What’s Your Pucker Factor?

[NCL4701]

It’s my belief that “liners” which are natural (clay, bentonite, etc) are preferred to synthetic or man-made materials because they better cooperate with nature and allow natural aquatic development. Synthetic/man-made liners are better for “water features” ... eye candy such as koi or goldfish..... rather than for organic water impoundments.
. YMMV

NCO4701 has what I’d call a beautiful small lake. Henros’ gorgeous pond is lovely. IMO

The natural clay liner makes sense in our situation. Clay is about all we have here on this property. Thanks for the explanation!

 

[Old_Paint]

Well, here’s mine! My BX has foam filled tires front and back (very heavy), and the maximum rear wheel spacers I could put on was something like 1.25 inches.

I started cutting the bank of my pond across slope because it took too long and wasn’t any fun going up and down. I know my BX is very stable with loaded tires and the MMM hanging down low below the axles. It’s still feels really steep when sitting on the tractor moving along this direction, even though it doesn’t look that deep in the picture.

I got off on the high side side to take the picture and I tried pushing on the rollbar to see if it was at all unstable, and it was rocksolid actually.

Still this is about my limit. I would never consider getting close do this with my larger tractor, since I tipped it on the side once in a condition where I never thought I would…

The angle finder on my phone says the tractor is tilted at 26°. Are you guys comfortable on slopes greater than this? I’ve realized I’m not...

View attachment 59084

Have you considered diagonal cutting? Takes some of the side lean out, but still lets you make longer cuts before having to turn. That would be very uncomfortable for the lower back. You'll find your max slope recommendation in your user manual. I'd strongly urge you to keep it in mind.

 

[Henro]

Have you considered diagonal cutting? Takes some of the side lean out, but still lets you make longer cuts before having to turn. That would be very uncomfortable for the lower back. You'll find your max slope recommendation in your user manual. I'd strongly urge you to keep it in mind.

Old Paint...Haven't noticed posts by you recently. I guess your new tractor house project has been keeping you busy. I just checked out the thread and see you are making great progress. I wish I had a concrete floor like you...

I do like cutting up slopes at a 45 degree angle, and have found that it works really great to prevent scalping at the transition between the slope and the level top surface. BUT if the length is much greater than the rise, then it is very time consuming. In those cases, horizontal travel is much more efficient time wise.

Fortunately, although being in the elderly ranks now, by chronological age, not how I feel, the angle the tractor runs at, as well as the bumps it hits, are not an issue so far...LOL and knock on wood!

 

[Ilber]

I would not do anything like that intentionally. But in 7 years owning my L5740 my seat cushion missing a bit of foam...
Most of my oopsies moments were due well trying to lift too much. I run backhoe 75% time so it is enough counter weight, but when I put a box blade thats when I get in trouble...
The most recent....
I knew that full ibc tote is too much for the tractor, so I have just under the half, being careful.... bring the water half a mile away while pouring/mixing some concrete. I just lifted up a little bit and let gravity flow the water. As I get out of the tractor the rear wheel sea-saw in the air...well whatever, start water flow.... after a while the level dropped in the tank that I needed to lift the tote higher.... attached picture before the "oh shit" moment.....I reach in the cab, while standing to the right of the tractor and start lifting the FEL...in a matter of a second whole tractor is leaning to the right, I am pushing with all my strength on the cab ( I am 6'2" 325#) and trying to lower the FEL while front right wheel started leaking....
Saved the tractor, almost sqashed myself, pulled arm and back muscles and the wife witnessed the whole ordeal....as a result I ended up and buying brand new SVL97-2, replaced both dry rodded front tires, counted my blessings

 

[Old_Paint]

I would not do anything like that intentionally. But in 7 years owning my L5740 my seat cushion missing a bit of foam...
Most of my oopsies moments were due well trying to lift too much. I run backhoe 75% time so it is enough counter weight, but when I put a box blade thats when I get in trouble...
The most recent....
I knew that full ibc tote is too much for the tractor, so I have just under the half, being careful.... bring the water half a mile away while pouring/mixing some concrete. I just lifted up a little bit and let gravity flow the water. As I get out of the tractor the rear wheel sea-saw in the air...well whatever, start water flow.... after a while the level dropped in the tank that I needed to lift the tote higher.... attached picture before the "oh shit" moment.....I reach in the cab, while standing to the right of the tractor and start lifting the FEL...in a matter of a second whole tractor is leaning to the right, I am pushing with all my strength on the cab ( I am 6'2" 325#) and trying to lower the FEL while front right wheel started leaking....
Saved the tractor, almost sqashed myself, pulled arm and back muscles and the wife witnessed the whole ordeal....as a result I ended up and buying brand new SVL97-2, replaced both dry rodded front tires, counted my blessings

Transfer pumps are your friends.

