How not to load a tractor?

[T-Mo-(Moderator) 4,598]

I know some here visit MTF, but probably don't venture into the Craftsman Forum. This was linked there and I thought it was funny:

[T-Mo-(Moderator) 4,598]

And this one:

[nylyon-(Admin) 7,878]

For the first one ouch!

For the second, looks like they found the shortest distance between 2 points is a straight line down

[CasualObserver 3,411]

Never underestimate the common IDIOT !!

I think the important thing here is that we pass on some safety lessons...

The first film there shows exactly why you load tractors backwards, and if at all possible... don't drive them up, push them.

And the second... well... that's just plain dumb. find a ditch and drop the tailgate all the way, or use pinned or chained actual ramps. Life is short enough.

of course we could always chalk this up to "survival of the fittest" and/or "thinning of the herd" too! Darwin... Murphy... call it what you want.

[CasualObserver 3,411]

Oh, and to borrow a line I've seen as Paul B's (Ingersoll444) quote on MTF....

"Stupid should hurt!"

[Rollerman 290]

I've actually done something like that before with an 855.

My Darwin moment happened when I was driveing onto a "homemade" tilt trailer.

I had the deck tilted & as soon as the front tires cleared it the trailer deck leveled out & pitched the tractor over on me.

No matter how safe I intend to be...Darwin always seems to visit!

Stephen in northern IN...enjoying a rain out day

[T-Mo-(Moderator) 4,598]

I always try and use a trailer, either a tilt or one with a ramp gate. They're usually the floor is lower to the ground. The use of a pick-up bed is dangerous, especially to those who don't know a thing about those ramps.

And I like to have my tractors facing toward the front as I've seen people who load them backwards have the hood fly up and serious damage done to them. If you do load backwards, it doesn't hurt to strap the hood down. Now if I was using ramps to load into a pick-up truck, then backwards seems appropriate and do no ride them up as was previously mentioned.

[Curmudgeon 28]

Hmmmm, videos, not dial up friendly at all so I'm going to have to by the comments as to what happened.

Apparently it has something to do with driving a tractor up ramps into a pickup. Something I do all the freakin' time! What's the big deal? Since I'm high tech all the way, (2x8's, 2x10's whatever I have on hand) occasionally one breaks. What can I say, usually you can hear the cracking and get off in time.

Maybe my reflexes have just been honed by years of stupidity too....... <_<

I've hauled tractors pointing both ways, but I do prefer pointing forward. It's a constant worry if the hood, seat, whatever, will flip, fly, tear, break off otherwise.

Dale, in Michigan

[CasualObserver 3,411]

Dale here's excerpts from video 1.

Idiot thinking about what he's about to do...
Idiot continues anyway....
Idiot pops clutch...
Idiot soils self...
Idiot about to catch 600 pound mower with face.

[Sparky-(Admin) 23,082]

HEHEHE!!! ! I love yer commentary as each pic came up.

Mike......still chuckling

[T-Mo-(Moderator) 4,598]

Dale,

I know what you mean, video and dial-up don't mix very well. And the commentary for video 1 was pretty accurate.

In the second video a few guys were off-loading a tractor from a truck bed and had made some contraption with boards and they used braces to help support the boards. They seem to have an inkling of the danger as they didn't ride the tractor down and were going slowly and with caution. But one guy did stand on the foot rests of the tractor to guide it down. As the tractor cleared the tailgate and the full weight of it was now supported by the home made ramps, one of the braces gave way and both the tractor and the guy came straight down. Luckily the guy rolled out of the way and the tractor landed on all fours.

Both videos show how dangerous loading and unloading tractors from pick-up trucks, both probably were 4WD trucks with the bed height very high and both used some form of ramps, rather it was home made or not.

[CasualObserver 3,411]

Also as one small side note... thank God that kid appears to be out of the way, because I don't think the "adults" were paying attention. See him in the first picture standing next to the truck? :D

[kpinnc 14,529]

Well, I built a nice solid ramp into my building. Made it 4 feet wide, with a concrete foundation. Used all treated plywood, and made the nice curve that keeps the deck from scraping on the way up or down. It was purdy!

Of course, I didn't paint it or place any type of "gripping" surface on it since it was treated lumber. Guess what grows nearly invisible on treated lumber since it's green to begin with? Algae, that's what, and it's slicker than greased watermelon rhines when it rains!

