A close call

[cowboy357]

This one goes under My own Stupidity . I was scrapeing the top edge of My little pond yesterday with the box blade & My cell phone Vibrated ( I keep it in my shirt pocket .

I was expecting someone to come out & thought the call Might have been them , so Instead of waiting till I was on level ground I answered it ( Which I never do ) when doing so the tractor veered to the left a little bit to much & the right side started to come up off the ground. .

I think the only thing that kept it from going over was the dirt in the boxblade luckilly . I was by Myself as usual & jumped off Quickly & ran up to the house to get My other tractor hoping it hadn,t turned over by the time I got back . Luckily it hadn,t .

I Quickly hooked a chain to it & Pulled it back a bit to wear I felt it was safe , Tightened the Chain some more Pulled tight & got on the one that was leaning & pulled Forward & to the right till I was in a safe area . it took a few times Jumping from one tractor to the other but I got lucky . & No I dont have a rops or seatbelts on either one .

The Pics dont do it justice on the angle , but gives You an idea . Just thought I,d share as to how little it takes if You aren,t paying 100% attention . Bob

 

[Treemonkey1000]

Hands free phone time? And Pinesol will clean any stains in the seat.. Glad that you are ok. Now if you didn't have another vehicle to anchor to I wonder if the other Brainiacs on this site could provide some helpful advice?

 

[Scooby074]

Lucky you kept her rubber side down. Im sure that no ROPS probably added to the pucker factor. Its amazing how fast it can happen.

 

[20 20]

Glad to here you didn't get hurt or reck the machine, sounds like you did the right moves. I have to ask though, wouldn't the FEL have given enough pressure to get you out of that deal? I've been in a few situations like that and usually All I had to do was lower the FEL enough to get myself turned around.

What size is your pond? Is it new or a clean/dredge out? I'm in the middle of trying to fix 1 of ours. With the rain we keep getting{over 20days straight} it's making the going really tough.

 

[cowboy357]

Lucky you kept her rubber side down. Im sure that no ROPS probably added to the pucker factor. Its amazing how fast it can happen.

Hands free phone time? And Pinesol will clean any stains in the seat.. Glad that you are ok. Now if you didn't have another vehicle to anchor to I wonder if the other Brainiacs on this site could provide some helpful advice?

Thanks Guys . I dont know what I would have done without another tractor . I have a few other Pickups but wouldn,t have wanted to trust something I couldn,t dig in to hold it tight While pulling it forward .

10-4 on the seat stains & pucker factor.

The bad thing is my first instinct was to jump off the low side of the tractor because of the loader controls on the right , which Definatlly was not a good idea if it went over , But at times like That You dont think quite as well as one should, at least in My case .

You Might notice in the pics ,the one that almost went over has brand new tires on the front . The day before while I was diggin goin on a downhill slant , while backing up the ramp with a full bucket of wet dirt I blew both front tires out , They were getting pretty weather checked . 2 close calls in 2 days & both could have been avoided . I think I,ll let them sit today, . Bob

 

[cowboy357]

Glad to here you didn't get hurt or reck the machine, sounds like you did the right moves. I have to ask though, wouldn't the FEL have given enough pressure to get you out of that deal? I've been in a few situations like that and usually All I had to do was lower the FEL enough to get myself turned around.

What size is your pond? Is it new or a clean/dredge out? I'm in the middle of trying to fix 1 of ours. With the rain we keep getting{over 20days straight} it's making the going really tough.

Thanks 20/20 , I usually would have used the fel but in this case I just wasn,t wanting to risk raising the BB nor lowering the fell Because the left front tire was much lower & the right rear tire was at first 6 inches off the ground . But it Might have a good idea to try . Just didn,t seem like it at the time as the bucket was with the angle & might have helped push it over .

Its a new pond I started on about 6 months ago , Hard to say the size really , Its L shaped & the tractors are sitting at the far end of it allmost . I started out Needing dirt for other projects & this was a real low spot the rest of the property drains to . it wouldn,t grow anything but weeds & Skeeters . so I figured its as good as any place to start . Then I kept gettin carryed away .

