Trying to learn from a mistake on new tractor with root grapple

[IronRyan]

Hello all, new to the forum. Just took delivery of a L3560 HST with a la805 loader a couple weeks ago. Working on clearing some land off and planting a vineyard over the next couple years. I have owned a tractor in the past but not one with a front end loader. Last week i was clearing some brush/sapplings with the root grapple. I ended up damaging, bending part of the front end loader while using the root grapple. I believe what happened was a limb came through the back of the grapple and as i was pushing forward, it caused the quick release handle on the bucket to pop up and i either didn't come to a stop quickly enough or something and ended up the cylinders in the front end loader were off from each other about an inch. 9.9 hours on it and i broke it. . This ended up being an 1100 dollar oops. Anyone have any advice on how to prevent this from happening again? For obvious reasons, i can't do this again! Any root grapple how to's out there?

Thanks,
Ryan

 

[mdhughes]

Can I ask why this cost you $1,100? It sounds like twisted the bar that goes from one side of the SSQA to the other or did it break the weld? If it was just twisted/out of time you should have been able to fix this yourself. There are many post on the forum about this.

I have seen some people put expanded metal on the grapple to stop that from happening.

 

[Rdrcr]

^^^^
In addition, being that it’s a new tractor, do you not have insurance through KTAC? They should have covered the cost of this incident.

Moving on, we just have to learn from the mistakes we make. I’ve had the misfortune of forgetting to lock the SSQA levers and dropping my pallet forks into a brush pile and having to dig the assembly out, lol. Wasn’t fun but could have been much worse.

Mike

 

[ayak]

This really isn’t as bad as it seems-if it’s what we think, it’s an easy fix. And there are some very elegant ways posted to help prevent this, and others, not so elegant

 

[D2Cat]

Welcome to the forum. What you experience can be fixed easily with a block of wood and a few minutes using you hydraulics to get the plates back to the same plane. I hope you didn't go to someone and get charged $1100.

You can do a search on this forum (far upper right magnifying lens is search function) and look for loader arms twisted, or something like that. There are many discussion a bout the problem you describe. The easy way to keep the levers secure is drill a 1/4" hole near the end of each lever and get a bungee to hook into the hole, go under the cross bar and into the hole on the other lever.

Also need to be positive when you move the lever down the tip goes fully into the slot. That means the plate of loader is against the back of the bucket (with no gap between them).

Might also consider some kind of ballast or counter weight on the 3 pt. when using the grapple to insure your rear tires stay on the ground!

 

[IronRyan]

This really isn’t as bad as it seems-if it’s what we think, it’s an easy fix. And there are some very elegant ways posted to help prevent this, and others, not so elegant

View attachment 99350

I was thinking of doing this but with a small chain, but this would be easier. Does this work well for you?

 

[ayak]

I was thinking of doing this but with a small chain, but this would be easier. Does this work well for you?

So far, so good—haven’t popped a quick-release up since I added this, and I’ve been deep into quite a bit of brush many times since. That grapple does have a bit of a cage though, on its backside. Mostly I’m just trying to make the releases work a little harder at releasing themselves on their own recognizance —I’m sure it can still be done.

 

[fried1765]

Welcome to the forum. What you experience can be fixed easily with a block of wood and a few minutes using you hydraulics to get the plates back to the same plane. I hope you didn't go to someone and get charged $1100.

You can do a search on this forum (far upper right magnifying lens is search function) and look for loader arms twisted, or something like that. There are many discussion a bout the problem you describe. The easy way to keep the levers secure is drill a 1/4" hole near the end of each lever and get a bungee to hook into the hole, go under the cross bar and into the hole on the other lever.

Also need to be positive when you move the lever down the tip goes fully into the slot. That means the plate of loader is against the back of the bucket (with no gap between them).

Might also consider some kind of ballast or counter weight on the 3 pt. when using the grapple to insure your rear tires stay on the ground!

I am wondering if this could happen to me,.... but I think not.
My bucket locking levers are hydraulically actuated, through a diverter.
I am thinking those levers should be held in place by fluid trapped in the locking actuating cylinder, when the diverter is switched back to pure 3rd function.
Am I correct on this?

