What causes tractor rollovers?

[Jstpssng]

This thread reminds me of the time I decided to take my old Gator up the steep hill on my land to make use of the some of the many dead ash trees which I figured, were either going to become firewood or just rot. On the way up, it was very scary - it felt like I was close to rolling the machine over, front to back. I'm guessing the weight of the plow out front helped.
The bad part, though, was coming back down. I knew it wasn't going to be fun, but the land is very heavily wooded and there's no other way out. So if I didn't want to abandon my Gator up there, it **had** to come back down that hill. Unfortunately, the thin layer of a few tree roots and weeds on top of our pure sand soil immediately broke loose and the Gator was basically skiing downhill with the tires not turning. Smacked my head into the windshield pretty good when I hit the bottom of the slope and slammed the plow blade into the ground, coming to an immediate stop. I got out and shook like a leaf for a few minutes and vowed never to do THAT again!View attachment 732228

I had a similar ride on my ATV while working down in Vermont years ago. It was early spring, most of the snow had melted but the ground was still frozen except for one thin layer on top... I realized I was in trouble before the machine started sliding very fast and bailed off the side. It left the trail at the bottom of the hill but did no damage and I was able to get back on and ride.

 

[Ed Weber]

What causes tractor rollovers?​

Tractor Drivers
Someday someone will tell me why people drive around with the bucket raised

 

[priberc]

I was using heavy equipment for paying my tuition and was driving a tractor when I was sent over to mow a steep hill near a school in the morning. Well, there was heavy dew so it was very wet and I slid down all the way to the bottom, over and over and I wonder how they managed to mow such a hill but I got it done. Well the next morning the assistant asked who had mowed that hill and when I raised my hand he went into a long "lesson" on the dangers of rollovers and how lucky I wasnt killed, and chewed out the one who sent me as he said you can never mow a hill when its wet or early morning, so my first lesson in tractoring..

In my lifetime have only ever seen two tractors rolled onto their sides. Both were on a hill and both had their loaders all the way up or nearly all the way up
The lessons being 1, think about what you are doing before starting the task at hand 2, pay attention/listen to your gut/instincts [aka the voice in the back of your head]as you go about your task/tasks.

 

[Hoho223]

The nearness of the tipping point is in direct correlation to your butt pucker. If you don’t have that feel for what you are doing you don’t belong on a tractor

 

[riptides]

People that do not know what causes rollovers are what causes rollovers. The hill is just sitting there. The tractor can just sit there.
The problem starts when someone starts driving the tractor in a situation they should not. You should drive the tractor according to your experience.

EH?

I had proper technique. My tractor was pointing straight down hill. My load was marginal.

The tractor hit a patch of ice, slid to the side, like a jack knife. Over it went, because of the load shift.

I'd call that - an accident.

 

[Buggs67]

This thread reminds me of the time I decided to take my old Gator up the steep hill on my land to make use of the some of the many dead ash trees which I figured, were either going to become firewood or just rot. On the way up, it was very scary - it felt like I was close to rolling the machine over, front to back. I'm guessing the weight of the plow out front helped.
The bad part, though, was coming back down. I knew it wasn't going to be fun, but the land is very heavily wooded and there's no other way out. So if I didn't want to abandon my Gator up there, it **had** to come back down that hill. Unfortunately, the thin layer of a few tree roots and weeds on top of our pure sand soil immediately broke loose and the Gator was basically skiing downhill with the wheels not turning. Smacked my head into the windshield pretty good when I hit the bottom of the slope and slammed the plow blade into the ground, coming to an immediate stop. I got out and shook like a leaf for a few minutes and vowed never to do THAT again!View attachment 732228

Going down is always sketchier than up. Gravity has you in it's grip. I learned the hardway that always descend in 4wd on my tractor. Otherwise the rears just skid and skidding tires lead.

On my ATV it has excellent internal braking in Low 4X4.

 

[sunandsand]

Tractor safety . . . the best resource I've found is right here, Tractor by Net.

When I got my tractor (2018), I read the "manual" and discovered there really wasn't much in it about tractor safety. I went to Google and found a couple of short articles about tractor safety, but they were very general. I found a few ag department courses on tractor safety, but they were in Minnesota or Michigan (I'm in Florida) and I hear it gets real cold up there so I ain't going.

What I'm seeing is a discouraging number of tractor accidents due to inexperience, ignorance, and sometimes, alas, to just plain dumbness. Darwin isn't very forgiving, accidents involving tractors can easily be serious or fatal.

Even if WE are careful, sometimes the people around us are not. I've had people walk between the tractor (with pallet forks) and the trailer I was unloading. I yelled at them to keep clear, they realized how dangerous it was, and then five minutes later, they did it again. I had to chase someone away who wanted to take pictures, told them to back up about 30 feet. They got huffy and said "nothing's going to happen" (must be nice to be able to predict the future) and backed up five whole feet, telling me they could get out of the way in time "if" there's a problem. I said unless you back up to over there, I'm not working any more. They got even huffier, but backed up.

I see people remove PTO safety guards because they are "a nuisance". I'm told losing an arm is a bigger nuisance, I know someone who did. I see people stepping over running PTO shafts because it would take three more seconds to go around. I see people getting off running tractors and not setting the parking brake or even shifting into neutral, when the real answer is if nobody is in the seat, the engine shouldn't be running and the parking brake should be on. I see people raise a bush hog to clear something out and not bother blocking it up before crawling underneath.

One of the more memorable nuggets I've gleaned from TBN was someone who said "Tractors are slow but they are inexorable." That's SO true . . .

What we really need to have available is a serious book about tractor safety, not just "hey, don't do X" but also WHY we shouldn't do X, and the results if someone does it anyway.

I can't write it, I'm still a newbie at this and there is no way I would even begin to describe myself as anything like an expert. What I CAN do is assemble it and make it into a book, then publish it. My main business since 1978 has been book publishing, and I'll modestly say I've done "OK" at it.

Whaddaya think?

Best Regards,

Mike/Florida

 

[Oaktree]

Someday someone will tell me why people drive around with the bucket raised

I don't, no higher than is necessary.

Going down is always sketchier than up. Gravity has you in it's grip. I learned the hardway that always descend in 4wd on my tractor. Otherwise the rears just skid and skidding tires lead.

On my ATV it has excellent internal braking in Low 4X4.

Mine as well. My previous one (an early 90s vintage Polaris) was a 2 stroke and had very little engine braking, but my current CanAm's a 4 stroke. Unless it's really steep often don't need the brakes at all.
Of course, that wouldn't have helped in Jstpssng's case where the ground was slippery and traction was poor.

When in doubt I'll go down a hill backwards in the tractor so the FEL weight doesn't pull me too fast.

 

[Root Cause]

I didn't read all the posts but the answer is weight shifting past the CG or center of gravity.
Once you cross that, no matter what or who we are talking about, it is tipping over.

 

[Bobrown14]

I flew helicopters in the Army for 18 years and what they teach is that there is a critical angle and a rolling motion that causes rollovers. I always look in the user manuals to see what the critical angle is, no one ever has it listed. If the critical angle were published an an inclinometer were installed there would probably be less rollovers. Even a simple bubble gauge would help. In any case what has worked for me is the pinch factor, when my **** starts to pinch a hole in the seat cover I back off what ever I am doing.

I got that the other day tractoring in 15" of snow on an incline. Even tho I was headed straight up the small incline with the snow I started sliding sideways headed for an even steeper bank to my left side.

I got that oh **** feeling. took foot off throttle let the tractor come to a sliding stop.
Inna cab tractor its not a good feeling.


Hadda phewwwww moment ... backed outta there REAL EASY.