Bad Day for Hired Hand and Combine

[ovrszd]

Roading this Combine down a steep hill on a gravel road to a narrow culvert crossing. Got to loaping and lost control. Didn't hurt the driver other than getting wet as the cab filled with water before he could unzip the window and get out. I'm pretty sure it totaled the Combine.

Had to help my Son retrieve it with two large Wreckers.

 

[Tx Jim]

That's too bad but glad combine operator wasn't hurt. I'll bet the wrecker fee wasn't cheap.

 

[TripleR]

What a mess, I guess he was just going too fast? I got behind our renter's combine not too long ago and it took up all the pavement and then some, man those things are big.

 

[ovrszd]

Jim, ballpark guess would be $3000. Had to move it 2 miles to farmer's homestead.

Larry, yeah I think he was going too fast and it just got to bouncing and got away from him. Looked like at the last second he locked up the brakes and the left side bit harder and he took a hard left turn. Luckily rolled in rather than going in head first which would have certainly hurt him. When we got the call we thought he had probably flopped it on it's side in the field crossing a ditch or dropping the downhill tires off into a washout with a hopper full of grain. Was quite a shock to drive up and see it laying in that ditch almost upside down. I stood on the belly of the combine while hooking chains to pull it with.

 

[TomSeller]

Not used to seeing the top of a combine like that. Wow! I bet the guy is out of work now.

 

[ovrszd]

Not used to seeing the top of a combine like that. Wow! I bet the guy is out of work now.

My first thought was I had never saw the belly of a combine before.


Yeah, at first the owner was saying it's just life. By the time we got it out he was bitterly saying shouldn't have happened. And he's right, it shouldn't have. The roadbed was plenty wide. Driver just got careless.

We were as cautious as we could be to not do more damage. Cosmetically it looks very bent. Not sure of the age of the machine but he said it had just over 1200 engine hrs on it.

 

[Green Power]

I am not sure when they started making 9770's but i would geuss 07-08 ish, i know 2011 was the last production year for them. I assume the Farmer had insurance on it... Did he have much more to harvest?

 

[ovrszd]

I am not sure when they started making 9770's but i would geuss 07-08 ish, i know 2011 was the last production year for them. I assume the Farmer had insurance on it... Did he have much more to harvest?

He said he had just finished corn and was ready to start cutting beans. Our planting season was late for beans so few are ready. And the ones that are have a moisture test of around 9%. Everyone is wanting a small rain. We haven't had any for at least 4 weeks. Combines are just barely leaving lug mark tracks in the fields.

 

[TomSeller]

I looked back that last picture and it sure does look twisted. I wonder what the local body shop would say if you asked them if they could straighten it a bit

 

[Green Power]

I hate to even guess, but 70-75k in damages? Im sure the insurance company will/did total it.

 

[Ed of all trades]

I am surprised it does not happen more than it does. The farmers around here are wide open all the time. I have almost been hit once by a tractor running wide open on snow and not watching where they were going. They could not stop and I had to back up to give them room to stop.

 

[ovrszd]

He's gonna meet with the Adjuster tomorrow. Farm Bureau Insurance.

Here's some more pics of the move to his farm.

 

[ovrszd]

I am surprised it does not happen more than it does. The farmers around here are wide open all the time. I have almost been hit once by a tractor running wide open on snow and not watching where they were going. They could not stop and I had to back up to give them room to stop.

Yep. I am compassionate and understanding of their situations. The LARGE farmer here by me is very diligent about training his employees to be considerate and patient with traffic. As soon as they see you, they pull over and most times stop. The smaller farmers tend to be aggressive in their behavior on public roads. Not blaming or picking on either side. Again, I am compassionate and understanding of their situation. They are just trying to make a living like we all are.

 

[Tomtint]

Glad the driver was ok. Probably needs a clean pair of underwear now. .. It always seams that the owner ...or the guy who pays for the expensive equipment, is not the one who wrecks it.

 

[300UGUY]

I hope the adjuster knows something about combines. That stuff won't buff out!

 

[ovrszd]

Glad the driver was ok. Probably needs a clean pair of underwear now. .. It always seams that the owner ...or the guy who pays for the expensive equipment, is not the one who wrecks it.

Yep.

My belief is that anyone who owns multi-thousand dollar equipment and turns it loose with an operator that he pays minimum, or near minimum wage should expect the worst.

My large farmer friend figured that out several years ago. He hires the best farm hands he can find and pays them very well with benefits. They are the ones that pull over when they see you coming and yield the right of way, always.

 

[ovrszd]

I hope the adjuster knows something about combines. That stuff won't buff out!

I am not a combine expert. Looking at it from the rear, the whole machine leans right. I can't see it being fixed. But we'll see. I'll post an update as soon as I hear something.

Nothing broken in regards to major components and framework. But that's not what makes a Combine work. It's the small details of alignment that count.

 

[smstonypoint]

Just curious.

What sort of ground speed can combines obtain over the road?

Steve

 

[300UGUY]

I am not a combine expert. Looking at it from the rear, the whole machine leans right. I can't see it being fixed. But we'll see. I'll post an update as soon as I hear something.

Nothing broken in regards to major components and framework. But that's not what makes a Combine work. It's the small details of alignment that count.

I was thinking that moving a lot of material thru any machine requires a lot of things fitting up right. Good enough won't cut it.

 

[Jim Shooz]

Fast enough to get airborne it would seem