First really bad "oh shoot" moment @ 35hrs

[bbxlr8]

Background:
I am a new owner @ about 3 months& 35 hrs and getting comfortable doing all sorts of work on my L2501 TLB. Mostly backhoeing, some loader work, and recently gotten around to cleaning & clearing up all sorts of stuff that piled up around my place. I had the grapple on for the last couple of weeks and have done about 20-25 loads of rotten logs w/ my little old overachieving 4'x8' utility trailer (each load in the 1500-2000 lbs range). I was dumping into a ravine up the mountain, so unloading was a calculated push after very carefully backing onto a sloped ramp I made with the backhoe. Gravity can be your friend AND enemy!

Confession:
So... yesterday I was getting a bit cocky and was into an area between a steep hill and scrub forest getting at a large deadfall & massive stump (3' diameter trunk in 8 ft sections, totally wet & solid, but rotten). Was going after the last piece and ended up slipping back into the scrub area. I had mostly cleared and walked it beforehand and was maneuvering around some low stumps, so I thought I was in the clear. Famous last words...

Full story:
I ended up hung up on an unseen round boulder similar to a mid-size beach ball. It was at the edge in deep weeds and I didn't know it was there or that I was on it. I thought I was slipping in the mud and tried a bit of maneuvering. So dumb me throttled up and hit the diff lock and tried to power out left & right still not realizing I was rolling around ON the rock. It was actually loose and very round both of which were working against me. Once I realized, I should have stopped and thought it through, but instead, I picked a path and eventually powered my way off it. I have a good amount of off-road experience (long-time jeep owner) and knew there was no way to pull out with a strap or any sort of recovery etc. It was very hot, late & I was tired and trapped in by the steep slope and woods, so I had more than a bit of panic in getting it out of there.

Lessons learned:
I fully expected severe damage knowing all the filters/ linkages that are exposed under there. I was relieved that the BH subframe took all of the abuse (i.e acting as a rock rail). I am now thinking about some sort of belly pan or guard. In reality - I need to learn to STOP and assess and should have known better! Hindsight being what it is, it hit me late last night that I had all of the tools I needed on board with the backhoe/stabilizers to pick up and roll it out from under there safely. I was so tired and tunnel-visioned into quickly solving the problem at hand.

Call me stupid (& lucky)!

 

[jimh406]

I’m glad it worked out for you. I got the Zooks welding guards for my filters on ebay. They were fairly easy to put on. I got the front grill guard from the classifieds here. I’m not sure when it will matter, but I figured it was good insurance.

 

[D2Cat]

If one gets stuck with a backhoe on a machine.................

 

[PoTreeBoy]

If one gets stuck with a backhoe on a machine.................

Not long after I got my ole L35, I got it high-centered on a soft knoll. After careful consideration, I had a plan using the hoe, outriggers and loader. Just as I started to pick up the back end with the hoe, the main hydraulic line blew. I ended up dragging it off with a Ford, how embarrassing!

 

[Jchonline]

If one gets stuck with a backhoe on a machine.................

yes I was thinking the same thing.

OP you can usually use the backhoe to unpin yourself. It is just amazing how you can use it to move the tractor around, and get it out of tight spots. When digging trenches I use it to reposition.
In your case, you could use the backhoe to lift the entire back of the machine off the ground and move it left or right to get out from under the rock, or you could use it to move you forward with the bucket pulling or sliding. Down riggers can also help, especially to level on slopes.

The backhoe is like an arm. Think of it like that and how you can use it to your advantage.

I am saying this as a M62 owner...I assume you can do the same things with a L series machine?

 

[NCL4701]

Have been there, albeit sans backhoe. First time I got the Kubota stuck I had the bucket on the front, box scrape on the back. Was widening and re-grading a washed in creek crossing. I knew the creek bed was getting pretty sloppy but forged on until the right front wheel sunk into mud the consistency of a half melted milkshake. Tried to back out and the right rear spun and broke through the crust it was on (which I thought was solid ground) into sloppy mud. Tractor listed over about 40 degrees and stuck with the right rear jammed against a solid dirt bank so no danger of rolling all the way over but it was hung pretty good. Like you, throttled up, locked diff, no go. Tractor was going nowhere and in no danger of going anywhere. Stopped, took about a minute to just think about the best way to get out before it got worse. Thought about getting one of the smaller tractors to assist but didn’t have a second driver and likely they didn’t have the power to get it out anyway. Then considered calling my neighbor who has a decent sized tractor but I knew he wouldn’t be home until the next day and not excited about leaving it in the creek at the mercy of the ever present thunderstorms. Finally remembered after a couple of minutes there’s a loader on the front that just might help level the tractor and push it out backward, something that made sense and I’ve seen done but never actually did myself. Sure enough, pushing down with the bucket curled down leveled the tractor and it still had traction on the left side so some patience with multiple loader pushes against the milkshake mud curling the bucket and the diff locked got it out in no time. Went back a couple of weeks later after the ground had stabilized a bit and finished it up.

