Replace clam shell fenders for safety?

[ALFisher]

Per my other thread, just received a family member's 1978 John Deere 2130. Am having it tuned up now. I noticed that it has the old clamshell-style fenders. I have been told they aren't safe. Seems to me if you wear your seatbelt, they would be OK. I could replace the fenders with better ones, but thought I'd see what the consensus is. Thanks.

 

[murphy1244]

Nothing wrong with them imo.

 

[CliffordK]

I think they should be fine. Just use caution with youngsters around.

Don't use a seat belt without a full ROPS installed.

 

[sixdogs]

Agreed, lots of worse risks out there than clamshell fenders.

 

[ALFisher]

I think they should be fine. Just use caution with youngsters around.

Don't use a seat belt without a full ROPS installed.

Won't be used with young uns around. I have never heard of a full vs. a "partial" ROPS though. The one I got looks like this:

 

[sixdogs]

...

...

....

probably has a brother missing fingers that tried to trim hedges with a push mower.. and now we have those lil warning labls on mower decks telling us not to reach under the deck while the blades are moving

I saw a brush chipper recently that had a warning not to put your hands or feet into the chipper while the blades are chopping. Aww, shucks... I was planning on doing that.

 

[Mace Canute]

I think that before you can make a claim about the safety of clam shell fenders you have to take a few things into consideration such as the tractor they are installed on and especially the size of the fenders themselves; some clam shell fenders are reasonably large and some are quite small. Some tractors have the operator sitting centered between the wheels and other tractors have the operator sitting offset towards the right rear wheel and on a smaller tractor the RR tire might be significantly closer than it would be on a larger tractor. How close the operator gets to that RR wheel is also affected by what tire track width the tractor has and even the tire size itself. Even the terrain that one drives the tractor on has to be factored into it too. Is it smooth or are there unexpected and hidden obstacles to bounce you around? I think you'll find that the same clam shell fender that would be considered perfectly safe on one tractor might be somewhat less so on another tractor. I believe there's just too many factors that enter into it to be able to make a blanket statement one way or the other regarding the safety aspect of clam shell fenders; it would probably be best to make a case by case evaluation.

OTOH, fenderless tractors scare me!

 

[Soundguy]

fenderless tractors don't scare me. I learned not to touch moving parts.. if you are in mud or poop.. waer a slicker though!

common sense here.. but id you are on a large tired tractor.. and the clamshell is the same size as a food take home container and does not shroud tire.. there is a problem.

my previous comment presumes a clamshell fender sized CORRECTLY to ward a tire.

offset or not would seem to make little difference if the tire is covered.

in my truck i drive to work in.. i set closer tot he left front tire than the right front one. I'm protected from both by the cab.. so distance to a warded tire seems to make no difference.

 

[Mace Canute]

fenderless tractors don't scare me. I learned not to touch moving parts.. I learned how to safely touch moving parts but that's not what this thread is about. If you accidentally get bounced towards a tire, a full fender is probably safer than a clam shell fender because it covers most of the top of the tire as well as the side of the tire while the coverage of clam shell fenders vary greatly between makes and models and the protection they offer varies also. if you are in mud or poop.. waer a slicker though!

common sense here.. but id you are on a large tired tractor.. and the clamshell is the same size as a food take home container and does not shroud tire.. there is a problem. Why do you say a very small clam shell fender would be a problem when you aren't scared of fenderless tractors? Common sense would say if you aren't scared of fenderless tractors you shouldn't have a problem with small clam shell fenders.

my previous comment presumes a clamshell fender sized CORRECTLY to ward a tire. What's "correctly sized"? What the manufacturer installed or what the individual thinks is correctly sized? That would be a totally subjective call...different people could have quite different opinions of what's a correctly sized fender when considering the same tractor.

offset or not would seem to make little difference if the tire is covered. How much of the tire is covered is the question. It varies greatly from tractor to tractor and between makes and models.

in my truck i drive to work in.. i set closer tot he left front tire than the right front one. I'm protected from both by the cab.. so distance to a warded tire seems to make no difference. A truck cab has absolutely no bearing on the topic of this thread. On a tractor however sitting closer towards one wheel means there is less distance traveled before you are against the fender and possibly the tire also whereas the same distance on a tractor with a centrally located seat will likely not bring you into contact with the fender. On some tractors with an offset seat, the operator sits almost overtop the tire.

......

