Always Set Parking Brake!

[Avenger]

On Friday, my neighbor came down the road to get me. Literally with his hands on his head, and a bit freaked out. He rented a small John Deere 2032R TLB from Home Depot to fix up his muddy, steep driveway before winter (even though I've offered to do the job many times, for nothing.). I drove up this horrendous road to where he was waiting for me. I saw the tracks. He had parked the tractor on a hill, shut off the engine and was going to do some manual shovel work, when suddenly the tractor took off without him! Rolling down the road backwards, it ran off the road and down an even steeper embankment, about 75ft down!

His nephew and I hooked up some chains, and he drove it while I pulled him out. We had to reset the chains 3 times, and with the help of the JD and my pulling efforts on the road, we got him out. No serious damage to the TLB.

Just your friendly reminder that parking brakes are there for a reason. Things happen, and happen very quickly.

Here is a video of it.

 

[HawkinsHollow]

SCARY!!! I make it a habit to look at my front left wheel as I am removing my foot from the parking brake and getting off the tractor. If it is going to roll the slightest movement in the tractor will be shown by movement in that front wheel. If the wheel moves at all I am resetting brake. On steep slopes I drop FEL to ground or 3 point or both. Glad everything worked out ok.

And yeah, that is one nasty ol' driveway. You think he would have fixed is in the middle of the drought this summer.

 

[Jchonline]

So thats why those Home Depot rentals cost so much...

 

[Jstpssng]

I always have at least 2 of these three things; brake set, loader down, implement down. When setting the brake, SET the darned thing hard enough to stop the tractor. I wouldn't care to guess how many times that I've jumped onto the family's L2800 after my brother has used it, to find that he has put the brake on but not even enough to lug the engine if I don't notice.

 

[k0ua]

These things happen. Hydro tractors are noted for rolling away. Of course on that steep of a hill it was absolutely clear negligence to not set the parking brake, and also set the front bucket to act as a brake. With a gear tractor on a slight slope, usually when you shut off the tractor and leave it in gear, the friction of trying to roll over the engine will prevent the tractor from rolling away. But a hydro tractor will bleed down pressure and is almost guaranteed to roll away without the brake set.

But I never rely on the parking brake either, I set the bucket on edge to dig in and also if the 3pt has something on it like my blade or ballast barrel, I set them too. The terrain here is very hilly, and you will only make that roll away mistake once. I suggest the guy with the JD was very lucky and no real damage was done to property or to life and limb. It could have been a lot worse.

 

[k0ua]

I always have at least 2 of these three things; brake set, loader down, implement down. When setting the brake, SET the darned thing hard enough to stop the tractor. I wouldn't care to guess how many times that I've jumped onto the family's L2800 after my brother has used it, to find that he has put the brake on but not even enough to lug the engine if I don't notice.

Yep on a hill that steep, you need all you can get, and if you are going to set the parking brake, SET the parking brake.

 

[Avenger]

I think he learned his lesson. That was his first time EVER running a tractor! With the backhoe on the back, I told him to use the FEL and set the parking brake hard from now on. Fortunately, they returned the tractor that afternoon.

 

[k0ua]

I think he learned his lesson. That was his first time EVER running a tractor! With the backhoe on the back, I told him to use the FEL and set the parking brake hard from now on. Fortunately, they returned the tractor that afternoon.

I am sure he felt very badly and was probably anxious about any damage to the machine. But hey, he at least had a good neighbor that got him out of the "fix" he was in. He should have stopped off and bought a lottery ticket on the way back as obviously he is pretty lucky.

 

[metalbender]

Lucky it didn't roll. Got into the habit of setting the brake on mine.

 

[deserteagle71]

What's a parking brake??

Neither of my tractors have one. Just a Park position on the transmission.