Old tractor, no ROPS

[yelbike]

i didn't see it mentioned what tractor was involved. I also noticed it was a stump pull issue where the front came up.

sad.. it wasn't lack of rops that killed this guy.. it was lack of common sense.. pull from below the level of the rear axle to prevent the front coming up.. sad....

What may be common sense to some isn't so common to others. I didn't know about pulling low until I was told, than I read about it some more for clarification. I even looked at an engineer video look learn about the physics of it and why it happens so fast. In other words, if you don't know......you just don't know.

 

[Sysop]

There is some logic to the process; Pulling low is best for the center of gravity on the tractor, but pulling high increases the lift you put on what you're pulling. The main problem with most accidents is people taking things to the extremes and beyond. Sometimes you need a bigger hammer, and sometimes a hammer isn't the proper tool...

 

[NS Gearhead]

I know he was old, but what a hard way to leave your family : (

Not a tractor, but when we were in our starter home and purchased our current home's lot I borrowed a fouwheeler to get some logs to the street for firewood. Well tieing to the hitch didn't work well... the logs kept getting fetched up.... so I tied off on the rack. One big pople, and a steep grade later I'm looking up at the sky picturing the ambulance ride. As luck would have it the front rack hit a stump and rolled the fourwheeler away before it landed on me. I fell a good 5' onto the log I was trying to pull, but it could have been alot worse.

Oh yeah, and it cost me $1,600 to fix the bike. That's some expensive crappy wood!

 

[Soundguy]

There is some logic to the process; Pulling low is best for the center of gravity on the tractor, but pulling high increases the lift you put on what you're pulling. The main problem with most accidents is people taking things to the extremes and beyond. Sometimes you need a bigger hammer, and sometimes a hammer isn't the proper tool...

you can use the same attach point on the 'pulled' object. just use a lower than axle point on the tractor... pulling low on the tractor PLANTS the front end, and ultimately safety limits the traction the rear sees. a completely self limiting process if a geometry is applied.

Besides. you want more MA on the object pulled.. put something like a big tire rim between the stump and the tractor (close to the stump).. run the cable from under the tractor, over the rim and down to the stump.. you've changed the angle of pull at the stump.

 

[Soundguy]

What may be common sense to some isn't so common to others. I didn't know about pulling low until I was told, than I read about it some more for clarification. I even looked at an engineer video look learn about the physics of it and why it happens so fast. In other words, if you don't know......you just don't know.

one should not be operating equipment one does not know about. That's what manuals are for. I only have 1 tractor manual available to thumb thru at my work desk.. but low and behold.. there is a warning about stump pulling and attaching high on the tractor.... ... go figure.

Like i said. sad... lack of procedure and common sense killed that guy.. not lack of a rops

 

[yelbike]

one should not be operating equipment one does not know about. That's what manuals are for. I only have 1 tractor manual available to thumb thru at my work desk.. but low and behold.. there is a warning about stump pulling and attaching high on the tractor.... ... go figure.

Like i said. sad... lack of procedure and common sense killed that guy.. not lack of a rops

Hash it like you will, ROPS likely would have had him walk home with his tail between his legs and a good lesson learned.

 

[Soundguy]

Hash it like you will, ROPS likely would have had him walk home with his tail between his legs and a good lesson learned.

no dispute there. had he used a seatbelt, and had rops.. then his lack of procedure and common sense would have caused an accident.. but maybee not killed him. To be clear though. the absence of a rops on his machine did not CAUSE his death. (maybee could have PREVENTED it.. sure.. but did not CAUSE it. )

 

[oldnslo]

To be clear though. the absence of a rops on his machine did not CAUSE his death. (maybee could have PREVENTED it.. sure.. but did not CAUSE it. )

I would be willing to bet this us a true statement for the vast majority of deaths caused by roll over. I would be willing to bet that the operator was pushing the design limits of the machine in most cases.

 

[Sysop]

As humans, we do tend to be our own worst enemies at times.

 

[TomSeller]

What may be common sense to some isn't so common to others. I didn't know about pulling low until I was told, than I read about it some more for clarification. I even looked at an engineer video look learn about the physics of it and why it happens so fast. In other words, if you don't know......you just don't know.

Ever watch tractor pulls and wonder why the front tires bob off the ground? The drawbar is at the perfect balance spot, much higher and the back flip would be a blur.

If the danger of hitching higher doesn't make sense to you, imagine hitching to the top of your ROPS. When the object being pulled hangs up, the rear tires of the tractor will drive it right out from underneath the tractor and flip the whole tractor backwards