skipmarcy
Veteran Member
I'm sitting home today trying to nurse my broken pride and right arm (broken right arm, that is) that all came about at quittin' time last nite. It will probably take me 2 hours just to type this little story of mine. I was loading the same tractor, on the same trailer, behind the same truck that I've done well over 100 times in the past 3 years, and in virtually the same spot I had recently just loaded at once before when my fiasco began.
I've got my F250 SD 4x4 parked on what I thought was a slight hill on an asphalt driveway, heading downhill, with my 20' trailer behind. I religiously apply my parking brake as hard as I can, then put it in park. I proceed to drive the tractor up the ramps in low 4wd with my loader bucket up of course and have the 6' boxblade on the back. Just as soon as my rear tires got level on the deck the whole rig breaks traction and starts sliding down the driveway. Shock was the first thing to hit me, then the fact that I was picking up speed and there was nothing in the path of the rig,so I made my decision to abandon ship. I guess I was doing something between 5 and 10 mph when I turned the key off on the tractor and jumped hard off the left side. This is when I broke my arm.
I rolled into the ditch and up against the horse fence and got on my feet pronto. The rig caught traction and stopped about another 50' or so past where I jumped, which made the total slide approx. 150' long. When the truck stopped, this launched the tractor off the tongue of the trailer and the loader bucket into the rear of the truck. The 'glas cap disintegrated and the tailgate & left side of the bed is destroyed. When the left front tire of the tractor came off the tongue, the bucket mashed down into the fender just above the wheel - this is what kept the tractor from flipping off completely.
I walked back up the hill and got my friend to come help. We chained the boxblade to a D-ring with a ratchet binder for a safety and I had to get on that tractor and walk it back onto the trailer - had to use the bucket most the way to help and working that joystick with a broken radius was a memorable experience. Got the tractor off OK and no damages to it that I saw in a quick look-over, the trailer is definitely warped in the tongue to that left side but I don't think it broke any welds - will have to check every single one closely. I don't think there's any structural damage to the truck but I haven't looked it over yet. It pulled the trailer back up the hill to my friend's place without anything unusual feeling or sounding. Of course it's got $1k's of body damage.
I know exactly what happened - this driveway had a little gravel/dirt scattered here & there on top of the asphalt, the grade was steeper than it should have been for loading but not exceptionally, and when my loaded rear tires hit the end of the trailer it picked up at the tongue and took too much weight off the rear tires and they started sliding.There are several things I could have done to avoid this accident and you can bet I won't skip the details again. I'm really disappointed in myself but thankful to the Lord it wasn't any worse. How was your work week ?
I've got my F250 SD 4x4 parked on what I thought was a slight hill on an asphalt driveway, heading downhill, with my 20' trailer behind. I religiously apply my parking brake as hard as I can, then put it in park. I proceed to drive the tractor up the ramps in low 4wd with my loader bucket up of course and have the 6' boxblade on the back. Just as soon as my rear tires got level on the deck the whole rig breaks traction and starts sliding down the driveway. Shock was the first thing to hit me, then the fact that I was picking up speed and there was nothing in the path of the rig,so I made my decision to abandon ship. I guess I was doing something between 5 and 10 mph when I turned the key off on the tractor and jumped hard off the left side. This is when I broke my arm.
I rolled into the ditch and up against the horse fence and got on my feet pronto. The rig caught traction and stopped about another 50' or so past where I jumped, which made the total slide approx. 150' long. When the truck stopped, this launched the tractor off the tongue of the trailer and the loader bucket into the rear of the truck. The 'glas cap disintegrated and the tailgate & left side of the bed is destroyed. When the left front tire of the tractor came off the tongue, the bucket mashed down into the fender just above the wheel - this is what kept the tractor from flipping off completely.
I walked back up the hill and got my friend to come help. We chained the boxblade to a D-ring with a ratchet binder for a safety and I had to get on that tractor and walk it back onto the trailer - had to use the bucket most the way to help and working that joystick with a broken radius was a memorable experience. Got the tractor off OK and no damages to it that I saw in a quick look-over, the trailer is definitely warped in the tongue to that left side but I don't think it broke any welds - will have to check every single one closely. I don't think there's any structural damage to the truck but I haven't looked it over yet. It pulled the trailer back up the hill to my friend's place without anything unusual feeling or sounding. Of course it's got $1k's of body damage.
I know exactly what happened - this driveway had a little gravel/dirt scattered here & there on top of the asphalt, the grade was steeper than it should have been for loading but not exceptionally, and when my loaded rear tires hit the end of the trailer it picked up at the tongue and took too much weight off the rear tires and they started sliding.There are several things I could have done to avoid this accident and you can bet I won't skip the details again. I'm really disappointed in myself but thankful to the Lord it wasn't any worse. How was your work week ?
