BX2200 feels like it is going to tip over

[NWWaterdog]

Hi, I have a BX2200 and just recently it feels unstable when I am going across an incline or decline. This is with the front end loader attached but nothing else. Bucket is down low close to the ground. Uphill and downhill everything feels normal, but across a slope it feels like it is going to tip over even when it is just a slight angle. It seems like it is a new issue or I just never noticed it before.

Are there stabilizing bars or anti-sway bars of some sort that might have broken?

Thanks for any ideas.

 

[OntheRidge]

1st thing I would check is tire pressures.

 

[rc51stierhoff]

What does slight angle mean?

Not to be a wise guy, but I’d recommend:

1. don’t drive cross slope if you think it feels tippy (keep your rops and wear seat belt up if chose to drive in tippy condition). What happens going cross slope if a hole opens up that was not there previously?

2. Add ballast

3. Depending on your property and how operating, loader could be a detriment as in adds like a big lever want to change the center of gravity…maybe drop the loader if you are not using.

 

[bearskinner]

If you don’t already have wheel spacers, adding a couple inches to the rear width makes a HUGE difference!

 

[GrizBota]

Since there isn’t any suspension to speak of, there are no sway bars to not work. Maybe check the steer axle and see if anything is loose, worn that is providing some sloppiness that wasn’t then before.

x2 on removing the FEL if you don’t need it on.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

I'll second check the tire pressures, especially the rears.
And yes most feel that way and most get wheel spaces to give it more stability!
And no side sloping, unless its a crawler tractor, your better off avoiding it all together!

 

[NWWaterdog]

If you don’t already have wheel spacers, adding a couple inches to the rear width makes a HUGE difference!

I will definitely try this. Thank you.

 

[NWWaterdog]

I'll second check the tire pressures, especially the rears.
And yes most feel that way and most get wheel spaces to give it more stability!
And no side sloping, unless its a crawler tractor, your better off avoiding it all together!

I will check pressures again. My first thought was that the fronts were low, so I did check all 4 and they were fine. I am not sure what the slope angle is. I just know that I have driven on the same slopes before and I do not remember feeling like it was "tippy".

 

[PaulL]

Sometimes it's all in your head. Not in an unkind way.

I have a steep hillside I mow. If I don't mow it for a while the next time I mow I feel unstable.

A few solutions that address the "it's in your head" bit:

1. Go slower. Things that are safe slow are not safe fast. Perhaps as you've gotten more familiar with it you've started going faster, and (appropriately) are feeling less safe. When you're going faster hitting a small bump or a small hole is much more problematic - momentum can be a problem.

2. Get off the tractor. I do this often. I stop on the hillside I'm feeling uncomfortable on, stand up hill, and give the tractor a shove. I usually discover that, no matter how hard I push, that tractor isn't budging. It's not actually unstable at all, it's just how I'm feeling. Conversely, if giving it a shove makes it start lifting, then yeah, you're totally unsafe, and you need to stop driving on that slope.

I do always mow with the loader off, and the loader does make my B2601 more unstable even with the bucket lowered. A BX should feel a fair bit more stable than a B. Taking the loader off will help.

 

[NWWaterdog]

Sometimes it's all in your head. Not in an unkind way.

I have a steep hillside I mow. If I don't mow it for a while the next time I mow I feel unstable.

A few solutions that address the "it's in your head" bit:

1. Go slower. Things that are safe slow are not safe fast. Perhaps as you've gotten more familiar with it you've started going faster, and (appropriately) are feeling less safe. When you're going faster hitting a small bump or a small hole is much more problematic - momentum can be a problem.

2. Get off the tractor. I do this often. I stop on the hillside I'm feeling uncomfortable on, stand up hill, and give the tractor a shove. I usually discover that, no matter how hard I push, that tractor isn't budging. It's not actually unstable at all, it's just how I'm feeling. Conversely, if giving it a shove makes it start lifting, then yeah, you're totally unsafe, and you need to stop driving on that slope.

I do always mow with the loader off, and the loader does make my B2601 more unstable even with the bucket lowered. A BX should feel a fair bit more stable than a B. Taking the loader off will help.

Great suggestions! It is interesting that a few posts have said that the tractor is more stable with the FEL off. I would have thought the opposite.

 

[ve9aa]

...when I mow with the BX (which isn't often) I always mow with the bucket off (FEL arms on however)
Yesterday within a couple minutes I had several front implements on/off (bucket, forks, forks loaded you get the idea) ) and was travelling across a short expanse of uneven ground.

The last pass was with nothing on the front.....and man, what a difference in feeling! (like a sports car)

Great suggestions! It is interesting that a few posts have said that the tractor is more stable with the FEL off. I would have thought the opposite.

 

[PaulL]

...when I mow with the BX (which isn't often) I always mow with the bucket off (FEL arms on however)
Yesterday within a couple minutes I had several front implements on/off (bucket, forks, forks loaded you get the idea) ) and was travelling across a short expanse of uneven ground.

