JM3,
<font color="blue"> recreate the happenings </font> I was working on ground I was not familiar with (a neighbor's property) and got foolish. In retrospect, a better plan would have been to keep the FEL and boxblade (ballast) low for max stability and allow potential dangers to be revealed by nosing around, instead of trying to do too much in one pass.
When I backed the left rear wheel into the hole, my first instinct was to lower the FEL. But, as I began to tip, it became clear that the tractor was going to roll before I could get the FEL down...At that point I was along for the ride.
To tell the truth, I wasn't really scared...there wasn't time to get scared. As the tractor passed the "tipping point of no return", my mind switched gears from saving the situation to "is there anything I should be doing to minimze damage as I'm rolling. There was nothing I could do. I held tight to the steering wheel and thought briefly about my snug seatbelt (like Steel Wheel). Then it was over. The seatbelt held me in my seat and a quick body systems check told me I wasn't hurt, praise God.
<font color="blue"> bailing out </font>...never crossed my mind. When I thought momentarily about the seatbelt, my thought was, "am I secure or am I going to fall out of the seat?". Thank goodness my seatbelt was on...and recently replaced, by the way, for a faulty buckle.
Because of their width, the weight of the tractor was pretty much supported by the loader bucket and the boxblade when rolled on it's side. The ROPS kept the tractor from rolling farther. The seatbelt kept me from finding my way underneath one of the above.
RobS.
Thanks and you're welcome.
<font color="blue"> a pretty scary looking predicament </font> After I was loose and walking around the tractor, the scariest thing for me was wondering about fire as fuel, crankcase oil and hydraulic fluid were dripping out all over the place. No leaks from damage, just spilling from cap vents and dip stick tubes.
Egon,
<font color="blue"> new way to check out the bottom side </font> After I knew I was OK and that the tractor probably wasn't hurt too badly...redoing some of my bracket welds underneath the tractor was my first thought.
The ROPS worked as advertised...excellent. The seatbelt was replaced a few weeks ago. The old buckle didn't want to latch. OEM parts are expensive. I bought an automotive belt from NAPA, cut the belt to length, and sewed the ends to the original tractor hardware. This has been discussed in another thread. I do not recommend anyone modifying safety equipment, but felt very comfortable doing so myself in this instance. My belt stitching held up just fine.
The ROPs on my tractor is not tall, like some newer models. I've wondered if I ever rolled upside down if the seatbelt would hold snug enough to keep my head from rattling on the ROPs. Now, I think it would. If somehow the tractor ended up upside down, my concern now is whether or not I could get the seatbelt to release with my full weight suspended. I don't know. But, it's still much safer to have it on than not.
MikePA,
<font color="blue"> damage one of the lower 3ph arms?
</font> Nope. Despite the radical looking angle of the boxblade in the picture, everything is fine. For what it's worth, my tractor came with the "heavy duty" version of 3ph lift arms, but even the much lighter duty turnbuckle sway control links survived intact.
Soundguy,
Thanks. My underwear first became potentially threatened while I was snapping pictures and really looked at the disaster that was averted. How do I apply for compensation from the underwear fund? /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif
Kevinj,
<font color="blue"> looks like not enough rear ballast </font> You could be right. I have "forked" tree trunks as heavy as the loader would carry with no obvious or troublesome lightness in the rearend. Wheel weights are homemade and weigh 270# total. The boxblade is 400#+. A rack on the boxblade holds an additional 200# of suitcase weights. That may not sound like a lot, but my tractor is not too big. Do I need more? Tires are not loaded. With loader closer to the ground I am confident I would not have tipped. The hole was about a foot deep. The ground I was working on has some slope, just a little. It all added up in the wrong direction. <font color="blue"> 1200# weight on the 3PH to handle 300# safely </font> My boxblade (with suitcase weights attached) is as far behind the rearwheels as the front of the loader bucket is in front of the front wheels.
Steel Wheels,
<font color="blue"> I felt the seatbelt tighten on me and I thought good </font>...ditto.
froggy,
Ouch!! I have a 15-20' slope/hill I go down all the time with a maxed out loader. One reason I'm bold enough to do it is because the hill is so short. I keep the loader low and have never had a problem. Sometimes the back wheels want to skid a little bit, but with the loader bucket low and going slow with a hydrostat, it all feels pretty safe and controllable.
OkieG