It got fairly full before I was ebven close to being done , & I also pumped water in it to get an idea of how it would hold . But no rain it Dryed up fairlly quicklly . I,m no pond builder ,

Its Pretty small but getting bigger & deeper all the time . I,ll post a few pics of When I started & a few months ago before I started getting carried away once it started drying up . Bob

 

[MikeD74T]

OK Treemonkey, I'll take the challenge. Remaining as calm as possible I'd slowly reverse without turning the steering wheel until the left rear rode up onto the dirt from the boxblade & the left front came further downhill than the left rear. Then I'd turn downhill & move forward until the tractor was stable on 4 wheels.

Cowboy, Something you could consider when grading a sidehill like that is to use your stabilizer arms to position the boxblade to the uphill side of the tractor rather than centered. You can also fill the uphill half of the FEL bucket & keep it real low. I do applaud your ingenuity at stabilizing with the second tractor.

A construction company I worked for years ago had an articulated loader with tires filled 1/4 full of lead shot. It couldn't be run at road speeds but was great on a slope. Operators hated it because they were always sliding to one side of their seat & butt sore by days end. MikeD74T

 

[wvpolekat]

If expecting a call and you MUST take it, there is a pretty simple way of doing it safely. Just answer it without looking and hollar for them to hold for a moment, no need to hold it up to your head or listen for a reply. Then get to a safe place to stop and take the call.

I have done this in the car many times, even with my boss. Something like "Merging, one second", and they are always there when I am able to take the call 30-45 seconds later.

People are generally reasonable and want you to be safe and not "force" you to put yourself in danger to talk to them RIGHT NOW.

 

[Treemonkey1000]

Thanks Mike for taking the challenge. I don't have enough seat time to instinctually do the right thing quickly for that kind of a situation myself. Most of my work so far is on flat ground.

 

[cowboy357]

All Great Replys Guys & Hopefully it will help others as well , Allthough Most probablly wouldn,t get in this situation . I try not to , but sometimes it just happens .

Great info Mike thanks. The remaining calm part is where I kind of Messed up , I honestly cant tell You what I did when it attempted to go over , or how far the right rear got off the ground .

But Whatever I did It came back down quick & was only 6 or so inches of the ground & the other 3 were touching. So I chose to use the other tractor to stabalize it before trying to move in any direction . The Pics really dont show the correct angle Or how much the left front tire was lower then the rest of the tractor. Still Great advice on the stabalizer arms . Thanks

wvpolekat , Your Correct also. But where I got into trouble was when I turned around backwards at the same time to the left & Must have steered the tractor in the downhill direction , to see if Someone was in the drive several 100 yards behind Me . I,m not even sure I answered the phone or got it up to my ear .

This kind of thing Happens so Easy But not usually for Me as I,m very carefull Because I have no one close & normally do everything when no ones around .

But I can tell You when the wife seen the pics She wasn,t very happy as I have a HUGE honey do list. . Bob

 

[jimmyj]

Glad you and the tractor made it out without a serious incident Bob. Thanks for another reminder to the rest of us.

 

[tugboat-2]

BOB:..Actually you did the right thing when you cranked left when the right rear lifted, if only briefly. (even on the down-slope) I have entered the "tricycle-mode" several times and "instincts" always slap that bucket to the ground quick as possible! That will generally, (if not always) throw the weight back on those rear wheels, especially the one that was airborn.

If I find myself mowing, or grading,...right on the edge of a steep slope,...I'll take a minute and go back and get my bucket. Then back to the job with bucket barely clearing the ground.

If the front or rear begins to slip or slide over the edge, I'll slap that bucket down and get stopped ASAP !! Then I'll sit a moment and decide on the best method of getting "safe" again.

Years ago when preparing to fire up equipment UN-familiar to me, I "always", ..."always",..sat a moment checking the controls and finding the "quickest" method of "shutting-it-down".....PRIOR to...starting it up. (Just in case??) The old diesels, you could turn off the key but you still had to pull out the button to cut off air supply before it would stop)

That habit has stuck with me and evolved into always "looking-ahead" for a plan of ..."what-to-do-IF". I do the same in my truck on the highway. It has become instinctual: ie: on the freeway passing or being passed or facing the on-coming 18 (or 26) wheeler,....what evasive action do I, (can I) take if his fifth-wheel king-pin lets go? ("that" one from experience!),..but always on the look-out for "something".

Planning ahead in your car, truck, (boat) etc, or out there all alone on your tractor, relaxed and day-dreaming,......is when and where it can happen!! TRY to prepare yourself "ahead" of time!

Oh boy!....another "lengthy" lecture from the long-winded tugboat! (Sorry) Please bear with me, I really am trying to quit posting for a while.
. . tug

 

[tugboat-2]

Sorry to intrude again Bob, but when my pond dried up every summer, I eventually got down in and deepened it etc, but I used the "clay" to plaster on the pond sides and now it holds water year round. I had built my levee with the earth and topsoil etc I took out,...but it needed the clay to waterproof it.
Good luck,
. . tug..........................SEE,...I just "can't" help it,..sorry!!!

 

[cowboy357]

Thanks Jimmy & No Worrys Tug . your posting great info & I very much apreciate it, As hopefully others will . . I might have to pick Your brain some more on the pond deal. Thanks again to all . Bob

 

[Midsouth]

Keep on posting Tug you are doing fine. I'm the same way on unfamiliar equipment. When i pulled a lowboy over the road had to load a lot of my own loads so would always figure out how to shut it down before ever moving it.

 

[tugboat-2]

OH BOY!!..here I am again. Don't mean to bug you on this, I do appreciate the comments above. You guys are most encouraging,... (but that ain't good for a guy "trying" to quit posting!)

Been "studying" your description and "carefully" examining photos. Photos can mislead and I'd have to actually be there to appreciate the angles, slopes and all other details.

I know the "pucker-factor-feeling" you go through "at-the-time". Therefor I cannot accurately assess the very moments of "your" personal pucker. (not trying to be funny), just honest!

Facts and Photos at my disposal, (personal feelings) indicate you ~"SHOULD-have"(?): ~immediately dropped the bucket,..raised the box blade, stopped!

Dropping the bucket aborts the roll by slamming weight back on the rear wheels. The bucket becomes a flat, wide, sled that stabilizes the front end, (even while front wheels sink in mud). Lifting the BB increases weight on rear wheels, stabilizing tractor, aborting the roll,..even if pond slope angle was extreme.

SPEED is important: Going "slow", there's less momentum to "lift" all that weight "just" placed on the rear wheels. If moving at "speed", slamming the bucket down, shifts weight to the rear while acting as a brake, assisting "roll-abortive" action.

ALSO: Parked sideways on a steep slope: on the seat feels "extremely" tippy! But with BB up and bkt down, (especially with loaded tires), it takes quite an effort to lift the "high" side rear wheel to roll it over. NOTE: If you fear lifting the BB will help roll it, "just" take the weight,..barely off the ground,..not high.

The IMPORTANT action of the "moment",..is to SLAM the "bucket" DOWN!! That alone, will have an IMMEDIATE effect,....then lift the BB (and drop it if necessary to get it) "JUST" off the ground. You won't have time to "think" about much,...so mentally practice slamming the bucket down "FAST"!!

Just a "personal" guess Bob,..and you may well have legitimate facts to counter mine. My other posts show I'm a firm believer in slapping that bucket down "hard-n-fast" to counter a roll-over. For me, its not just theory, but a repeated self-proven practice. (For whatever that's worth to y'all).

My apologies for hogging your thread,...but I get these periodic uncontrollable urges to analyze things like this. WHY? Not sure, maybe to avoid 'em in future (I guess)? OR, praps its just a "personal" need to "know" IF, I could've beat it myself? (That's prolly closer to the truth!!) ....???

Take care, be safe and please try to forgive me (Geeeeze my daughter's dog and my wife's cat, and my grandbabies "seem" to like me,.....can't be all that bad,..can I?)
Safety "FIRST" !!
. . tug
ALSO SEE: under Safety, couple items north of this: "The Big Flip", page 3, near bottom an item by JoelD,...a good similar item, proving my point.

 

[cowboy357]

Another good post Tug & no Worrys jump in any time , I enjoy your posts . I Honestlly dont know why I didn,t drop the bucket this time , but for some reason I chose not to .

But I do here You on dropping the Bucket & I do it all the time , Mainly when Digging deeper & backing out of the ramp with a full bucket of dirt , Theres been Many times the rear wheels have come off the ground causing the fronts to dig in the soft sand , because of to full of a bucket or the dirts wetter then ussual . I just Drop the bucket , Dump it Slowly & use the bucket curl to push Myself back out .

