Working on a slope

[helomech]

They definitely make you feel better on the side of a hill! I take the FEL off as well.

I don't get why anyone would want to take the FEL off. As long as it is kept below the center of gravity, it helps you not flip over. And if you are fast enough (I have done it a few times) you can lower the bucket to the ground and that will stop the tilting of the tractor. I see no reason to pull it off in this instance.

 

[Iowan]

Hey Everyone,

I totally agree that safety equipment should always be used, however unless you are on a tractor with a fully enclosed cab designed as a totally integrated ROPS, (a cab that would prevent collapse, and prevent you from falling out), wearing a seatbelt would be kinda like strapping yourself to a motorcycle.

I am always as safe and cautious as I can possibly be and I am always thinking about what might happen in the next few seconds, but after an incident back in the early 70's when I had a Bota sporting a belly mount mower roll over I never wear a seatbelt, I was lucky I didn't have it on that day.

I was mowing a minor slope I had been mowing for several years without issue, but that day I found a rock I had never even known was there, I was moving at a snails pace, and I knew the instant the rear tire on the uphill side rode up on the rock, it was just enough to roll the tractor, I jumped off on the downhill side and actually pushed the tractor back down on it's tires, (it was a smaller tractor), but since it was still in gear it lunged and came back at me, I will never forget the look or the feeling I had when I looked up from the ditch I landed in and saw those mower blades coming at me, I was indeed lucky that day, I managed to get out of the ditch before the blades landed where I had been.

The point of this story is:

First and foremost, any slope can become deadly if the right conditions exist, and just because that rock or limb/log wasn't there yesterday, doesn't mean it won't be there today or tomorrow.

Just because the ground was solid and firm the last time you drove over it doesn't mean it won't be soft or slide this time.

Knowing your machine, and the ground you are driving on really helps, but conditions are constantly changing.

Always expect the unexpected, and keep your mind on what you are doing, operating a tractor can become VERY Dangerous in a heartbeat.

I have been operating tractors for 48 years now and even though I have had a few close calls Thankfully I am still alive and ticking, and still have all 10 fingers and toes, yea i got lucky a few times, but being prepared to react when something went wrong helped the most.

Tractors and chainsaws have alot in common, they can turn deadly before you can blink an eye, never turn your back on either one, and NEVER assume you are in charge!

The instant you think it can't or won't happen to you, is the same instant it will get you.

Best Regards

Paul

I can't agree more, and the safety offered by a single loop rop is marginal at best.
Offering little more than a place to mount lites, a sun shade and a false sense of security.

 

[TripleR]

I don't get why anyone would want to take the FEL off. As long as it is kept below the center of gravity, it helps you not flip over. And if you are fast enough (I have done it a few times) you can lower the bucket to the ground and that will stop the tilting of the tractor. I see no reason to pull it off in this instance.

I once read a thread about 30 pages long with a very detailed debate/discussion on:

1. Why you should leave the FEL on.
2. Why you should remove the FEL.
3. Why you should leave the FEL on and remove the bucket.
4. Why you should leave the FEL on and put weight in the bucket.

No consensus was reached; sometimes I mow with and sometimes without.

 

[gpreuss]

I don't get why anyone would want to take the FEL off. As long as it is kept below the center of gravity, it helps you not flip over. And if you are fast enough (I have done it a few times) you can lower the bucket to the ground and that will stop the tilting of the tractor. I see no reason to pull it off in this instance.

I can only say what works for me. My loader weighs 860lbs, the bucket another 300lbs. Combined they represent 1/3 the weight of the tractor after you figure in wheel ballast, or 1/4 of the total package. If the bucket is low enough to aid the CG, it is blocking my vision. If it is high enough to see under it the CG of the loader is not only higher than the CG of the tractor, it is also a couple of feet in front of the tractor; its narrowest point.
It only takes me about 5 minutes to take off the loader, about the same to put it back on. The tractor is then more stable, and I can see where I'm going. It also makes it a lot easier going around trees. So I take it off. Then I don't have to worry about it.
In a crop field you probably don't worry about going around trees, or seeing what is immediately in front of the tractor. Leaving the loader on works for you.