 

[Soundguy]

the clammsheel fender should at a minimum, ward the driver side of the tire. if it doesn't.. why is it there? no reason for an undersized clamshell.

as for size. since the manufacturer has NO control over the size of tires installed after sale.. it's up to the OWNER to make sure the fender that have wards the tire... see previous line

my analogy about distance to a tire DOES have bearing on the thread as a post mentioned that if you set closer to a tire due to an offset tractor setup.. that the closer tire may somehow be more dangerous.

if it's covered.. that seems to be a non issue how close or how far you set.

( can't say i've ever seen this much discussion on fenders.. unless it was a collector looking for a period correct one for a tractor... seems like 99% is common sense and application.. seems like way too much talking.. and way not enough hands on experience .... )

back to you for another page of rhetoric. eh?

 

[Mace Canute]

back to you for another page of rhetoric. eh?

It's not necessary, I'm sure my position is crystal clear to almost everybody.

 

[Soundguy]

It's not necessary, I'm sure my position is crystal clear to almost everybody.

yes.. it is. hypothetical disaster situations where the manufacturer put teensy weensy clamshells on monster tires.. or where the owner pulled them off and put on smaller than needed ones.

i'm guessing where it's cold and north this must be a common problem?

 

[Mace Canute]

yes.. it is. hypothetical disaster situations where the manufacturer put teensy weensy clamshells on monster tires.. or where the owner pulled them off and put on smaller than needed ones.

i'm guessing where it's cold and north this must be a common problem?

Once again you come up with such relevant arguments to support your contentions. :thumbsup: :laughing:

 

[Soundguy]

View attachment 315578View attachment 315579View attachment 315580

Once again you come up with such relevant arguments to support your contentions. :thumbsup: :laughing:

ok.. examples...

here we go.

here's my 740 ford.. clamshells. oe tire size would be 12.4-28 on that tractor. I splurged for 13.6-28 1 size large... here they are. spaced out a bit too.

next pics are of a 950 i have. I stripped it's tires off and went with MAMOTH 14.9-28's i have 1 pic showing an old tire onthe left and a new one onthe right.. then a pic with both new ones on.

clamshell STILL covers the tires.. using larger than oe spec tires.

next.. oe clamshells on my ford 4600 I'm installing a rops when this pic was taken.

PLENTY of space on them clamshells. OE tire size involved. OE clamshells too.

next pics are of my 4000 rowcrop. oe tire size.. plenty of fender shwoing. to the left is one of my 850 fords. again.. plenty of fender between you and the tire.

next pic is of a case vac.. with what i consider SMALL clamshells. those are 11.2-28 tires.

next.. is my ford 5000 I installed a rops on it.. then a topper.

factory size tires.. correct rops.. correct fenders.. etc.

PLENTY safe.. I rest my arm on thos fenders whiole mowing all day. there is a paint spot rubbed off where I lean while listening to the diesel purr. I still got all my fingers on that hand.

last pics are of my farmal H and my farmall C NO FENDERS.. for comparison. my JB B looks just as naked.... no pic handy at the moment.

 

[Soundguy]

first 3 pics didn't show for some reason.. you have to click on the links for them.. but there are there at the top of the page.

 

[Mace Canute]

Here's a couple more pics. As I said in my original post, I believe there's just too many factors that enter into it to be able to make a blanket statement one way or the other regarding the safety aspect of clam shell fenders; it would probably be best to make a case by case evaluation.

 

[PILOON]

When I install chains for winter duty I sure wish I had clamshell fenders. My poor knuckles would sure appreciate that extra clearance.
Also there would be less clang clang from the odd loose cross chain until I can get the chains all snugged up.
Guess you can't have it both ways.

 

[Soundguy]

Here's a couple more pics. As I said in my original post, I believe there's just too many factors that enter into it to be able to make a blanket statement one way or the other regarding the safety aspect of clam shell fenders; it would probably be best to make a case by case evaluation.

they either fit or they don't. if they fit.. they should be as safe as you get with any ag equipment.

if they don't fit.. then you have a problem. kind of like shields on belts.

i also think people today take a nanny-state look at safety. no personal responsibility anymore.

if I'm dangling my arm down the side of the tire and wheel and the luh r hub grabs my shirt and sucks my arm intot hte tire/fender clearance area and I get hurt. it was because I did something stupid.. not because the manufacturer didn't build the fender so the tire was impossible to be touched. that's my view.

there's more careless people and people with no personal responsibility out there than there are people with common sense.

when you get that mix.. you have to have umpteen zillion safety shileds and stickers on yer push lwn mower telling you not to hold it fromt he deck and cut your bushes with it.

that's where i'm coming from.

sure.. case by case basis. like i said. if your clamsheels are a foot tall and your tire pops up 2 feet past it.. NOT a good fit.. and likely WON'T do much to help ya out.. etc...