Using bucket as work platform.

[Soundguy]

mine only goes up about 10 feet. I can jump out of it with no injury. .

Some people just hurt themselves pretty easilly.

I know a guy ( husband of a friend ) that broke his leg by slipping and falling in his kitchen while opening the fridge to get a glass of milk. Broke the big bone too.. not the little ones. I was flabergasted.. the guy fell from a standing position and suffered a very serious injury. And he's not a little frail guy.. he's 6' and 220#...

Soundguy

 

[TomKioti]

Some of you are defending the indefensible. How can I tell? Because your changing the argument to try and prove your point. Why else would heart disease and Big Macs be brought up? You know it's dangerous you just don't want to carry the thought with you the next time you climb into that bucket. You'd rather rationalize and play the odds ala machismo. Your gonna get caught by the short ones when you least expect it. THAT's how it happens.

Once your in that bucket you have no control over your tractor whatsoever... end of story. Using some of your logic, window washers wouldn't tie off they would just take calculated risks. Steelworkers would do the same... and I'm sure many do... and you know what? Many die every year.

Defending the indefensible.

 

[patrick_g]

George, I suspect I'd have to land on just about anything EXCEPT my hard head to sustain a serious injury But seriously, I don't think any of us more outspoken advocates of safety are over the top and should be rightfully portrayed as wild eyed safety nuts who advocate staying away from tractors (now Big Macs are another issue... how about smoking... plenty of folks claim it is safe and or is wirth the risk leaving us to question their powers of critical thinking or writing it off as trying to divert attention away from the fact that they sucumbed to an adictive substance and haven't the guts to get away from it)

Risk is a continuous spectrum and therefore can't be approached as a two valued variable, dangerous or not dangerous. Most of life is risky to some extent. For a lot of folks the more fun an activity is the riskier or more dangerous it is. Motorcycles, jet skis, three wheelers, dune buggies, private A/C (not even on magic conveyor belts) SCUBA, hang gliding, sky diving or sports. How many people are permanently debilitated in school sports? I have participated in all the list above but sky diving. I don't jump out of fully functional A/C.

I think it is fair to say only the foolhardy hang it out over the edge on dirt bikes and don't wear a helmet, boots, gloves etc. How many Harleys riding double have you seen with scantily clad girls behind bozos in t shirt and flip flops doing 75 + on the interstate? Way too many.

The risk of some activities can be reduced or controlled to a certain extent. Certain behaviors court disaster. Any idea how many people in the US die every year while talking on corded phones due to lightning hitting? On average one per year! I still talk on a corded phone when required.

I spent about 90 sec trying to find some accident stats and found data for Mississippi. Tractor usage there is second in danger only to mining. 22.x eaths per year for tractors and 24.x for miners. Didn't see how many tractor users in the pool.

So farming and ranching is inherently dangerous when you follow the standard safety precautions. I'm not sure why anyone would advocate making it more so, intentionally.

I have never seen a tractor made to seat two people yet folks are injured or killed every year giving rides to a second person. I'm sure if I worded a comment peoperly I would get flamed by someone wanting to defend giving FEL bucket rides to their grandkids or whatever.

Just because it is really handy or convenient and you did it before and lived and it is using the tractor as a tool not a toy, using the FEL bucket for a work platform is certainly a risky undertaking. Not check rated by consumer reports as guaranteed lethal first time every time but it is risky behavior that is frequently defended for varioius reasons like "I do it so it is a good idea!"

Like most risky behaviors you may "get away" with it several times but if you persist you may nominate yourself for a Darwin award.

Lets just agree to diasgree on the risk factor. If saving a little time or effort is worth significantly increased risk to your health or life (you may not be killed just paralyzed or such) and since yoiu are free to do whatever you want, go for it. I think it inappropriate to champion that or other risky things to the less experienced who may be looking for sound advice.

By ridiculing folks with a relatively straight forward take on safety you tend to encourage risky behavior. All the references in the world to stupid disclaimers writen to avoid litigation does not, by association, make legitimate safety procedures and concerns a proper butt of jokes.

