Towed Tractor Rollover

[coldsteelva]

Acquired from another forum:

Yes, another towing thread. Hopefully one that will save your butt though. I was driving today when a man towing a car trailer with a tractor on it started swaying in front of me as I was about to pass. Sure enough, he lost it and came across the road right in front of me and rolled about 3 times. How I didn't get caught up in it, I have no idea. No damage to me or vehicle and, miraculously, the driver of the tow vehicle walked away without a scratch. Could have been much worse.

Didn't have weight distributing hitch or sway control bars, no trailer brake control. And was probaby going a little too fast. But it happened so fast. Went from nothing to catastrophic in seconds.

PLEASE TOW PROPERLY AND PRACTICE OR PLEASE DON'T TOW AT ALL

 

[dieselcrawler]

60 hp tractor, curb weight likely in the 8000lb range with cab and loader, on what looks like a heavy trailer... I'm guessing 10k to 11k behind a short 1/2 ton truck, at less than 6k. Bad combo, slight miss judgment on tractor placement on the trailer makes the tounge too light, this is what ya get.

 

[sixdogs]

It looks like the tractor might have stayed on the trailer but just rolled over?

 

[coldsteelva]

If you look at the yellow straps, the properly secured tractor appears to have maintained contact with the trailer until the act of rolling over crushed the tractor and sheared it from its tethers.

 

[4570Man]

It looks like way too heavy of a load behind a 1/2 ton truck.

 

[check 6]

To add to the poor judgement it looks like he had the truck bed loaded which adde even more of an issue i.e. heavy tongue plus loaded truck bed would reduce load on the front axle of the truck making steering and front braking even more ineffective. The might have to cataloged in the "dumber than dirt" file or at least in the "did not think this through" Also don't most states require heavy loads such as full size tractors to be secured with chain tie downs? Not that it would have made a difference in this case. I have a friend that use to tow his lightweight race car in an enclosed trailer behind a Suburban but after a rollover caused by an 18 wheel tractor trailer passing rapidly combined with cross winds ( The trailer and car weighed maybe 7000 lbs) and he had trailer brakes and an equalizer hitch he now tows with an F 350 for added safety

 

[sixdogs]

That had to be a pretty traumatizing rollover. Assuming it's the young couple in the background, lack of experience probably played a role in the chain of events. I can't even imagine a rollover, let alone one that starts with a tractor and trailer rolling over with me.

 

[My Hoe]

I thought cabbed tractors were supposed to protects us, like a ROPS is supposed to protect us?

I realize that is an older tractor (I'm guessing, in the late '70's-early '80's? I'm not familiar, obviously--can someone "ballpark" it's age for us noobs?).

And have the rollover standards for cabs and/or ROPS been "stiffened" (pun intended) since this machine was built?

 

[KennyG]

I thought cabbed tractors were supposed to protects us, like a ROPS is supposed to protect us?

I realize that is an older tractor (I'm guessing, in the late '70's-early '80's? I'm not familiar, obviously--can someone "ballpark" it's age for us noobs?).

And have the rollover standards for cabs and/or ROPS been "stiffened" (pun intended) since this machine was built?

Per TractorData, the 5030 was produced in 1992 thru 1999. The tractor weight was 6000 to 8000 lbs. My guess is the ROPS is designed for a stationary rollover. In this particular event, it may have rolled at a considerable speed, perhaps even airborne. Note that one picture I saw of a 5030 did not have a ROPS. The ones that did have a ROPS looked a bit different than the remains of the structure in the picture and seemed a good bit more substantial.

 

[Omega Woods]

ROPS is not designed for 65 MPH rollovers onto asphalt.

They're lucky to be alive. With any luck, they were scared sterile!