The only damage was to my pride....

[Crankypants60]

So...I debated about posting this but I really think it's a good idea to illustrate for others just how quickly the unthinkable can happen. My wife, son and I are disassembling a railway tie ( 7"x 9" ) retaining wall on our property and rebuilding it a few feet over. One of the old ties was in the ground but we were able to get a strap under it enough to hook it up to my chain grab on the bucket of my B6000 FEL. The tie came out no problem when I lifted it but when I started to back up with it things went haywire in a big hurry...even though I was working on pretty level ground.

What happened next is still a bit fuzzy but I think the tie ( now hanging from the bucket a few feet off the ground ) spun around at right angles to the tractor and the "heavy" end ( it was quite rotten ) ended up swinging out and away to the south, which caused the back right tractor tire to come off the ground. I remember trying to steer out of the problem but as it tipped sideways and steered back into a downhill slope..over she went...and I leaped out and away downhill onto the lawn below. The irony is that perhaps this whole mess might have been avoided had I not had the FEL so high relative to the ground..OTOH...it was high enough that it acted sort of as a ROPS and the tractor didn't roll completely over...and probably saved me from catastrophic injury.

The point I wanted to share is that this all happened so damn fast that dropping the bucket to avoid roll-over wasn't even on the menu! I'm a relative newcomer to tractor operation but I knew better than to have that tie hanging as far from the bucket as it was and the bucket so high.

The whole incident has also got me looking a lot harder at the B6000's frame and wondering if I have a bigger issue than I first thought. Today I took the rear tires off to have them repaired ( one has a pretty bad leak ). When I put the tractor on axle jacks...I noticed that one of the jacks has to be set a few notches higher than the other. Do I have a bent axle? The geometry of the front tire joints has always made me wonder if there wasn't a problem and now I'm almost sure there is. I would appreciate any thoughts on this and will post some pics to show what I'm talking about.

 

[kevinj]

And you really don't have any weight on the back.......

 

[Crankypants60]

First pic is the tractor on jacks...note the extra notches of the right hand jack. Next pic is of the front end which, with the tractor on jacks seems pretty symmetrical. Last pic is an earlier one of how the front end looks under "normal" circumstances ie: back tires on etc.

Thoughts about this anyone?

 

[Crankypants60]

And you really don't have any weight on the back.......

The tractor came with a cement counter-weight but it didn't seem a whole lot heavier than the 4' rear blade so I've stuck with that. It certainly could have been part of the problem now that you've pointed it out.

 

[D2Cat]

It looks like that loader bucket being up high probably kept the tractor from multiple flips. With a hillside like that you need to keep the tractor facing up and down...not sideways. And don't try to pick the RR tie all the way up. Lay it down and reattach your chain and just drag it. You have got to keep the bucket down as much as possible!!

Good to know you're safe. I wouldn't be concerned with the location of the notches in the jacks. Just put the tire back on and then see how it looks. I doubt laying it on it's side tweaked any part of it.

 

[hodge]

Thanks for sharing. It's not always easy to do it, but someone else can learn from your experience, and avoid some pain or worse.
Glad you're ok.

 

[Crankypants60]

It looks like that loader bucket being up high probably kept the tractor from multiple flips. With a hillside like that you need to keep the tractor facing up and down...not sideways. And don't try to pick the RR tie all the way up. Lay it down and reattach your chain and just drag it. You have got to keep the bucket down as much as possible!!

Good to know you're safe. I wouldn't be concerned with the location of the notches in the jacks. Just put the tire back on and then see how it looks. I doubt laying it on it's side tweaked any part of it.

Thanks D2Cat...it was the out-of-control progression that took me onto the sloped area but your comments are well taken. Funny, my wife and I did a head-slap afterward and made the same observations about how silly it was not to just drag the thing instead of lifting it...ah hindsight! I'm having the tires re-tubed, re-loaded and cleaned up right now and will see how it goes.

 

[Crankypants60]

Thanks for sharing. It's not always easy to do it, but someone else can learn from your experience, and avoid some pain or worse.
Glad you're ok.

Thanks Hodge...pretty embarrassed by the whole thing but ya...people...specially newbies like me need to know it happens in a heart-beat when it goes bad. I'm still pretty shaken.

 

[Missouribound]

I had a similar experience with a bucket full of dirt. I'm still a newbie, but in the first 10-15 hours I was moving a pile of dirt. I got the rythmn down pretty quick and was lifting and dumping pretty fast. Now I am used to heavier equipment such as fork lifts and skid steer so I wasn't prepared for my screw up. When backing away from the pile with the bucket up the right front wheel went in a hole. In what seemed like an instant the machine tipped hard and before I could get the bucket down it was laying on it's right side. I did have the ROPs up but not my seatbelt so I took a bit of a tumble. I turned off the key but for some reason at 90 deg. off right side up it just doesn't work well. It quit in about 20- 30 seconds. Eventually I was able to man up and have my wife come out and help me right it. A rope to a strong tree a jack on the FEL mount and some blocks of wood got it upright. A loss of fluid, a bit of smoke and all is well.
Much to my pleasant surprise, when my tractor is on it's side, the only thing touching the ground was the ROPS and the sides of the turf tires......that's it.
No damage, nothing bent, nothing hurt...except my pride.
Needless to say I now use a ballast box and have become very conscious of bucket height in all maneuvers. It only takes a second to lift a wheel and after that the next move you make will determine the outcome.

