Backup Beeper?

[Harv]

I was showing a picture of my Kubota to an older fellow at the gym this morning. He spent much of his life working on highway crews, and gave me a lot of tips on how to use my tractor to build my culverts. He was politely impressed with my L2500, but I thought it was interesting that the first words out of his mouth were, "Does it have a back-up beeper?".

He didn't say exactly why (and I didn't want to push him), but he's deadly serious about how dangerous tractors are when they're backing up. He just said that "that's when the worst stuff happens."

So now I'm thinking it wouldn't be such a bad idea to add a beeper to my own tractor. I'd like to say that I always look carefully when I back up, but I know there have already been times when I just "knew" is was clear behind me, and I needed to focus my attention on the bucket.

Do any compacts come with these built in? Has anybody seen a beeper kit available?

 

[Thomas]

Harv,
At our college ground department the M-120 and two M9000 both came w/back up beepers...but I do believe they were special order.
The rest of the Kubota&John Deere compact tractors has the bells for noise when backing up,which attaches to the tire rim...thats one type.
They were install for safety reason according to the insurance company,also mirrors if the tractor has a cab.

You should beable to find the kit at your dealers also heavy equipment dealer that sells skidders,dozers,dump trucks,fork lifts etc...


Thomas..NH /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

 

[MJB]

If I remember correctly, I thing Mark Chalkley added a warning beeper to his tractor (but then again, is there anything that Mark doesn't have on his tractor?/w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif) You can buy those warning beepers at just about any RV dealer. I think Mark just used a manual toggle switch to turn it on.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Harv,
JD has them as options in the $200-250 range./w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif

But, I've seen generic kits in the "twenty" dollar range hanging on the dealer's wall./w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[Bird]

Harv, that's one of those safety features on a lot of trucks and construction equipment that I think is a great idea. Seems to me it's for warning other people in the area that the driver is backing up and might not see them so they know to pay attention and get out of the way. But I really do hate that obnoxious noise./w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif So I prefer to just make sure everyone is far enough away from my tractor when it's moving or going to move, forward or backward, that I don't want the beeper.

Bird

 

[dmccarty]

Harv,

I don't have a backup beeper but it is something I have thought about. I'm pretty sure you can get them at any auto parts store. I know I have seen them in auto part catalogs.

I have not put one on the tractor because I can't stand the noise of the beeper! /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif But I almost never have anyone on the property when I'm operating the tractor. Since I can't stand the beeping and no one is around, I have not installed one on the JD. BUT, when we live on the property and people are going to be around I think I'm going to have to put a beeper on the tractor.

Right now the only thing that I might backover that would hear the beeper are trees and they ain't moving anyway!

/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Here is a sorta beeping equipment fatality/safety story. Actually a beeper would not have made a difference....

After one of the hurricanes a few years ago MANY thousands of trees were knocked down. There were several "dumps" in the area that had the HUGE industrial TREE chippers running around the clock with LONG lines of dump trucks bringing in the downed trees. There were mountains of chpped trees. Nope this is not a bad chipper story! A crew was cleaning up a lot with a bulldozer and one of the men working on the ground had to take a Number 2. He went behind one of the uprooted trees and dropped his pants. While he was down in the hole the dozer pushed the root ball into its hole killing the man. It took awhile to find him since he was buried under the stump.

Hmmm. I do have a chipper story. There was a guy working for a tree service down the road. He was operating a chipper and putting limbs into the machine. He lifted a branch and put it into the chipper. The problem was that the branch was Y shapped and the man's neck got hooked by the crook. He was pulled head first into the chipper. He litterally lost his head. When I cut up tree tops I make it a point to cut everything straight. I try to remove any Y's in a limb. I dont' have a chipper but when I first started doing the work I thought I might get one so I started doing this. Its still a good idea since it helps keep your feet from getting caught by a downed limb. This is a good thing I don't want to trip holding a running chain saw!

Whats kinda sick/sad/ironic/sickly funny, is that a day or so after I saw the chipper accident reported in the paper the company had a Help Wanted sign in front of its business........

Be carefull out there.....
Dan McCarty

 

[cowboydoc]

Harv,
I had one on my skidsteer that I took off because I couldn't stand it anymore. I agree they are a safety feature and a good one but with that much backing up it drove me nuts. Plus that beeping is hard on the ears, even with ear plugs. Point is I would go ride on one with the beeper for awhile before you go to the expense of putting one on and see if you can stand it. Just imagine sitting in your car and let the dinger ring only about twice as loud.

 

[Harv]

I don't know if I would get used the beeping sound or go crazy trying. /w3tcompact/icons/crazy.gif

Another thought occurred to me -- a strobe light. If I had a beeper and a strobe, I might include a toggle switch so I could enable/disable the beeper depending on pedestrian activity in the area. The strobe would always be on.

Of course, now I have to ask if anyone has seen a strobe kit.

 

[Bird]

Harv, you should be able to find strobe light kits lots of places. Northern Tool has both permanent and magnetic mount strobe lights, Item numbers 163557-C156 and 163558-C156 (about $50). I'd suggest the magnetic mount because I think you'll soon get tired of that flashing light and want to trash it./w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

Bird

 

[Harv]

Hmmmmmm. Too bad safety has to be so annoying. /w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif

I have two small children and an elderly, hard-of-hearing, senile mother. The pets include a dog and a cat. The dog is starting to take on some of Mom's characteristics. /w3tcompact/icons/crazy.gif

My kids started out afraid of the tractor, but lately my 3 year old boy is getting braver. Although I constantly warn of the dangers, you never know what's going through the mind of a 3 year old. Mom, unfortunately, is in a similar mental state. The closest call I've had so far was when I was preparing to back up, turned to look and there was Mom about 10 feet directly behind the tractor. "It's okay", she said. "I'm just watching". /w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif

Okay, I'm a high-tech kinda guy -- I'll check to see what a rear-mounted video camera would cost. They're actually pretty cheap these days, but I'll have to look into the cost of a small flat-screen monitor, also.