Belly guard, brush guard

Mith

Active member
Has anyone put any additions on to their machine to protect against bits of brush and logs damaging thier tractor.

I had a load of wiring ripped off my tractor by a tree, and have been thinking about making a belly plate and panels to go up the side of the engine.

Anyone made or bought anything like this?

'Saw a while back the guy making belly guards for BX Kubota'. Anyone with experience how effective they are keeping twigs out the 'sensitive' areas? (of the tractor :huh: )

Thanks
 

Doc

Admin
Staff member
Gold Site Supporter
I've never added one to any tractor I've owned, but I have considered it.

I know I could use one, but instead if I'm brush hogging a big patch of multiflora I will back into it rather than drive over it.

I'm concerned that if I put a solid piece of steel on the belly, it will stop air flow, so the engine could overheat. It would also limit access from underneath. Then I did consider a metal guard made of mesh or something you can see through with plenty of holes for air .... but I would still have the access issue when I needed to work on it. So, I've tried to limit what I drive over so that I don't need to add the belly guard.
 

BoneheadNW

Member
I would have the same concerns as Doc. The mesh idea seems like a good one, but I would be concerned with it clogging with mud or getting shredded and ripped off. What were you thinking about using, Mith?
Bone
 
B

bczoom

Guest
Jim,

Would some sort of deflector or something across the front work?
It could be something like a V-plow but maybe made of teeth or something instead of a solid surface so the smaller stuff comes through.
 

Mith

Active member
Doc, doesnt the cooling air being aimed down cause a whole load of dust? That seems like a pretty odd design. Maybe if you mounted a solid belly plate a few inches below the bottom of the tractor it would allow the cooling air to blow out the sides, stop it kicking up the dust too?

I would be concerned that using mesh one of those springy stumps that you get when you cut off a thin tree would catch on it and tear it off.

I was thinking a bit plate of steel held on by pins, drop it off to access the filters and that.
Driving over something sticking up, then reversing when its under there seems to do the most damage.
I don't really have any ideas on design of it though, other than a flat plate with angle welded to the stop to stiffen it. I have never seen one. Any pictures?
 

Jim_S

Super Moderator
SUPER Site Supporter
Gold Site Supporter
I used the fel as a guard when I bush hogged our place. kept it a few inches above the ground and also watched ahead because I had no idea what I would find.

Jim
 

Doc

Admin
Staff member
Gold Site Supporter
Doc, doesnt the cooling air being aimed down cause a whole load of dust? That seems like a pretty odd design. Maybe if you mounted a solid belly plate a few inches below the bottom of the tractor it would allow the cooling air to blow out the sides, stop it kicking up the dust too?

I would be concerned that using mesh one of those springy stumps that you get when you cut off a thin tree would catch on it and tear it off.

I was thinking a bit plate of steel held on by pins, drop it off to access the filters and that.
Driving over something sticking up, then reversing when its under there seems to do the most damage.
I don't really have any ideas on design of it though, other than a flat plate with angle welded to the stop to stiffen it. I have never seen one. Any pictures?

Good points Mith. It would work fine if you had room for the air to pass by setting it lower than the frame. And I like the pin idea. I hated the thought of removing the plate, but if you did it with snap pins it would be a breeze to take off.
Sounds like a winner to me.
 

gdebt

New member
I checked into skid plates for my machine and the dealers comments to me were: I will sell them to you but why do you want them when you own a FEL. His point was that as Jim points out set the FEL just above the ground and it will tell you as soon as you hit something. If you dont have a FEL I would definently buy them.
I did buy the brush guard for the grill not for brush but for the FEL work. It helps keep the lights in place when I over load the bucket.
 
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