Flipped gehl al540

baumeister

baumeister

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Location
New buffalo Michigan
image.webp my foreman put the 540 on its side today. I have had it tipping many a time. It really is very tipsy. Any advice before I start it up again. Any concerns I should have?
 

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Yep, check fluids... mainly make sure there isn't oil on top of the cylinders. I'm betting it fires right up.


The machine is less stabile than a skid steer, but the majority of times they go over it's due to operator error. That looks like a flat area there?


Kinda like a friend/client's employee a couple days ago saying his semi tipped over due to the load shifting... it had more to do with his speed and the turn he was on.
 
I don't know about diesels but on gas engines you turn it over with the plugs removed to expel oil that gets into the heads so the thing doesn't hydrolock. I'm not sure if that can happen with a diesel.
 
It can hydrolock, but it doesn't happen every time. A way to check is to turn the engine over manually, usually with a wrench or ratchet on the crank shaft pulley's bolt. If it gets tight there's likely oil in the cylinder. Removing the injector can give a path to expel it.

The only time I've turned over an Gehl AL, there was no oil on top of the piston.
 
Thanks for the feedback.

Ok, so can I start it and see if it runs ok? Or do I need to unscrew all the injectors and turn it over by hand first. ? I am guessing it will start right up too. Won't any oil on top Of the Pistons just blow right out? Or do you mean the piston is literally full of oil? I am letting it sit over night. Thought that would be a safe way to let things drain back to where they should be.
 
It tipped in exactly the position it is now. From what I know about operating it three things led to the tipping point.

1: he is on uneven ground
2: he has it articulated downhill meaning the wheels are closer together on the downhill side
3: his load was also loading the machine "down hill" over the inside articulation. There was another 15 foot of log on the machine that was cut off (before righting the machine).

Anything else I might have missed.?
 
baumeister said:
It tipped in exactly the position it is now. From what I know about operating it three things led to the tipping point.

1: he is on uneven ground
2: he has it articulated downhill meaning the wheels are closer together on the downhill side
3: his load was also loading the machine "down hill" over the inside articulation. There was another 15 foot of log on the machine that was cut off (before righting the machine).

Anything else I might have missed.?
Click to expand...
#3 in your list is the biggest factor, I say. 15 feet is a lot of leverage. Hope everything turned out ok.
 
I would check the oil level and crank it. When I tipped mine I checked the oil and fired it back up within 10 minutes I'd guess (it's been a few years).

I would bump it over first, then crank away.
 
The biggest thing when a machine is tipped is
1 make sure everyone one is ok, deal with injuries and calming the nerves so something dangerous isn't done

And

2 move with a purpose to get it back on its wheels. The longer it's laid over the more chance you have of having these problems the guys are talking about.

A friend flipped my Thomas and when he did so he just stepped off the back as it went. We shut it down, dropped the grapple off and flipped it back. 3 or 4 minutes on its side. We stared at it for 5 minutes to see what was broke and cranked it over. Fired right up!

Hope your guy is ok
Good luck with the machine
 
Yes everyone is ok! He was pretty shook up. I think more from knowing he just fucked up the bosses new machine. Thanks for all the input. I am glad to hear these thibgs flip a lot and there seems to be little issues. It is a fantastic machine and I would choose it over a skid steer again and again. Even despite the tip.
 
No seat belt, I asked first thing after I knew he was ok. He said he just held on and rode it over. I will have a more detailed discussion with him after the holiday. I have decided to process the incident and then attack it with a tailgate training with a review of the incident, precisely aimed directives, instructions and training.

Thanks for all the input. Much appreciated.
 
When Dave from top notch dropped off my 540 he gave me a tutorial on using an articulated loader. Showed me what to do, what not to do.

He stressed the seat belt, especially on mine since there's no enclosed cab. I don't use my seat belt every time I get on but if I take it off flat ground and onto a hilly area you bet I'm clicking the seat belt so I don't get Cliff Burton'd.
 
I realize we as tree guys are dealing mostly with small equipment and residential yards (as opposed to mines, quarries and million dollar machines) but the big equipment guys always stress: ROPS only works if you have your seatbelt on!!! The big Tonka toys in quarries regularly go over, often spectacularly, and the operators wearing their seatbelt AS REQUIRED usually walk away, bruised but walking. Want lots of examples? Google Fatalgrams, the MSHA website that examines every miner fatality in the US.

I will admit not wearing a belt everytime I hop on a machine, but if it involves any slope or hill, I click it. I've ridden a couple of interesting rides in my day, and I want to keep them as just "interesting".
 
I just remembered that there's a thread either on here or arborist site where someone had a fabricator make up hub extensions for the wheels so the width was extended about a foot.
 
They are tippy machines for sure. I wouldn't recommend letting just anyone drive them. It looks really flat there. I tipped mine once on flat ground driving backward and turning. The branch dug in the ground and leveraged the machine over. We flipped it over with the chipper winch in less than 3 minutes and went right back to work. My dad flipped the machine earlier this year from operating a load too high. He wasn't able to get it righted until I arrived and it did hydrolock then. We had to pull the injectors and clear the oil. Then we changed the fluids and its been cherry since.
 
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