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

I am wondering if this could happen to me,.... but I think not.
My bucket locking levers are hydraulically actuated, through a diverter.
I am thinking those levers should be held in place by fluid trapped in the locking actuating cylinder, when the diverter is switched back to pure 3rd function.
Am I correct on this?

If it's still go the levers with the hydraulic cylinder, then it can be manually over ridden.
So yes in theory it could happen, but the hydraulic ram slows that operation down.

 

[skeets]

Maybe I am dumber than a box of rocks today, but I dont understand what he broke twisted and what cost 11 Benjamin's to fix

 

[fried1765]

If it's still go the levers with the hydraulic cylinder, then it can be manually over ridden.
So yes in theory it could happen, but the hydraulic ram slows that operation down.

Thank you!

 

[IronRyan]

Maybe I am dumber than a box of rocks today, but I dont understand what he broke twisted and what cost 11 Benjamin's to fix

The receipt says they replaced a damaged L2226 quick coupler for 1,088 dollars. If i got took which i don't think so, the dealer i bought from has been in business for along time in the area, but if i did nothing i can do about it now.

 

[ken erickson]

Maybe I am dumber than a box of rocks today, but I dont understand what he broke twisted and what cost 11 Benjamin's to fix

From the OP’s description this video gives a pretty good explanation . Lots of videos about the same issue. Would not surprise me if the dealer labor and new part costs $1100.
As others have stated it can be fixed without dealer help and parts. I am sure that could vary if welds are broke or extreme twisting.

 

[edritchey]

I would have thought KTAC would have covered that so it should have only cost you 250 for the deductible. That's if you got the KTAC insurance with your new tractor.

 

[mikester]

Sorry about your troubles, it happens.

My biggest advice is GO SLOW. Keep your head on a swivel all around and under your machine.

Reaction times are slower when you go fast. Things tend to break faster too.

 

[Vigo]

My bucket locking levers are hydraulically actuated, through a diverter.
I am thinking those levers should be held in place by fluid trapped in the locking actuating cylinder, when the diverter is switched back to pure 3rd function.

You're correct. On a double-acting cylinder with a rod that only comes out one end of it, in order for the cylinder to change position the total amount of fluid in the cylinder must change. Leakage across the piston seals in the cylinders is irrelevant because fluid cannot move from one side to the other unless some fluid can ALSO get OUT of the cylinder as well. That means, if there is no fluid leaking out anywhere between the cylinders, hoses, and the diverter valve, then the cylinders cannot even slowly drift! So it either leaks, or it can't move. This is the same situation as a pilot operated check valve in terms of preventing the cylinder from moving.

 

[fried1765]

Sorry about your troubles, it happens.

My biggest advice is GO SLOW. Keep your head on a swivel all around and under your machine.

Reaction times are slower when you go fast. Things tend to break faster too.

I think this situation is best resolved by finding a method to hold those locking levers in place.
The tight bungee cord suggestion offered above, seems to be a good one.

 

[Siesta Sundance]

Need to weld solid plate on the grapple to protect against the wooden stabs. This protection helps keep the QA arms from being moved and damaged to the front of the tractor.

My brother has damaged both, lol.

Bend the tractor QA back into place, the tube between the front of the loader is like a fuse.

Since the prior damaged...
1.The grapple now has the welded plate.

2.The front guard on the tractor has been reinforced.

3.Added a second nut on QA arms to help eliminate the slope that is above those springs. Under heavy loads. The springs/pins on the QA arms move almost 1/4in, kinda a bad design IMO.

4.When he uses it, I also put tie wraps(160lb break strength) on the arms and around to the support tube.

I will post up some pictures later.

 

[Vigo]

Yeah, the SSQA system is not all that great, it just became the 'common denominator' over the course of decades.

But tractor use in general has as a truth that we are usually using or doing not-ideal things that are only safe or workable by making up for it with operator skill/caution. So, in that way it fits in perfectly.

 

[Siesta Sundance]

Yeah, the SSQA system is not all that great, it just became the 'common denominator' over the course of decades.

But tractor use in general has as a truth that we are usually using or doing not-ideal things that are only safe or workable by making up for it with operator skill/caution. So, in that way it fits in perfectly.

And none us would never, ever push the equipment harder than its designed too, never, lol