Ballast, Hillsides....and the pucker factor.

[foggy]

So, I was going to do some storm cleanup now with the cooler fall weather. So I loaded up my tractor, with grapple on the front end loader......and put my landscape rake on the 3 point so I could clean up the debris. That is about the size limit that will fit on my trailer. MISTAKE.

The landscape rake weighs about 250 lbs vs about 900 for my box blade with cast iron "suitcase" weights on the back. I also have my rear tires loaded.....but those 300cx loaders lift ALLOT of weight. Even with my heavier ballast on the back.....I could wish for more at times. One day I may buy a proper ballast box - but I know the limitations.....most of the time. ;)

Working on some of the hillsides with the grapple filled with wood.....I could sense the rear axel getting a bit light....and I sensed touble would follow if I kept this up. So, for once in my life.....I was smart enough to QUIT until I got more weight on the back.

Next problem.....how do I get the Box Blade and Weight home without my tractor at my land to load it??

(pic to follow via tat)

 

[foggy]

Fortunately my box lade wAs parked by our buck pole.

I put the suitcase weights in the back of my vehicle. Then used the winch on our buck pole to lift the box blade and wrestled it up the back of my trailer with a pry bar and winching a bit at a time. Petty soon I had 900 lbs loaded for the trip home. Getting it off was easy with the loader. :D As Yogi Bera said....."90% of this stuff is mental the other half is physical." ;)

Edit: Kinda hard to see the manual cable winch on the buck pole....but it's rated to about 800 lbs and worked well to lift most of the blade weight. I didn't quite trust all that weight on the small cable....so I pried the blade up and onto the trailer with a long bar. Worked pretty slick.

Now I got enough weight on the back for normal lifting and safety. :)

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[wiscwhip]

Safety first foggy, good choice! I can relate with the whole hillside thing. You should try farming over here in this bluff country! I've damn near had to clean the skivvies a few times over the years.

 

[sandbur]

Years back my Dad tipped a tractor off of a neighbor with his own tractor. The neighbor did not make it. Hillside and a narrow front end.

 

[biglakeba$$]

My grandpa tipped a combine on our farm....

I look at the sidehills they farmed and I simply cant imagine how they did it.

The farmer that does our 10 acre field has a John Deer SideHiller combine. It auto levels the front wheels hydraulicly so the cab stays semi level.
He said he can run a side hill and the tires will actually skid down the angle can be so much............. WTF!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Jim Timber]

Even wide fronts aren't going to save you if you're on too much slope. First time I lifted the rear end on mine I was surprised just how far to the side she'd go without hitting the stops.

 

[foggy]

^ A wide front end does little (or nothing) for rollover protection when the rear end is airborne. :eek:

The wide front is just a "pivot point" not much different than a tricycle front end....when it comes to roll-over.

 

[wiscwhip]

Try it on a Farmall H once!:eek::eek::eek: Naaaaarrrroooowwwww!