I found out while backing a WH out of the barn that a complex series of actions occur when I am placed in this situation. Here's a step-by-step explanation:

1. Rear tires make contact with wet ramp.

2. Tractor enters little known "Driver just realized he has no control over me" mode, and shudders violently.

3. Driver applies brakes, screams, and wets his pants while his butt makes bite marks in the seat simultaneously. Also known as the "go get my mama" effect, but nature compensates with gravity + accelerative force. Waterparks were founded on this simple law of physics. MASS+SLICKxSLOPE-CONTACT=VELOCITY

4. Rear tires reach bottom of ramp at approximately MACH 8.4, and brand new AG tires DIG IN.

5.Wheel Horse brakes, for the first time in recorded history, work.

6. Tractor doesn't simply flip. It slams upside down like a bad Road Runner vs. Wylie cartoon, with similar sound effects.

7. $125 Emergency Room deductible- Nuff said.

8. Tractor doesn't recive a scratch.

Kevin's law of certainty:

Whatever can happen, regardless of how little chance exists, eventually WILL happen,... to me. Chance of bodily injury or damage to equipment and/or presence of spectators GREATLY increases chance of occurrance.

Cut the poor "stupid" people some slack. We (yeah, WE) know you're just scapegoating your last "WOOPS!" that's why I learned to work alone with the shop doors shut. Keeps all the DEBRIS inside...

[CasualObserver 3,411]

Kevin, that was hilarious... so ags don't help on algae, eh?

And for you dial-ups...here's video two in snapshot form.

The collective geniuses refers to the event as "jackass 3."
Hrmmm... this board needs some adjustment...
Exit one very important piece...
Uh-Oh. I can't hold it with my toe after all...
Gravity rears it's ugly head....exit important piece number two.
Gravity 1 - Collective Geniuses 0

[T-Mo-(Moderator) 4,598]

Kevin,

Hilarious story and also a reminder that, even with experience and caution, things do go wrong at times.

Jason, again, good commentary on the video.

[Curmudgeon 28]

Thanks for the excerpts Jason! Loved the commentary as well. So it was a wheelie, cool. Been there, done that, but not on ramps. Typically I spin out.

And the second video.... uh, how is standing straddle the hood supposed to be an improvement over sitting on the seat???? LOL

Great story Kevin. We've all been the idiot at one time or other.

I was going to load half a Wheel Horse, had it balanced on a dolly. Since I can pull more than push, I backed on the ramps. I was standing about half way up the ramp, when the dolly wheels touched the lower ends of them. One mighty heave to get the dolly onto the ramps, uh no, one mighty heave slid the ramps off the pickup. Talk about a let down.

Yes kids, I turned around and PUSHED it up the ramps. Went right in slick as can be. The smart part? NO VIDEO cameras!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dale, has thick files in TWO emergency rooms in Michigan

[nylyon-(Admin) 7,878]

That is just too funny!

[kj4kicks 154]

Well, I never flipped one.... but I tried ! I told you about having the FEL on 3 wheels right after I bought it. Those 160's are touchy, even when your only on a 1 degree slope (sideways). Not long after that... got a 520 and put duals on it. 'nuf said, part 2.

Eldon.... with a pucker mark in a 160 seat

[T-Mo-(Moderator) 4,598]

One of my mowing chores is at our church, which has a couple of acres that needs mowing. A few years back when I had my 12' tilt trailer (I now have a 14' foot trailer with ramp gate) there was one almost bad situation.

I usually take two tractors with me as myself and my brother usually do the mowing. This time I only had one. After I was done, I drove the tractor up onto the trailer and strapped it down. I always double check the straps, the hitch, etc. I was satisfied that everything was secure. So get into the truck and off I go.

About a half mile down the road I begin to questioned myself if I put the pin back in that holds the trailer down to the tongue (it's the pin you remove that allows the trailer to tilt). I could not remember doing it. So I find a place that I can pull off the road to check it. Sure enough the pin wasn't where it was supposed to be. It and the spring pin was laying in the truck bed where I left it when I unloaded the tractor after I got to the church. Luckily for me I only had the one tractor and I had it loaded toward the front of the trailer or.......

So even with experience, know how and extra caution, things can go wrong anyways. Usually it just takes one time and.....

[Curmudgeon 28]

Treed, it NEVER takes more than ONE time!!!

The stupid part is when you say, "OH, that'll never happen again in a million years."

Then you repeat your own stupidity!!!!!!

Or at least I do. Learn from my mistakes? What? And take all the fun out of life????????????????????????

Dale, never broken a bone, but has had 103 stitches (not all at once though!) sewing him back together, in Michigan.