Fatal tractor rollover

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So maybee it's OK if you're really comfortable with your backhoe and go real slow, but looking at your comments I wouldn't recommend it for someone new to tractors.

Amazing how hard it is to explain knowing your equipment and seat of the pants feel... tnx for your comments.

Pete

I believe going slow paying attention and being carefull, in the long run, results in more work done, with less down time fixing things.......including our own bodys

 

[beppington]

We use this method as well. We had a fellow killed a few years ago by pulling above the axle. He tried to pull a truck out of the mud. The clutch pedal got slick from all of the clay, his foot slipped off and over it went. I think about it every time I get on my tractor. I hope I never forget it. God be with him and his family.

Good lord that one's scary :shocked: I'm very confident I have cat-like quick reflexes but it hadn't dawned on me that you can't always know for sure things like that your shoes or pedals aren't slippery.

 

[hawkeye08]

Theres been long discussions about "how can you flip a tractor if the load attach point is below the axle...".

It boils down to if the rear tires slip but still have some traction-- which applies torque to the axle-- then the tractor can slip backwards (if the object is immovable) while flipping over (if the object is mobile, the object moves further than the tractor, i.e., the distance between the load and tractor decreases as the tractor pulls the load under and the tractor nose goes up). People think only of the tractor going frontwards but in this case that doesn't necessarily happen, and it doesn't have to go far to go over backwards. If the tires just slip without having enough force to lift the front, you sit there, same if the engine stalls.

I like that automatic hook thingie, seems like a good idea, better than a long drawbar tongue on the tractor that slams into the ground to slow or stop a flip.

+1

I was trying to think on how to explain this. I have lifted the front very high on a mid 50s McCormick 650 (similar to WD9). I was pulling from the drawbar (below the axle for sure). Both the implement and tractor were still moving some and the front came up pretty fast. My foot shot out to push clutch but it has a hand clutch so took a couple of extra moments to react. It was interesting after that when I noticed my hand on the clutch handle when I was operating..

 

[CurlyDave]

You can flip backwards even when pulling under the axle. The tractor pivot is between the tire and the ground. The lower is the pulling point the harder it is to flip backwards though.

Ladia is 100% correct on this.

Just because there are bearings in the rear axle and the wheels rotate about the axle does not mean that the is the rotation point of the tractor in a rear flip.

OTOH, if you already think that way and see a slow motion movie of a flip, you will convince yourself the rear axle is the rotation point.

A trained engineer will look at the same movie and easily discern that the real rotation point for the entire tractor is the bottom of the rear wheels. It is difficult for many people to see this because the wheels are rotating at the same time the tractor is flipping, and the motion is very complex.

The proper drawbar, designed for your tractor and properly used is the safest place to hook a load.

Another misperception is that the item which attaches to the 3 point hitch arms and has a trailer ball attached is commonly called a "drawbar", which it is not. It is a trailer hitch bar, and pulling hard from one of these is a good way to experience a backflip...