Go BottomTilt Meter for JD 4100
 | Mike Yager
Join Date: Posts: 1 
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2002-02-07 35381
Has anyone installed a tilt meter for a JD 4100? If so, what kind did you use? Thanks.
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| Bird Senter
Join Date: Jun 1999 Posts: 962 
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2002-02-07 35383
Mike, I don't know for sure about the 4100, but a number of people have installed tiltmeters from the web site listed below on a variety of tractors. I have one for side to side and one for front to rear. ....
Link:
Click Here
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| Mike Yager
Join Date: Posts: 1
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2002-02-11 35483
Thanks for your help. I contacted them and they had a meter they recommended for the 4100. I have ordered it. ....
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 | Murf
Join Date: Dec 1999 Posts: 7249 Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada 
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2002-02-11 35485
When ever somebody asks me about tiltmeters I have two standard replies... 1) if you need to know how steep the incline is then use the 'seat of the pants' method, if it feels uncomfortable, don't do it, and if the seat of your pants are moist, it's too late... and 2) if you install a tiltmeter on your machine you wil be tempted to look at it on a slope, this is the very last instance in which your concentration should be on anything except what you are doing.... Best of luck. ....
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| Bird Senter
Join Date: Jun 1999 Posts: 962
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2002-02-11 35499
So you don't need a tiltmeter? Murf, I know you've had a great deal of experience and I value your opinions; however, a lot of folks haven't had that much experience yet. And the fact is that you don't NEED a fuel gauge either; fill it up at the start of the job; you'll soon know how long you can run it before needing fuel. And you don't NEED a tachometer; you can't over rev the engine on most diesel tractors. And if you get on a slope and it doesn't FEEL safe, don't do it. On the other hand, if you decide it DOES feel safe; go for it, and if you turn the tractor over, you'll know your feeler wasn't working right. Yep, lots of things that we don't NEED, but on the other hand, if you WANT to know, well, I kinda like my tiltmeters. ....
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| Murf
Join Date: Dec 1999 Posts: 7249 Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada
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2002-02-12 35515
Don't get me wrong Bird 'ol buddy, it's not that I don't think that people (especially the less experienced of us) don't NEED a tiltmeter. It's just from PERSONAL EXPERIENCE I have found that the absolute, without a doubt, very, very LAST thing someone without (or with for that matter) a lot of experience needs is something to distract them from the task at hand in such a situation. Operating any machine requires concentration, the bigger, more powerful the machine, the more concentration require since even a moments hesitation in executing a 'correcting' manuever can have serious (or even permanent) consequences. Best of luck. ....
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| Mike Yager
Join Date: Posts: 1
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2002-02-12 35530
Update:
I ordered the Tilt Meter and got it a couple of days later. I have already put it on the tractor.
I agree that you usually can tell when you have gone too far by the seat of the pants method but I thought this would provide an extra measure of safety. Heck, if seat of the pants always worked, there would be no need for the ROPS.
I don't think you would rely on either method - seat of the pants or the meter but use a combination of both. The ability of a tractor to tip will be influenced by several factors, the angle being one. Others will include attachments being used and the condition of the ground.
If the angle starts to feel wrong, its easy to take a quick glance at the meter from the corner of my eye, much like you would a tach in a car. I have had my tractor in a situation a couple of time when the angle was starting to seem extreme. Nothing happened but it seemd like it would be nice to give a tilt meter a quick glance and if things didn't look good, get the heck out of where I was at.
Anyway, I have the meter on the tractor and will have to see how it works. ....
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| Todd Wilson
Join Date: Posts: 1
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2002-02-12 35531
So whats the amount of degree's before say a JD950 will tip over? Whats the safe amount of degree's to go on a slope. I know i have mowed some ditches that while on the seat seemed like it was at an extreme angle but looking at it off the tractor it wasnt that bad of a slope.