Once that happens I move to the other end & dig over there & I let the bad spot dry out for a day or 2 . Then go back smooth out the ruts & start over . Its been a really slow process Because of the soft sand & it had been full once . There 3 ramps that I can get into the bottom , one at each end of the l shape & one in the middle of the L .

I,m just about to the limits of what I can do with the tractor & not having a backhoe . But I,d really like to clean the sides out a bit more to get more of a steeper slope . Only Options I have is , Make it wider at the bottom Or Hiring a BH for a day to square off the sides a bit more . Which I,m not a big fan of hiring anything done as I do everything myself .

I,m about to call it done & start pumping it back full , Once Its full I dont think I,ll get near the erosion of the sides if We get a gully washer . But none in the forcast anytime soon . Any other ideas are allways welcome. . Bob

 

[20 20]

Thanks for the pictures very impressive, just goes to show a person with an idea and some patience can do allmost anything. What type of base/dirt do you have? My land is all clay, great for ponds but in general a pain in the butt.

Something allmost the same happened to my better half this weekend. We were moving some big rocks{to big for my little tractor} when the wife allmost went over. She had the rock in the FEL low to the ground and was backing up to get rid of it. She hit a low spot in the ground and started going over. I was some space away from her when I heard her screaming. My natural instinct was to scream the obvious "LOWER THE FEL!!!" I'm not sure who was more scared me watching what might have been a terrible accident or her panicing and not sure what to do. All ended well except that I got in trouble for yelling If I had to do it again I'd still yell better to have her safe and mad at me then hurt because I didn't do anything.
I've been in the tip situation mores times then I care to think about and no matter what it is something ya never expect or care for.

 

[cowboy357]

Thanks for the pictures very impressive, just goes to show a person with an idea and some patience can do allmost anything. What type of base/dirt do you have? My land is all clay, great for ponds but in general a pain in the butt.

Something allmost the same happened to my better half this weekend. We were moving some big rocks{to big for my little tractor} when the wife allmost went over. She had the rock in the FEL low to the ground and was backing up to get rid of it. She hit a low spot in the ground and started going over. I was some space away from her when I heard her screaming. My natural instinct was to scream the obvious "LOWER THE FEL!!!" I'm not sure who was more scared me watching what might have been a terrible accident or her panicing and not sure what to do. All ended well except that I got in trouble for yelling If I had to do it again I'd still yell better to have her safe and mad at me then hurt because I didn't do anything.
I've been in the tip situation mores times then I care to think about and no matter what it is something ya never expect or care for.

Thanks 20 20 , This was farmed ground untill the last couple of years , so the top foot or so was good topsoil & the rest is Pretty sandy . The river that runs through the rear of Our property is only a 100 hundred yards or so from the pond .

Its also possable that where the pond is could have been part of the river channel many years ago I,m told . I was cleaning it out a bit more yesterday & hit Pure river like fill sand so I,m thinking I probablly better quit there as I may be getting real close to the water table .

I,ve hit clay before putting in Fence posts to the front of the property but there seems to be none in that area . It would be nice if I could find some to line it with though , But short of Buying some its not looking good .

As far as The wife almost going over , That would be very scary . I waych My wife like a hawk when She,s on Her little tractor or one of Our other bigger tractors helping with the mowing. she,s Use to getting yelled at .

I,m sure glad it turned out Ok For You though . I ussually wont let Mine haul anything in the loader bucket other then tree limbs just to be on the safe side.

If I remember Right You said You were needing to clean Your pond out, Got any pics ? . Thanks again. Bob

 

[20 20]

I'll try to get some pictures hopefully before it fills, having a heck of a time with rain. I've got a couple of nice days so I'm draining and digging the best I can. I dug this a couple yrs back with a small BH and didn't have much room around it. This year I took down 20+ trees and pushed things back. It will still be a small pond but should be a lot nicer. My land is full of clay I get sick of the stuff especially when machinery gets stuck in it. It's like getting stuck in glue and suction cups.

Usually the wife only does the simpler stuff like hauling limbs or pulling a small trailer but that day she wanted to help. She has had a lot of time on the tractor, but it still didn't prepare her for the sudden shock of what can happen. She new what to do, but like with most folks panic over-ride logic.