Tractor "school"

[Gaspasser]

Ok, I know this is a question that will get me razzed. After seeing multiple reports. posts and pics discussing/showing various tractor accidents, I wonder if there any tractor training schools or courses that cover basic safety and operating procedures. I have reviewed multiple videos and owned a smaller tractor for 5 years prior to getting the new L6060. The dealer had a mechanic give me a 1 hour orientation on mechanical functions. But I realize i have a long way to go in learning to be safe and efficient. So much to learn.

Okay, let the comments fly.

Thanks

 

[Tughill Tom]

Here ya go, Tractor Training | 100% ONLINE | OSHA Aligned Tractor Safety Training (hardhattraining.com)

Common sense is always 1st in my book. Load low and slow, no one near by when working, seat belt on ROPS up. Keep it simple.

 

[jyoutz]

Also keep reading and participating in this forum.

 

[85Hokie]

Ok, I know this is a question that will get me razzed. After seeing multiple reports. posts and pics discussing/showing various tractor accidents, I wonder if there any tractor training schools or courses that cover basic safety and operating procedures. I have reviewed multiple videos and owned a smaller tractor for 5 years prior to getting the new L6060. The dealer had a mechanic give me a 1 hour orientation on mechanical functions. But I realize i have a long way to go in learning to be safe and efficient. So much to learn.

Okay, let the comments fly.

Thanks

You should not get razzed - no question is stupid or otherwise IF the answer is unknown.

Much like driving a car - we all learned, screwed up somewhere, and learned a better lesson. Those that did NOT learn are no longer with us!

One item I will say - if you have a loaded FEL - and you need to raise it - try NOT to move at all, moving with a high load really sets up for disaster.

IF going down hill - throw in 4wd - you now have brakes on a ALL 4 tires - rather than 2 !!! 'specially if in HST model.

We need to make a list of 50 things one should consider before or after turning the key.

 

[bird dogger]

Back in my younger days....I think it was 7th or 8th grade approximately....all of us kids that wanted to work for or on a farm went through a lenghty tractor training course geared towards that type of work. I haven't heard of any such similar courses at present....but haven't a reason to check either. At the time, it was actual hands on training, driving actual tractors of different types, sizes, with and without trailers and implements. The training was after school hours and attended by anyone that wanted to get familiarized with and comfortable with to safely operate those types of tractors.

You might try asking a local high school or vo-ag/tech school in your area if they migt offer something similar. Guessing there might be some legalities preventing that type of training today. Sad. But it doesn't hurt to check.

 

[rc51stierhoff]

I’d check with your extension service. They might know of something hands on.

Here are a couple links as well…

https://cfaessafety.osu.edu/sites/safety/files/imce/OSU%20CFAES%20Tractor%20Operator%20Training%202014_0.pdf

Tractor & Machinery Certification Program | Agricultural Safety and Health Program

agsafety.osu.edu

 

[GrizBota]

Good idea. My younger daughter took an ag class in HS that taught them how to operate both a gear tractor and an HST, probably about 30 Hp. It was surprising how much she knew when she helped me and ran my L. I think she told me a thing or two I didn’t know and I’ve been operating them for four decades.

Hills can be dangerous and conditions change with moisture content (in the vegetation or the ground). Although I heard a statistic many years ago that more tractor roll overs occur on flat ground than hills. Don’t know the reference or if it’s really the case. I do suspect there are many more tractor operational hours on flat ground as opposed to hill, overall. So??

 

[NCL4701]

General stuff consider:

• Center of gravity: Keep it as low as practical.
• Ballast: Keep both ends on he ground. Loader or weights as needed for front. Loaded tires, wheel weights, and stuff in 3 point for rear. (Remember only weight behind the rear axle transfers weight from front axle to rear axle.) A wheel stand may look cool on a video but in real world, if one end is in the air it ain’t ballasted right.
• Brakes: No front brakes in 2WD. Yes front brakes in 4WD.
• Stay wide: Keep rears as wide as practical.
• Slow: Particularly if doing something that is pushing the limits, don’t go fast. I have lost count of how many times I’ve had two wheels (in various combinations) in the air because something didn’t go right, but only up a couple inches so I could think and plan my way out of it instead of both physical and mental momentum sending me and the machine head over heels. Don’t get all wound up with efficiency when the machine has yet to become an extension of your body. You get efficiency when you’re doing the same thing over and over after working through the potential problem points in the process.

