How did this Tractor Flip?

[Mechanos]

Yea, they call it a freak accident, but really there should be nothing freak about it. It sure looks like there was no rops. It also looks like there is no draw bar.

The freak part of it was that the operator escape with his life.

 

[LJH]

Glad he isn't dead and wishing both him and the youngster a full recovery.

 

[Josh Shoemaker]

Weight. That trailer is loaded to the gills with what looks like potatoes. Pulling up a incline with that much weight I imagine would bring the front end up like that. Not sure if there were any counter weights on the front or not but that could have been the cause. Just to much weight for the tractor.

 

[cartod]

Weight. That trailer is loaded to the gills with what looks like potatoes. Pulling up a incline with that much weight I imagine would bring the front end up like that. Not sure if there were any counter weights on the front or not but that could have been the cause. Just to much weight for the tractor.

I don't think the weight was the problem as much as the way it was distributed. If he was indeed using the 3 point instead of the draw bar. If he were using the draw bar instead of the 3 point, too much weight should have just made the tractor break traction, not flip.

 

[DT86]

... But I do see the overhead support there that could have caught the ROPS?????

I not seeing any ROPS on that old girl.

 

[k0ua]

I don't see a drawbar, and I don't see a ROPS. the one is why the tractor flipped the other is why the operator is injured.. It could have been much worse, the Operators usually die.

James K0UA

 

[ctgoldwing]

I don't think the weight was the problem as much as the way it was distributed. If he was indeed using the 3 point instead of the draw bar. If he were using the draw bar instead of the 3 point, too much weight should have just made the tractor break traction, not flip.

I'm going with this too. My guess is his connection point to that trailer was to high above the CG of the tractor. One good pull against a significant mass like that fruit wagon would probably bring those front wheels right off the ground.
As other posters have mentioned it would have helped if he had front weights (to a point)

 

[travlitt]

To me it looks like he might have been traveling pretty fast as he came into the dip. If the trailer was connected to the 3pl and was to low, the front cross member could have dug into the ground. This could have stopped the forward travel of the trailer and caused the tractor to rotate on the real axle and flip over. You can see behind the rear tire of the trailer where it looks like the front cross member may have drug.

 

[rd_macgregor]

That overhead trellis wire just might have saved his life.

 

[milkman636]

He wasn't quick enough on the clutch. In my distant past I have done wheelies that required clutching while pulling heavy weight with the three point on level ground. All it takes is a little bump or soft spot in the ground that tries to change the speed of the trailer while the tractor wants to continue on its merry way. Those front ends are light and the tug will jerk the front end up quick.