Center of Gravity

Anonymous-0 · Jul 4, 2009

Almost everyone who had "C" and Super "C" tractors in my community (Southern Missouri) has turned them over. I never heard of "B" turning over sidewise. Appearentl it is a center of gravity issue. I suppose the wheels, wheel weights, and final drives as well as the tread is the issue. Seems that the "C' and super is more prone for turn over than the "H" or "M" Also the "C" is very light on front with any rear mounted equipment. Yes I have a "B" Super "A" Super "C" with FH and an "H" and "M" . On steep slopes I do not trust the Super "C" but the "B" seems the most stable of all with the "M" coming in second.

Janicholson · Jul 4, 2009

The center of gravity on a C (or any tricycle style) is based on the ground at three points. The CG of wide front ends is also based on a three point triangle. But this triangle is raised about 16 inches (or so) on the front. This raised point of tipping allows a substantial amount of the tractor mass to be "lower" in relation to the three points. Imagine (a redesigned)C with a wide front with a pivot on the front axle at the top of the grill. (I know it is ridiculous) but now the entire mass of the engine and much of the drive train is below the tipping point. (Interesting)
The C and H-M tractors are also taller on larger diameter wheels. (raising the GC on its tripod)
Are they dangerous. Only when the moment of decision is affected by a desire to go where no man has gone before. Bowling balls are dangerous.
A limiting spring, or dampener on a wide front end would provide the greatest tipping resistance. But few are implemented, (many European tractors of recent vintage are equipped with such suspension to allow high speed road transport.) JimN

Anonymous-0 · Jul 4, 2009

A lot depends on how how the rear wheel width is set. We had a C but with the long axles it could be set fairly wide and be pretty stable. A B is wide from the beginning.

Too Far Gone · Jul 4, 2009

I once had a neighbor who came from Southern Missouri.He once said"I fell off my farm one day and had to walk a week to get back on it."

CNKS · Jul 4, 2009

All rollovers are a malfunction of the operator. If a person does not feel comfortable with the situation he is in he should get out of it. I live in western Kansas. It is flat. But we do have terraces and ditches. I mow a ditch near my house with my Super A. I keep the engine on the upside. Eventually it gets steep enough so that I am afraid it will tip -- I then quit. The worst situation I got into was with a JD 4020. I was blading (sweep plow or undercutter) a terrace in a field I was not familiar with. Seems to me the slope changed immediately, and I was at a 45 degree angle in a few feet. I stopped, got off and got someone else to move the tractor. Some tractors are safer than others, but in the end it is up to the operator. I know some people "have" to farm steep slopes, but it isn't going to be me.

ScottyHOMeY · Jul 4, 2009

You asked the question rightly. It is a matter of center of gravity. A down and dirty ay to thnk of that is as the point where, if youwere to be able to hang the tractor from two points or more, it's the place where the vertical lines from the suspension points would intersect.

Rollovers happen when that point falls outside the footprint, with the nuances that JimN described.

Comparing a B to a C . . . If you think about it the front ends are very nearly the same. (Narrow fronts of each have the same bolster, so height isn't all that different.) But a C can be set up much narrower than a B or even 6" narrower than a BN. Allow that the different style tranny puts weight higher than the Bs, and the fact that the operator's weight is also perched atop that instead of adding weight lower and to one side like on the B, the center of gravity is higher and therefore doesn't have to to tip so far before the COG will cross that imaginary line beyond which it will roll.

Nature of the beast, and just one more argument for the need to use one's head. If it don't feel right, stop and get out of there the way you came.

Hugh MacKay · Jul 4, 2009

Moonlite: Has nothing to do with the tractor, and everything to do with the guy that made it field ready, and the operator. You give me an M, H, C or A for a day to make it field ready, and I'll follow you anywhere you want to go.

If everyone was upsetting C and SC in your community then it was the fault of the guy making them field ready or the operators.

GeneMO · Jul 4, 2009

Ask a loadmaster on a C-130, who is about to load a couple of troop carriers, tanks, a bunch of soldier and equipment, ask him about center of gravity.

Gene

Center of Gravity

Anonymous-0

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Janicholson

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Anonymous-0

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Too Far Gone

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CNKS

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ScottyHOMeY

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Hugh MacKay

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GeneMO

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