Tractor accident videos should make you concerned. Hopefully they make you aware of some ways to stay safe. But personally, I still feel generally safer on a tractor than driving a car in heavy traffic during rush hour.

 

[Flintknapper]

Don't try to push trees over....like this person did!

 

[jaxs]

I was born on a row cropping farm. Most accidents resulting in serious injury or death involved pto shafts and pto driven equipment. Make it policy to disengage pto and remain in seat until everything coasts to a stop before dismounting. Don't stand or walk near pto or pto driven equipment. Yea,yea everyone knows that. Harvesting equipment aside, rotary mowers are most evil of the bunch. Stepping over pto is a death wish. Objects picked up and thrown means stay as far from them while running is good practice. Driving up to parking spot,push clutch and brake pedals,turn key off and step off tractor,wham the spinng blade drives tractor foward hitting operator. Friend pulled through pasture gate,parked and got out waiting to speak with neighbor mowing pasture. Neighbor saw him and headed that way. Mower picked up twine from round bale and began winding it around blades. In the blink of an eye man standing by truck was dragged to ground by twine he was standing on. Broken hip and dislocated shoulder and could have been much worse had operator not had years experience, quick thinking and action to stop mower. Wouldn't surprise me to find cell phones kill more these days than ptos.

 

[D2Cat]

General stuff consider:

• Center of gravity: Keep it as low as practical.
• Ballast: Keep both ends on he ground. Loader or weights as needed for front. Loaded tires, wheel weights, and stuff in 3 point for rear. (Remember only weight behind the rear axle transfers weight from front axle to rear axle.) A wheel stand may look cool on a video but in real world, if one end is in the air it ain’t ballasted right.
• Brakes: No front brakes in 2WD. Yes front brakes in 4WD.
• Stay wide: Keep rears as wide as practical.
• Slow: Particularly if doing something that is pushing the limits, don’t go fast. I have lost count of how many times I’ve had two wheels (in various combinations) in the air because something didn’t go right, but only up a couple inches so I could think and plan my way out of it instead of both physical and mental momentum sending me and the machine head over heels. Don’t get all wound up with efficiency when the machine has yet to become an extension of your body. You get efficiency when you’re doing the same thing over and over after working through the potential problem points in the process.

Tractor accident videos should make you concerned. Hopefully they make you aware of some ways to stay safe. But personally, I still feel generally safer on a tractor than driving a car in heavy traffic during rush hour.

A bit of a misunderstanding about front brakes in 4WD. There are no brakes on the front of these tractors. The front differential is connected to the drive train and the engine resistance can help is slowing down a tractor. Lower engine RPM and applying the brakes (rears only) is the slowest the tractor will travel until an implement is increasing resistance with the ground. Drop a plow or loader bucket to the ground will reduce speed!!!!

 

[NorthwoodsLife]

I was born on a row cropping farm. Most accidents resulting in serious injury or death involved pto shafts and pto driven equipment. Make it policy to disengage pto and remain in seat until everything coasts to a stop before dismounting. Don't stand or walk near pto or pto driven equipment. Yea,yea everyone knows that. Harvesting equipment aside, rotary mowers are most evil of the bunch. Stepping over pto is a death wish. Objects picked up and thrown means stay as far from them while running is good practice. Driving up to parking spot,push clutch and brake pedals,turn key off and step off tractor,wham the spinng blade drives tractor foward hitting operator. Friend pulled through pasture gate,parked and got out waiting to speak with neighbor mowing pasture. Neighbor saw him and headed that way. Mower picked up twine from round bale and began winding it around blades. In the blink of an eye man standing by truck was dragged to ground by twine he was standing on. Broken hip and dislocated shoulder and could have been much worse had operator not had years experience, quick thinking and action to stop mower. Wouldn't surprise me to find cell phones kill more these days than ptos.

