In your worst dreams.....

[Glowplug]

Shot out, check you PM's

I guess one of the days that took a few years off of me was several years ago I was heading to a field to disk, I had to travel down a busy 2 lane highway that had a narrow bridge at one point with a blind curve before it. Running dual wheels with a 18' drop wing disk (10' in travel mode) didn't leave me much room on the road. I was nervous coming up to the bridge as it didn't have any room on the side so I would be running over into the other lane pretty good, I juiced it wide open and about 3/4 way across a tractor trailer rounded the curve ahead and my heart stopped as he locked up his brakes but I knew he couldn't stop in time. It was a blur at the end of the bridge as I yanked it off the side of the road just in time as the truck went blaring by. I think I bent the throttle arm trying to get more speed out of the old AC and I never went that way again without a lead truck. I was very lucky that day for sure.
Ominous was that a few years later the guy I had worked for was killed when a truck hit his tractor.

Man, that story made my heart race just reading it!

 

[RollTideRam]

My worst day was bushhogging a field I knew nothing about. I drove through it, but did not walk it. I dropped front wheel in a hole that was covered by a downed tree. A big hole and a small tractor. After I got the back wheel on the ground, I buckled up. Next were some ruts that were made by something big, real big. I hit a large concrete chunk next. I had saw it on the last pass, but a passing train with a loud horn had my attention at the wrong time. Next was a tire/wheel combo that killed the engine, some more ruts that allowed me to cut some more dirt. Finally for a nice finish, two hornet stings and I was done. I have not mentioned to the owner about cutting his field again. JC

 

[redlevel]

(You southerners know what Kudsu is all about)

FWJ, make sure you get all those Kudzu vines off the tractor and mower, or you will transplant it at the next two or three places you mow!

 

[firefighter9208]

Bushhogging for a friend on Saturday. 1/2 of the 10 acres I have been bushhogging for the past 3 years. This year they want it all bushhogged. Some of the blackberry briars were to the top of my canopy. I would have to stop and let the mower catch up at times. Was like driving through the jungle.

Stopped to eat a bite and blow out the radiator. Heard a hissing sound. Of course I got a front tire going down. Took it off and took it to get repaired. Put a new tube in and put the tire back on, let the front end down with the loader. The other one is flat. Had to take it and get it repaired. Spent a total of two hours getting flats repaired. That one tire had two sticks through it.

I was almost done and hit a pile of rocks. This isn't rocky ground, but my friends brother in law (when they lived on the land) had obviously hunted every rock on the place to put in one pile in the middle of a flat field. No wonder the whole family calls him "the idiot".

As far as getting stuck, we had a pond that was overgrown and had filled in over the years. I had a contractor friend come and cut the dam in March. We let it drain all summer and he was going to clean it out in the fall. About the end of July I decided to bushhog the weeds/grass/cattails so it would be easier to clean out. I made one pass too many. Buried the tractor and bushhog. Went and got the jeep and buried it trying to get out the tractor. Went and got my granddads tractor to pull out the jeep. Then used the tractor and jeep to pull out my tractor. What a mess!!

Chris

 

[Farmwithjunk]

FWJ, make sure you get all those Kudzu vines off the tractor and mower, or you will transplant it at the next two or three places you mow!

Yep... Along with the assorted Canadian Thistle, Bull Thistle, ect, and so on. We always try to clean off tractors and mowers before leaving every job. Then they go home for a quick turn around service and inspection. I've got a couple customers that are big fancy Arabian horse farms. We mow several hundred acres of pasture there that looks nicer than my front lawn! If I hauled weed seed in to those places, they'd have my head on a silver platter

On a side note, there's a woman just down the road from me that has a Kudsu removal business. She "employs" several dozen goats instead of mowers. She keeps 'em booked up year round.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

Reading about some of the "stucks" jolted a few repressed memories out of the dark corners of my mind The worst was when I was about 15 y.o. Dad had me mowing roadsides around his place. I was on an Allis Chalmers WD. I was at that age where ALL I thought about was girls/cars, or occasionally cars/girls. Anyway, a good looking GIRL in a CAR drove by just as I was about to pass a deep, mud and cattail filled ditch. Long story short, I didn't "pass" the ditch. Next thing I know, the narrow front Allis is pushing towards the site of this years summer Olympics It sunk in so far, there was mud pushing up over the top of the radiator. The only other tractor there I was allowed to get out on my own was a Ferguson TO30 that was smaller and lighter than the old Allis. Needless to say, I had to wait until dad got home to help me get it out.

Then I had to explain to him how/why it was in the ditch in the first place.

After raising 3 kids of my own, now I understand that exasperated look on his face oh, so well.

 

[Thomas]

Knock on wood you didn't have any break downs during your adventure...yikes.

Bad seat time for me,I'd say couple years ago while brush hogging the lower field,for it was dry late summer and the wasp & yellow jackets had nest just about everywhere,and seems I found them all...OUCH...I had so many red dots on me I could have play connect the dots.

Last winter while plowing driveway clump of snow fell from pine 40'/50' and hit my shoulder also top of my head...talk about be silly for moment or two.

 

[Glowplug]

Reading about some of the "stucks" jolted a few repressed memories out of the dark corners of my mind The worst was when I was about 15 y.o. Dad had me mowing roadsides around his place. I was on an Allis Chalmers WD. I was at that age where ALL I thought about was girls/cars, or occasionally cars/girls. Anyway, a good looking GIRL in a CAR drove by just as I was about to pass a deep, mud and cattail filled ditch. Long story short, I didn't "pass" the ditch. Next thing I know, the narrow front Allis is pushing towards the site of this years summer Olympics It sunk in so far, there was mud pushing up over the top of the radiator. The only other tractor there I was allowed to get out on my own was a Ferguson TO30 that was smaller and lighter than the old Allis. Needless to say, I had to wait until dad got home to help me get it out.

Then I had to explain to him how/why it was in the ditch in the first place.

After raising 3 kids of my own, now I understand that exasperated look on his face oh, so well.

Great story!
The big question is did the girl see what happened in her rear view mirrow?!

 

[Farmwithjunk]

Great story!
The big question is did the girl see what happened in her rear view mirrow!!

Uh.. I'll ask her tonight when I get home! It was my then future wife that made me drive off in the ditch.

(She's made me do a number of stupid things over the years. )

 

[gf5205]

Thanks for bringing up bad memories . About 15 years ago I was building road in my woods with my Ford 3600. I was carrying rocks from a stone wall and covering with dirt. The front axle broke when I was almost out at the end pointing the wrong way. This was late November in Maine and I was worried about getting it fixed before winter. The ground was cold and wet and it was dark before and after work.

Now the loader is powered by a pump mounted on the loader frame driven by a shaft that runs through a hole in the center of the axle. I wasn't sure I was going to be able to get the axle off with out taking off the loader, and I didn't see how to get the loader off with the broken axle in that location. I finally got it off and it went back together more easliy. I don't remember if it was the second or third weekend that I finally got it.

Greg