"The" Un-Safe Tractor Operation Thread

[beppington]

aka "Tractor As I Say, Not As I Do"
aka "Confessions of a Tractor Dare Devil"
aka "I Know This Ain't Smart, But I'm Doin' It Anyway"
aka "I Did _____ & Am Surpisingly Still Alive To Tell About It"

I couldn't find where one already exists, so maybe it'd be good to list what you've done with your tractor that isn't safe ... Maybe you still do it; Maybe you learned a lesson - Tell your story here!

Mine:

1) I was pulling out a bunch of close-together saplings (a little too big for the rotary cutter) with a chain by myself. Rather than jump back & forth on & off the tractor every time I yanked one out to un-hook the last one & re-hook the next one, I realized that while I'm standing beside the tractor I can just reach my hand over & press the HST pedal to back it up to the next tree to be yanked. (Yes, I have my seat safety switch bypassed (jumpered) ... which should probably be #2 below ) I am aware the tractor could run over me when I do this.

2) I have a ROPS but have never once even tried my seat belt :shocked: I assume it's under the seat somewhere

 

[MoKelly]

I am also guilty of the seat belt violation with ROPs. I don't know why exactly, I always waer seat belts uin the car.

MoKelly

 

[brin]

Well see....here's the thing...I am gulity too...but here is my excuse..I have many Pecan trees all over my pastures and many low branches that I do not want to cut so I bush hog with my ROPS folded down..so I do not wear my seat belt at all..ever...

 

[texasjohn]

I sometimes walk under the raised FEL..sudden hose failure would be bad

When chaining stuff to the FEL, I sometimes step in FEL while hooking chains to hooks...recently moved an overhead diesel tank, for example

I use seat belt only when doing extremely heavily lifting, either front or rear, on an obviously risky slope, pulling very heavy using tow bar.

 

[20 20]

As for the seat belt thing I don't believe it can be promised one way or the other as to how much safer they make a person. I have seen issues were a seat belt may have helped and I've seen just as many were they could easily cause harm. I never wear a seat belt when on a tractor and probably never will. I do however wear one on the skid steer, to easy to fly forward in that type of machine.

I have over worked machinery, taken them way past they're expected ranges. I 've moved logs with a front end loader while the back wheels didn't touch the ground. I also have walked under hydraulic pieces{FEL BH etc.} one line pops and they will come down way faster then anyone can move. I have pulled trees with front wheels off the ground with no type of ROP. I have run a chainsaw with one hand, in shorts and flip floop type shoes. I do not do this type of stuff any longer, but when I was young I was invincible,.,.,. weren't we all.

 

[beppington]

It would be interesting to have a Kubota engineer or designer watch me, or any of you with your brand's engineer/ designer, using the tractor without me knowing it, & have him (her?) constantly & honestly grading me on an "acceptable" rating while I'm using it. Scale of 1 to 10; 10 is 100% acceptable, one is "You're about to die" or "I can't believe the tractor hasn't broken yet".

As I'm driving along a dirt road at a safe speed doing no actual tractor "work", & wearing my seat belt (tho I never do), maybe I'd get a 9.9 or 10. If I'm bushhogging a field, wearing my seat belt but going a little too fast, maybe I'd get a 7 or 8. No seat belt, trying to push over a big tree with the FEL, the FEL slides up the tree & the front wheels come off the ground, maybe I'm down to a 4. Standing beside my seat-safety-switch-bypassed tractor pressing the HST pedal to move it while I'm not on it, maybe I'm down to a 3. Chain wrapped around the FEL bucket & a fence post I'm pulling out, & I'm operating the FEL controller from beside the tractor, lifting hard until the rear wheels come off the ground, maybe I'm down to a 3? I don't think I've done any 1's yet.

 

[cfs]

never wear my seat belt while mowing. takes too much time to get off pick up an empty beer bottle.

 

[Qapla]

... No seat belt, trying to push over a big tree with the FEL, the FEL slides up the tree & the front wheels come off the ground...

You mean this is NOT the norm for tree removal?

 

[Jim in ICT]

I always wear my seatbelt while mowing my lot due to several elevation changes, berms, and mowing on the uphill side of a 3' tall post rock retaining wall. Glad I had it on last mowing when I speared a half submerged railroad tie with the FEL. The seat belt kept me from being thrown into the steering wheel.
About the only time I don't use the belt is when I push snow with the back blade.

 

[texasjohn]

beppington, if your rear wheels come off ground when FEL is chained down, it's a sign that you would benefit from more rear weight... would not only certainly let you get the max out your FEL lift capacity thus likely pulling more stuff up, but would be safer while doing it as well. You do want to let your tractor be all it can be, don't you:thumbsup: