BX25 SEAT BELT FAILURE

[sgtboz]

These guys are actually manufacturers of seat belts. WWW.SEATBELTPLANET.COM I got a lap retractable seat belt and had it made in orange. The orange wasn't an exact match but close enough (and of course completely unnecessary but...why not!?)

I'll see if I can find a pic and post it later. I think I posted it once on this site but might have been on orangetractortalk. Either way, the lever style looks like a great option as nothing would likely get stuck in there.

 

[VitaBene]

Of all things, you would expect a seat belt to work flawlessly.
I am beyond livid.
Today I laid my BX25 on it's side, a slow plop over and I could NOT
get the seat belt buckle to release. I am SO MAD. It simply would not
unbuckle. After several minutes I was able to get enough of my
bodys weight off the buckle, and finally it released after poking it
with a stick. SO EFFIN MAD!. I was SO CLOSE
to cutting my way out.

I weigh 240 pounds dressed.

Did I say I was MAD???

Wife will be calling corporate in the AM.

SO MAD!

Like most, I think the belt worked properly. I have to ask, if you are the one that is mad, why have your wife call corporate? Given that you have an extinguisher at hand, tape a cutter to it.

 

[Spanner]

Well the incident occurred on 14 June. It's now 08 Sept. I would expect the infamous 'Call to Corporate' has been made?? (next morning...)

Just wondering what the orange response was please?

Add my vote to "Seatbelt Worked. :checkmark:

 

[sgtboz]

The seat belt mostly worked but not entirely. It is also supposed to release with less than 30lbs of force applied to the release button on the buckle while it is also under load, for example after an accident. Enjoy: Seat Belt Buckle Release Force: Cause for Entrapment?

Here is my orange seat belt geekery!!

 

[John Fitzgerald]

Most of the tractors I see around here don't have seat belts or ROPS. Of those who do, I have yet to see someone wearing a seat belt.

 

[dragoneggs]

Most of the tractors I see around here don't have seat belts or ROPS. Of those who do, I have yet to see someone wearing a seat belt.

Not sure what your point is but... if ROPS wear a seatbelt... or no ROPS/no seatbelt is the smart play.

 

[Artisan]

Well the corporate shills are just that, shills. The replacement seatbelt was
a different part number from stock, (gee I wonder WHY!???),
and I noticed the male end of the belt now has
about a 15 degree bend in it. To me it looks like that redesign
relieves pressure and helps to release.

You guys that think a seat belt worked flawlessly when it FAILED to
release are twisted folk. Imagine this, lets say YOUR WIFE or YOUR
CHILD were operating said and same happened but the tractor went
over into a pond or fire, and it was determined that the death was
avoidable because the seat belt failed to release. Now what, you still
gonna say THE SEAT BELT WORKED? LOL! Like I said "twisted".

PS, I have received several calls from law offices/ they have contacted me , over this
wanting to represent me.
BELIEVE IT. Makes me "assume" there are other like situations
that "may" have gag orders / do not disclose stipulations.

The ABSOLUTE bottom line, IMHO is, DO NOT EXPECT YOUR STOCK SEAT BELT TO RELEASE"."

In my book it is a mute point since it is just out of warranty.
I will take no legal action, I pray others see this thread and
get the replacement belt or carry a knife.

Caveat Emptor.

MODS PLEASE CLOSE THIS THREAD

 

[Wagtail]

Good to see you back after your hiatus... or hissy fit... whatever. :confused3:

I don't suppose you took the time to read any of the alternative suggestions for different, after market buckle types, eh?

 

[CincyFlyer]

Well the corporate shills are just that, shills. The replacement seatbelt was
a different part number from stock, (gee I wonder WHY!???),
and I noticed the male end of the belt now has
about a 15 degree bend in it. To me it looks like that redesign
relieves pressure and helps to release.

You guys that think a seat belt worked flawlessly when it FAILED to
release are twisted folk. Imagine this, lets say YOUR WIFE or YOUR
CHILD were operating said and same happened but the tractor went
over into a pond or fire, and it was determined that the death was
avoidable because the seat belt failed to release. Now what, you still
gonna say THE SEAT BELT WORKED? LOL! Like I said "twisted".

PS, I have received several calls from law offices/ they have contacted me , over this
wanting to represent me.
BELIEVE IT. Makes me "assume" there are other like situations
that "may" have gag orders / do not disclose stipulations.

The ABSOLUTE bottom line, IMHO is, DO NOT EXPECT YOUR STOCK SEAT BELT TO RELEASE"."

In my book it is a mute point since it is just out of warranty.
I will take no legal action, I pray others see this thread and
get the replacement belt or carry a knife.

Caveat Emptor.

MODS PLEASE CLOSE THIS THREAD

Did you read the specifications for proper (which yours was not) release pressure? Thirty pounds pushing on the button is huuuuge (the trials concluded that the vast majority of folks couldn't release it even if it was set to the proper release pressure.) Just put your thumb on a scale and start pushing—thirty pounds is simply too much. But that's the standard. So even a properly working belt could result in a really bad situation.
After reading your original post and the standards, I'm gonna get a belt with a flip-lever (as my little airplane had).

 

[John Fitzgerald]

Like I said previously, I have never witnessed anyone actually wearing the belt. I bet 90% don't.

