Bx1880 rollover

[Roadhand2010]

Hello all, I have a new bx1880 and was mowing parallel on a pretty good slope. It was starting to get dicey so I started backing out the way I worked in. The left front tire started digging into some sand and next thing I knew I was stuck. Ordered some extra long toe straps and while we were pulling it out it flopped onto its side and nosed down hill. We had her upright within about 45 minutes with no sign of any fluids just a busted tail light and a crack along the hood. When we pulled it up we were able to get it turned so the back end is uphill. Let it sit a couple of days and when I went to start it the starter jumps out but won’t turn the flywheel. Tried to jump it with a quick starter but got nowhere, but now the starter “clicks”. I replaced the battery thinking it may have lost a cell or two while it was layed over, but now with the new battery the starter popped once now nothing. Any ideas?

 

[85Hokie]

Since it rolled over - there may be a cylinder full of oil and now hydraulically locked, in this case you really need to get that oil out before trying to spin it! Might be a good thing NOT to try to start again - but pull the glow plugs and see if that makes ANY difference at all.

My second thought is perhaps in the roll over a wire has been damaged - have you tried placing 12 volts directly TO the starter - bypassing the key? I would check the cylinder first!

 

[Mark_BX25D]

My second thought is perhaps in the roll over a wire has been damaged -

A wire or a safety switch somewhere.

Roadhand, I rolled my BX not long ago. I also got chewed out for starting it too soon. In my case it turned out okay, but several chewed me out pretty good. ;-) You might find some useful info in reading some of that, here.

 

[sheepfarmer]

Curious as to why you let it sit on a slope for several days instead of level?

Since it is brand new, you might want to have your dealer trouble shoot it in case you damage the engine. Do you have KTAC insurance?

 

[Roadhand2010]

Curious as to why you let it sit on a slope for several days instead of level?

Since it is brand new, you might want to have your dealer trouble shoot it in case you damage the engine. Do you have KTAC insurance?

It is sitting in an area that is inaccessible to any kind of recovery vehicle To right it we had to come up from the top of the slope and pull it up. The terrain is tiered with a vertical wall before you get to the top so pulling all the way is impossible. There’s another vertical drop at the bottom of the slope so going down is out also. Only way in is through the path I cut parallel along the slope. Tractor is sitting perpendicular to that a little upslope now. Thought was if it started I could drive it out. Heavily wooded and overgrown with blackberries. Not sure how I can get it out safely with it disabled.

 

[bx tractorjoe]

Pull the glow plugs out.. do not try to start it again you can bend a pushrod if there is oil in the combustion chamber..

If you have insurance on it bit the bullet and pay the deductible and let them come pull it out with another machine and take it to the dealer and fix all the broken stuff

 

[Roadhand2010]

Here are some photos from every angle.

 

[RCW]

Slopes don't show well in photos, but that still looks steep in some spots!

Given the starter engages but won't turn it over, I'm concerned with hydro-lock as others mentioned. Only outcome for that is bent rod without getting oil from the cylinder(s) first. If it were a safety switch, the starter wouldn't engage....

Thankfully, the only casualty is the tractor. That's what matters most....glad you're okay.

 

[BigG]

Nice pictures however I do not think they show the degree of the slope you are dealing with. I do not think any pictures will. Just the nature of photography.

How far is the nearest level spot you can move the tractor to? In the oil patch when setting up a drilling rig you had to set 4 dead men to tie the guide wires to. This is a simple design that would allow you to attach a come-a-long to and manually pull the machine to a easier place.

You need 4 good steel stakes, with the light weight of the BX, you might get away with T-posts. You will also need 2 pieces of steel pipe about 3 or 4 feet long.

Drive the stakes into the ground to form a low X. Drive the second pair of stakes into the ground to form a X parallel to the first X about 2 feet apart. Lay the bottom pipe under the center of the Xs on the ground. Lay the second piece of pipe across the Xs like you would if you are bucking a log. The pipes must be parallel to each other. Tie a chain around the top pipe go under the bottom pipe, then OVER the top pipe and toward your BX.

As you pull on the BX the chain will pull down on the top pipe and up on the bottom pipe and lock everything together. This can make a very stable pulling point with out all the digging that the 4x4 people tell you to do.

Just remember to pull at 90 degrees to the pipes.

This set up is easy enough to do that you can dismantle and repeat without very much damage to the soil and yet strong enough to move the BX with ease.

