[AT] Plows, was Re: Supervision

Wed Jul 1 23:19:49 PDT 2015

Thinking the same when I get my subcompact NH out next time.
Thanks to Dean for sharing as an object lesson.

David
NW NC

On 7/2/2015 12:23 AM, Mike wrote:
> I'll be moving dirt tomorrow, filling in a ditch, you can be sure the
> ROPS will be up and the seat belt on.
>
> Mike M
>
>
> On 7/1/2015 10:18 PM, David Rotigel wrote:
>> Thank You Dean VP--I've learned a lot from this post!
>> 	Dave
>>
>> On Jul 1, 2015, at 1:07 AM, Dean VP <deanvp at att.net> wrote:
>>
>>> Mike,
>>>
>>> I'm not sure I want to tell the details of the story but if it helps someone else not get injured or
>>> killed I will explain what happened. The JD 750 is a compact tractor built fairly low to the ground
>>> with a 3 cylinder diesel engine. I think it was new in 1982 and still doesn't have over 500 hours on
>>> it. It has been probably the most reliable used tractor I have ever purchased. I've owned it since
>>> 1998 and it came with a front three way hydraulic blade and a 5' brush cutter. I expected to use it a
>>> lot more than I have and the main reason is it helped get the 6 acres leveled out and under control so
>>> now I can do everything with my JD 425 Garden Tractor,  The only weak link in the tractor are the
>>> brakes. Over time moisture seeps in though the brake shaft and rusts the shaft so that they freeze up.
>>> So about every 5 years I have to totally refurbish the brakes to keep the pedals from locking up.  But
>>> I guess since that is all the repairs I have had to make to this tractor I shouldn't complain. A few
>>> years after I bought it I found a 50" rototiller which has really helped keeping my wife's garden in
>>> shape and then I found a used front loader for it at an auction. So the loader is on it most of the
>>> time and I use the rotary tiller as ballast on the back to counter weight the load in the front
>>> loader. Has done everything I've asked from it for years trouble free.   So I've never had an incident
>>> with it in 17 years. Until last week.
>>>
>>> My wife and I decided we wanted to change the landscaping a bit at the front entrance to our  acreage
>>> which entailed removing a bunch of dirt from one side of the entrance and I moved the dirt to the lawn
>>> where depressions has developed due to our heavy rainfall.   The area I was working slopes up to the
>>> neighborhood road and I would fill the bucket and then get on the road to get to where I wanted to
>>> dump on the lawn.  Then I would have to leave the road to get to the location on the lawn.  I did
>>> several scoops without incident and then I had a mental lapse. Please keep in mind the JD 750 has a
>>> very substantial  ROPS on it and has a seatbelt so that if you tip over you don't get thrown off the
>>> seat and get crushed by the rolling tractor. The ROPS acts as a protective cage for the driver if he
>>> is locked into the seat while the tractor rolls. I am embarrassed to admit I didn't have my seat belt
>>> on. A severe and stupid  mental lapse.  I picked up another bucket load and went down the road to
>>> where I wanted dump but unfortunately this time I wanted to get the load in a certain area that I
>>> thought the right way was to come in at an angle from off the road to the sloping down and away lawn.
>>> I had the bucket low and the Rototiller low.  But then the right front wheel fell into a hole in the
>>> lawn that I didn't know was there and the bucket swung right and the rototiller swung right and danged
>>> if it wasn't enough to cause the whole tractor, loader, rototiller and me to roll over in a flash.  It
>>> happened so quick there wasn't any warning.  The tractor rolled over 90 degrees and then hit the right
>>> side of the ROPs and stopped instantly. But I didn't, I got thrown out of the seat out onto the lawn.
>>> I was so stunned It took me a couple seconds to try to move further away if the tractor kept rolling
>>> but it didn't.  I got up, didn't feel like I was hurt and shut off the tractor engine as it was still
>>> running on its side. Fluids started draining out of the crankcase and transmission.  But there wasn't
>>> anything I could do about that. I checked myself again and the only thing I noticed is I had a scrape
>>> on one of my arms.  I then realized how lucky I had been. Got another tractor out and rolled the JD
>>> 750 back up right.  Checked for damage and didn't see any and drove it to the shop to get the fluid
