IF You are a Tractor Operator in your ROOKIE Season.

[AxleHub]

If you ever watch NCIS on CBS . . The lead character Gibbs has a list of rules to live by. A thread like this is almost like that.

When stacking or loading items on or in a fel (bucket or pallwt or ??) and you have it elevated off the ground . . Don't put feet underneath it because if it gets over weight the hydraulics can fail to hold or the tractor can tip forward and foot/feet can be crushed.

 

[dieselcrawler]

Agreed. Any equipment, tractor, dozer, excavator, any hydraulic implement should be lowered to the ground or onto a safe holding device. We have had pallet fork frames fall off of SSQA backing plates more than once, hydraulic lines burst, heavy things hit the ground fast, and don't care what they crush on the way down. Steel toe boots don't protect much if your head or any body part is under there. Never be under a raised implement. Lower it.

 

[Ed of all trades]

I am not a rookie but I hope you won't be upset if I post here. I farmed for 20 yr and I hope I learned a little. One thing I see and read about that new people do is to much speed. Speed make everything worse when it comes to problems. If you are working close to things or are in any kind of harry situation slow down. I still make mistakes even though I have been driving tractors for over 50 years. The only person who don't make mistakes are dead. Hope this helps someone, now a question, how do you use a seat belt that keeps on getting tighter every time you hit a bump. It gets mighty tight in a short time. I am hopping some of you new guys can teach this old dog a new trick. Ed

 

[Dave5264]

Ive been operating a tractor & equipment now for only about 6 years, but here's what I learned (both here on the forum and on my own):

1) Go slow, dont be in a hurry. I ran my Montana tractor in 1st Gear/low for the first year, and had the neighbours laughing at the slow pace of my Brush Hogging. They referred to my Tactor as the Green Turtle....all good (I even got a birthday card witha green turtle one year), i was learning, and my safety was the important thing, I wasnt comfortable doing anything else

2) Always wear the seat belt. My Montana never came with one, I made the dealer come out and put one on it.

3) Be diligent in the rules you set about having other people around while you are doing some things. for example, I dont even want anyone in the same field if im bush hogging. stuff can fly out, or if there happend to be some fence wire on the ground that someone stepped on, etc etc. If one of my family stepps in the field, the tractor or implement is shut off. they are asked to leave and abide by the rules (wave me down from the gate).

Shut off the rotary cutter if you going to get off the tractor etc.

realize its just not worth taking the chance for the sake of a few seconds of safety and common sense.

 

[alia176]

Retractable seat belt? I like the sound of that and may use mine more if it gets out of the way. I suppose I can go to the junk yard and pull something out of a car.

I'm a rookie as well, just barely over a year into my tractor ownership. While teaching my nine year old daughter how to use the tractor and backhoe, I'm teaching her to have her hands off the controls whenever I'm near any of the implements. Last weekend we were pulling out lots of Chinese Elm weeds with the BH and having her hands on her side while I fussed with the weeds made things a little safer for me. Still, constant vigilance is the key here.

 

[meos1]

OP has a good point. I have hundreds of hours in the seat of a 8N with a watchful eye looking over my performance and correcting every mistake. Now I am on a 2370-1. Its my first year. I have had a near disaster event and learned that the center of gravity is different than the 8N. I learned that the hydraulics can flip the unit over if you are being careful. I learned that ballast is a good thing. So just keep your situational awareness high as we go into the fall season.

 

[AxleHub]

Its strange how skills transfer in many ways . . yet actually become problems in others.

I learned how to backdrag (to level) with a skidsteer and I'm now getting close to doing it to level wuth my tractor.

However . . using skidsteer or fork lifts . . the operator normally moves in quick bursts. Thats because both those type machines are typically bottom heavy and distance close to the ground. But moving in bursts wuth a tractir is more a trait if a "hotdog" not a smart operator . . because a tractor is not as close to the ground and more leveraged in its work.

I plan to add spacers ti my ractir even though it is good on hills, slopes, and inclines. I figure the cost is low to improve my safety footprint . . especially when I ser how getting on the tractor with a raised fel loaded can create a rear wheel to lift.

And that extra couple inches on each side won't effect any clearance issues for my scut.

 

[kcflhrc]

Here is my rookie mistake from January 2014. My new tractor was delivered the same month. I was putting the brush hog away, lowered it onto the 4 wheel dolly and began pushing on the upper link with one hand above and one below. As you know the upper link moves up and down and will fully collapse if you push on it from above. Here is the outcome.

 

[kcflhrc]

Duplicate Post

 

[Baby Grand]

Ouch! That looks ... gnarly.

I am not a rookie, but I try to remind myself that I am not a "black belt", either.
With regards to always wearing the seat belt:
My operator manuals all instruct that:
If your ROPS is up, then your seatbelt should be on.
If your ROPS is down, then your seatbelt should be off.
-Jim