Hope this will help you.

 

[Roadhand2010]

Nice pictures however I do not think they show the degree of the slope you are dealing with. I do not think any pictures will. Just the nature of photography.

How far is the nearest level spot you can move the tractor to? In the oil patch when setting up a drilling rig you had to set 4 dead men to tie the guide wires to. This is a simple design that would allow you to attach a come-a-long to and manually pull the machine to a easier place.

You need 4 good steel stakes, with the light weight of the BX, you might get away with T-posts. You will also need 2 pieces of steel pipe about 3 or 4 feet long.

Drive the stakes into the ground to form a low X. Drive the second pair of stakes into the ground to form a X parallel to the first X about 2 feet apart. Lay the bottom pipe under the center of the Xs on the ground. Lay the second piece of pipe across the Xs like you would if you are bucking a log. The pipes must be parallel to each other. Tie a chain around the top pipe go under the bottom pipe, then OVER the top pipe and toward your BX.

As you pull on the BX the chain will pull down on the top pipe and up on the bottom pipe and lock everything together. This can make a very stable pulling point with out all the digging that the 4x4 people tell you to do.

Just remember to pull at 90 degrees to the pipes.

This set up is easy enough to do that you can dismantle and repeat without very much damage to the soil and yet strong enough to move the BX with ease.

Hope this will help you.

My surveyor eyeballs tell me that it is sitting on a 3:1 front to back and a 4:1 side to side . Rolling it straight down would be optimal but the side to side slope would become 2:1 or steeper before it gets to the bottom. It was about to that point when it hit the sand and tipped originally. Also something appears to be wrong with the steering. Wheel spins but no movement on the tires. I am in the PNW and the rain is coming soon. I am new to the area and have no idea how bad it gets but I am guessing a slippery slope will only make it worse. I hadn’t thought about the insurance. Does that cover repairs for something like this? Because I financed I had to purchase insurance and speaking of financing, the worst part of this ordeal is My first payment isn’t even due yet

 

[bx tractorjoe]

Yes if you finance it you have to have insurance.. for reasons exactly like this.. the bank wants to protect its investment, this sort of thing happens often i have read a few stories like yours in the months I've been on this site

Last thing you want.. aside from a rollover .... is a storm to come in and make it muddy and the tractor goes down the hill in a mud slide uncontrollably

 

[RCW]

Because I financed I had to purchase insurance and speaking of financing, the worst part of this ordeal is My first payment isn’t even due yet

On the good side, everyone says KTAC insurance is great, and easy to work with.

They call it insurance for a reason. Again, remember no one hurt....

Ouch on the slopes.... I navigate some similar to that. Tough enough while under power, but not in a running condition....

Don't get hurt trying to get it out of there!

 

[GreensvilleJay]

re: mowing parallel on a pretty good slope ..
well you found out that wasn't a good idea... you're lucky YOU weren't damaged or dead...

Any serious 'offroader' KNOWs why you attack hils 'dead on', boaters do the same course with waves...

A couple of guys with JEEPs and winches can get the little beastie outta there in less than an hour.... IF they know what they're doing

 

[sheepfarmer]

I think being Sunday you should take a deep breath and talk to your dealer tomorrow. And your insurance company, hopefully KTAC if you financed through Kubota. They cover even things that are pilot error. I can't tell how far the tractor is from the driveway, but another option might be a good towing company. If they have a truck with a boom they might be able to lower it down gently or some other combination of a boom and some braking lines. Then load it up and take to the dealer for you.

 

[Roadhand2010]

re: mowing parallel on a pretty good slope ..
well you found out that wasn't a good idea... you're lucky YOU weren't damaged or dead...

Any serious 'offroader' KNOWs why you attack hils 'dead on', boaters do the same course with waves...

A couple of guys with JEEPs and winches can get the little beastie outta there in less than an hour.... IF they know what they're doing

Yeah, I had gone about as far as I could. Backing out is when it got stuck in sand. It rolled during the what should have been a straight pull extraction. We anticipated it and the guy helping me was prepared to jump off the high side if she went and was in position to shut it off quickly after it settled, like within seconds.
Thanks all for the good advice and ideas. I think I’m gonna let the dealer and insurance take over from here.

 

[sheepfarmer]

Before you have to eat any more crow on this from your dealer, you did have the ROPs up when you were on it, right? Pictures show it down, and it would have kept it from going all the way upside down with you under it.