Excellent story and information!!

 

[NorthwoodsLife]

Ok, I know this is a question that will get me razzed. After seeing multiple reports. posts and pics discussing/showing various tractor accidents, I wonder if there any tractor training schools or courses that cover basic safety and operating procedures. I have reviewed multiple videos and owned a smaller tractor for 5 years prior to getting the new L6060. The dealer had a mechanic give me a 1 hour orientation on mechanical functions. But I realize i have a long way to go in learning to be safe and efficient. So much to learn.

Okay, let the comments fly.

Thanks

Great post. Maybe the staff of this forum will put up a 'Sticky' of general safety guidelines for these type of tractors.

Being Safe AND Efficient is subject to experience. I've seen experienced operators use skid steers and dozers on side slopes that I couldn't walk up. But not a conventional ag tractor.

Sadly, Time in the tractor saddle, and those brief 'oh sh/t" moments, are the best way to learn.

 

[NCL4701]

A bit of a misunderstanding about front brakes in 4WD. There are no brakes on the front of these tractors. The front differential is connected to the drive train and the engine resistance can help is slowing down a tractor. Lower engine RPM and applying the brakes (rears only) is the slowest the tractor will travel until an implement is increasing resistance with the ground. Drop a plow or loader bucket to the ground will reduce speed!!!!

You are correct in that there are no brakes on the front wheels. However, 4WD gives you more than engine braking on the front wheels because it ties the front wheels to the rears through a transfer case with no differential in the transfer case. So when you brake the rears that stopping force is transferred through the driveline to the fronts. As a technical matter you don’t have brakes on the front in 4WD; as a practical matter, you do (unless your tractor has a differential in the transfer case).

If the tractor had a differential in the transfer case like a AWD car (not 4WD, AWD) braking rears wouldn’t have any effect on the fronts. So far as I know, the selectable 4WD tractors don’t have differentials in the transfer case, but there are a LOT of different tractors and a few that are pretty odd.

I fully agree if you have a ground engaging implement on front or rear, “dropping anchor” is extremely effective.

 

[Gaspasser]

Thanks gang. As always, great advice all around. I appreciate the depth and breadth of knowledge of this forum's members. I certainly understand recommendations to avoid hills but my NH woodlot is straight uphill both ways . Backing up hills makes sense but driveway is long so not practical in many cases. I do only use 4WD, go low and slow, have chains on rear tires, and seat belt is on before I turn key. I chock wheels when parked on hill. So far, had one sentinel event when I was lifting a light load with forks facing downhill on a sideslope (making the need for rear ballast crystal clear). I understand cab offers decent protection should gravity get the better of me one day, but hope to avoid ever testing that theory.
I gathered from the forum that I need rear ballast even though my rear tires are filled with Rimguard (beet juice ). I've ordered a Homestead Pinnacle 3 pt multiple receiver hitch attachment and will DIY a carry all to which I can add weight.
Thank you all again. Have learned so much already from you all and will no doubt keep doing so.

Best ...

 

[rc51stierhoff]

Thanks gang. As always, great advice all around. I appreciate the depth and breadth of knowledge of this forum's members. I certainly understand recommendations to avoid hills but my NH woodlot is straight uphill both ways . Backing up hills makes sense but driveway is long so not practical in many cases. I do only use 4WD, go low and slow, have chains on rear tires, and seat belt is on before I turn key. I chock wheels when parked on hill. So far, had one sentinel event when I was lifting a light load with forks facing downhill on a sideslope (making the need for rear ballast crystal clear). I understand cab offers decent protection should gravity get the better of me one day, but hope to avoid ever testing that theory.
I gathered from the forum that I need rear ballast even though my rear tires are filled with Rimguard (beet juice ). I've ordered a Homestead Pinnacle 3 pt multiple receiver hitch attachment and will DIY a carry all to which I can add weight.
Thank you all again. Have learned so much already from you all and will no doubt keep doing so.

