Caution!

   / Caution! #1  

dougfollett

Member
Joined
Aug 31, 2002
Messages
25
Location
Olympia, Washington.
Tractor
Yanmar 1500
I know most of you guys are aware of the dangers of operating a tractor but just in case some of the new owners haven't had the thrill of tipping or nearly tipping over a tractor, let me offer this little tale.

I was loading some horse puckey into the back of a pickup truck. I had already bent the bucket mechanisim by trying to load the whole pile all at once (you can read about that in my previous post). The bucket was still intact enough for me to do some loading, it just wouldn't go as high as it used to. I was carying loads over to this truck and then raising them and dumping. As I did I would loose a few chunks on the driveway. I had a smart Idea to raise the bucket at the pile where I was loading up instead of in front of the truck that I was loading. This would keep the mess at the pile I thought. The pile was about fifty feet away from the truck and over a slight incline that went from side to side on the tractor. It never caught my attention becase it couldn't have been more than six inches difference at the very most from side to side. The bucket was raised nearly to full height and as I came up over the incline, slightly tilting the tractor, it tipped over with me in it! I would have never guessed that it would have gone over on such s slight incline but it did. Luckily I was able to jump clear and save my silly ****. I guess the moral of the story is "Be carefull when driving around with a fully extended bucket. Your center of gravity is severly altered".
 
   / Caution! #2  
I guess that's another way to spread fertilizer. Lucky you weren't hurt or worse. Center of gravity does make a lot of difference. Glad you are okay.
 
   / Caution! #3  
Did you personally add to the manure pile. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
   / Caution! #4  
What were you using for counter weight on the 3 point hitch of your 1500D. I usually keeo a landscape box on my tractor for counter weight and will sometimes had a big piece of steel for extra weight or traction. I know it is a little late now but it is always a good idea to transport with the bucket low. I have posted a picture of my 1500D with loader and box.
 

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   / Caution! #5  
I always transport loads with bucket as low as it can go without scraping ground.
 
   / Caution! #6  
Agree with you Bill. Bad idea to ever do anything other than load or unload with a full bucket unless you have the bucket all the way to the ground.

You can tip over a tractor even on perfectly level ground if you have the bucket up in the air with a load. Don't be fooled by counterweight either. Even with twice the weight in the back as what you are carrying in the front you can tip a tractor over with ease if you are driving with the bucket up in the air with a load.
 
   / Caution! #7  
I'm sure some of you have heard similar stories: Guy told me about a friend of his that had picked up a concrete culvert in fel. Not looking he somehow had rested on lever, lifted fel straight up, and culvert fell out in his lap. He was lucky, only bruised (tractor somehow supported pipe). But was trapped there for sometime till he got someone's attention.

I always see people driving around with fel up in the air, empty. Makes it easy to get around. I'm jealous because I have too many trees with low branches to do this. I'd eventually tangle. It's easier for me to keep track of when it's down in front, even if it does impair vision. So when I mow I usually just take it off.
 
   / Caution! #8  
</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I always transport loads with bucket as low as it can go without scraping ground. )</font>

Amen to that.
I apologize for sounding like a wise A**, I don't mean it to sound rude. But keeping the load low is just plain common sense. Thank god you weren't injured or worse.
The Uh Oh's that we live through and are able to share with others are a lesson to us all.
 
 
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