Caution: Tiller can be dangerous going down hill

[hz293]

I have one area that is about 3/4 acre, about 75 ft wide and is downhill. (Or uphill. Depends on how you look at it.) At the bottom of the hill is a drop off. I don't know grades but if you tried to go sideways, over you'd go. I have a Kubota B7510hst and an Agric tiller which is quite heavy. With the tiller on, starting up the hill, even with a full bucket the front wheels will lift off the ground. So of course the only way to till is going downhill, I thought.

It did fine untill I was near the bottom on the first pass and the tiller hit some loose dirt and started pushing me . I hit the brakes but the tractor wouldn't stop. It took me a couple of seconds to realize that the tiller was what was pushing me along quite fast, downhill toward the drop off. Then it took me a couple seconds more to figure out that I should push the clutch in to stop the PTO. It was pucker city but I got it stopped just in time.

I just wanted to relate this incident here on the forum to alert others that going downhill with a tiller can be dangerous and to be prepared in case it starts pushing you. This was the first time I tried to till this part of my land. It will also be my last.

Harris

[kubotafan]

Till your underwear in on the next pass. They will make great fertilizer!

[SPYDERLK]

Just raise the tiller off the ground to stop the push.
larry

[jbrumberg]

Hz293:

Tilling on that slope can cause ersosion problems. Jay

[MJPetersen]

Originally Posted by jbrumberg

Hz293:

Tilling on that slope can cause ersosion problems. Jay

Bit of adrenaline rush huh!! Probably will cause erosion problems. If the slope is too much to till across, it is probably too much to till. What are you wanting to plant on the hill?

Mike

[ChuckinNH]

It's amazing how fast things can happen at tractor operating speeds! I guess that one downside of getting used to the hydrostatic transmissions is that use of the clutch becomes less instinctive. I'm really happy that you are OK, and passed along the warning. We don't usually use these things 12 hours a day, and can't always anticipate what might go wrong.

[Dougster]

Originally Posted by hz293

I just wanted to relate this incident here on the forum to alert others that going downhill with a tiller can be dangerous and to be prepared in case it starts pushing you. This was the first time I tried to till this part of my land. It will also be my last.
Harris

Thanks for posting this. I have been undecided for a while now over which tiller to buy... with a big part of my concern being the heavy weight, size and power of a full-size tiller (such as the KK 72") that would cover both my tire tracks vs. a lighter, smaller one with a slight offset that would cover only a single track but likely be much easier to control. You may have just helped me to make my decision.

Dougster

[hz293]

Originally Posted by SPYDERLK

Just raise the tiller off the ground to stop the push.
larry

Picture me hitting my forehead with the palm of my hand.

Harris

[jbrumberg]

hz293:

Hindsight is 20:20. I have lost count of all the times I came to the "correct" solution after the fact. The important thing is to apply the new found wisdom in the event the scenerio re-presents itself. It is usually just reaction during the experience. You could have also dropped yur RPM's which would have slowed you down or stalled you out. The tiller would have then become a sea anchor or drogue so to speak. I have learned a lot here at TBN from the collective experiences and resultant suggestions from the readership. We all have learning curves . Jay

[tensaw12]

Glad you are OK. Sounds like a do it yourself stress test.
Thanks, for passing this along