Seat Belts & 4wd drive

U

UncleBuck

Member
Here is the situation : Storm clouds approaching, full Hay wagon in the field, just unloaded empty hay wagon on my tractor, a Mahindra 4110. My neighbor,farmer,friend waiting to get the empty wagon to get the last of the hay baled. What do you think I do, decide to take the the shortcut down a hill, 100yds long & with roughly 90ft slope, stop at top of hill, buckle my seatbelt for the first time that day, put tractor in lower gear and the adventure begins, everything going fine the first 50 yards, then out of nowhere :shitHitsFan:the tractor takes off - thought I lost the trans, freewheeling, me and the wagon wind up at the bottom of the hill in a V configuration, no injuries/damage to me or the tractor :pat: found out the reason for this event, While looking and pulling for the seat belt it knock the 4wd shift out of 4wd drive, and two wheels were not enough to keep me on the hill, even with a empty hay wagon.
So here is the a catch 22 question: is it a good thing I put the seatbelt on (it kept me in my seat) ,"or", if I did not put it on - the tractor would still have been in 4wd and probably the whole incident would not have happened ??? maybe ????? :rolleyes:

Buck
 
Uncle Buck, I am glad you weren't injured. Those things always happen very quickly. You sure can tell that ol' Murphy is alive and well!!

With ROPS, it is always recommended to wear the seatbelt. Pucker factor being such a good teacher, I'm sure you would probably remember to check for interference from now on. I would always wear the seatbelt, and make sure it doesn't tangle up with anything.

Good luck

Fred
 
I remember my first downhill joy ride in 2WD! Weeee . . . . or is that . . ..Aaaaaarrgghh!

Glad you were OK. I think having the belt on was a good move even if it caused some extra fun!

;)
 
UncleBuck said:
Here is the situation : Storm clouds approaching, full Hay wagon in the field, just unloaded empty hay wagon on my tractor, a Mahindra 4110. My neighbor,farmer,friend waiting to get the empty wagon to get the last of the hay baled. What do you think I do, decide to take the the shortcut down a hill, 100yds long & with roughly 90ft slope, stop at top of hill, buckle my seatbelt for the first time that day, put tractor in lower gear and the adventure begins, everything going fine the first 50 yards, then out of nowhere :shitHitsFan:the tractor takes off - thought I lost the trans, freewheeling, me and the wagon wind up at the bottom of the hill in a V configuration, no injuries/damage to me or the tractor :pat: found out the reason for this event, While looking and pulling for the seat belt it knock the 4wd shift out of 4wd drive, and two wheels were not enough to keep me on the hill, even with a empty hay wagon.
So here is the a catch 22 question: is it a good thing I put the seatbelt on (it kept me in my seat) ,"or", if I did not put it on - the tractor would still have been in 4wd and probably the whole incident would not have happened ??? maybe ????? :rolleyes:

Buck
Click to expand...

Well, the most important thing that everyone really wants to know is did you get the hay in BEFORE THE RAIN...:D

Actually, there was a third alternative...NO SEAT BELT AND TOTAL HYDRAULIC FAILURE...:rolleyes:

Be safe out there...we need all the posters we can get...:)
 
If you would of buckled the belt when you first started would this problem still of happened? Probably not, so maybe we should all just buckle the belt before starting the tractor and not wait until we "think" it is needed. It is a learned habit just like always buckling the car/truck belt before driving.
 
Well Im darn happy you are OK. How fast were you going at one point? I think everyone agrees that those seat belts are a good thing... when they are put on when the tractor isnt moving. :rolleyes::wink:
 
PaulChristenson said:
Well, the most important thing that everyone really wants to know is did you get the hay in BEFORE THE RAIN...:D

Be safe out there...we need all the posters we can get...:)
Click to expand...
No :sad: That wagon that gave me the ride was 3/4 full when the sky opened up, had to leave about 40 not baled hay on the ground.
mtntopper said:
If you would of buckled the belt when you first started would this problem still of happened? Probably not, so maybe we should all just buckle the belt before starting the tractor and not wait until we "think" it is needed. It is a learned habit just like always buckling the car/truck belt before driving.
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you have a point, problem was I got lazy, I knew I would be getting on & off that tractor all day. Well to sum it all up, despite that guy Murphy('s Law), nobody got hurt, nobody got sick from the heat( couple of gallons of gatorade & pounds of cold cuts for my son and his friends unloading the wagons kept them happy & healty), It was a great day to be alive.
 
Glad it turned out okay Buck. :thumb:
I agree that buckling the seat belt was the thing to do, even though that action caused your wild ride. On level ground when I know I'm getting off and on often, I also leave it off, but whenever I'm traversing my hills I make sure I have it on. On all the time is the best habit to get into, but for some situations it's not practical.
 
UncleBuck said:
No :sad: That wagon that gave me the ride was 3/4 full when the sky opened up, had to leave about 40 not baled hay on the ground.
Click to expand...

Well, with the rise in hay prices go back and bale that stuff for mulch hay...:rolleyes:

Sorry to hear that you didn't get it all in...:(...BUT GLAD YOU ARE AROUND to tell us that...:D
 
Uncle Buck, I'm guilty of getting on my tractor without buckling up as well. Who gave the advice to always buckle up when you get on the tractor is correct, it would have kept you from this experience. Glad it all turned out well and no injuries. My yard is flat other than a couple of humps, still gives you the pucker factor once in a while though.
 
Uncle Buck:

Glad you came out your "freewheeling" experience unscathed. I always buckle up when I get on the tractor and before I start it up. It is good to establish this "habit strength". I will admit I probably look pretty stupid when I buckle up repeatedly when putting on/taking off attachments. Jay
 
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