Broken FEL

[mickeyd]

My 3 brother-in-laws were here for Thanksgiving and one of them made a statement that set me back.

He said that he did not get 4WD on his tractor, L4740, because it made it too easy to break the FEL.

Has anyone ever heard of this or is he just saying it because he wasn't smart enough to get 4WD.

 

[aeblank]

Sounds like BS to me.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

 

[lreops]

I'd go with your latter conclusion.

Ron

 

[Kennyd4110]

... or is he just saying it because he wasn't smart enough to get 4WD.

Or too cheap. That is just crazy.

 

[ShaunRH]

Oddly contradictory...

Normally during loader use, the front wheels are usually with little to no traction anyway.

If he had said that he got a 2WD because the front wheels are of little use when digging with a loader, that I could've kind of understood, but it wouldn't have made it any more reasonable of a conclusion not to get 4WD.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

He said that he did not get 4WD on his tractor, L4740, because it made it too easy to break the FEL.

Tell your sister she really needs to find a smarter husband!

Or at least one that lies better!


That statement is as funny as the one that was said to me by the guy I bought my snow tires from (I got a killer deal too), He said he didn't need snow tires for his new truck because it was 4wd, he had cheap dealer street tires on it.

He'll be the first to complain that his 4wd truck is junk because it lost traction and got stuck!

 

[tcrote5516]

Yep, he's bummin about his decision I wouldn't want a loader without 4wd. Ever try to back up a slight incline with a full bucket load in 2wd....spin spin spin.

 

[Tooljunkie]

He jealous. Four wheel drive makes a huge difference. Otherwise all these guys buying big loaders are wasting their money.

 

[Bluegill]

BS

The front tires do very little compared to the rears... If ballasted correctly.

 

[cerlawson]

What part of it broke?? Bent??

 

[Paul A]

I have operated a FEL for years, and having 4wd gives you more traction when going into the pile. This reduces the spinning of your rear tires, the tires last longer, which enables you to get a full bucket of material.

 

[live_roll]

It sounds to me like they had been listening to old Wives tales. Most of the modern loader / tractor combinations are engineered on a FWA tractor. Years ago, before FWA tractors were common there probably were some instances of the occasional loader getting "folded up" especially with the older heavier framed tractor that did have FWA before it was real common, usually due to abuse. And we all know that good news travels quickly but bad news travels at light speed even before the internet...


Cheers

Roger

 

[Tooljunkie]

Time i notice is when curling/raising bucket and back end gets light-thats when fwd helps.
I have seen guys ramming piles to get bucket loaded,two wheel or four wheel makes no difference to them.
My old two wheel drive is my snow clearing tractor, so im well aware of traction difference. Chained but no ballast.

 

[Blkvoodoo]

as with any piece of equipment, there are "drivers" and there are "Operators"

the guy with the broken equipment all the time is not the "Operator"

 

[ThisIsNotaStep]

like tooljunkie says, with a load in the bucket you need the front wheels especially going up/down hills, the backend is too light .. but brake the loader?, no.

 

[mickeyd]

Thanks everyone, I suspected as much, but wanted to make sure since I do have FWD.

 

[ShaunRH]

The trick to working with loaders is knowing what you are loading and how to properly load it.

If it's loose stuff and you aren't leveling, you crowd into the pile and as you start slowing, lift the bucket arms slightly, this puts the currently loaded weight onto the front tires allowing your 4WD system to help drive further into the pile. 2WD loaders don't do this as it's a useless gesture, you actually want the front tires off the ground a little bit to give your rears the most traction and you steer with the brakes.

So, by that operation methodology, 4WD gives you more control working loose materials than 2WD so the belief it's worse is completely wrong. 4WD is superior to 2WD when working with an FEL, and I use both systems. You have to know the limits of each but I'll take 4WD over 2WD if I get a choice. I'd put my little L3200 up against the ol' Oliver 1265 for digging speed and capability in all but the heaviest of material load outs.

 

[rentthis]

If your BIL is worried about breaking his loader, he would always have to option of loading with 2wd and using 4wd for other situations. The shifter is always in reach.