Hair raising experience...

RoyJackson · Oct 12, 2004

( I had a TC29, which IIRC is almost identical to the TC33. My 29 was very stable. I built and mowed some really steep levees, and although I got tossed around, never raised a wheel. The seat will fool you. Park it on a slope and wakk away and look at the tractor from a distance. Sometimes it isn't nearly as bad as it seems. )

How true..if there's ballast in those tires, it takes quite a bit to gett 'em off the ground.

And, the height of the seat is deceiving, as you said.

My 790 feels more stable on a side slope then my 670 did..although the seat is 6 to 8 inches higher.

TCBoomer · Oct 13, 2004

TC45?, interesting...I was wondering what the 2120 compared to. When I stand back and size it up, it doesn't look so bad. I've operated a case 580(?) extenda hoe around here and that took a little to get used to. But for some reason, when you sit in the seat of the 2120, it feels bigger. Maybe due to it being cabless? Here's a shot of it with my rake. The rear wheel span is just over 6' wide.

The rear brakes did lock, and it slid on the grass. Not sure about the front brakes or if it even has them. I didn't plow under the slope, since I didn't want to deal with errosion. The grass probably contributed to the slide.

On a brighter note, had a good productive day yesterday combined with a good attitude. That helped my confidence dramaticly. I was dragging the rake crossways and actually got the nerve to work my way over the peak. I was probably more shakey than the machine /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
I was curious how far I could push it, so I had my stabila electronic level with me and set it on the hood. It read 19 degrees and that was as far as I was willing to go. It didn't feel unstable, but I sure did!!! /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

I need to get one of those tilt meters, I've never used one. Just used basic math or my stabila to measure degrees.

edit...guess I can't post the pic, The files to big??? I did resize it, so I'll need to figure out what I did wrong.

TCBoomer · Oct 13, 2004

Try again...

TCBoomer · Oct 13, 2004

The seat will fool you. Park it on a slope and wakk away and look at the tractor from a distance. Sometimes it isn't nearly as bad as it seems.

Your right...I did just that and it doesn't look as bad as it feels while in the seat.

rambler · Oct 13, 2004

(
The rear brakes did lock, and it slid on the grass. Not sure about the front brakes or if it even has them. I didn't plow under the slope, since I didn't want to deal with errosion. The grass probably contributed to the slide.

)

Those tires are awefull on damp grass - they are designed not to leave a footprint, and thus have no traction....

You only have rear brakes on a tractor. In 4wd you have some front action through the drivetrain. You were obviously in 2wd.

I'll guess the machine has no fliud or other ballast in the rear. With the front loader, there is very little weight on the rear end. This lets them slide on wet grass, and makes them feel unstable.

A properly ballasted tractor with good rubber on it will be nice & stable for you, with good braking. This one is just set up about 180 degrees wrong for what you want to do.

--->Paul

TCBoomer · Oct 14, 2004

I was in 4X4 when it happened, but I'm not sure about the loaded tires. The dealer said they were filled, but when I lifted a full bucket of damp loam, the back end seemed light. It even lifted the rear tires a little when I dug into the pile.

stumpman · Oct 15, 2004

TC,
I know how ya feel. I had a simular experience, though not backward! Here is a copy of my post in the Safety forum.

"I know that if you drive a tractor long enough, your going to get into a scary situation. My scariest situation happened when I owned a sub-compact (20HP, gas, hydro) with a small FEL. I was driving straight up the hill in my back yard (1200 ft long with about 100 foot drop) with the loader on and a counter weight in back. My mound system is at the very top of the hill and as I climbed the last few feet I realized that I had forgotten some tools at the bottom of the hill. After I got to the top flat section I turned arround to head back down.
The tractor has a lever on the left side fender for turtle/rabbit selection and neutral in the middle. As I started down the mound, the selector popped into the neutral position. I went from 0-60 MPH in less than a second . Stepped on the brakes and nothing happened . All kinds of things went through my mind in that very fast ride! Do I drop the loader? No, it may flip end for end! Do I try to turn? No, it may go into a high speed roll! Do I jump? No, going way too fast. Everything went through my mind except... drop the weight.
So here I am riding this 1800 lb run away machine straight down the hill. About a third of the way down is an old fence row, no posts or wire, just a bump and a 4 foot drop to the next field. I hit that and came straight up out of the seat. I was able to hang on to the steering wheel and landed back in the seat, still going 100 mph . Just when I thought the excitement was over, another old fence row. You guest it, back out of the seat I go, again landing back in the seat to continue my ride down that hill. When the beast finally came to rest, the only damage was bruised knee's (from hitting the steering wheel) and a bruised ego.
After I changed my shorts, I measured the distance of my two "jumps". The first one the tractor was in the air for 8 feet, and 12 feet for the second one. Any time that I used the tractor after that, I bungee'd the lever into position. I sold the thing soon after."

TCBoomer · Oct 15, 2004

Thanks for sharing...it made me laugh!! sorry /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

especially at these>>>

...I went from 0-60 MPH in less than a second

...still going 100 mph

Glad you survived