Tractor hit by falling tree top

[bigballer]

Went to the barn to do chores this morning and discovered a very large maple top snapped off and had buried my tractor. Most of the tree had landed on the bucket loader arms and the hood. Misdeed the instrument cluster and steering wheel by a couple feet. The bucket and hydraulics are fine but the hood took a beating. Everything else looks ok so far. How do I go about repairing the hood? Remove it and pound it out with a rubber mallet? Don't even want to know what the dealer charges for a new one. Only real concern is getting the latch back to normal position but it does still function.

 

[EastTexasGuy]

That would make me cry.

 

[BethelHntr]

Ouch ......Hang in there we have more wind and rain coming tomorrow.

 

[Buppies]

Glad no one was hurt, perhaps insurance will cover it

 

[FredH]

Live in Southern Oregon and it was for sure a Screamer yesterday all the way into last night . As mentioned , maybe Home owners insurance ?? My TC 30 has some dings , dents in the hood also , not quite that bad , But I just feel it adds character and does not effect function . Not sure what your chrome latch does or function , may have to take it apart to see what it would require to bend back or replace ?

Fred H.

 

[Arc weld]

Is that chrome piece access to the rad.? If you've never done any body work, it's probably best to have a body shop look at it. Price out a new hood as well and see how much difference in price.

 

[aczlan]

Is that chrome piece access to the rad.? If you've never done any body work, it's probably best to have a body shop look at it. Price out a new hood as well and see how much difference in price.

The chrome piece is the lever to unlatch the hood.

Aaron Z

 

[grsthegreat]

oh man..thats sad to look at.

I would think a rubber mallet and some gentle pounding would fix alot of that. This is the reason i purchased a separate ins policy on my tractor. I have 20 acres of trees, and after one huge top split off a few years ago and nearly destroyed my decorative entry planter, i thought id better protect all that glass on my tractor.

I always fear that a tree top will come crashing down and blow out all the glass on the tractor.


I wish you luck repairing yours.... again good luck

 

[bigbull338]

ouch hope you have ins on the tractor.the only thing you can do is replace the hood.id have your kubota dealer pick it up an check it an do the repairs.

 

[cqaigy2]

Don't know the gauge, but maybe you could kneel on it from the back side to pop out the big bump. And it does give the tractor character.

 

[bigballer]

No insurance specifically for the tractor I could check into HO policy but my deductible might be higher then the repair costs. My neighbor does body work so going to have him take a look at it. The silver piece is the latch to open/close the hood. It does work but not ideal so biggest concern is getting that part back to normal which should be possible since it isn't broken. I don't mind a few dings here and there as others have mentioned it adds character so I doubt I'll replace with brand new. It could have been worse so I guess in that regard am lucky I wasn't driving it at the time. The irony is I have wanted to cut that maple down for last couple years and now my decision is made. I'll get the last laugh AND have a nice reminder of the real power of Mother Nature.

 

[BHD]

could trying to put it on a grassy area and just step on it with soft sole shoes

 

[Oliver1655]

If you decide to work on it yourself:
- Remove it & place it upside down on a piece of carpet, blanket, ... over a flat surface to limit the damage to the paint.
- First I would tray to push out the non-creased bumps using a 2x4 or 4x4 block of wood with rounded edges.
- Then use the block of wood to spread out the in impact of the hammer.
You should be able to get back in close tolerance with minimal damage to the paint.

 

[k0ua]

I would check on the insurance, and definitely let the professional auto-body friend look at it. Not telling you anything you don't already know, but it could have been much worse. Good luck with it.

James K0UA

 

[George2615]

I would remove it and try to hammer it back. I did it on mine (Was scrapping a mobile home and had an I-beam slip off the bucket and fall on the hood). I was on someone else's property doing them a favor. I found that my insurance only covers an accident like that if I was on property I own. I've since changed my policy coverage. I laid down a sheet of plywood, turned the hood over on it and used body hammers to hammer it straight. Bought the hammer set from HF. At that point I skim coated it with body filler, primed and repainted it. Much cheaper than a new hood. Of course if your insurance will cover it then replace it.

 

[Jerry/MT]

A common problem in Western Washington! When i lived there, i had a fir limb comeout of tree and just like a spear it wa sstuck in the ground. it took a high lift jack and some chain to get it out of the ground. If it would have hit the house roof or a vehicle.........

If the insurance doesn't cover a replacement maybe a auto body shop can straighten it out. They can work with sheet metal parts.

 

[petegoud]

OUCH! Don't you just hate it when your pride and joy takes its first hit. On the positive side, now you can start using it like a real tractor! Weather hasn't been very nice up here in the great Northwest the last couple of days, hope this isn't a glimpse of what we can expect over the winter.

 

[creekbend]

It appears that everything has been covered by the other Members. Here's wishing You the BEST.

 

[CalG]

I may have this all bass ackwards, but IIRC the procedure for straightening a dent is to start at the creases.

That is with a bumping bag on the side away from the dent (the upper surface in this case) Go after the creases with a shooth faced body hammer. Tap a tap tap tap.

As the creases are ironed out, the big dent will auto-magicaly fix it's self.

I've got a couple of lead shot filled bumping bags, if only you were not so far distant ;-)

 

[Grandad4]

A good body man can certainly do a passable repair, but it might not be worth what you'd spend for it:

a) Unlike, say, a car door or even a car hood, there's very little structural material in that hood... it's basically a stamped piece of sheet metal. Pounding out the crumpled metal and getting it to the right shape will take time, which you'll pay for.
b) Then they're going to use body filler (Bondo) to make the outside smooth before repainting it.

You may find the repair will cost about the same as buying a new hood.

A "backyard mechanic's solution would be to do the straightening and filler work yourself and then have the body shop re-paint it. If you think you'll ever sell or trade the tractor, replacing the hood would probably be worth it in the long run.

Glad there wasn't any more serious damage to you or the tractor!