an 18 degree side to side slope, got off and tried pushing it over to see if I could raise the wheels on the high side.”

I’ve been into 4-Wheeling pretty much all my life and I’ve wanted to try something like that with my Jeep for a long time. I don’t have the means to build what I would really like to try, which is a platform on hinges. It would be big enough to park a Jeep or tractor on it sideways and have a way to lift up one side. The vehicle would be secured with chains so it couldn’t slide or flip all the way over. Then, raise it up and see what angle the wheels leave the ground and the chain tightens up. I would love to know at exactly what angle my Jeep and tractor would start to go over. Once that is known, I could allow for the fact that a small hole or stump could increase the angle a lot and pick a reasonably safe angle.

I have a “Clinometer” from Steel Horse <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.autobarn.net/xxx79100series.html>http://www.autobarn.net/xxx79100series.html</A> that I swap between the Jeep and tractor (I have a mounting bracket in both and can just take the screws out of the side to easily move it from one to the other). I don’t currently drive the Jeep often enough to justify buying 2 of them at $25 each. They don’t come with a tractor logo, but that doesn’t bother me.

 

[ewoss3]

Mosey, my jeep cj-7 made it to 26 degrees before taking a tumble. it has 2.5 suspension lift, 33 inch bfg's, 6 cyl and automatic. that was with me sitting in it, the second time there were two of us and it made it to 31 degrees. wouldn't reccomend anything over 20 degrees at more than crawl speed.

 

[Mosey]

ewoss3 - That's good info to know! Right now my Jeep is stock, but I'm planning on lifting it 2" and putting on 33" BFG Mud Terrains (the new 10.5" wide ones).

The main thing the tilt meter has helped me with is notifying me of the change in angle when the low side wheel goes in a hole or the high side one goes up on a hump or rock. It's amazing how much of a difference this can make! Just eyeing the hill or measuring it with a protractor won't tell you about that kind of stuff.

 

[RanchMan]

If ya wanna talk about Jeep stuff /w3tcompact/icons/love.gif, start a new thread and I'll pipe in! LOTS of stuff you can do to a Jeep - some are worth-while, some are not, and some are a wash. I've had some experience with all three...

 

[Mainah]

Discount??? Shucks...ordered one just last week after reading som much about them on TBN....wish I'd read this post and mentioned it when I ordered LOL

 

[vongiese]

Mosey - does your clinometer work while in motion? Looks just like one in a toyota, but you had to stop for it to read accurately...looks like a nice dual guage for a good price.

 

[Slamfire]

I picked up an angle finder that non carpenter's use for figuring such things as end cuts on rafters for$4.49. Since it has a magnetic base I just set it on the tractor hood. Now when the tractor rolls over I'll be able to tell when I'm really upside down.

 

[Mosey]

"does your clinometer work while in motion?"

Yes, it works any time. Of course, if it's bumpy it's going to jiggle around some. If they made it respond too slow, then it wouldn't react to a rock or hole. It's still easy to read when I'm moving.