 

[BigG]

You problem interests me. I figure you will go back at this when the tractor gets fixed and there are some important things to figure out so this a one and done deal.

First did you have wheel spacers installed to widen the rear wheels to increase stability? Check with your dealer but I think that you can only install 1 or 1 1/2 inch spacers on the BX before the tires will rub on parts of the mower deck. That will lead to some interesting options. That might include removing the mid mount mower (mmm) and using a rear mounted bush hog or finish mower. This would allow you to use wider wheel spacers and make the tractor more stable. A second option to make the tractor would be to make duallies for the rear tires. People will come on here and say that you should not do the duallies because it will cause premature wear to parts on the tractor. My thought is wear out a tractor and save a life, I'll buy a new tractor later on.

With a rear mount mower you need to look into front weights on the tractor. These may also help you if you are going to keep the mmm. Also you need to add fluid to the tires. This will increase your traction and lower you center of gravity. Do this no matter which mower you choose to use.

You might consider loading the front tires with fluid also. Again this is all in an attempt to lower the center of gravity. People will tell you that it does no good to load the front tires since they pivot. This is unture in my notion. Every ounce of weight below the center of gravity lowers the center thus making the tractor more stable.

I noticed that the ROPS was folded down. That should have been up right and the trees trimmed out of the way. Do not forget the seat belt. Keep it in 4x4 mode on the hills.

I would also look a a set of tire chains to go on those turf tires

Lastly If you are willing to put out some effort to to think out side the box you might consider fencing in the area and over grazing it with goats. Once you get the area cleaned up then sell off the goats but they do make for some good pets or meals.

Talk these options over with your dealer to prevent any further problems.

 

[Roadhand2010]

Before you have to eat any more crow on this from your dealer, you did have the ROPs up when you were on it, right? Pictures show it down, and it would have kept it from going all the way upside down with you under it.

Rops were down and prevented a full roll over. It layed down on its side.with the front of the tractor diagonally down slope. The fellow helping me was standing on the floor board , knee on the seat , on the high side to try and counter balance and was able to jump off when it flopped. We had a good plan and had planned for the roll if it happened.

 

[Roadhand2010]

You problem interests me. I figure you will go back at this when the tractor gets fixed and there are some important things to figure out so this a one and done deal.

First did you have wheel spacers installed to widen the rear wheels to increase stability? Check with your dealer but I think that you can only install 1 or 1 1/2 inch spacers on the BX before the tires will rub on parts of the mower deck. That will lead to some interesting options. That might include removing the mid mount mower (mmm) and using a rear mounted bush hog or finish mower. This would allow you to use wider wheel spacers and make the tractor more stable. A second option to make the tractor would be to make duallies for the rear tires. People will come on here and say that you should not do the duallies because it will cause premature wear to parts on the tractor. My thought is wear out a tractor and save a life, I'll buy a new tractor later on.

With a rear mount mower you need to look into front weights on the tractor. These may also help you if you are going to keep the mmm. Also you need to add fluid to the tires. This will increase your traction and lower you center of gravity. Do this no matter which mower you choose to use.

You might consider loading the front tires with fluid also. Again this is all in an attempt to lower the center of gravity. People will tell you that it does no good to load the front tires since they pivot. This is unture in my notion. Every ounce of weight below the center of gravity lowers the center thus making the tractor more stable.

I noticed that the ROPS was folded down. That should have been up right and the trees trimmed out of the way. Do not forget the seat belt. Keep it in 4x4 mode on the hills.

I would also look a a set of tire chains to go on those turf tires

Lastly If you are willing to put out some effort to to think out side the box you might consider fencing in the area and over grazing it with goats. Once you get the area cleaned up then sell off the goats but they do make for some good pets or meals.

Talk these options over with your dealer to prevent any further problems.

factory equipped right from the dealer. Mow deck was the only extra. Might look into that. I talked to the wife just the other day about goats. Not ready to fence but was thinking maybe a portable pen that I could move around. A lot of coyotes come through here, that was the only drawback.

 

[sheepfarmer]

Rops were down and prevented a full roll over. It layed down on its side.with the front of the tractor diagonally down slope. The fellow helping me was standing on the floor board , knee on the seat , on the high side to try and counter balance and was able to jump off when it flopped. We had a good plan and had planned for the roll if it happened.

What I meant was when you were mowing before you got stuck. Mowing on a slope like that calls for ROPS and a seatbelt.