showcrop
Well-known Member
I built a track plane for grooming the pulling track at some pulls in the local area where we use our local sled instead of one of the more established sleds. We had a pull Saturday and the host farm owner borrowed a compact JD from a neighboring business to pull the drag because his small tractor was out for repair. Being the builder of the plane I have unwittingly become the one to have to keep somebody on it. I wanted to get it properly adjusted anyway, so I got into the cab and started dragging. After a couple of passes I pulled down off the track and turned to come around, and the tractor came up on two wheels!!! I straightened the wheel quickly and it came right back down but this was a shock!!! I would never have entertained the least concern of instability on any other tractor that I have ever been on in this situation. The incline was nowhere near steep. I stopped to check things out. The drag was well below the center of gravity so it was adding to stability. The cab on this little tractor adds a considerable amount of weight well above the CG. The loader frame with no bucket even though down, perhaps does not help. The biggest thing appeared to be that the rear tires were set in as close as they could possibly be. I take responsibility for not having walked around it before starting to work it, but it appears that the dealer set up was far from correct for this little tractor, making it necessary to operate it with much more than normal caution. You can never fully depend on those before you doing things exactly right.