Have you ever turned over a tractor?

[Henro]

I do not want to hear the pros and cons of rops as that has been discussed in many other threads.

This is not meant to be a pro or con...more like can it happen or not?

Others' experiences really mean nothing to us personally. Can WE tip our tractors over? YES!

Would we like a ROPS and seat belt if we have the misfortune to tip our tractors? Probably YES! The superior man who can jump clear without question is exempted.

With my luck, I won't win the lottery any time soon. But I probably will win a quick exit from the planet if I choose to operate a tractor with out ROPS and seat belt.

For this reason I choose to have tractors with ROPS and seatbelts...but then I also wear my seatbelt in my vehicles (helped once), and would wear a helmet if I had a motorcycle (used to, helmet helped a few times)...bicycle accident, split a helmet in half while commuting to work...you get the picture as far as my life goes...

 

[Dougster]

Wonder what happened, is that a, too high, trailer in corner of pic.? Was he taking it off, and it threw him/her off.?

I've got a higher resolution version of this picture, but I can't seem to get it to post. God only knows how this happened. It wasn't explained in the news story that went with it.

I didn't know if this picture had been posted here before or not... but there is no doubt about it: It is chilling!!!

Dougster

 

[SPYDERLK]

Wonder what happened, is that a, too high, trailer in corner of pic.? Was he taking it off, and it threw him/her off.?

Good eye! I bet he was putting it on. Those ramps are steep and would hit way forward on the drive tires. Im still surprised tho with all those weights on the front --- looks like maybe some of them were actually on the sides further back. That would help explain it.
larry

 

[Dougster]

And it's not just Lime Green...

Dougster

 

[N80]

I bet that tractor was being loaded. Get the front wheels up the ramp and then it stalls a bit. Give it a little too much gas to get the rears up and over it goes. The weights were probably on the front and are where they are because that is where they landed after being flung. But I do see the braket on the side that may have held some of them.

Truth is, there is no way to tell what happened from the picture. That tractor may have broken loose and rolled off the truck/trailer. I don't see anyone squashed underneath. The fire dept is there but I imagine that they get called for any fuel spill situations.

But, back to the original post. I think it is an interesting question and would also like to hear from people who have survived such accidents. I think such accounts serve as precautionary tales (particularly those like Riptide's). I have never rolled my tractor. It has a ROPS, seatbelts (which I use) and operator presence switch. The ROPS is foldable and the switch can be disabled which means that I can decide not to use any of these features. What keeps me using them (in addition to common sense and the wisdom of many others here on TBN) is that in two years of ownership there have been two occasions that I thought I might roll. One of them was going very very slowly on difficult terrain, the other happened very suddenly and unexpectedly. Its that feeling that you get when you think its going to go over that keeps me using the safety features. I have no idea how close I was either time (which is irrelevant really) but it scared me sufficiently to appreciate the safety features.

Which makes it all the more interesting to hear how people who have actually gone over really feel. I hope we hear from more of them.

Dougster, that Ford looks like it was hit by something.

 

[BotaBigot]

I have read all the pros and cons of rops here in many threads with all the posters stating all the things that might happen to cause your tractor to flip or turn over. This makes me very curious as to how many of us have ever had a tractor turn over and lived to tell about it. I do not want to hear the pros and cons of rops as that has been discussed in many other threads.

If you have been lucky enough to have turned over a tractor and survived, would you be kind enough to give us a short explanation of what happened and why and whether or not you had a rops and/or were wearing a seatbelt?

In the '70s, I had one of the early Kubota B6000 "paddy tractors," (4WD, FEL, Woods 48" RM). Was level at top of slight grade with bucketful of dirt (upper FEL arms parallel to ground). Moving slowly perpendicular to grade, RF wheel hit soft spot and I immediately knew tractor was going over. Maybe it was 10 years of motorcycling, along with youthful reflexes, but I just stepped off the high side as it went over. Thump, on its side, and once more onto the loader arms. Turned key off...too late, oil in the oil bath air cleaner was sucked into cylinders, putting engine into runaway mode. Used decomp to shut it down. Righted tractor with come-along. Let it sit so engine oil could return to crankcase, wiped oil from intake, neutralized leaked battery acid, and started it. Used tractor another 15+ years without incident.

As to why...material (unevenly distibuted?) in FEL raised center of gravity more than expected. Higher CG, combined with narrow tread width (especially SCUTs), quickly increases rollover potential. All that's needed is some "event" that puts tractor beyond stability zone. Unfortunately, knowing stability zone under all possible loading/implement situations is all but impossible.

As they become available, I use every safety device I can. I've always tried to be careful, but careful people have accidents too...

 

[kenmac]

As far as myself. I hope I never have to post it I rolled my tractor & survived. I don't want to ever get myself into that type of situation.

 

[Dougster]

Dougster, that Ford looks like it was hit by something.

Not according to the accompanying article: "On September 13, 2002, a 26 year-old male Hispanic migrant worker (decedent) died when the tractor he was driving on a country roadway overturned. The decedent had experience driving the tractor in a field, but did not have experience driving it on a public roadway. On the afternoon of the incident, the decedent drove the tractor, pulling a wagonload of tobacco, from the farm where it had been harvested to the tobacco barn one mile away. The road was hilly and had a sharp curve to the right at the bottom of the hill. As the decedent drove the tractor pulling the wagon down the hill, the wagon jackknifed and broke loose from the tractor. The tractor slid sideways, flipped over, slid around the curve and came to rest with the decedent underneath, but not pinned. The wagonload of tobacco also flipped, skidded and came to rest next to the tractor. The decedent's brother, along with the other migrant workers who had followed the tractor in a van, retrieved the decedent from underneath the tractor and drove him to the area hospital where he was declared dead from blunt force injuries."

Dougster

 

[dghecas]

does anybody out there use a tip meter?

 

[riptides]

does anybody out there use a tip meter?

I do now!

But back then I was unlearned and unworthy.

I also had hills.

I have remedied those aspects of my tractor operations.

-Mike Z.