Does This Happen to Anyone Else?

[BoneheadNW]

I know I'm a rookie tractor operator, but there are a couple of things that routinely happen to me on my tractor and I just gotta know if other people are as lame as I am.

1. When I mount my tractor from the left side (hey, no crude remarks!), more times than not my hand or hip will hit the pto lever and shove it backwards, causing it to grind a little. Nothing major, but it frustrates me when I do it.

2. Again, when I am mounting the tractor (are you seeing a pattern here?), my hand sometimes gets trapped between the front seat and the seat for the backhoe, causing my fingers to get pinched. At this point I'm cursing at myself for not keeping the BH seat raised, although I think my neighbor thought I was cursing at him (I kept yelling Mother ------, that really hurt!).

3. Finally, when I shut the tractor down at the end of the day (aren't you glad this isn't another tractor mounting problem?), I have a bad habit of leaving the key in the ignition. The tractor is stored in my garage and my 9 year old son is on alert to remind me to take the key.

Do these things happen to anyone else?

Bonehead

 

[TonyV]

Ehhhhh....no......these things happen to no one else...only you! /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif But please do start taking your keys out! /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

....Tony

 

[rbargeron]

Tractors have a nifty assortment of levers, knobs, handles all placed within easy reach of the seated operator. But when the operator either leaves or returns to the seat, there are any number of ways all those items get hooked by clothing, or your hands, or just get pushed to another position.

Getting on or off your tractor is one of the dangerous moves - whether it's running or not. A lot can happen and a wrong move can lead to loud comments about it's mother..

Tractors are a great extension of power in your hands. But they can bite you. I always try to engage the squash first - but I still screw up a lot, even after all these years. I think everybody does now and then.

 

[Bob_Skurka]

It has come to my understanding that the most dangerous move is dismounting the tractor while wearing baggy shorts. Seems some unwitting individual snagged his PTO lever while jummping off the tractor and was hanging by his crotch on that lever (and that was a good test of the strength of the lever, which, if it could have shown any mercy at all, would have snapped off at a very critical moment, BUT NO, it did not even have the common decency to bend). Now don't ask me how I know of this story, or who that witless individual might be /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

 

[PBinWA]

Don't worry. Leave the keys in the tractor. Your son will soon be on it levelling the front lawn with the box blade just like you wanted.

/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

There was a thread recently where one TBN member's teenage son got drunk and borrowed his dad's tractor and went on a small rampage. Might be worth a read.

Tractor Rampage

 

[DmansPadge]

Bob, I can't believe somebody would do such a thing! /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif
I know of a guy who was also wearing some loose shorts and dismounted the tractor on the right side and got hung up on the FEL joystick. When I.... I mean somebody got hung up only one leg found the ground and the rest wasn't pretty. Good thing the FEL was on the ground and the tractor wasn't running! He never get off on that side anymore! /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

 

[wushaw]

That PTO lever in the way was one of the reasons I went with an L series tractor, I was constantly hitting that lever on the B7500 I had.
I haven't had any mounting or dismounting problems yet with my L2800. I always leave the keys in the tractor also but there are no kids within a couple miles of the tractor and my dogs haven't figured out how to start it yet /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[btolle]

With only 16 hours on the tractor you are still getting used to is and hopefully you will adjust your habits to avoid the levers, etc. when getting off and on.

As for the keys, when I have something I need to remember I have a couple of different ways of handling it.

One way is to put the key in someplace obvious (to you, not your son). If it gone you will be reminded to go out and get it.

The other method is to use something else to remind you. For instance, you could lock the key in a cabinet. When you get the tractor key out hang a towel or rag on the cabinet to remind you to put the key back. When you put the tractor key back put the towel in the cabinet with it so you will have it there for next time.

Last alternative, hide the tractor key in the kid's school books, he will never see it.

As I get older I have to devise more ways to remember things!

Bill Tolle

 

[penokee]

I'm afraid that if I didn't leave the key in the tractor I'd never find it.
penokee /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Alan L.]

Bonehead, no it sounds like you're just a klutz.....

Just kidding. The problem I have is getting OFF the tractor. I seem to always manage to get my cutoffs on a lever. Once I fell on my face, and other time it ripped my britches plumb off of me!

The problem with the 2710 is that the control levers are on top of the fender. On bigger tractors the levers are inside the fenders.