Tractor accident

[Crow99]

Got to be careful out there... This guy was pretty lucky.

http://bangordailynews.com/2015/01/05/news/lewiston-auburn/driver-trapped-for-2-hours-after-tractor-flips-in-logging-accident/

[Nichols]

Gotta be careful when using machinery! I have buried too many friends from accidents that "shouldn't have happened"

[rick f]

He was super lucky, the good lord was watching out for him.

[thecfarm]

He could of froze out there.

[Andries]

Good to hear that the operator is OK - keep your cell phones handy boys!
The news article said that: "The chain being used to haul the logs was attached too high to the tractor's rear, causing it to flip end-over-end, McCausland said."
Attaching too high probably caused this accident, attaching too low makes the skidding logs dig into the ground.
Are skidding winches the best/preferred way to go?

[clww]

He was very fortunate, and I hope he makes a complete recovery.
We have zero cell reception in Highland County. I have to drive 25 miles into the adjoining county before I get two bars. That and having my closest neighbor nearly a mile away (when he's home) is always on my mind when I'm working up there by myself.

[thecfarm]

I have a 3 pt winch and have had the front up in the air a few times. But I think,note the think word,  : that the blade on the 3 point winch would help on the tipping over part. BUT I'm not about to put all my faith in that.     The clutch peddle is pushed down and I come back on all fours mighty quick. My father and me use to use a tractor with just the 3pt to haul out wood. Was never a race to see how much we could get done either. Only he knows what went wrong. I try to be careful no matter what. And yes, a few times thing have tried to go wrong. But I stopped and got out of it. But there are some out there that feel they have to get ALOT done,no matter what.

[Maine372]

you are correct Cfarm, the winch will prevent rear roll over in some cases. 2004 JD 990 with farmi 351 winch. pulling from the top pulley and was probly overloaded. the hitch didn't want to come so I put it in creeper gear and eased ahead. when the winch blade hit the ground we started going forward. ran that way the whole ride to the landing. steer with the brakes and graded the road as we went.

now that was with a solid blade. the winches with just feet or the folding blade may not work the same way. judging by the picture that was an old farmall with no modifications for logging. probably no weight on the front. it appears that the log in the bottom right of the photo snagged behind the tree and brought him to an abrupt halt. no time to hit the clutch, and may have been knocked off balance enough he couldn't reach any of the controls.

glad he survived. comes down to knowing the ability and limitations of you and your equipment.

[Maine logger88]

Wow thank god he was ok that could of sucked!

[CCC4]

Please tell me he wasn't skidding timber with a tricycle front end on that antique tractor. Glad he is Ok, I wonder if the steering wheel was across his stomach, and caused the internal bleeding?

[luvmexfood]

Had an incident yesterday that was quiet scary with my tractor. Had backdrug the road with the blade to get some of the leaves off hoping to get a freeze on this section because it never sees sun and is a moderate grade.

After backdragging had a spot where I needed to clean a little more. Started pushing, leaves and small branches, and then angled to the side to push out of the way. Plenty of room to stop before a big sinkhole. Come to find out what I thought was plenty of room was just some branches covered in leaves from last fall. Started sliding backwards at a 45 deg angle into the sinkhole. Luckly I remembered in a second to finish lowering the blade and it stopped me.

[gspren]

Please tell me he wasn't skidding timber with a tricycle front end on that antique tractor. Glad he is Ok, I wonder if the steering wheel was across his stomach, and caused the internal bleeding?

  Those old tricycle's have pulled and continue to pull a bunch of logs. The only thing a wide front would have helped there was a bit more weight in front. His chain was too long allowing the front of the log to get outside the tractors path.

[bedway]

Maybe my eyes aren't what they use to be but doesn't that second photo show the log had snagged behind a standing tree?

[beenthere]

The story line says that the log was snagged on a tree and the chain hooked too high.

Dragged many a log and many a shed with just a narrow front end tractor. About all anyone had on the farms in the 50's. A "standard" (wide) front end almost unheard of if row-crop farming. But narrow front or not, they'd tip over backwards if hooked high and operator not quick enough to stop pulling when caught on something.

[sandhills]

My dad has a '49 JD A with a narrow front, first and last time mom ever drove a tractor, right up the side of the garage.  Sometimes you have time to get out of jams, sometimes people panic which she did, lucky for her it died pointing straight up the wall.  Those narrow fronts stuck out just far enough in front of the tractor to walk up the wall, this was before my time but I remember the garage, still can't believe it held up  :D.

[beenthere]

Drove many a JD A, and something gave the front end a head start up that wall when mom failed to pull the hand clutch back (disengage).  Some would set the hand clutch a bit tight and it would take a good strong pull to pop it out of "engaged".

I enjoyed the old hand clutch. Especially as an 8 yr old getting to pull the wagon around the fields to pick up hay bales. Could stand on the platform and drive, start and stop, and use the brakes. Too short to sit in the seat,,,  that came a few years later.

[Ford_man]

When I was in school and 4-H I demo rolling a tractor over backwards. It was a JD with a narrow front (oh it was a toy tractor)I took a string over the top of the axle and tied a pencil across the wheels under the tractor just pulled back on the string over the axle and it would roll right over backwards.

[luvmexfood]

This is how I skid with a tractor most of the time. I have the boompole on it because I use it as one step in loading the logs.

Chain up the log and have your boompole lowered. Take your chain over one side of it's crossbeam, through the drawbar pin and back across the other side of the drawbar crossbeam using where the pole attaches to the crossbeam as your centerpoint.

Make this loop large enough that you can raise the boompole without your chain from stopping it from raising. Skid with the boompole below the pin and if you need to you can slightly raise the boompole above the level of the drawbar(how much depends on the grade you are ascending and size of the log). When you raise above the level of the drawbar it will put somemore weight on the back of the tractor. Just watch how much.

Gives you more traction and slightly lifts the front of the log. Sometimes if its not too steep you can raise it quiet a bit and use the hydraulics to pull the log in a little closer and then quickly lower which gives you some slack in the chain to get over that one little slick spot. I will not do this on a sidehill. Just pretty much straight up or down.