[AT] Ramble: I broke a MF 255 into 2 pieces

[David Holcombe]

It's been almost 6 months since posting anything to ATIS. I retired from my 
"public job"  July 1 2004. I guess I'm crazy at 47, but I had to get back 
outside.

The day after Thanksgiving my son and I were hanging a Xmas wreath on the 
front of my house. I got the MF 255 so he could lift me up using the
front-end loader. After getting it on the house I discovered that my 
extension cord was not long enough. He proceeded to lower me to the ground 
and turned
the tractor off. I went into the basement, he got off the tractor to unchain 
the dogs. Coming back into the front yard I noticed the tractor was slowly
inching it's way backward out of our yard toward the road in front of my 
house. My yard is about 10' above the road with about a 40 degree slope down 
to
the road, then across the road is a 4 strand barb wire fence then another 
40  degree slope of about 200' before if levels off into the pasture.
I ran as hard as I could, didn't catch it. It rolled out of the yard across 
the road into the barb wire fence just missing 2 big "electric pole" posts 
that would
would have probably stopped it.  The barb wire almost stopped it. You know 
how wire sounds when it is being stretched and the ping it makes when it
breaks. When it finally broke and the tractor went through it and out of 
sight I guess it was going 25-30 mph down the hill, through bushes, then 
nothing.
When I got to where I could see, it hadn't made all the way to the level 
pasture, but is was still sitting on all 4 wheels with the front-end looking 
right at me or
so I thought. The left rear wheel had broadsided a cedar tree and snapped 
it completely into two pieces just behind where the rear-end bolts together
at the gear shifters. The bolts just sheared off the running(foot rests) 
boards on the front part of the tractor and were still attached the rear 
fenders.
The only thing still connecting the two pieces together was the wire to the 
tail light(I cut it with my pocket knife).
It took my dad, myself, my 2 sons about 3 hours to get the two pieces off 
the hill. We chained each piece, took the chain around a tree above it and 
then
down the hill to another tractor. I took another tractor with a hay spear 
then lifted  the chained piece and backed it off the hill while the  tractor 
it was chained
to backed up the hill. We had to lift the front end loader off with another 
loader tractor.  It fired right up when I turned the key over, it just had 
no rear wheels
to take it any where. We loaded the front end on one trailer, the rear end 
on another trailer and carried it to a farmer friend that does a lot of 
tractor
work in the off season. Needless to say, we were the talk of the community 
when everyone saw our convoy of two tailers carrying one tractor.
He delivered it back in one piece Xmas eve. All he had to replace was the 
rear chunk, a few hydraulic hoses and clamps. He used our hydraulic pump
and gears. The left rear rim is warped a little, but not enough to replace.

Cost: $1800.00

Why did it roll off the hill?   It has a high/low range shifter on the dash 
on top of the high/low range gear shifter. When the dash shifter is in low
range the tractor is free wheeling, the transmission will not hold it back 
going down hill. I think we left it in low range.

Very thankful I didn't catch up to the tractor, I probably would have been 
ran over.
Very thankful the tractor didn't hit a car in the road.
Very thankful my boys were not hurt.

I have always counted myself as being a very careful person, but accidents 
still do happen.

Everybody be careful, I know I am trying to be.


David Holcombe in extreme NW AL

BTW, I didn't put all my Xmas lights out this year.