>>> levels back to norm.  Have used it a few time since and did find that the right rear fender lip got
>>> bent a little and a couple crescent wrenches removed that damage and then I found I had broken a link
>>> on one of the sway chains on the three point hitch. Fixed that with my arc welder and the tractor is
>>> ready to go.  Unfortunately a day later I found out that I had gotten beat up a bit. I had severe back
>>> spasms for about 4 days and my right shoulder was really stiff and sore during that period.  I didn't
>>> notice it all immediately after the accident. The back and shoulder is starting to settle down and I
>>> think a week or so more I'll be back to normal which includes a bad back at all times.  I guess us 75
>>> year olds don't bounce as well or recover as rapidly as we used to.
>>>
>>> So the lesson learned. I should have been wearing the seat belt and I wouldn't have gotten thrown out
>>> and probably would not have gotten beat up so bad. I don't know how much damage the seat belt would
>>> have done to me when the tractor roll was stopped so abruptly by the right side of the ROPS.   But I
>>> will say without the ROPS I probably wouldn't be alive to write this embarrassing story.   So always
>>> have the ROPS installed and always wear the seatbelt. I got half of it right.  I consider I've used up
>>> one of my lives in this little incident.  So be prepared, be safe and use the safety tools provided.
>>> JD was very instrumental in being an early developer of ROPS. Thanks to that effort I'm here to write
>>> this story.   Follow the rules. Don't do as I did, do as I say!  :-)  An important lesson for all of
>>> us.
>>>
>>>
>>> Dean VP
>>> Snohomish, WA 98290
>>>
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com [mailto:at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com] On Behalf Of
>>> Mike
>>> Sent: Tuesday, June 30, 2015 6:52 PM
>>> To: Antique tractor email discussion group
>>> Subject: Re: [AT] Plows, was Re: Supervision
>>>
>>> Dean, maybe you could fill us in on what happened, I rarely use my seat
>>> belt or ROPS unless I'm near an incline or unstable ground. I know, I know.
>>>
>>> Mike M
>>>
>>>
>>> On 6/30/2015 6:44 PM, Dean VP wrote:
>>>> I suspect the spring trip had never tripped before or since and was a little rusty. Not quite as
>>>> smooth as we humans would like. A well written story however. It could have been a lot worse.  I
>>>> probably have 100's maybe even 1000 hours of seat time plowing when I was a kid and never had a plow
>>>> hitch trip. We didn't have any large or even small rocks in our soil, in fact I only remember
>>> plowing
>>>> up one rock ever and when I got home for lunch I mentioned it to my Dad and he very quickly said: "
>>>> The Rail Road" must have brought it in. We don't have rocks in our soil"!  End of discussion. I had
>>>> been plowing where the RR had cut through a slight hill.  My Dad was proud of the quality of his NW
>>> IA
>>>> soil.
>>>>
>>>> PS:  I just was thrown off my JD 750 Compact tractor last week and your story reminded me of that
>>>> trauma.  It too could have been a lot worse.  I suspect the seat belt will be used from now on!  :-)
>>>>
>>>> Dean VP
>>>> Snohomish, WA 98290
>>>>
>>>> "Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent
>>>> virtue is the equal sharing of misery."  . Sir Winston Churchill
>>>>
>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>> From: at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com [mailto:at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com] On Behalf
>>> Of
>>>> John Slavin
>>>> Sent: Tuesday, June 30, 2015 2:11 PM
>>>> To: AT at lists.antique-tractor.com
>>>> Subject: Re: [AT] Plows, was Re: Supervision
>>>>
>>>> We had a 4 bottom John Deere plow when I was a kid.  It had the spring trip that has been mentioned.
>>>> I only remember it tripping one time.  I was plowing along with our Farmall 450 and I hit a buried
>>>> stump or rock or something and I nearly went over the steering wheel because it nearly stopped the
>>>> tractor in its tracks.  Then about the time I had gathered myself up from having a steering wheel
>>>> firmly planted in my chest, the springs released the hitch, the hydraulic hoses popped out of the
>>>> Pioneer couplings and the tractor jumped ahead.  With its sudden freedom, I nearly rolled off the
>>> back
>>>> of the seat.  Needless to say, it got my attention.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> John Slavin
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