Back in about May of this year I purchased a 299D3XE…. I didn’t get to run it much as it was throwing some codes which led to an appointment with the mechanic. Picked the machine up on June 29th, and on June 30th I had a medical emergency that put me down for two solid months. Slowly recovering, I am now to the point where I can get in the machine and play around. Last weekend I got my self in a spot where I felt like I was going to flip the machine backwards. I was backing down a logging road that was maybe a 10% grade, and when I got to a water bar it got “scary” on the down side…. my question is, how steep of a hill can a 299 handle before the threat of tumbling over backward or forward?
30 degrees i think.
Your road must be way more than 10%, that's a 10:1 slope. I routinely run our 770 up and down 2:1 slopes, forward only. That would be a 50% slope. Thinking about it, I'd say much more than a 4:1 with an empty bucket might have a little pucker factor if backing down. Biggest factor in all of this is what the machine can do greatly depends on the operator. What one guy can do wide open with his eyes closed might not even be possible for another guy. I put my excavators in positions that would have most guys bailing out.
What Shimmy1 said plus when you lose respect for the machine or get too comfortable, that is when something happens. I do not like sewing button holes in my seat cushion but have done it more than I wanted to.
As long as u have an implement on it it’ll go down probably more than you’re willing to. We have a 97-2 Kubota basically what u have and I’ve unloaded it from some very steep angles off the trailer. Even without a bucket and that’s scary. Real close to scraping the back of the machine on the ground coming down. In due time you’ll get more comfortable and comfortable with it. Just don’t get over confident. As said treat it with respect.
My skid steer will hit the back end before it flips over backwards. It makes you pucker if you're not used to it. Going forward up trailer ramps without a bucket is pretty nerve racking. I don't know what it would take to go over backwards though and don't want to find out. I've gone forward down a steep hill and had a lot of people's jaws drop. I had the bucket down and was smoothing the hill. I could stop but not back up. I wouldn't do it without having a bucket on.
Yes WD same experience I’ve had all the way around. I have one trailer I won’t back down without an implement attached but I have hehe. I’ll back it on and drive it off if it’s a bare machine lol. First time I saw my son break over a super steep hill with a bucket full of rip rap I bout ****. He went over and disappeared lol. But he to was carrying load and had buck down. Had to repair the rip rap at bottom.
Thank you all for your replies…. I will just take it easy and slowly learn the boundaries of what it can do….. I’m sure it’ll probably do more than I’m willing to try!