 

[ultrarunner]

Apparently Kubota is redesigning seat belts at this moment... at least for some RTV models.

 

[CincyFlyer]

Most of the tractors I see around here don't have seat belts or ROPS. Of those who do, I have yet to see someone wearing a seat belt.

Either very old tractors, or folks have removed safety equipment proven to save their lives.

 

[John Fitzgerald]

Folks around here generally make do. There are a large number of very old tractors out during haying season here, from May-October.

 

[Yourkie]

My 755 Deere has ROPS and I mostly wear the original belt which is a flip type buckle because I have slopes. The way I see it a seat belt should hold the rider in place until it needs to be released. The release part is as important as the retention and both should be part of the basic design function. I now need to replace mine with another flip buckle through a third party (one previously listed) as my OEM buckle and latch recently came apart and are not replaceable. Deere wants like $75. Glad I read this as I won't be tempted to buy a retractable or push button latch type.

 

[John Fitzgerald]

If the govt and mfgs want people to use the seat belts, they should supply replacement at or below cost, IMO.

 

[sgtboz]

Looks like the lift latch would be a good option as it wouldn't be as prone to dirt/dust contamination and has a lever arm so less force should be required. This one can be made in orange:
Lap Seat Belts - Seatbeltplanet | The Worldwide Authority on Aftermarket Seatbelts

The retractable version with that same buckle might be better as I can't imagine the mess it'd cause to have the seat belt dangling down with potential of getting wrapped up in the axle or heaven forbid, the PTO.
2 Point Retractable Lap Belts - Seatbeltplanet | The Worldwide Authority on Aftermarket Seatbelts

 

[bevhoward]

It appears that this belt is ideal for replacing the non retractable, "lap only" belt on our LS tractor to work with the ROP.

Amazon.com: HexAutoparts Universal 3 Point Retractable Auto Car Seat Belt Harness Lap Shoulder Adjustable Safety Belt: Automotive



Not only that, in addition to being the best apparent replacement, At $23 it was the least expensive option that I found after a lot of searches both here and on the web in general.

The LS also had straps all the way to the anchor points on both sides, so the stiff cable mounted latch solved the problem of always fishing around to find the buckle and was the perfect length to boot... it was necessary to bend the mounting bracket on the buckle side to orient it correctly.

Note that the included bolts are metric and only one metric stop nut was included, so, in this case, I had to substitute an equivalent SAE bolt and nut.

Using it for a few days feels much more secure than the lap only. My main question would be if there is any hidden danger to using the 3 point with an ROP.

Beverly Howard

 

[Mace Canute]

One thing that is very easy to overlook is the fact that seat belts degrade over time, mostly from UV radiation. The window glass in vehicles stops almost all UV but a tractor outside gets the full dose of it. There is some pertinent information in this PDF {such as Figure 1 on page 2 of the document (4 of 14)} which shows just how rapidly unprotected seat belts can be severely weaken. .

http://www.sfifoundation.com/wp-content/pdfs/Webbing Life Presentation 12-2014.pdf

Just as a good example of how old some of these belts can get I'll refer to Yourkie's post (with absolutely no malice intended).

My 755 Deere has ROPS and I mostly wear the original belt which is a flip type buckle because I have slopes. The way I see it a seat belt should hold the rider in place until it needs to be released. The release part is as important as the retention and both should be part of the basic design function. I now need to replace mine with another flip buckle through a third party (one previously listed) as my OEM buckle and latch recently came apart and are not replaceable. Deere wants like $75. Glad I read this as I won't be tempted to buy a retractable or push button latch type.

If that is truly the original belt it can be anywhere from 20 to 32 years old (the John Deere 755 was produced from 1986 - 1998). Would it fail if it was ever "put to the test"? I am highly inclined to believe it would.

 

[aczlan]

One thing that is very easy to overlook is the fact that seat belts degrade over time, mostly from UV radiation. The window glass in vehicles stops almost all UV but a tractor outside gets the full dose of it. There is some pertinent information in this PDF {such as Figure 1 on page 2 of the document (4 of 14)} which shows just how rapidly unprotected seat belts can be severely weaken. .
http://www.sfifoundation.com/wp-content/pdfs/Webbing Life Presentation 12-2014.pdf
Just as a good example of how old some of these belts can get I'll refer to Yourkie's post (with absolutely no malice intended).
If that is truly the original belt it can be anywhere from 20 to 32 years old (the John Deere 755 was produced from 1986 - 1998). Would it fail if it was ever "put to the test"? I am highly inclined to believe it would.

I would bet not. Lets say that a seatbelt is originally rated for 7100# (2” Polyester belt, page 7 of your PDF) their testing showed that after exposure it was still good for 4145#
Unless you are drag racing your tractor, it is unlikely that you will be able to generate enough speed to create the g forces needed to break the strap.
Going from 20MPH to 0MPH in 0.5 seconds would be 1.82G which would make a 250# person exert 455# of force on their seatbelt.

Aaron Z

 

[bevhoward]

Thanks... after years of flying, I am well aware of the fabric degradation issues.

imho, it's more likely that the retractor unit will fail from corrosion or dirt, plus, in my case currently, the tractor is out of the sun and weather when it is not in use.

fwiw, I am really happy with the install... in addition to feeling much more secure when strapped in, it is now far easier to put the seat belt on and, when retracted, it is completely out of the way.

Beverly Howard