Idiot award for the week

[Fallon]

The Grands start beeping st you after a few seconds of moving with the parking brake on. Quite handy. My "solution" on my old L3200 was never pin the brakes. So when you put the parking brake on it only does the right brake. I'd usually figure out what was wrong after driving in circles for a little bit. It was a HST, so had minimal needs for braking other th as n staying in place when stopped anyway.

 

[RGAZ]

For the record:

1. Implement down and dragging it or stuck: 10 times at least
2. ROPS hit garage header (or door): 3 times

My favorite: was moving a load and drove under tree, tree limb caught ROPS and tractor proceeded to raise front end "wheelie style", seatbelt and quick reverse saved me from duplicating the tractor cows in the cars movie. Luckily, no one saw and no harm done.

 

[4570Man]

But doesn't that make the 3-pt SNAP up as soon as the motor catches?

My SWMBO has done that a couple of times on start-up, and startled the brown out of herself...

Snap up would be a stretch. It does raise up as soon as you start it. That was the idea.

 

[rekees4300]

My favorite: Drove into the pond, FYI tractors don't float.

 

[lzicc]

I have you all beat. I was driving my B2650 across the yard and it just shuts off. Tried to start it, cranks over, barely starts then shuts off. Look at the fuel gauge, it says almost half full. I was getting ticked. This is a new tractor and already I am having issue's with it. I buy new so I don't have to deal with these types of issue's. I then looked at the fuel gauge again but this time with my reading glasses, still says almost half fuel, but it now says temperature gauge. I thought the temp gauge was the fuel gauge. How stupid is that. The fuel gauge read empty. Duh.

 

[Deere Dude]

I have 7' doors in my barn for the tractor. I had to do some road work so I put the roll bars up. A couple minutes before I parked the tractor I remember saying to myself I need to lower the bars before I park it. Next thing I heard are 2x8s and tin crunching.

 

[Fuddy1952]

Shucks! I thought I won the prize. Maybe so because I've done all that stuff. This part of the garage is where I change oil, etc. First time in with my new JD I was amazed as I was headed up into the rafters! See the nice dents in the fascia above garage door.
Then I'm flying around other part of garage when I take out a corner.
I "fixed" it...but it's not pretty anymore.

 

[Inspector507]

Shucks! I thought I won the prize. Maybe so because I've done all that stuff. This part of the garage is where I change oil, etc. First time in with my new JD I was amazed as I was headed up into the rafters! See the nice dents in the fascia above garage door.
Then I'm flying around other part of garage when I take out a corner.
I "fixed" it...but it's not pretty anymore.

BTDT Fuddy on both items

 

[psvines]

I have you all beat. I was driving my B2650 across the yard and it just shuts off. Tried to start it, cranks over, barely starts then shuts off. Look at the fuel gauge, it says almost half full. I was getting ticked. This is a new tractor and already I am having issue's with it. I buy new so I don't have to deal with these types of issue's. I then looked at the fuel gauge again but this time with my reading glasses, still says almost half fuel, but it now says temperature gauge. I thought the temp gauge was the fuel gauge. How stupid is that. The fuel gauge read empty. Duh.

You might win
I’ve got readers scattered all around the house, to avoid similar goofs, but need more...

 

[3930dave]

And I declare myself the winner, was grading the driveway and moved to a paddock where my wife had a coffee for me, turned the ttractor off, dropped the bucket and 3PL, took out earplugs and had a drink without getting of the tractor.
10 minutes passed and time to start up, earplugs in, fire up, bucket up and try to rverse, just wheel spinning and not going anywhere, drop it into 4WD and the same response, ground is flat and firm with a bit of loose dirt and I am just burrowing down.
Trying to work out what is going on and I realise that I have the grader blade down, feel a complete fool and Mrs is laughing.
Raise 3PL and make it much easier to move.

You were..... Testing the 4wd System, and Tire Traction ! Yeah, that's the story.... stick to it ! :laughing:

I've tweaked a few fences with implements in tight quarters myself..... I look at it this way...... so long as nobody got hurt, it's just something to try and learn from and remember next time....... Besides, we're Making Memories

I remember being about 16 and using my best Parade Ground voice on a guy a good 10 years older than me..... I was working at a friend's brother's farm - we got back to the yard towards dusk. Something hadn't gone so well that day, and the oldest brother was busy beaking off after he arrived and hopped on the tractor we had ready to back into the equipment shed.

I turned around from doing something else to see him fire up the tractor, raise the loader, and hit the throttle in reverse to back into the shed. I yelled "DUCK" just in time - he followed command, dropped low enough that the loader ARMS hit the overhead door that was only partly open.

No ROPS on tractors in those days, and oldest bro had assumed the door was up and continued flapping gums instead of glancing in the direction he was going.