Lesson learned and no damage to persons or property but kind of glad no one was watching. (Don’t tell my wife, please.) Only been stuck once since and it took about 30 seconds to push out with the loader.

 

[fruitcakesa]

Not a stuck tractor story but a JD 450 dozer; winter logging in a couple feet of snow and ran up on a buried stump and hung on the center crossmember. Too high up to use down pressure on the blade and drag myself back with the winch.
Ended up cutting a nearby tree into 4 foot lengths, put a couple under the blade and lifted the tracks enough to get a log under each side. Rinse and repeat till it was clear of the stump and finally was able to drive off.
I was drenched in sweat from all the running around in the deep snow hucking 4 foot chunks of pine around

 

[bbxlr8]

Thanks for all the sharing - wasn't feeling like the "sharpest knife in the drawer" but I got out of it with a only a few scrapes. I was glad no one was watching also.

Man, that subframe does hang low though...!

 

[orange crusher]

Not long after I got my ole L35, I got it high-centered on a soft knoll. After careful consideration, I had a plan using the hoe, outriggers and loader. Just as I started to pick up the back end with the hoe, the main hydraulic line blew. I ended up dragging it off with a Ford, how embarrassing!

Yup..............I, too would have been embarrassed to be seen driving a ford !!!!!!!!

 

[skeets]

Just remember what ever ,, ahhhhh dumb things you do,,,, you are not the first one to do it

 

[GeoHorn]

I once drove into a soft spot that 4WD couldn’t get me back out of.…. all 4 wheels just spun….but the front wheels were getting absolutely Zero traction.
I lowered the FEL bucket with the bucket level….and then added down-pressure to raise the front wheels out of the mud…. which transferred more weight to the rear wheels…and using the bucket bottom as a “skid” was able to back out of it.

A month or so later I saw a Kubota MX-something that had been driven down to the shoreline on Lake Travis across from Eagle Bluff. It’s front axle was buried to the frame and the rear wheels were dug down about 10 inches into what appeared to be fairly good dirt…but without sufficient traction to pull that. buried front axle out. The FEL/bucket was still in the air.
It sat there for about a week and with the lake rising I wondered what would happen to it.
About the time the lake would have submerged it… it looked like a dozer or some tracked vehicle had been called-in to drag it out. I felt that judicious use of the FEL might have gotten it out on its own.

 

[Old_Paint]

Got mine stuck the first day I had it, for all of 2 minutes. Decided to push down some privet hedge, and found a rather large stump hole/underground washout. Tractor listed pretty hard to the right. Since I had a bucket full of dirt at the moment (about 6 inches off the ground), that kept the right rear (and maybe the whole tractor) from disappearing into the abyss. Raised the FEL just a little to get it back off the ground, pushed in on the dif-lock, and eased down on the HST in reverse. Front wheels had a good bit of weight on them on solid ground, and helped push the right rear up on a root that walked me right out of the hole. I've think I pretty much found all the hidden stump/washout holes in the middle section of the yard now (some of them the hard way by cave-in). My primary goal is to get rid of as many voids as possible, and give yellow jackets a few less excuses to move in. From now until cold weather, they're very aggro. It's a long time until cold weather, and I pay for this property, not the steenkin' jackets. I'm pretty sure they build in the ground to get that little bit closer to Hell where they came from. I hate dem bugs.

 

[bbxlr8]

I feel you on the yellowjackets. I have a lot of uneven ground and deadwood. I start clearing an area with a chainsaw to get the scrub & multiflora rose down to even be able to see the holes and rocks.

It seems that I am getting more sensitive to them as I get older. It feels like I've been hit with an arrow and hurts for days and they can tag you again & again. I kept expecting a nest on this round of clearing as some of this stuff has been lying around for a LONG time. Only got stung once.

BTW I am so surprised and happy with the amount of work I can accomplish with this tractor! The place has never been this nice and I can't wait to see what I can do over time.

I keep expanding my mental to-do list though .

 

[Hot Rod]

Yes, I won't go into our ditch out back with out the back hoe because no one else will get in there to get me out if I sink in the mud.
I can get that tractor out of anything with the back how attached.

 

[random]

I've gotten stuck a couple times where I ended up using the FEL to push myself back enough to get traction. Those implements can be useful for things you never think of when you really need them.