Accident To Share

[BA76]

I came close to doing that changing from bucket to forks the first time. Since then I only release the latches with shut off and the implement slightly off the ground. If I am removing the grapple I shut off the engine then turn on the electric to the 3rd function and press the 2 buttons and it relieves the pressure so I can disconnect the hoses. My grapple stands up well closed so that might be different for others. I don't mind admitting it scared me how close I came to getting that loader arm on my foot
Hope your foot heals OK for you.

Bill

That’s exactly the procedure I have used since the problem. I was trying to eliminate a trip on and off the tractor and do both procedures at the same time. It’s surprising how heavy the loader frame is. Lol! I couldn’t budge the dang thing and couldn’t reach anything to pry with. Luckily I had work boots on and not tennis shoes or something flimsy. And I have made a conscious effort to have my phone with me at all times. I work alone 95% of the time.

 

[BA76]

Thank you for sharing - not many would "tell on themselves" but we all make a boo-boo every now and then.

Glad you are ok - hope the foot heals fast!

We always had “near miss” discussions at work. They were hard to get started but once they did…..there was always valuable information shared.

 

[BA76]

I'm guilty here as well. It happened to me about 2 years ago. I had to calmly ask my mother to pull the loader control straight back to raise it off of my foot. Fortunately, no lasting injury for me but it certainly was a learning lesson.

Well now I don’t feel as bad. Thank you! Lol! Yes, what a relief when my rescuer pulled that lever back!

 

[BA76]

I hook this up when it is not attached to the tractor. There is some air in the black pipe so it never builds up pressure.

Interesting. I can see how that help. Thank you!

 

[BA76]

Never release any implement while standing in front of it. Always from the side unless impossible, and then make sure that it can't fall on you! Good to know that you are OK, and on the mend.

I was at the side. I was just standing to close to the loader so I could reach the release levers. I'm only 5'7" so in order to reach both levers at once, I have to step in pretty close. Plus I had the hydraulics in the float position. That was my biggest mistake.

 

[Chanceywd]

That’s exactly the procedure I have used since the problem. I was trying to eliminate a trip on and off the tractor and do both procedures at the same time. It’s surprising how heavy the loader frame is. Lol! I couldn’t budge the dang thing and couldn’t reach anything to pry with. Luckily I had work boots on and not tennis shoes or something flimsy. And I have made a conscious effort to have my phone with me at all times. I work alone 95% of the time.

Yes I am retired and cut my firewood mostly alone. My wife always makes me check to have my phone with me and I only do certain things when she is home so I have a backup plan. I can't wear safety shoes because of toe problems but never work with anything less than leather shoes. Not a sneaker guy if there is work to be done.
Bill

 

[BA76]

Yes I am retired and cut my firewood mostly alone. My wife always makes me check to have my phone with me and I only do certain things when she is home so I have a backup plan. I can't wear safety shoes because of toe problems but never work with anything less than leather shoes. Not a sneaker guy if there is work to be done.
Bill

Thats a good practice. I used to pride myself in not carrying my cell phone. After I retired and was no longer on call, it was a relief to not have to mess with the darn thing. I have since change my stance on that.

 

[Millsertime]

To the OP....You're not alone. I did the same thing. Luckily I had "slip on" style steel toes. The weight landed directly on the steel toe. I had to slip my foot out of the boot and then hop over to the loader lever to retrieve my boot. Could have been worse but a great lesson learned indeed.

 

[mcmxi]

I've often had the loader drop out of the bucket, grapple, pallet forks or snow blade when switching out implements. with a significant "thunk" as it hits the dirt but so far I've always been in the operators seat at the time. @BA76, thanks for sharing this experience and hopefully it'll prevent someone else from doing something similar, me included.

 

[Lil Foot]

Neighbor was complaining about how slow his box blade dropped. I told him to adjust the knob under his seat, it controls the rate of drop. He said "That doesn't do anything". He then spun the knob wide open, and promptly dropped his 60" box blade on his wife's foot. Thankfully, it dropped on the tip of her shoe with no toes in it, so no harm done. His wife said (rather forcefully) "Now will you read that manual?"

 

[William1]

Glad to hear it was not nearly as bad as it could of been.
I'm lucky, (so far) nothing like that has happened to me. Yet. I try to be extra cognizant of where my feet and fingers are at all times because of what happened here. I really try to think twice when there are things that move and blades that spin. I am sure we've all seen the Caterpillar video.
Ya'll be careful out there!

 

[BobInSD]

Yikes. At least you didn't have to cut them off (John is a family friend and was a business partner at the time)

 

[NCL4701]

That’s exactly the procedure I have used since the problem. I was trying to eliminate a trip on and off the tractor and do both procedures at the same time. It’s surprising how heavy the loader frame is. Lol! I couldn’t budge the dang thing and couldn’t reach anything to pry with. Luckily I had work boots on and not tennis shoes or something flimsy. And I have made a conscious effort to have my phone with me at all times. I work alone 95% of the time.

Sometimes it’s irritating but my wife won’t let me work alone running a chainsaw or doing anything other than mowing on the tractor. Sometimes she helps but if there’s nothing for her to do, she’ll just sit on the Mule and read a book or talk on the phone. So far, I’ve never had to put anything off waiting on her but she’s always around for anything with an element of danger.

Well, except for one time we got pretty ill with each other (happens about once a year) and I went off to pull a good sized pine out of the pond without notifying her. My Dad was there mostly just sitting in his 4 wheeler but she still wasn’t very happy about me working the tractor around the pond and doing a bunch of chainsaw work without her.

Sometimes I don’t much like it but I put up with it because she’s probably right that working alone out in the woods isn’t optimal if there are other options.

 

[UpNorthMI]

There are a lot of good posts here we can always learn from each other. I operate a lot of equipment, fell a lot of large trees and do many things on my own quite often in a large remote heavy woodland area. One of my key concerns is cell coverage and the ability to operate your phone if you are injured or have a problem, most of the time I'm reaching for my reading glasses when it comes to the phone. The next problem is how does someone locate you on a large remote woodland property.

I decided several years ago to always carry a back up device and normally wear a SOS rescue beacon on a lanyard, they are small and light and can be operated with just one hand (flick the antenna and press the red button. Cell coverage has improved over the last few years in my rural area but I still like to carry my rescue beacon, it gives me a lot of piece of mind, I hope to never have to use it.

 

[BA76]

There are a lot of good posts here we can always learn from each other. I operate a lot of equipment, fell a lot of large trees and do many things on my own quite often in a large remote heavy woodland area. One of my key concerns is cell coverage and the ability to operate your phone if you are injured or have a problem, most of the time I'm reaching for my reading glasses when it comes to the phone. The next problem is how does someone locate you on a large remote woodland property.

I decided several years ago to always carry a back up device and normally wear a SOS rescue beacon on a lanyard, they are small and light and can be operated with just one hand (flick the antenna and press the red button. Cell coverage has improved over the last few years in my rural area but I still like to carry my rescue beacon, it gives me a lot of piece of mind, I hope to never have to use it.

View attachment 70704

Thats a great suggestion! Not a high price for safety either. I am going to to look into that. Is there a monthly or annual service charge?

 

[BA76]

Sometimes it’s irritating but my wife won’t let me work alone running a chainsaw or doing anything other than mowing on the tractor. Sometimes she helps but if there’s nothing for her to do, she’ll just sit on the Mule and read a book or talk on the phone. So far, I’ve never had to put anything off waiting on her but she’s always around for anything with an element of danger.

Well, except for one time we got pretty ill with each other (happens about once a year) and I went off to pull a good sized pine out of the pond without notifying her. My Dad was there mostly just sitting in his 4 wheeler but she still wasn’t very happy about me working the tractor around the pond and doing a bunch of chainsaw work without her.

Sometimes I don’t much like it but I put up with it because she’s probably right that working alone out in the woods isn’t optimal if there are other options.

Im afraid she is probably right. You're a lucky guy even tho it might be hard to sort out sometimes. Embrace the support and caring. Stay safe.

 

[BA76]

To the OP....You're not alone. I did the same thing. Luckily I had "slip on" style steel toes. The weight landed directly on the steel toe. I had to slip my foot out of the boot and then hop over to the loader lever to retrieve my boot. Could have been worse but a great lesson learned indeed.

Oh my! I tried to get my foot out of my boot with no success. Actually my knee hurt worse then my foot after the incident. I was pulling so hard to try and free my foot that I strained my knee. I was lucky all the way around.

 

[GSD-Keegan]

Thanks for the heads up and sharing

 

[Chanceywd]

Thats a good practice. I used to pride myself in not carrying my cell phone. After I retired and was no longer on call, it was a relief to not have to mess with the darn thing. I have since change my stance on that.

I was on call for work for about 23 years every 5th week 24/7. I had a pager then cell phone. I absolutely hated to hear the phone ring.. But I have adjusted to using one for my own needs and safety. I do have fun with the scam callers though!

Bill

 

[UpNorthMI]

Thats a great suggestion! Not a high price for safety either. I am going to to look into that. Is there a monthly or annual service charge?

There are no ongoing charges for these rescue beacons, you do have to register with a government department and provide a number of contacts. My understanding is that these signals are relayed through military systems to rescue resources and provide very accurate location details. The penalty for misuse is quite high. If your emergency is real the manufacturer will provide a replacement unit free of charge.

in a real emergency it will be my first resource. If I’m still conscious and can find my cell phone and reading glasses I’ll be happy to pay the misuse fine when someone has found me and got me the emergency medical treatment that I need !