Rollover paranoia

[vagem55]

BTW, you can buy wheel spacers for your B3030, as i have them for mine.
There might be a problem with clearance if you have a mid-mount mower (not sure if it's the 60 or 72").
Dual wheels are not authorized, even if you could find them.
I mounted an inexpensive inclinometer on my dash, as our property is also steep.
My dealer fills all the rears.

 

[slingworks]

Rollover fear is always in my mind lol

When I was a teenager my dad tipped an H over that had a "defective' loader on it. He had borrowed it to load round bales on a truck. Worked fine until we had a bale up and the loader decided to swing about 18" to the left. The whole tractor went on it's side. At first it went slowly and he jumped off...Just his ego was bruised, considering it was a borrowed tractor.

A friend of the family also flipped (literally like a pop a wheelie) an H straight over. He was in his 80s and a slim older gent. He was tossed to the ground without much damage. He said a few words I can't repeat and went in the house for the day. About 10 years later when he was in his 90's he tipped a different H on it's side and wasn't so fortunate. Ended up crushing his hip and leg. Survived, but never really farmed much after.

Looking back I'd never touch a trike tractor. I do have one without a rollbar (low profile Zetor) I find myself leery still when mowing hillsides, etc. I think the tractor you bought is ok. Looks like you live in farmer's paradise with all that "flat."

 

[riptides]

Deal with the paranoid feeling if it impedes your tractor work, professionally, within the medical community.

Respect your equipment, think about what you are doing, tell other what you are doing, where you are doing it and when you may stop. Never work alone without a notification system in place.

Your tractor is fine, as you are.

I survived a roll over. Only cost me some skull fractures, a few weeks between intensive care and the hospital. And one eye.

 

[Stephen D]

Hello Stephen D, No you are not being paranoid. Once bitten twice shy.
Experience is a blunt teacher, AND you only had a bad fright and NO injury. Fortunatly a relatively low cost learning experience.

You ALWAYS have several things coming togather to cause an accident.
In this case, in a hurry, not looking,ran over a heap of dirt, NARROW track(width).

This combination WILL arise in the future so you need to break the incident chain.
Practically, this means increasing the track(width) of the tractor so an abrupt shift of the centre-of-gravity does not tip the tractor over.To do this with your existing rims you have 2 options
1) get wheel spacers, steel or aluminium. These are low cost and you will be surprised how a small increase in track has a large increase in stable "feel". Other members will tell you what they use and where to find them.
2) Dual wheels, massive difference in stable "feel" a much larger width (can you fit every where you currrently go?) Generally you will slide of the hillside instead of roll off the hillside. In your case backing over a heap of dirt,you better have your seat belt on as you are likely to be tossed into the door instead off rolling the tractor.

NOTE :
1)Your stability comes from the back axle. Making it wider gains stability. The front axle is on a pivot and by the time it hits the travel stop you are past the point of no return.

2) In your photo you have the loader down low. EXCELLENT, that is where it should be(curl bucket right back so if you hit the ground it slides instead of digging in). And when you are loading a trailer etc, keep the loader low UNTIL you are approaching the trailer to tip into it. A common mistake is to lift up high WHILE MANUVERING. This is a classic roll over senario.

3) Ballast: Are your rear tyre filled (partly) with liquid?
You will find a 3ph couterweight to be a good safty invest ment. Ask other members how they made/setup theirs to see what would work best for you.

4)Is there a company that does tractor saftey near you? Possibly state Ag saftey? Some formal trainig may be the best way for you to grow your confidence back.


Some food for thought.
Good Luck.

At the time I rolled it, I think I had a heavy 7-foot box blade on my 3 point, probably 700 lbs.- way too much for my cat 1 hitch but my theory was that it's width would somehow act as "stops" for rollover didn't pan out. The rear tires are air filled but I almost always have an 800 lb. ballast box on the 3 point these days. I lower it as close to the ground as I can, which caused the belly mower wheels to contact the ground- and that's why now the mower sits in the garage. I haven't tried removing the FEL and ballast box to use it as a mower (which would be nice when it's 95 and humid), and with the weight of the 72" deck beneath it maybe it would feel safer on the hills. My zero turn is so fast it hardly ever seemed worth the trouble of reconfiguring the tractor, especially because I use the FEL so much. Thank you to everyone for your kind words and sound advice.

 

[PEJ5]

If it does not feel right then pause. You mentioned you were not looking for strategies, probably because you have read and studied and know what you need. It was not likely the 15° that got you, but 15° or more, plus bucket load high, plus one wheel high or low, plus motion/turning. Reducing any one of these may have made the difference .

I watched a bunch of safety videos when I first purchased and scared myself. Here is what has helped me.

My 1300 lb counter weight is always on except when using another 3pt attachment. It sure does make a big difference for stability. My tractor literally squats when I raise it! Size it to 60 or 75% of your loader capacity.
My wheels have adjustable centres and so my wheels are set wide and the tires are loaded.
I have a cheap liquid inclinometer with a ball inside. When I get nervous and look it is typically above 10°. I put my hand on the loader control (if it is not already there) and inch along or back out to safety.
I have specific turn around spots on my slopes that keep me at 10° or less.

Continue to use your tractor and get comfortable again with front and rear slopes before trying side slopes.

 

[Gord Baker]

I am glad you survived your lesson. Never mind a fancy inclinometer (easily made), if you feel uncomfortable. STOP. Lower your bucket and implement and back away. Ballast in the tires might help and have them set as wide as possible. I remember my cousin rolling over the PLOW being towed by narrow front end Super C! Either go up and down the slope or leave it. Happy Wife!

 

[Al Kramer]

I don't think you are being paranoid. Caution is a good thing on a tractor. I've had some close calls and I don’t want to wind up on the front page of the local paper “Area farmer dies in tractor roll-over.” No thanks. I wear my seatbelt in most cases even though it's mostly flat land. But I don't want to roll over a stump I forgot was there and wind up 6’ under.

 

[citytransplant]

According to my instructor, and he said this over and over again, almost all accidents happened while backing up.

Advice for driving and for life: only go as far backward as is necessary to move forward.

 

[JasperFrank]

Today I was on the Ford 1220 with FEL, and box scaper held low, and for some reason, and in areas I've run for years with little concern, felt terrified it was going to roll. Even at the slightest of angles. Checked all the tire pressures and they are good. Axles all look good as do the hard points. I use the seat belt, and it has ROPS, but this just didn't seem enough, and I kept thinking, if I do put it sideways, I'm going to break my shoulder or slam my head on the ground. I was wondering, has any one put a shoulder harness on their tractor. I have no idea why today, this paranoia set in, aside from the fact that I'm using a new prescription for my eye glasses and the angles and terrain looks weird.

 

[Locoweed]

Even when you are on a small slope, a small hole for a front wheel to drop into or a rock under a rear wheel can change things drastically. I put 4" spacers on the rear wheels & it noticeably improved the stability of the tractor in those conditions.
I fail to understand why they can make narrow tractors for people that have a need, but don't have a wide option for people with that need.