What causes tractor rollovers?

[Reddogs]

I was using heavy equipment for paying my tuition and was driving a tractor when I was sent over to mow a steep hill near a school in the morning. Well, there was heavy dew so it was very wet and I slid down all the way to the bottom, over and over and I wonder how they managed to mow such a hill but I got it done. Well the next morning the assistant asked who had mowed that hill and when I raised my hand he went into a long "lesson" on the dangers of rollovers and how lucky I wasnt killed, and chewed out the one who sent me as he said you can never mow a hill when its wet or early morning, so my first lesson in tractoring..

 

[bullockcm]

Gravity, it is always the gravity that tips them over

 

[seville009]

High center of gravity is a big factor.....want to keep it as low as possible.

 

[oosik]

I have a few spots on my property where I will not take the tractor - either vertical or horizontal. It might be OK but there is always the chance of a hidden hole or rock. It's just not worth finding out .............

 

[SARG]

The local school has one of these.

 

[Citydude]

My daughter mowed lawns on the college campus she attended. Fast learned that wet grass can turn into a hazardous area real fast.

She wasn't hurt but her mower stayed at the bottom of the hill until the grass dried enough to drive the mower back up the hill.

 

[Reddogs]

Gravity, it is always the gravity that tips them over

But there is always something that makes it reach the "tipping" point...

 

[Tomtint]

P.E.B.T.S.A.S.W

 

[Reddogs]

P.E.B.T.S.A.S.W

OK, you got me. I know that's not a new slogan from PETA...what's it mean..

 

[ArmyAviatr]

I flew helicopters in the Army for 18 years and what they teach is that there is a critical angle and a rolling motion that causes rollovers. I always look in the user manuals to see what the critical angle is, no one ever has it listed. If the critical angle were published an an inclinometer were installed there would probably be less rollovers. Even a simple bubble gauge would help. In any case what has worked for me is the pinch factor, when my **** starts to pinch a hole in the seat cover I back off what ever I am doing.

 

[Tomtint]

OK, you got me. I know that's not a new slogan from PETA...what's it mean..

Problem exists between the seat and steering wheel

OK, you got me. I know that's not a new slogan from PETA...what's it mean..

 

[Thomas]

When you lose traction and gravity gets in the mix....glad your okay,maybe tilt meter come in handy.

 

[kenmbz]

Roll over angles change drastically based on loads, attachments etc.
And of course no company wants to deal with that liability.

 

[jaydee325]

Problem exists between the seat and steering wheel

Always operator error. Every industrial accident can be traced back to human error.

 

[Reddogs]

I flew helicopters in the Army for 18 years and what they teach is that there is a critical angle and a rolling motion that causes rollovers. I always look in the user manuals to see what the critical angle is, no one ever has it listed. If the critical angle were published an an inclinometer were installed there would probably be less rollovers. Even a simple bubble gauge would help. In any case what has worked for me is the pinch factor, when my **** starts to pinch a hole in the seat cover I back off what ever I am doing.

That seems to be a good working indicator..

 

[Vigo327]

I have not personally tipped a tractor, but the times ive been nervous about it have all involved using the FELs.

Im guessing most people have concerns about slopes ive just never driven on the likes of. One thing I would say is we tend to form our first assumption of how tippy something is from how it looks, but tractors can be deceiving as far as their center of gravity. A lot of times the entire top half and sometimes more than that weighs very little and the actual center of gravity is somewhere vertically around or below the bottom of the frame. You as the operator are way above that so you become extremely sensitive to any sudden roll accelerations just because they are amplified by your long 'radius' from it, but usually get nowhere even close to tipping. You would start falling out of the seat before the tractor itself is in danger of tipping.

It's probably a good thing that things 'feel worse than they are' from the operators station just so that we're subconsciously more cautious.

 

[bcp]

A number from the manufacturer is good for only one angle and configuration. Change any part and you may roll over when you think you are safe.

You could be on a side slope that your inclinometer says is safe, but raise your loader bucket one foot and you roll over. Drop one wheel a couple of inches into a hole and roll over. Lift your rear implement and roll over.

Bruce

 

[3 Horse Ranch]

I know I wouldn't feel very comfortable in the seat of that tractor, but that kind of terrain is not atypical of the Washington Palouse wheat country. Noted he is an 8 wheeler and those extra wheels are there for stability as well as flotation and traction.

 

[Lstlk2hi]

I flew helicopters in the Army for 18 years and what they teach is that there is a critical angle and a rolling motion that causes rollovers. I always look in the user manuals to see what the critical angle is, no one ever has it listed. If the critical angle were published an an inclinometer were installed there would probably be less rollovers. Even a simple bubble gauge would help. In any case what has worked for me is the pinch factor, when my **** starts to pinch a hole in the seat cover I back off what ever I am doing.

At my last USAF duty site, Almaden AFS above San Jose, CA, 2 new choppers came and gave us an air show. OMG those guys were awesome. They did things that didn't seem possible. Upside down figure 8 for example. Unfortunately I cannot get on a chopper, knock me out and throw me on but it ain't going to happen voluntarily. Army kept at least those 2 aircraft bright and shiny too. Meanwhile back at the ranch I don't park tractors like my avatar pic. Was scraping road, caught a root that bounced it. Dropped front bucket immediately and of course the battery went dead. That one was high 8 on sphincter factor

 

[RoyJackson]

The guys mowing the medians and sides of the highways is Vermont amaze me.
Vermont isn't called The Green Mountain state for no reason. Some of the slopes have got to be 20°, at least.
The tractors are large, cabbed utility machines...mostly red, so I'd guess they're Massey's. Some have dual wheels on the rear, some don't.
They all run across the slopes towing a good-sized rotary cutter (I'd estimate 10 footers ± a foot in width)