[AT] Tractor safety
Cecil Bearden
crbearden at copper.net
Sun Sep 1 14:43:14 PDT 2019
Dean:
I would second the admonition to be very careful with a loader. I see
so many tractors with loaders mowing fields here, and the loader is
raised nearly to the top!!!!!!!! What the H**L is the operator
thinking?!?!?!? I worked for and with an older fellow cutting hay on
150 acres. When I would get on the tractor to cut, bale, or rake, and
he was driving, the first thing I did was lower the loader. It usually
had a bale spike on it. He once asked me why I always lowered the
bucket. I told him it was because I did not want to tear up the cab.
This was when the disc mower was attached and he had been running about
9mph over the field, and we were having problems with gophers. I have
had some unsettling experiences with my tractors as they all have
loaders, but that bucket or spike is kept as close to the ground as
possible. The scariest experience is opening a new field and finding
the new holes from coyotes digging for rats and other burrowing animals.
I have had one field ruined by coyotes. It has some sloping areas and
it seemed each time I baled it I found a new hole on the downhill side.
A big local farmer leased it out from under me and now it is his
problem. Every sticker I have seen on a loader says Carry Load Low.
I must also tell you all about the sticker that comes on the Belarus
tractors from the factory. *"In case of tractor overturn, do not jump,
hold tight to steering wheel".*
Cecil
On 9/1/2019 4:08 PM, deanvp at att.net wrote:
>
> I have posted on this list, in the past, real and actual engineering
> testing results on the stability of Narrow vs WFE tractors. There is
> a statement made in the Face “discussion” that is misleading at best
> and probably incorrect at the worst as follows:
>
> “Tricycle type tractors are significantly more prone to rollovers than
> wide front tractors, and should therefore not be used with front-end
> loaders. On this farm there was a wide front tractor of the same brand
> and model and approximately same year and condition. This tractor
> would have been a safer choice to be used with the front-end loader.
> Using the wide front tractor would likely have prevented this accident.”
>
> The engineering tests do not necessarily agree with “significantly
> more prone” and a “wide front end would have likely prevented this
> accident” Yes, there is a slight and please note “slight”
> improvement in stability with a WFE tractor in this kind of situation
> but not “significant” especially not nearly as “significant” as we are
> lead to believe. The statements in the discussion do not reference
> any testing results or engineering studies and therefore need to be
> taken as a grain of salt. The most dangerous part of this is leading
> WFE tractor owners to feel like they are significantly less prone to
> roll-overs. There are many contributing factors which contribute to
> roll overs and one of the worst is turning up into the hill while
> moving which creates a rotational force over and above just the slope
> of the hill. The fully loaded loader bucket was described as being up
> at about 66% which adds significantly to the higher momentary center
> of gravity. The article that I published showed that once the tractor
> started to roll the WFE would rotate with the rear wheels and hit the
> normal stops of the WFE rotation and possibly increase the chance of
> roll over due to the sudden hit. I would guess that the overwhelming
> causes of the roll over were due to the loader bucket being at 66% and
> the speed at which the turn into the hill occurred. Both major
> contributions. Of course the slope of the hill is important as well
> and whether or not any of the wheels of the tractor hit any kind of
> obstruction. But… I just always get my back up when I hear WFE
> tractors are safer than NFE tractors. Not nearly as much as we are led
> to believe.
>
> An anecdotal reference: I’ve lived at my current residence for 21
> years in retirement. I currently own 11 antique tractors more NFE than
> WFE, more that I have bought and sold, all NFE, and one newer compact
> tractor a 1981 model. There are parts of my 6 acres that have a
> decent slope sometimes exceeding 6%. Each of these tractors has been
> out and about on the property even in the sloped areas at times.
> But…… only once have I rolled a tractor and that occurred just a
> couple years ago. No it was not any of my antique tractors with NFE
> or WFE it was my newest tractor my 1981 JD 750 Compact with a WFE.
> Yes, and of course it had a loader. I was moving dirt no more than
> 300 feet from one area at the entrance to a low area where I had
> removed an old growth cedar stump. I was driving on a slight slope,
> parallel to the slope with the loaded bucket no more than a foot off
> the ground in low gear which is a really slow gear. I was being really
> careful primarily because of the slope which really wasn’t all that
> steep but I was being cautious. But… the right front wheel dropped
> into a hidden hole maybe 6” or more deep and that caused the loader
> bucket to shift to the right and damned if the whole tractor started a
> very slow roll. So slow that I had time to decide whether I was going
> to stay on the tractor or jump. I decided to ride it out. Yes it
> rolled on to it’s right side and stopped abruptly. Why, because of
> the Roll Over Protection Structure mounted right behind the seat
> stopped it from rolling over more. I am alive today because of ROPS.
> I got beat up a little and had trouble getting out of bed the next
> morning but… I am still here. Just for talking points, a NFE would
> have missed this hidden hole. But that isn’t really important to this
> discussion.
>
> So if the “Face” article had just limited itself to stating that ROPS
> would have probably prevented this death I wouldn’t be commenting
> here. I believe I am right in that JD invented the ROPS concept and
> immediately released their rights to the invention to any and all
> manufacturers who wanted to use it. I haven’t looked to see if ROPS
> is now legally required on specific sized newly manufactured tractors.
> If not, it should be.
>
> Whatever be the case be very careful when using a loader on an antique
> tractor be they NFE or WFE. They are both dangerous especially on
> slopes. Be safe out there.
>
> PS: My only intent here is to warn WFE Tractor owners away from being
> overly confident that they are any safer.
>
> ROPS reference source:
> https://blog.machinefinder.com/27325/john-deere-rops-key-dates-and-its-role-in-operator-safety
>
> Dean VP
>
> Snohomish, WA 98290
>
> *From:* AT <at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com> *On Behalf Of
> *Indiana Robinson
> *Sent:* Sunday, September 1, 2019 10:47 AM
> *To:* Antique Tractor Email Discussion Group
> <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
> *Subject:* Re: [AT] Tractor safety
>
> No. New chemical weed control put most cultivators in the scrap...
>
> On Sun, Sep 1, 2019, 10:50 AM James Peck <jamesgpeck at hotmail.com
> <mailto:jamesgpeck at hotmail.com>> wrote:
>
> Were narrow front tractors discontinued due to legislation or
> lawsuits?
>
> *[ *Indiana Robinson] <snip> I was looking for something else when
> Google showed me this report from about 1995. The age of the
> report doesn't matter, it's timeless.
>
> https://face.public-health.uiowa.edu/Reports/REPORT-003.html <snip>
>
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