The last pass was with nothing on the front.....and man, what a difference in feeling! (like a sports car)

Yes, when I had a BX, and with the B2601 I have now, it is massively more pleasant mowing with the entire loader frame off. The frame is mostly above the axle line - almost all the weight above axle line. Therefore it makes the machine more tippy.

More importantly for me, with the loader on the machine tends to seesaw a bit back and forth - you end up with a lot of weight out front, and a lot more weight on the front wheels.

That means a few things:
1. Weight way out in front means the tractor can set up a rocking motion - so you're always pitching front to back in a way you don't with the loader off. The wheelbase is pretty short - the front of the loader is a long way in front of the front wheels. It's just unpleasant to mow like that, especially if you're trying to mow fast
2. Weight transfer to the front wheels makes you a lot less stable. Your front wheels are on a pivot - they contribute no stability to the tractor. In most ways your tractor has the same stability as an old John Deere tricycle tractor. The rear wheels are what give you stability because the rear axle is fixed, when you reduce the weight on the rear wheels, you reduce stability

3. A lot of weight on the front wheels makes the steering feel heavier, and the front wheels are a lot smaller - so a lot more ground pressure if 50% or more of the weight is on those small front wheels

I always found the same as @ve9aa mentions - my tractor feels like a race car when I mow with the loader off.

Of course, the other really big thing for me is that I mow around a lot of obstacles. I've found out the hard way that anything the tractor touches is immediately f@#$%d. I touched the house once, I had to fix the render. I touched a fence post, I had to put strapping on it to put it back together. I touched a road sign, and I had to fix the post that held it up. It's a small tractor, but it's still way stronger than any of your landscaping. The loader was the culprit in a lot of things I hit - with it off I hit far fewer things.

 

[DustyRusty]

Consider purchasing a tilt meter and also buy an inclinometer. I had both on my old BX22 and it made me very aware of when I was headed for trouble. I now have a BX23S and it doesn't feel as stable as the old BX22, and I did purchase the tilt meter and inclinometer for the BX23S, but haven't gotten around to installing them. I should do it sooner, but my new hip is keeping me from doing much at present. I also have 2" spacers for the rear wheels but haven't installed them yet either. I will get my tilt meter and inclinometer out and post a picture of them. It is inexpensive insurance to keep you safe. In my opinion, they should be on all small tractors.

 

[NWWaterdog]

Yes, when I had a BX, and with the B2601 I have now, it is massively more pleasant mowing with the entire loader frame off. The frame is mostly above the axle line - almost all the weight above axle line. Therefore it makes the machine more tippy.

More importantly for me, with the loader on the machine tends to seesaw a bit back and forth - you end up with a lot of weight out front, and a lot more weight on the front wheels.

That means a few things:
1. Weight way out in front means the tractor can set up a rocking motion - so you're always pitching front to back in a way you don't with the loader off. The wheelbase is pretty short - the front of the loader is a long way in front of the front wheels. It's just unpleasant to mow like that, especially if you're trying to mow fast
2. Weight transfer to the front wheels makes you a lot less stable. Your front wheels are on a pivot - they contribute no stability to the tractor. In most ways your tractor has the same stability as an old John Deere tricycle tractor. The rear wheels are what give you stability because the rear axle is fixed, when you reduce the weight on the rear wheels, you reduce stability
View attachment 103752
3. A lot of weight on the front wheels makes the steering feel heavier, and the front wheels are a lot smaller - so a lot more ground pressure if 50% or more of the weight is on those small front wheels

I always found the same as @ve9aa mentions - my tractor feels like a race car when I mow with the loader off.

Of course, the other really big thing for me is that I mow around a lot of obstacles. I've found out the hard way that anything the tractor touches is immediately f@#$%d. I touched the house once, I had to fix the render. I touched a fence post, I had to put strapping on it to put it back together. I touched a road sign, and I had to fix the post that held it up. It's a small tractor, but it's still way stronger than any of your landscaping. The loader was the culprit in a lot of things I hit - with it off I hit far fewer things.

That makes a lot of sense. When it really felt unstable is when I was coming down one of my hills at a slight angle to it with the bucket full of wood I had bucked. I had the bucket as close to the ground as possible, but it felt real sketchy.

 

[PaulL]

That makes a lot of sense. When it really felt unstable is when I was coming down one of my hills at a slight angle to it with the bucket full of wood I had bucked. I had the bucket as close to the ground as possible, but it felt real sketchy.

Yup. That will. Ballast on the back would probably fix a lot of that - plant the rear wheels and suddenly your tractor gets much more stable.

I've been cleaning out drains in the local community land. With a heavy ballast box on the back I can put my front wheels way down into the drain as I push the bucket through. Without ballast I'd have no hope of getting back out, and on a bit of an angle it feels real uncomfortable. With ballast then as long as the back wheels are on solid ground I can do pretty much whatever I want, it's going nowhere.