 

[sdk1968]

glad you are ok.

tractor looks fine from teh pix.... put it back together ... then see what you got on some concrete.

sideways on the slopes will get you everytime...

ive felt like was being launched off of one went it went over before.

reaction time is ZERO when things are going to crap. so dont feel bad about that part.

but as mentioned earlier: try to go up/down on the slope!

 

[AndyM]

I do believe I would have been over one day when I was loading the truck on a slight slope but was saved by the wheel spacers I had added thanks to the good advice from the ott folks on this site.

 

[Crankypants60]

I had a similar experience with a bucket full of dirt. I'm still a newbie, but in the first 10-15 hours I was moving a pile of dirt. I got the rythmn down pretty quick and was lifting and dumping pretty fast. Now I am used to heavier equipment such as fork lifts and skid steer so I wasn't prepared for my screw up. When backing away from the pile with the bucket up the right front wheel went in a hole. In what seemed like an instant the machine tipped hard and before I could get the bucket down it was laying on it's right side. I did have the ROPs up but not my seatbelt so I took a bit of a tumble. I turned off the key but for some reason at 90 deg. off right side up it just doesn't work well. It quit in about 20- 30 seconds. Eventually I was able to man up and have my wife come out and help me right it. A rope to a strong tree a jack on the FEL mount and some blocks of wood got it upright. A loss of fluid, a bit of smoke and all is well.
Much to my pleasant surprise, when my tractor is on it's side, the only thing touching the ground was the ROPS and the sides of the turf tires......that's it.
No damage, nothing bent, nothing hurt...except my pride.
Needless to say I now use a ballast box and have become very conscious of bucket height in all maneuvers. It only takes a second to lift a wheel and after that the next move you make will determine the outcome.

I had Mission Towing ( the same featured on Highway Through Hell if you've ever watched that show ) come up and put it right. Once it was righted he had me fire it up and back up the slope while he had it under control. I was surprised that it fired up just like normal...the fender was a touch bent but I could put it back right away with a tug. When he saw I was surprised he said these Kubota's were like lawnmower engines...turn 'em over on their side...no problem! I need to do some thread searching on possible ballast boxes.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

As far as it being tilted, that's probably normal, the front end pivots on the center of the front axle, when you lifted it it's just a little higher on one side.
Check it after the tires are on and you should be fine.

Load the tires and put wheel weights on it and a ballast box, 500 to 750 lbs for that model.

 

[Yooper]

Well, you also learned that you are still spry! Glad you are OK and thanks for sharing!

 

[johnjk]

Glad you are OK. I've not lifted a wheel yet...... yet being key here. My only slope is up at the front in the ditch by the road. The county mows them once or twice a year and I like to knock it back in between their cuttings. I really am uncomfortable with areas of that ditch where it becomes a steeper slope and since I cannot attack it perpendicular I do not mow it. Instead I take the string trimmer or the old push mower up on the 4-wheeler and do it manually.

I find it good to be a bit on edge (no pun intended) when cutting the ditch. Keeps me alert to where I am, what I am doing and how to get out of it if needed. If it doesn't feel right, I don't do it with the Kubota.

 

[shootem604]

Hey there Crankypants60 - I relatively close by, in Hope - nice to see someone else local. Glad to hear you made out OK. I had a similar incident but as I was bailing off the fender, I realized my weight in that corner was keeping it from flipping - was able to reach over and lower the fel to get back to normal. My tires are ballasted with calcium chloride but I am going to have them foam filled - apparently Kal Tire does it at Annacis Island on Thursdays.

 

[Ramos]

I won't comment on the 'incident'. It's obvious you have learned from the experience and giving thought to the previous comments.

On the twisted/tweaked frame, I really don't believe you have any worries. The right jackstand is adjusted longer but the front is leaning towards the left. As already mentioned, once the rear tires are back on it should look much better.

 

[greeno]

A smart man learns from his mistakes; a smarter man learns from other's mistakes. Thank you for sharing this; it will help me keep my seatbelt on and ROPS up!

 

[Crankypants60]

Hey there Crankypants60 - I relatively close by, in Hope - nice to see someone else local. Glad to hear you made out OK. I had a similar incident but as I was bailing off the fender, I realized my weight in that corner was keeping it from flipping - was able to reach over and lower the fel to get back to normal. My tires are ballasted with calcium chloride but I am going to have them foam filled - apparently Kal Tire does it at Annacis Island on Thursdays.

Hi there neighbour! When I got the B6000 it had partial amounts of calcium chloride already in them but not much. They are currently getting bio mix fully loaded on the recommendation of our local tire shop...doesn't corrode like the cc does apparently and gives you the same result. I was told it's a bit more expensive but since these rear tires are so small it's not a big deal. Given the age of the B6000 I need to keep parts lasting as long as possible! I've never heard of the foam fill...maybe it's the same thing as the bio stuff but I don't think so.

Hot enough for you today in Hope? Probably not as warm as further down the valley given the moderating effect of the Fraser?

 

[Crankypants60]

As far as it being tilted, that's probably normal, the front end pivots on the center of the front axle, when you lifted it it's just a little higher on one side.
Check it after the tires are on and you should be fine.

Load the tires and put wheel weights on it and a ballast box, 500 to 750 lbs for that model.

Thanks for the weight recommendation...now I have something to shoot for. I think the little cement counterweight that's designed to hang on the 3 point is maybe 150 lbs at the most. The tires are being loaded today and I'm looking forward to checking it out once they are back on.

Do you have any thoughts on the wheel placement? When I got the B6000 they were at the outermost setting with the axle not even coming flush with the hub..it seemed unsafe and wobbly at that setting so I moved them one position "tighter" as-it-were. Now I'm wondering if I should have left well-enough alone?