 

[Old_Paint]

Old Paint...Haven't noticed posts by you recently. I guess your new tractor house project has been keeping you busy. I just checked out the thread and see you are making great progress. I wish I had a concrete floor like you...

Yeah, busier than a 3-legged cat coverin’ up on a marble floor (or well finished concrete as the case may be). Racing the clock to get a roof on it before I get sent back to work by my doctor. Afraid I may be aggravating my left shoulder a bit. Right one gets a little sore after a day of climbing up and down the ladders, but for the most part it’s doing pretty good. Doc told me long ago that it took 10 months to heal from rotator cuff surgery. Nearly a year since the right shoulder was done, but still only 7 for the left. Getting both done back to back probably wasn’t a glowing highlight of my planning prowess. I’m pretty fed up with being in pain all the time. If I’m gonna hurt anyway, might as well be doing something for me while I do.
I almost elected to go with a gravel floor because it took forever to find a contractor that would pour and finish a small slab, if that’s the definition for 24x35. Thanks for noticing my absence.

I’ve got some pretty rough terrain in my tiny spot of land, but nothing quite so open with a slope like that. I’ve balanced on two wheels on opposite corners many times, but know where/when that’s likely, so already have the dif lock engaged so I don’t have to stop with the tractor in a compromising position.

BTW, 8 of 10 trusses upright at quittin time tonite

 

[GeoHorn]

The front axles of these tractors pivot whereas the rear one does not.
A tractor sitting on a slope with its’ front wheels pointed straight ahead may not roll-over... but turning the front wheels sharply may cause it to lose that stability and allow the tractor to roll-over, because the front wheel-stance has now narrowed.

Beware getting too comfortable on slopes.

 

[lc12]

When the sphincter tightens up, that is your brain telling you that you are about to get in trouble!
Follow that gut feeling and you will show up on time for dinner!

 

[chim]

A little late for the party. Can say that the pucker factor for me depends on what I'm driving.

The little Ford 1210 with air-filled R1's that's been here for around 30 years is the one that's the least scary on slopes. Don't want to jinx it but that little beast is nearly impossible to roll with the 5' RFM down. The RFM acts like training wheels. It has mowed across steep sidehills in 4WD and crabbed the whole time. The few times it started to slide I steered uphill and mashed the hydro pedal to get it spun pointing straight uphill. Many times I mowed with my XL butt on the uphill fender.

The L4240 with liquid-filled grooved R4's is comfortable at around 17* but not much beyond that. I recently used a level on the grille guard to check the steepest part of the yard. Anything steeper than that wouldn't feel good going sidehill. The 4240 feels more stable than the B7500 and L3200 I had previously.

I have always removed the entire loader and frame for mowing on the tractors that had them. It's a lot more compact and is easier to use that way.

 

[Ilber]

i got a new one...
going down the dirt road to the field, towing JD 338 baler ( say under 4,000lbs) with my L5740 HST-3, i am on cruise control at about 14 mph....come over the hill, the wash road is bumpy as hell....don't want to bounce my baler... foot pedal engaged, hand throttle and cruise stick pulled back.... both of my rear wheels lock up on a sandy bumpy crap, while the baler make a good push.... resulting in a 30 foot long skid marks toward the ditch... didn't ditch the baler but almost soiled myself for sure...

 

[BigG]

i got a new one...
going down the dirt road to the field, towing JD 338 baler ( say under 4,000lbs) with my L5740 HST-3, i am on cruise control at about 14 mph....come over the hill, the wash road is bumpy as hell....don't want to bounce my baler... foot pedal engaged, hand throttle and cruise stick pulled back.... both of my rear wheels lock up on a sandy bumpy crap, while the baler make a good push.... resulting in a 30 foot long skid marks toward the ditch... didn't ditch the baler but almost soiled myself for sure...

