An expensive crazy accident with my Kubota

I just recently have been clearing brush with my Bobcat B200 loader backhoe, using the edge of the loader blade to bush the bushes over, then get the loader blade under the root ball to pull it out the ground. I don't have a grapple, since it sure would make the job easier. The stems are typically less than 3" in diameter, but may have up to 15 stems clustered together and the root ball may be a foot and a half in diameter.

After getting about 2 acres cleared of everything but hardwood trees, I felt I had the technique down, and that is exactly when you make a mistake ! I went out on a Sunday morning and on the very first bush I pushed over, I went a little too far over, so that the engine and front axle were over the root ball. All good at that point. Then I backed up to get the blade under it and one of the roots sticking out the root ball found its way from behind past the crankshaft pulley and forced the blades of the radiator fan into the core. One of the blades managed to shear off about 6 core tubes before it locked up and the belt started slipping. The way the Kubota fan blades are shaped with the scythe like shape on the leading edge result in pretty significant damage once it gets dug in.

I spent the rest of the day removing the radiator, the guy who came up with the design must have been a masochist... I ended up having the radiator re-cored and when I re-fitted it the following weekend, discovered that the fan was warped and still colliding with the core. Thank goodness I discovered that before turning the key... So now I have a new fan on order and I tried straightening the old one by baking it in my wifes oven at 300F and then squeezing it flat on the ceramic stove top with a large 2 gal water filled pot. It seems to have done the trick, but I will know later today.

So I have to agree, it is pretty easy to do a lot of damage in a very short time. I now have to figure how to armor the underside of the engine compartment to avoid a repeat, since it could just as easily have been the alternator or the injection pump, which is low down on the engine, or the oil filter etc etc... Further back I have had the wires pulled out of the fuel lift pump and there are all of the hydrostatic hoses etc etc.

At least the guy who did the damage is a co owner. It is a much worse feeling when it is just someone you know, who has nothing invested in the machine. I once remarked to someone who was using my machine that replacing the tires would cost nearly half of what I paid for the machine. He was not used to a hydrostatic low geared machine and just didn't understand to modulate the torque so that the wheels were not constantly spinning once the loader blade was dug in. Some people really think that machines can take just anything they can throw at them.

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Originally Posted by westcliffe01

Some people really think that machines can take just anything they can throw at them.

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Especially if they don't plan on maintaining the machine forever.

Do you guys have insurance on it??

I'm impressed when two guys can share a tractor successfully. Something like this can end friendships unfortunately. Glad no one got hurt.

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Originally Posted by Mud Mechanik

I hate that happened to your tractor....but how did the grapple have anything to do with it?

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I agree with the question and have to say that for that much damage to have occured, he was driving the tractor WAY too fast............

I have had stumps and logs do damage to the sensitive bits of my tractors, but to have the floor pushed up that much he was either not paying ANY attention or he was going so fast it happened in a heart beat.

Easy does it............ all the time.

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Originally Posted by Dead Horse

I agree with the question and have to say that for that much damage to have occured, he was driving the tractor WAY too fast............

I have had stumps and logs do damage to the sensitive bits of my tractors, but to have the floor pushed up that much he was either not paying ANY attention or he was going so fast it happened in a heart beat.

Easy does it............ all the time.

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You were just lucky the damage to your tractor was to sensitive items. Only difference is that this poor sole was lucky enough to do the same as you but just with a larger log and to a different part of the machine. I think it was a freak accident that couldn't be avoided and hope the friendship isn't damaged. Tractors are like trains, moving forward 6" with all that mass will definitely bend things and he probably didn't even notice anything was wrong until he felt the floor moving from underneath.

It was a piece of wood 5" in diameter by 3' long and a 70 HP tractor. I run over that size stuff with my 30 HP tractor all the time without worrying about damage. This was just the perfect length to flip up and catch the floorboard. I wouldn't blame the friend be

All hail the power of wood.

Yes we have insurance but not sure of coverage for something like this and we did not file. As far as our friendship, no problem. Hey, i've broken stuff too. We realize that tractors used in the woods like we use them are going to take a beating. He and i never argue. Hey we even own this hunting land together. But with the land, we do have a LLC with legal documents to protect each of us. But we bought the tractor on a handshake Most of our implements are co-owned also. Its funny, he and i dont have a lot in common except for our passion for deer hunting and everything related to that in terms of tractor work, stand building etc. He is the only guy i trust to still hunt with. Often we will slip through the woods paralleling each other and see lots of deer doing this. Wouldn't do that with anyone else! Its good to have a friend you can trust. And the tractor is fixed and we are disking and almost ready to plant

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Originally Posted by HCJtractor

Yes we have insurance but not sure of coverage for something like this and we did not file. As far as our friendship, no problem. Hey, i've broken stuff too. We realize that tractors used in the woods like we use them are going to take a beating. He and i never argue. Hey we even own this hunting land together. But with the land, we do have a LLC with legal documents to protect each of us. But we bought the tractor on a handshake Most of our implements are co-owned also. Its funny, he and i dont have a lot in common except for our passion for deer hunting and everything related to that in terms of tractor work, stand building etc. He is the only guy i trust to still hunt with. Often we will slip through the woods paralleling each other and see lots of deer doing this. Wouldn't do that with anyone else! Its good to have a friend you can trust. And the tractor is fixed and we are disking and almost ready to plant

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Glad to hear that your friendship hasn't waved. Makes it nice to be able to enjoy your hobbies at half the normal cost.

Yikes! Glad you were able to fix it. I have been clearing brush lately and pushing over trees with my much smaller Cub Cadet. I am generally afraid to drive over any trees, bushes or branches with limbs/trunks bigger than 3" or so - those hydraulic filters are just begging to get smashed sometimes. But even with smaller branches the risk is still there!

But dude, c',mon, are you seriously not gonna post a picture of this crazy damage? Surely you both whipped out your cell phones and snapped pics of the carnage, right? Lessons like these are worth twice as much with visual aids!

unfortunately, I took no pictures in the heat of the moment. I will try to take some "after" shots soon, but they are ugly. Our tractor is not going to enter a beauty contest. I try to take care of my equipment, but sometimes its tough when its used like a dozer.