saved from injury by tractorbynet

texastomtom · Sep 1, 2004

Hello guys,

I just want to say thank you to all of you who have posted safety related ( roll over ) information.

I just used my tractor for my first real experience loading dirt up high.

And yes,,, I almost rolled over. Fortunately I did not.
My thanks to you all. Had I not read as much in this forum as to this particular safty issue I probably would have rolled it.

Having read here I was being much more carefull than I otherwise think I would have been. I just should have listened even closer - fortunately I now fully understand just how easy these small tractors can be set askew !!!!

not even a scratch on the tractor. I'll check myself after I get the tractor put away.... lol

THANKS for keeping us amatuers thinking about safety !!!

Besides the Thanks to you all,,, I offer this as advice to any other new tractor owners. BEWARE AND BE SAFE....

/forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

PineRidge · Sep 1, 2004

Let me be the first to say that I'm glad that you were not hurt.

Can you elaborate and tell us exactly what you did to get into a bad situation in the first place, and what you did to keep you and your tractor safe beyond realizing that things wern't going as originally planned?

Most folks here including myself learn by other members experiences.

Bob_Skurka · Sep 1, 2004

texastomtom, just out of curiosity, what type of equipement were you using? Can you describe what you were doing in more detail? Your profile is not filled out, it would be helpful to others if we at least knew the tractor size, type, age, loader, etc. Also were you on dirt, grass, etc?

texastomtom · Sep 1, 2004

Even the safest looking site can hold danger for the uneducated - ( me )

I thought I had thought of everything. checked for overhead obstructions and wires in the area. Made mental notes of all ground obstacles. Surveyed the area thoroughly. Looked over the lay of the ground. Stay way clear of persons in the area ( yes i had about 40 observers - most busy doing other things I hope )

jd 4720 with 400x loader - both new - strictly operator error - no equipment malfunction involed.
and i expect some harassing on this part - nothing on the back
no ballast etc,,, due to where i was unloading there just was absolutely no extra space for anything on the rear of the tractor.

Totally flat and first packed dirt surface
(part of the reason i was really not expecting rolling being a problem)

Someone else had left a huge pile of fill dirt for me to distribute away from the 'event location'

Simply had driven into pile - filled the bucket
honestly had it raised higher than needed but it was up about 6'.

having filled the bucket I had turned the wheels fully to the right, began to back up - A LITTLE TO QUICKLY
with the load up high, wheels turned sharp, and then perhaps a little to agressive reverse power things did commence to get scary...

Is that descriptive enough.....
I dont really know how close I actually came to tumbling over - but it went far enough to kinda stop and act like it could have gone either way.

I'm not sure if i did the right thing but I immediately dropped the bucket which seemed to be what kept it from going on over and released the reverse pedal.

I wonder if the smaller tractors are even more prone to go over. This thing weighs 3700 lbs without the loader. I dont recall the loader weight but its plenty with a full bucket of moise dirt.

/forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

oh yea,,, since my tractor wasn't hurt or anything - please feel free to laugh a bit at the amatuer in me..... Sometimes that all you can do - once you catch you breath.

/forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

Bird · Sep 1, 2004

( I'm not sure if i did the right thing but I immediately dropped the bucket which seemed to be what kept it from going on over and released the reverse pedal. )

You bet you did the right thing!

( I wonder if the smaller tractors are even more prone to go over )

Yes!

And I'll bet most of us have done about the same thing you did. I did it the day I got my B7100 with a bucketful of gravel. Fortunately, I didn't have it but about 2' off the ground, but it was definitely enough to give me more of a thrill than I wanted. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

daedong · Sep 1, 2004

Been there to many times /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

RonR · Sep 1, 2004

I had several "reminders" about FEL with no rear ballast. Several in moving a trailer with the FEL. When you are in 2WD (which I recommend for such stunts), and your progress stops due to one wheel losing traction, you know you screwed up.

I've encountered that more than once.

My standard operation now when using the FEL is to NEVER take my hand off the joystick when moving with a load on or in the FEL. If I need to move my hand, I stop the tractor.............

And I'm almost to the point of NEVER using the FEL without the BB on the back.............

Stay safe,
Ron

texastomtom · Sep 1, 2004

I"ve always had something on the back previous to this event.

And I knew from here that that is the correct practice.
But when you simply cant get where you need to go you tend to make concessions.

I did note right away that it was not completely stable in this configuration but ....................

Live ande Learn and Laugh at your mistakes if you live through them...

Bob_Skurka · Sep 1, 2004

First the spank, you should ALWAYS ballast the tractor, at least with loaded rear tires. Heavy tractors don't have any real advantage over light if the weight is not in the rear. It is my understanding that most tractors are front heavy to begin with (contrary to popular belief) and the FEL exacerbates that problem. LOAD your tires OR use a ballast box, or both.

As for HOW you almost tipped over, I was using a Kubota B2910 with loaded rear tires working on flat smooth asphalt moving some large granite cobblestones. This was 2 summers ago. I had to lift the bucket high enough to clear the mailbox as the pile was on one side and the stones needed to be moved to the other side. I essentially did what you did. Went up on 2 wheels, my butt puckered so much that the tractor seat is still deformed, but the bucket slammed down while I turned the wheel and the tractor came back down on all four tires.

Now for the confession of stupid me. Using the TC24, which doesn't have loaded tires, I did not bother to put an implement or the ballast box on either . . . after dinner I had one small pile of dirt to move, it was about equal to a bucketload. Well it was a big bucketload, heaped up, but the loader easily lifted it. So I took off across the reasonably flat area with the overstuffed bucket and came to the dip at the road. I was driving too fast and as the tractor went down the dip the rear wheels all of a sudden got really light. I don't think they ever came off the ground, but it sure got tippy feeling. And I needed to get down the road about 400 feet and then drop 15' down a steep slope to the valley. I figured I'd go for it, all turned out well, I went slow, bucket at about an inch above the ground as I decended that slope, but all the while I knew I was doing something that was basically risky. I should have used the other tractor, it was ballasted, but I didn't. Like I said, I am stupid too. But I guess I had enough hours under my belt that I made a calculated choice this time. I got lucky.