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

[Francis Robinson]

Hello David Holcombe,

	All I can say is   OUCH!!!...
	Glad everybody is OK.




======= At 2005-01-07, 14:32:28 you wrote: =======

>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.
>
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>
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Francis Robinson
robinson at svs.net
2005-01-07