Glad you are OK.

I would guess 3 good lessons. One, drop your speed before cresting the hill on a dirt road. Two, lock your brakes together on the roads. Three, engage your 4 x 4 if you are towing that much weight on dirt roads.

Do you have loaded tires or wheel weights? Either or both would help you control the baler since it weights as much if not more then your tractor. If your fields are hilly the extra weight will help with that "pushed around feeling" as you go down the hills.

Take a look in the owns manual. I would guess 4000 pounds is above the towing capacity of the tractor or close to max.

 

[Mossy dell]

I would not do anything like that intentionally. But in 7 years owning my L5740 my seat cushion missing a bit of foam...
Most of my oopsies moments were due well trying to lift too much. I run backhoe 75% time so it is enough counter weight, but when I put a box blade thats when I get in trouble...
The most recent....
I knew that full ibc tote is too much for the tractor, so I have just under the half, being careful.... bring the water half a mile away while pouring/mixing some concrete. I just lifted up a little bit and let gravity flow the water. As I get out of the tractor the rear wheel sea-saw in the air...well whatever, start water flow.... after a while the level dropped in the tank that I needed to lift the tote higher.... attached picture before the "oh shit" moment.....I reach in the cab, while standing to the right of the tractor and start lifting the FEL...in a matter of a second whole tractor is leaning to the right, I am pushing with all my strength on the cab ( I am 6'2" 325#) and trying to lower the FEL while front right wheel started leaking....
Saved the tractor, almost sqashed myself, pulled arm and back muscles and the wife witnessed the whole ordeal....as a result I ended up and buying brand new SVL97-2, replaced both dry rodded front tires, counted my blessings

Ilber, glad you dodged that bullet! How much does that box blade weigh?! I have a much smaller tractor and recall that my 5' box blade is 428 lbs. I got a Heavy Hitch and can load my rear ballast to 700 lbs., not counting loaded rear tires.

I mow this slope in front of my house and put my phone level on this cart today and learned it's an 18% slope. I'd been guessing 20%. I mow it with an old rider and think I will start running it only up and down instead of alternating. It is a 27 yoa JD rider with wheel weights and hiking cushions over the rear fenders made by our place's previous owner. I do hike now but feel I am too slow to get clear if it did start to overturn.

 

[Ilber]

Glad you are OK.

I would guess 3 good lessons. One, drop your speed before cresting the hill on a dirt road. Two, lock your brakes together on the roads. Three, engage your 4 x 4 if you are towing that much weight on dirt roads.

Do you have loaded tires or wheel weights? Either or both would help you control the baler since it weights as much if not more then your tractor. If your fields are hilly the extra weight will help with that "pushed around feeling" as you go down the hills.

Take a look in the owns manual. I would guess 4000 pounds is above the towing capacity of the tractor or close to max.

BigG,
Agree with speed reducing.
Brakes.... they are locked together since I avoid to turn too sharp with the baler. The engine braking, loose sand, too much speed, weight, wash road was an eye opener.
I don't load my rear tires but I leave my FEL with bucket on. Trying to be as light as I can when I am going on the field.
R1 tires maybe not the best for road. In any case I may put kubota for back up and use museum level restored John Deere 2630 for my field duties....but cab ac...ooof

 

[BigG]

BigG,
Agree with speed reducing.
Brakes.... they are locked together since I avoid to turn too sharp with the baler. The engine braking, loose sand, too much speed, weight, wash road was an eye opener.
I don't load my rear tires but I leave my FEL with bucket on. Trying to be as light as I can when I am going on the field.
R1 tires maybe not the best for road. In any case I may put kubota for back up and use museum level restored John Deere 2630 for my field duties....but cab ac...ooof

Load the rear tires and the weight would be less than the John Deere and you still get to use The AC. Loading the tires it’s not real expensive. Unless you use rim guard

 

[BigG]

Load the rear tires and the weight would be less than the John Deere and you still get to use The AC. Loading the tires it’s not real expensive. Unless you use rim guard

Plus the hydrostat is so much nicer to use when you square bale. No setting to hold the clutch while the Baylor catches up. Just let up a little bit on the pedal and if you hit a light spot mash it down