 

[hodge]

I can only say what works for me. My loader weighs 860lbs, the bucket another 300lbs. Combined they represent 1/3 the weight of the tractor after you figure in wheel ballast, or 1/4 of the total package. If the bucket is low enough to aid the CG, it is blocking my vision. If it is high enough to see under it the CG of the loader is not only higher than the CG of the tractor, it is also a couple of feet in front of the tractor; its narrowest point.
It only takes me about 5 minutes to take off the loader, about the same to put it back on. The tractor is then more stable, and I can see where I'm going. It also makes it a lot easier going around trees. So I take it off. Then I don't have to worry about it.
In a crop field you probably don't worry about going around trees, or seeing what is immediately in front of the tractor. Leaving the loader on works for you.

While it will depend on the design of the loader, in most cases, the arms and frame are above the CG enough to alter it. Take the loader off, lower the CG. That makes it more stable. The same principle as lowering the bucket, yet more effective. I know on my dad's 3930, removing the loader decreases 90% of the loader weight- there is only a mount low on the frame and on the nose of the tractor. That 90% of the loader weight is higher than the centerline of the tractor.

 

[helomech]

I once read a thread about 30 pages long with a very detailed debate/discussion on:

1. Why you should leave the FEL on.
2. Why you should remove the FEL.
3. Why you should leave the FEL on and remove the bucket.
4. Why you should leave the FEL on and put weight in the bucket.

No consensus was reached; sometimes I mow with and sometimes without.

I never take mine off, and I don't have large fields to mow. maybe 5 acres is the biggest one.

 

[helomech]

I can only say what works for me. My loader weighs 860lbs, the bucket another 300lbs. Combined they represent 1/3 the weight of the tractor after you figure in wheel ballast, or 1/4 of the total package. If the bucket is low enough to aid the CG, it is blocking my vision. If it is high enough to see under it the CG of the loader is not only higher than the CG of the tractor, it is also a couple of feet in front of the tractor; its narrowest point.
It only takes me about 5 minutes to take off the loader, about the same to put it back on. The tractor is then more stable, and I can see where I'm going. It also makes it a lot easier going around trees. So I take it off. Then I don't have to worry about it.
In a crop field you probably don't worry about going around trees, or seeing what is immediately in front of the tractor. Leaving the loader on works for you.

I have no idea what my loader weighs, but it is a 6 foot bucket mounted on a MX5100 4wd. just looked it up my loader weighs 1322lbs. Oh wait that is without the bucket on the loader the total weight is 1622lbs. I don't see how it can interfere with your vision when it is low. My tractor is always in tight spots, and there is not a flat spot on my land. When I am on a slope, I keep my bucket just off the ground, any tilting of the tractor and the bucket hits the ground. Sure I have to move it up and down while mowing but that is not a issue. I don't have any crop fields, all of my mowing is either food plots, or clearing small timber.

 

[TripleR]

I never take mine off, and I don't have large fields to mow. maybe 5 acres is the biggest one.

My L5740 rides smoother without a FEL and I mow in some tight areas without a FEL where I can't go with a FEL. I usually leave the FEL on our M8540, but will do some mowing without it next year.

We mow small patches and some 20-30 or more acres; whatever works for you, this works for me.

 

[DavidM]

What I don't like is that on my BX2660, my head is ABOVE the fixed ROPS! So if I do tip over, I'm toast with seat belt fastened if I don't -remember- to scrunch up. Bah. I'm of average height at 5'11".

 

[bcbull378]

I don't get why anyone would want to take the FEL off. As long as it is kept below the center of gravity, it helps you not flip over. And if you are fast enough (I have done it a few times) you can lower the bucket to the ground and that will stop the tilting of the tractor. I see no reason to pull it off in this instance.

I agree dont pull the loader off, I use mine on some pretty good slopes and I always load the bucket and keep it as close to the ground as possible. I must confess if I start to get a case of butt pucker its time to go get the Cat and disc.

 

[helomech]

What I don't like is that on my BX2660, my head is ABOVE the fixed ROPS! So if I do tip over, I'm toast with seat belt fastened if I don't -remember- to scrunch up. Bah. I'm of average height at 5'11".

Really, the ROPS on my mx5100 goes way above my head and makes a loop. I can stand on my tractor and just barely lower my head and I don't hit the roof. I am also 5'11"