Best ...

I have a hilly property as well…and I have wrinkled the vinyl seat too. The other point I would mention in addition to use of 4WD, depending on your slope, and moisture level of the ground…you may have the traction however the weight of machine can rip the turf loose and a sloppy slide can ensue…because you have the traction to hold the ground doesn’t mean the ground can hold the machine…also maybe you have loader on maybe you don’t or maybe you forgot to put in 4WD before you started down the hill…hitting brakes when already sliding on a steep slope in my experience makes it worse…4WD absolutely helps, but at some point machine mass and ground surface condition are factors that come into play. When in doubt walk it over before you drive it…that’s an ounce of prevention….if it doesn’t feel right, wait till it does. Soon enough your arse will be calibrated to the machine and your property….to some extent it will take some seat time. Think as slow as possible and as fast as necessary. Keep the rubber side down.

 

[D2Cat]

Ballast does not have to be anything fancy!

 

[GrizBota]

Don't try to push trees over....like this person did!

View attachment 119567

That’s a telling photo to be sure. I hope they got lucky and walked away after realizing how much worse that could have gone. Looks like the tractor may be salvageable too, that’s a bonus.

I’ve seen folks push smaller trees (say 6 inch or so) over with CUTs, I always thought it was a great way to screw up a FEL and bucket. I never envisioned this type of a result and I’ll bet the fellow on that tractor hadn’t either.

 

[Flintknapper]

That’s a telling photo to be sure. I hope they got lucky and walked away after realizing how much worse that could have gone. Looks like the tractor may be salvageable too, that’s a bonus.

I’ve seen folks push smaller trees (say 6 inch or so) over with CUTs, I always thought it was a great way to screw up a FEL and bucket. I never envisioned this type of a result and I’ll bet the fellow on that tractor hadn’t either.

Yes. Person responsible may have gotten away with it few times before.

Hard to say what happened exactly. I don't know if the person attempting to fell the tree was just lazy....or something about the tree got them 'spooked'.

The tree looks to have been a 'leaner' to start with and possibly 'limb heavy' on the downhill side as well. The safest way to fell that tree would have been to make an Open Face (face cut) or a Humboldt.

Then 'plunge cut/bore cut' to establish a 'hinge' and lastly cut to the rear leaving a small 'trigger' to release the tree.

It appears in the photo....that the person cutting tree cut a small 'sliver' of face cut and then just cut in about 1/2 the diameter of the tree for a Back Cut.

Probably heard the tree make a little 'pop' at that point and got spooked. Likely thought the tractor would be the best way to start the tree falling. Bad choice....somewhere along the line.

Whatever the case, smart money says a change of underwear was required afterward.

 

[Foxrunfarms]

I applause you for wanting to learn more about how to run your tractor safely and wisely. When I bought my lx2610 the sales guy just walked my wife and I around it for 10 minutes and showed some stuff but I think he learned more from me. He gave us a couple cases of beer, shirts, hats Keychains and we were on our way. Everyone has made good suggestions on extra schooling. I took a tractor safety course that was through 4-h/the county ext office when I was 8 or 9. I'll never bash anyone for wanting to be safe. I'll be 100% honest there's a few posts or questions I come across here and it gives me shivers down my back, if it's using 2x4's as pallet forks, or wanting to haul a heavy trailer with an oversized lawn mower and makes me want to leave the forum before seeing the results. Reading hobby farm books or magazines, or when someone mentions compacts I'm sure 98% of the time Kubota is the 1st brand that comes in mind. You hear/see stories of weekend warriors, horse owners or hobby farmers being 1st time renters or owners with 0 knowledge or experience of running these machines other than " reading the owners manual" and either getting hurt, or miss using the machine treating it like a bull dozer or a farm tractor, breaking it and then crying it's a piece of junk. Referring to what I just mentioned hearing stories of compact mishaps people are probably imagining a Kubota in their mind which gives all of us a bad image. No matter how careful you are or what you do to prevent an accident or breakdown there's still a chance of something happening but Knowledge gives you better odds.