Pat

 

[N80]

Defending the indefensible.

I'm not defending anything. I'm saying that you are wrong for calling those who wish to take a calculated risk as "insane". The use of heart disease was not a diversion, it was a way to show that many people are incapable of assessing real and actual risk. Those people tend to become polarised in their opinions and inflexible in their actions and are usually no safer than anyone else because they understand neither the risks that they take nor the risks they proscribe. This may not describe you but charges of "insanity" certainly suggest it.

 

[SPYDERLK]

Falling off a loader and being hurt is certainly an issue. So is falling off a ladder or down stairs. All can kill, but usually arent serious and dont reach the statistics. You just treat the situation with more respect in order to minimize the inherent dangers.
A loader falling is a different story. Precautions to prevent it can be utilized, but in actuallity loaders fall rarely and in these rare instances it is usually highly loaded conditions that cause it. I have used loaders for years and have never had one fall. I know that they do. I wont get under one because you die if it falls on you. If it fails that outcome is a certainty not a risk. I will risk working from a bucket in the same way that I will go outside in a thunderstorm if necessary. I will walk past a dead tree or under a bridge. The chance of an incident is small. Paranoia is debilitating.
Larry

 

[N80]

By ridiculing folks with a relatively straight forward take on safety you tend to encourage risky behavior. All the references in the world to stupid disclaimers writen to avoid litigation does not, by association, make legitimate safety procedures and concerns a proper butt of jokes.Pat

First, I'm not ridiculing anyone and I'm not defending a practice. Several people have injected inflexible, perfectly polarized opinions suggesting that anyone who has done it or talked about doing it are insane or, as you mention, candidates for Darwin awards, which is certainly a euphemism for an idiot. Right? My entire point is that such descriptions are unfair. For someone to assume they are more intelligent just because they never take a risk or break a rule is a misplaced assumption.

I have not once suggested that it is safe because I got away with it. Not once.

Citing the litigious nature of our society is not intended to ridicule, it is intended to explain how we have come to view risk and safety. It is a twisted understanding for most Americans. In my line of work I study risk vs benefit. I've worked in ERs. I understand how and why people get hurt and killed. I'm not suggesting there are no legitimate safety standards. I'm simply trying to say that polarized statements and charges of insanity and stupidity are inappropriate and uncalled for. The fact that OSHA and DHEC do, in fact, have countless numbers of idiotic saftey standards does more to illigetimize the good standards than anything else.

Do I understand the risks of standing in a raised bucket? Yes, I do. Completely. Have I ever done it? Yes, rarely. Should you do it? No. Should anyone else reading this post do it? No.

As you can see, the charges of machismo are also out of place here. I have not injected that aspect of this into the discussion at all. You might catagorize my approach to this as pragmatic, calculating, or even risky. But rash, machismo, insane or oblivious simply don't fit. Nor do they necessarily fit the approach of others who have 'admitted' to doing it either.

I think we both would like to see some balance on the issue.

 

[TomKioti]

N,

I agree that I should have used softer terms. Mabye "unwise" would have been a better choice of words than "insanity". I tend to lean towards the dramatic at times. That being said I'm glad that you agree with the meat of my point. Of course personal responsibility is always important and some are certainly more prone than others for injury. That's why safety margins are developed.

So on some points we do agree and on others we must respectfully
agree to disagree.

TomK

 

[N80]

So on some points we do agree and on others we must respectfully agree to disagree. TomK

I agree.

 

[rdbrumfield]

I built a quick detach platform, with rails about belt high, to use when building my pole barn. With my 5300 JD at full height, the platform is at 10 ft at level. Of course I don't let anyone do the moving or picking that is not familiar with the controls, and using the creep gears when moving. For me, it is a valuable tool.
I might add that the bucket comes off before the platform goes on.
All emplements have their do's and don'ts. Be carefull and use good sense. If you have ANY doubt, don't do it.

 

[Bedlam]

Its only a word, and I dont mind being called "insane".
Some ask if I surrer from my insainity? I reply I enjoy ever minute of it.