joshuabardwell
Elite Member
Had two pucker moments today. I was brush-hogging an unfamiliar lot. There was a tree I was going under, so I put the ROPS down. Before putting it back up again, the terrain changed unexpectedly, and I found myself at an uncomfortable side angle. I turned the wheels down-hill, but the lay of the land was such that going further downhill actually tilted the tractor a bit more.
I'm new to tractors, but I'm not new to situations like this, and I can't reiterate how important it is in situations like this to just STOP. Stop doing things. You are going to make it worse if you just start flailing around. The vehicle is currently stable. It is not going anywhere. Just stop and get your head around the situation.
There's a difference between an emergency that requires immediate response and one that does not. If the tractor is tipping forward, it may be time to drop the bucket RIGHT NOW. For situations like this, where something bad might happen soon, but nothing bad has happened yet, the most important thing you can do, IMO, is not make it any worse.
The first thing I did was set the parking brake and lower the FEL 'til it was just touching the ground, giving some extra support. Then I cut off the PTO and let it come to a stop. Then I shut down the engine so I wouldn't feel rushed.
The next thing I did was put up the ROPS. I really should have done that as soon as I was done working under the tree, especially given that I was on unfamiliar ground. Then, I walked around the tractor and eyeballed the terrain, looking for the lay of the ground and anything that might further upset the tractor. The tractor was about 45 degrees facing downhill. I considered whether the better thing to do might be to cut the wheels "uphill" (actually side-hill) and back up, which might bring the nose back in line, while moving the tractor back towards the less-steep part of the hill. Going forward would move the tractor towards a more-steep part of the hill. I just couldn't bring myself to cut the wheels any way except down-hill, though, so what I ended up doing was getting back on, putting the seat belt on (of course) and slowly creeping it with the wheels cut as hard downhill as they would go, until the tractor came into line. Then I backed it up the hill and drove out on a more level line.
My ROPS has locking pins, but it's also got bolts that tighten down. The manual says the bolts are to reduce vibration. They're really tight, and a PITA to adjust. They have hand-grips, but they're so tight you really can't move them except with a wrench. In think what I'm going to do from now on is leave the bolts backed out so the ROPS can be raised and lowered with just the locking pins. That'll encourage me to put it up again ASAP when I'm done working in tight situations.
So, I finished mowing and then did a little work on my driveway with the FEL, and then I dropped the mower and went to put the tractor away. The barn stall where I park the tractor has a fence running relatively close across the front of it. The best way to get in is to raise the FEL all the way up so it clears the fence, then back the tractor into the stall, then lower the FEL when it's clear of the fence. On top of all this, the driving line into the stall faces down-hill. To keep things going nice and easy, I like to put the tractor into low gear when performing this maneuver. So I was lined up to start backing in, with the FEL in the full up position, and I hit the clutch and brake and shifted into low. I take my foot off the brake and press the HST pedal and nothing happens except that I start rolling forward. Whoops. I didn't quite make it into gear. So I hit the brakes, of course. Boing. Rear wheels come up... just a smidge, then settle back down again. I was really surprised at how easy that happened, given how slow I was going forward. The high FEL really will toss you given half a chance! That situation honestly could have gotten much worse. Rear wheels off the ground, in neutral, rolling downhill... no way to stop except to drop the FEL and hope it gets there before you go through the fence :ashamed:
I'm new to tractors, but I'm not new to situations like this, and I can't reiterate how important it is in situations like this to just STOP. Stop doing things. You are going to make it worse if you just start flailing around. The vehicle is currently stable. It is not going anywhere. Just stop and get your head around the situation.
There's a difference between an emergency that requires immediate response and one that does not. If the tractor is tipping forward, it may be time to drop the bucket RIGHT NOW. For situations like this, where something bad might happen soon, but nothing bad has happened yet, the most important thing you can do, IMO, is not make it any worse.
The first thing I did was set the parking brake and lower the FEL 'til it was just touching the ground, giving some extra support. Then I cut off the PTO and let it come to a stop. Then I shut down the engine so I wouldn't feel rushed.
The next thing I did was put up the ROPS. I really should have done that as soon as I was done working under the tree, especially given that I was on unfamiliar ground. Then, I walked around the tractor and eyeballed the terrain, looking for the lay of the ground and anything that might further upset the tractor. The tractor was about 45 degrees facing downhill. I considered whether the better thing to do might be to cut the wheels "uphill" (actually side-hill) and back up, which might bring the nose back in line, while moving the tractor back towards the less-steep part of the hill. Going forward would move the tractor towards a more-steep part of the hill. I just couldn't bring myself to cut the wheels any way except down-hill, though, so what I ended up doing was getting back on, putting the seat belt on (of course) and slowly creeping it with the wheels cut as hard downhill as they would go, until the tractor came into line. Then I backed it up the hill and drove out on a more level line.
My ROPS has locking pins, but it's also got bolts that tighten down. The manual says the bolts are to reduce vibration. They're really tight, and a PITA to adjust. They have hand-grips, but they're so tight you really can't move them except with a wrench. In think what I'm going to do from now on is leave the bolts backed out so the ROPS can be raised and lowered with just the locking pins. That'll encourage me to put it up again ASAP when I'm done working in tight situations.
So, I finished mowing and then did a little work on my driveway with the FEL, and then I dropped the mower and went to put the tractor away. The barn stall where I park the tractor has a fence running relatively close across the front of it. The best way to get in is to raise the FEL all the way up so it clears the fence, then back the tractor into the stall, then lower the FEL when it's clear of the fence. On top of all this, the driving line into the stall faces down-hill. To keep things going nice and easy, I like to put the tractor into low gear when performing this maneuver. So I was lined up to start backing in, with the FEL in the full up position, and I hit the clutch and brake and shifted into low. I take my foot off the brake and press the HST pedal and nothing happens except that I start rolling forward. Whoops. I didn't quite make it into gear. So I hit the brakes, of course. Boing. Rear wheels come up... just a smidge, then settle back down again. I was really surprised at how easy that happened, given how slow I was going forward. The high FEL really will toss you given half a chance! That situation honestly could have gotten much worse. Rear wheels off the ground, in neutral, rolling downhill... no way to stop except to drop the FEL and hope it gets there before you go through the fence :ashamed: