Giving the family a lift

[TomOfTarsus]

I was pleasantly surprised to see a New Holland tractor in a not-too-awkward family picture over at Awkward Family Photos: You Raise Me Up AwkwardFamilyPhotos.com 01/1/2012

And so having been busy, and not having posted here in a while, I thought, "Where do I put this?" and it came down to the Safety thread. There is a certain risk to doing this, particularly if you set them in the bucket and then lift (versus positioning the bucket and then using a ladder). So what do you all think? Is it an acceptable level of risk for a "cute" picture, or was he being reckless?

What would you do if you wanted such a picture (of your family, not a screen capture!) Ladder or lift? Or neither?

Happy New Year everyone!

Tom

 

[NorTracNY]

I would make sure I really cleaned out my bucket first.

 

[twinjayhawks]

I would make sure I really cleaned out my bucket first.

I gave my nieces and nephews a ride in my bucket last fall. I realized afterwards that the bucket was not quite clean. My sister was not happy with me.

 

[rd_macgregor]

That's not good practice, but, as long as the machine is parked level and you aren't actually moving the tractor with people in the bucket, its probably not particularly hazardous. I'd say the biggest risk would be accidentally dumping the bucket!
Of course, PhotoShop would be even safer...
BOB

 

[TomOfTarsus]

That's kinda what I thought, too. The safest way, I think, would be to position the bucket, get everyone up there on a suitable stepladder, take the pic, then use the ladder to get back down. but then, using a ladder on some surfaces isn't the safest thing to do either.

I know my New Holland has a much "jerkier" lift/lower when I'm running the engine at higher rpms. But at low rpms, I'd actually be quite confident lifting the family this way. But then, we're all still limber enough to drop a few feet, hit and roll to take the sting out if we have to...

Tom
​

 

[jk96]

I gave my nieces and nephews a ride in my bucket last fall. I realized afterwards that the bucket was not quite clean. My sister was not happy with me.

I usually refrain from playing the safety police but I would really discourage letting anyone take a ride in the loader bucket. If something happens and one of them falls out, they are directly in the path of the moving tractor. Bad things can happen real fast. I'd rather see them being pulled in a trailer behind the tractor and not in front if you have to give rides.

No charges filed in tractor accident

Jeremy

 

[TomOfTarsus]

Yeah, i wouldn't ride them in the bucket, either - it could lead to the tragedy you linked to, one would have to go quite slowly, I would think. The guy in the article, IMHO, had too many kids hanging on that thing (including one in his lap) to be able to pay proper attention to everyone.

I know what you mean about not playing "safety police." A lot of safety is just common sense; the lack of that is what leads to enough regulations to sink a battleship. I've been in power plants where they require fall protection gear at 4' elevations when it is quite clear that the "protection" afforded by your gear wouldn't take effect until you'd already hit the ground, like the old Looney Tune cartoons where the coyote pops his 'chute after landing in a mangled heap on the ground.

Could I "safely" move my tractor with someone in the bucket? Sure, you must go slow, pay full attention and not be "horsing around." Would I? Naw, there's not much point to it. I've worked from my bucket, & even that requires care & a known good operator in the driver's seat (& low rpms, in my case). My (adult) children have grabbed a ride standing on the 3 PH arms, holding onto the ROPS, not much hazard in that if you're going slow( & forward).

Trouble is, tragedies like the one you linked to occur, and the next thing you know we'll have new regulations, warning labels, etc, etc, etc.

 

[GolfAddict]

...
Trouble is, tragedies like the one you linked to occur, and the next thing you know we'll have new regulations, warning labels, etc, etc, etc.

So, so true. Someone does something using bad judgement, and the way things are anymore you soon have legislation...

As they say, "good idea, bad law"

 

[twinjayhawks]

So, so true. Someone does something using bad judgement, and the way things are anymore you soon have legislation...

As they say, "good idea, bad law"

We can't protect ourselves from ourselves... but the Government will certainly try.

It is like the proposed Cellphone law. You can't talk on the cell while driving... sounds good but then you can't talk on bluetooth while driving... um OK maybe. Then you can't talk to a passenger while driving or you can't look at your speedometer while driving or you can't look at road signs while driving.... what, how did we get here?

Where does it end once you start trying to protect yourself from yourself? Soon we will not be able to drive at all because it is too dangerous.

 

[jk96]

We can't protect ourselves from ourselves... but the Government will certainly try.

It is like the proposed Cellphone law. You can't talk on the cell while driving... sounds good but then you can't talk on bluetooth while driving... um OK maybe. Then you can't talk to a passenger while driving or you can't look at your speedometer while driving or you can't look at road signs while driving.... what, how did we get here?

Where does it end once you start trying to protect yourself from yourself? Soon we will not be able to drive at all because it is too dangerous.

Don't get me wrong, I mostly agree with you. Just take a look at some of the warning labels that are put on products sometimes. Do we really need some of these? I've done some pretty questionable things and still do at times when it comes to safety. In these instances though it involves only myself, and no one else.

Let me give you an example that happened to me. I was driving a bucket with some concrete to the edge of the yard to dump in a large ravine that lines the property edge. As I approached the edge, I hit a rut in the yard that jarred the tractor and knocked my water bottle out of the cup holder. A split second later I let off the pedal (hydrostat). The tractor kept going and didn't slow a bit. The water bottle landed and rolled under the reverse pedal. It moves the opposite direction when the forward pedal is pressed. When I let off the gas, the bottle under the reverse peddle prevented the forward pedal from returning to the neutral position. I came very close to driving into a 20' ditch before I finally turned the key off to kill the tractor.

What if the same thing had happened going slow in the middle of the yard with a bucket full of kids. I don't know if I would have been able to stop the tractor in time or not?

My point is that I almost drove my tractor into a ditch because of something as simple as a water bottle in the cup holder. There is so much potential for something to go very bad very quickly. Especially with children involved.

Jeremy