Todd
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| Bird Senter
Join Date: Jun 1999 Posts: 962
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2002-02-13 35550
Todd, I have read (don't know for sure) that there is a safety standard requiring most tractors to be able to go to 20 degrees without turning over. However, that only applied to the bare tractor without taking into consideration things such as implements, front end loaders, backhoes, canopies, etc. I don't expect the tractor manufacturers to come out and state a specific number because too many factors enter into it. Things like the speed you're traveling and whether you try to turn upslope. And if you're already at the maximum on a smooth slope, it would only take a very small limb, rock, or other bump on the high side, or a very slight depression or soft spot on the low side to ruin your whole day. I only used the seat of the pants method myself until a couple of years ago, and go curious about what angle some of the slopes were, so I have a tiltmeter for front to rear as well as one for side to side. I probably don't have as much nerve as a lot of folks. The steepest side slope I've gotten on was 18 degrees. In fact, I tried parking the tractor there and got off to see whether I could tip it by hand (I couldn't), but I have no intentions of getting my tractor on a 20 degree slope. Actually anything over 10 degrees starts making me uncomfortable, and at 15 degrees I work VERY slowly and carefully (another time the HST transmission is an advantage).
Of course, I find the tiltmeter to be an aid when spreading dirt, making swales or drainage ditches, etc. because, unlike some folks, I can't always look at the ground and tell for sure whether it's level or which way water will run.
In other words, the tiltmeters are just another aid; I don't even look at them most days, but of course, if I had my way, I guess my tractor instrument panel would look like an airplane instrument panel. I like instruments to let me know what's happening and/or whether the seat of my pants is right. ....
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| TomG
Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 5406 Upper Ottawa Valley
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2002-02-13 35555
I'm echoing Bird's comments. It's good both have a good idea of the slopes a tractor will operate on. It's also a good idea to pay attention to how a tractor feels. Doing both is a good idea. Stay off dangerously steep slopes, and also stay away from places that feel uncomfortable.
I believe that many tractor accidents start as slides and may turn into turnovers. I believe that this 20-degree standards stuff is an engineering concept that probably has to do with centre of gravity, ideal operating conditions and acceptable safety margins. Somebody may know specifically, but I doubt the standards have much to do with traction and soil conditions. In terms of operations, it's important to keep in mind that a slope worked one day may become unsafe after a hard overnight rain. There are so many variables here that I can't imagine any manufacturer stating that a tractor could be safely operated up to some slope limit.
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 | Chief
Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 4297 Southwest MiddleTennessee
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2003-11-02 67864
I was digging around and came across this post. Anybody here use these? Are they worth the money. Seem kinda pricey to me but I am not sure as to what all goes into the manufacture of them. ....
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| TomG
Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 5406 Upper Ottawa Valley
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2003-11-03 67873
I think they're like the bank portion of old turn and bank indicators. I seem to recall people getting two of them for front to back and side to side, but who knows how a front to back indicator would be read from the tractor seat. It they're real pricey, there may be something more to them.
Ken might have something to say about how useful they'd be. ....
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Add PhotoTilt Meter for JD 4100
 | kwschumm
Join Date: Feb 2003 Posts: 5764 NW Oregon
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2003-11-03 67888
I actually have one but haven't installed it yet. The tape mounting system is kind of cheesy IMHO so I've been wanting to fabricate some sort of bracket for it. It would probably be useful to calibrate my sphincter gauge, but it wouldn't have helped me with my recent rollover. Well, watching the ball move during the event may have been entertaining :) ....
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| Chief
Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 4297 Southwest MiddleTennessee
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2003-11-03 67890
How much did you pay for yours Ken? I was looking at the dual axis meter for $49. That seems kinda high but maybe there is more to the manufacture of it than I am seeing. ....
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| kwschumm
Join Date: Feb 2003 Posts: 5764 NW Oregon
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2003-11-03 67892
I paid somewhere around $40 IIRC. Seems kind of spendy for such a simple item, but the guy has to pay for production costs and seems to have a fairly small market. I would have got the dual-axis one but I bought mine before that one was available.
On the top of the black instrument panel above the hood there are two screws - I was thinking of making a bracket that could be mounted by those screws and hold the tiltmeter in a visible position above the steering wheel. Just have to get around to it I guess. ....
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