Farmerboy
Bronze Member
Last Sunday I had the misfortune of riding my 3215 (that I purchased on Easter weekend and which only had 80 hours) over a ten-foot high embankment into a field stream. I was using the bucket of my unit to haul fence posts around the property as I put them in with a sledge. I was running parallel to the drop off, about 8-feet back from the edge, when I decided to turn around and head back. The area above the embankment had approximately a 10-degee down slope leading up to the drop off.
I began to reverse my direction and back up the slope until I was almost exactly perpendicular to the edge. At almost the exact instant I got perpendicular, the wheels broke loose. The ground was covered with pine needles which acted like marbles. My R4 tires couldn't get traction. So, although I was in reverse, and the wheels were turning in reverse, the tractor began lurching forward. Oh, and I was in High range....and the 4-wheel-drive was off.
As stated before, I was about 8-feet back from the edge. Well, when I went to slam on the brake, my foot caught both the brake AND the gas! On many HST models (regardless of the make) the gas is right in front of the brake. As I found out, this isn't the best location when one is panicked and looking for the brake.
By now, I was only a couple feet from the edge. With foot on the brake and not on the gas, I tried to turn the wheel hard to the left. However, due to the weight of the machine and the terrain, the tractor wasn't turning. Rather, the unit just kept lurching forward.
Lastly, I tried to drop the loader. However, there just wasn't enough time for the hydraulics to respond.
With the front tires already going over the edge, I thought, "Well...this is it."
The tractor and I rolled and flipped our way to the bottom. At some point I came free (wasn't wearing a seat belt). I remembered looking over my shoulder and seeing the tractor stand up. I was able to throw myself forward before it came back down. However, when the unit did come back down, the left rear tire rolled over my right leg, pushing it down into the mud of the stream, and effectively trapping me under it.
My wife, who saw the whole situation unfold, was able to get her grandfather to come down with another tractor and lift my 3215 off me.
Although I was able to walk away, I did end up spending two days in the hospital with a severely fractured wrist.
Reality set in when I contacted my insurance company a few days later to report the loss. Some other guy the week before rolled over the exact same unit, except he didn't walk away.
I wanted to share this experience with the forum just to remind folks how dangerous these machines can be. Don't ever forget to respect these machines.
Going forward, my bones will heal, my dealer will help me fix my machine, and I'll certainly count my blessings more than I count my problems.
Have a safe and happy Father's day.
I began to reverse my direction and back up the slope until I was almost exactly perpendicular to the edge. At almost the exact instant I got perpendicular, the wheels broke loose. The ground was covered with pine needles which acted like marbles. My R4 tires couldn't get traction. So, although I was in reverse, and the wheels were turning in reverse, the tractor began lurching forward. Oh, and I was in High range....and the 4-wheel-drive was off.
As stated before, I was about 8-feet back from the edge. Well, when I went to slam on the brake, my foot caught both the brake AND the gas! On many HST models (regardless of the make) the gas is right in front of the brake. As I found out, this isn't the best location when one is panicked and looking for the brake.
By now, I was only a couple feet from the edge. With foot on the brake and not on the gas, I tried to turn the wheel hard to the left. However, due to the weight of the machine and the terrain, the tractor wasn't turning. Rather, the unit just kept lurching forward.
Lastly, I tried to drop the loader. However, there just wasn't enough time for the hydraulics to respond.
With the front tires already going over the edge, I thought, "Well...this is it."
The tractor and I rolled and flipped our way to the bottom. At some point I came free (wasn't wearing a seat belt). I remembered looking over my shoulder and seeing the tractor stand up. I was able to throw myself forward before it came back down. However, when the unit did come back down, the left rear tire rolled over my right leg, pushing it down into the mud of the stream, and effectively trapping me under it.
My wife, who saw the whole situation unfold, was able to get her grandfather to come down with another tractor and lift my 3215 off me.
Although I was able to walk away, I did end up spending two days in the hospital with a severely fractured wrist.
Reality set in when I contacted my insurance company a few days later to report the loss. Some other guy the week before rolled over the exact same unit, except he didn't walk away.
I wanted to share this experience with the forum just to remind folks how dangerous these machines can be. Don't ever forget to respect these machines.
Going forward, my bones will heal, my dealer will help me fix my machine, and I'll certainly count my blessings more than I count my problems.
Have a safe and happy Father's day.