He dropped down low enough that he cleared the door.......Might not have put him in hospital, but he could have had a seriously sore head the next day. Yeah, he looked pretty sheepish......

Rgds, D.

 

[bunyip]

I have hits fences while turning with the landscape rake and harrows, just forget how far it sits out, my latest effort was an expensive one though, had some firewood in the carport, logs cut into rounds that needed to be moved, I went up to the first one with the 4in1 and tried to grab it but it was a bit too big so I decided to roll it onto its side, put the bucket on the log and applied a bit of down pressure then started to reverse, the log cooperated and started to turn over then the tractor fell off the log sideways and put the bucket into the side of my new car.
Not happy would be an understatement, I could have moved the car but this was never going to happen and I have done it many times before.
We have an old Fergusson TEA 20 (horrible thing it is) and it has ROPS, I was taking a shortcut under some trees when the ROPS found a low branch and got the front wheels up in the air and showered me with debris, I forgot how high the ROPS was.

 

[3930dave]

Somewhere on here is a great post where the guy starts off ranting about being lied to by a salesman, about the cost of a tractor.

Follows that with a looonnnnggggg list of things he's managed to damage with the tractor, and their $ value.....

There often is real value to being able to laugh at oneself !

Rgds, D.

 

[sdef]

Ha, ha. Who has not done something like this? Sounds like work at my place.

 

[oldballs]

Some of my idiot performances are not nearly as embarrassing, when in the field with no one watching.

 

[tractorshopper]

The first day I got my first tractor delivered, I drove it into the carport to park it for a little while that I was doing some other stuff. No problem because it has very high ceilings and didn't even come close with the ROPS. Of course, I'm so smart that even I knew better than that....

I got back on the tractor to move it out later and reversed it and backed out of the carport just like I would with the car where you back out and turn at the same time. Guess what? My car doesn't have an FEL. I never considered the geometry of how far the loader sticks out the front and stupid me, I knocked one of the posts completely out. Hahaha. Shows you how smart I am after all.

Learned a good lesson with that one. Hurriedly put the post back in place before the wife would get home. I had to cut about a 1/4" off the post to get it back in place and take the crown mould off and redo it at the top because the header had already sagged before I could get it back up. Can't tell now, but wife asked why there was blue tape on the top of it. I had to tell her that I had to re-caulk and re-paint because I had to cut it down slightly after knocking it out. Didn't even get away with it after all. Needed about 20 more minutes. At least all the stacked rock on the base of the column stayed in place on the column.

That day, I went to my garage and measured the ROPS and fixed the garage door to where it would reach it's absolute highest setting when opened and it was literally just enough with an eighth of an inch to spare to fit the tractor in with the ROPS up. Otherwise, no telling how many times I'd have hit it.

 

[3930dave]

Fore and aft length/swing of implements has caught all of us, at least once....

Esp. on the front...... no highway plated vehicle (that I've driven) has the almost 90deg capable front wheel deflection that you can quickly attain with some tractors. Great in tight spots but, (cue Yoda voice....) With Great Power, Great Responsibility must have You !

Big fun, so long as nobody got hurt.......

Rgds, D.

 

[3930dave]

Some of my idiot performances are not nearly as embarrassing, when in the field with no one watching.

We have drones, to address that deficiency now....

Rgds, D.

 

[Rock Crawler]

I have driven with the parking brake locked many times. I'll be doing something with the loader and keep looking at the range selector thinking that I am still in mid range... usually after a couple looks and a couple near engine stalls while trying to dig... I will realize that my idiocy has won the day again. Turn the brake lock off and suddenly I have plenty of power to push the loader into dirt! I fear what kind of damage this does to the brake material and the transmission fluid....

 

[zoltanthegypsy]

Stupidity (mine) both classic and obscure.

Classic: New to the BX - or any tractor. Pick up a log with the loader. Lift or curl enough that the log starts rolling down the loader arms. Fortunately it was small - and did't end up in my lap. You only do that once! (If you survive...)

Obscure: Mowing 4 acres with the hog. BX just slows down. Slower and slower. No loss of power, just no go pedal. Put it up on the trailer, dropped the Bro-Tek plate for access, and started poking around at linkages. No joy. Very tired and frustrated when I noticed a little-bitty pebble sitting on top of the pedal pivot. That was it So - back it off the trailer and go back to mowing. WTF! Front of BX is rising as I back off!!! Hydraulics going insane? Ramp slipped? No - the belly plate was still dropped, but was attached at its front edge. BX was using it like a pogo stick. Bent it badly but ran over it with the truck a few times and straightened. Left the tractor on the trailer.

TLDR: Too soon old, too late smart. Don't mess with these things when tired, frustrated, or stupid.

 

[PhysAssist]

Snap up would be a stretch. It does raise up as soon as you start it. That was the idea.

I guess it all depends how much tonnage you keep on your 3-pt...??