If you’re new to tractors there are three activities that can be really dangerous, all related to being able to stop the tractor. Tractors are different than cars, most of the ability to brake is in the back axle and they don’t stop on a dime, and that can create problems.
The first activity that can be a disaster on a tractor is using the front loader to move a trailer. There are clamp on devices offered to go on pallet forks or buckets to move around trailers. They work great as long as the tractor is big enough to support the tongue weight of the trailer. If you’re on the top end of the lift capacity of the tractor, you could lift the back wheels off the ground with the trailer tongue. Then, if you’re on a 2 wheel drive tractor, or not engaged in four wheel drive, the tractor can start to move, and the only way to stop it is to let the load down and brake, but in an emergency, you won’t have long to figure that out.
The next activity that can be really dangerous is having a hayride. Hayrides tend to happen at night, in the dark, when there may be dew on the grass. People weigh a lot, and when you get a lot of weight on a tractor and trailer and slick, wet grass, bad things can happen, especially on hills. If you take the hayride out on the open road, you create other problems. It’s hard to see a tractor’s taillights when a bunch of people are on the back of a trailer, blocking the view, and if the trailer lights aren’t plugged in, that can be a real problem for approaching traffic. Hayrides are great fun, but without the proper equipment, they can be a safety and liability nightmare.
Finally, having riders on a tractor is extremely dangerous. You want to take friends and family for a ride when you have a new tractor, but there’s no good place to put them. So, they end up on the fender, or in the loader bucket, and if they fall off, getting stopped before running over them can be a real challenge. Best advise is, don’t carry riders on a tractor. That’s why you have a UTV.
I’m not trying to ruin the productivity or ability to have fun with your new tractor, just wanting to make sure you understand the dangers involved and are prepared for these situations. I don’t want to lose any viewers.
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Another hazard of a Hayride with a tractor pulling a trailer on the 3pt…. Unless the Lift Arms of the 3pt are CHAINED DOWN….. stoping the tractor/trailer …OR… going down a hill…or the worst combination…going downhill and trying to brake! The trailer will try to over-run the tractor and the 3pt lift arms can be pushed-Up ,…in which case the trailer is out of control and the tractor driver can be injured as well by the trailer when it disconnects due to the extreme angle of the ball-hitch.
Pulling a hay-ride-trailer behind a tractor is BEST done on the drawbar.
I'm currently operating a 2015 new holland ts6. 120 woods boss edition. And you have stand on the brake pedal to start slowing down. Is that normal for a newer tractor. Thanks.
Earlier this year was using my side rotary cover. It threw a rock hit me right in the back of the head. Knocked me out cold I went off the opposite side (thank god) of the mower but the back wheel ran over my leg. I got 28 stitches but nothing major to my leg luckily. Of my mower wouldn’t of had that canvas cover to slow the rock down a bit it could of possibly kill me. My tractor went for about a acre till it got in the woods and stalled it. I had a good long walk back up to the house and almost passed out a few times. Man it was rough I lost a lot of blood. So much they was giving me blood while fixing me up. No clue where that rock came from is mowed that spot dozens and dozens of times. It must of just popped up enough over time for the mower to catch it. Now I’m paranoid Everytime I mow lol. And I bought another canvas cover and left the old one and just stuck this one on top of that one. It was a pretty old cover so possibly if it been in good shape I’d been ok. So now I’m not going to store that thing out in the weather and replace it when I feel it’s worn. Live and learn.
While we are on the subject of safety.Please remember to actually wear that seatbelt and have it on snug as I knew someone who was run over by their own bush hog when he somehow feel off or was bumped off by a limb he may not have seen.It was a tragedy.I also knew someone who was run over by their own tractor which they inadvertently knocked out of gear while dismounting and it pinned him as family members stood by helplessly not knowing what to do.
I actually had a question about braking. If you're on a geared tractor and get in trouble, mash the brakes and the engine stalls, is that bad for the drivetrain?
Thank you for the good advice it may save someone…
I have seen a receiver adapter which mounts to the backhoe. Not sure where the guy got it. It was a tooth, which had been modified to have the 2-inch receiver on it.
Excellent video thank you.
Old M-F tractors were notorious for needing frequent brake adjusting and they would stop you forward but if you rolled backward, the brakes failed entirely…My dad's best friend died from stalling a tractor on a hillside and it rolled backward.
Thanks Mike. I have three small grandkids and the answer to their requests to go for a ride on the tractor is always a NO. I’ll give you a ride in the Gator after I’m done here. It’s tough love but they will thank me for that later. Thanks for the advice on braking while moving a trailer from the front end.
Good information. You help save lives..Thank you!
And one more thing what if it get's out of the gear on hill
I have fiat tractor 4×4 50 horse power and i live in hills area i'm only 13 years old i ride tractor becouse no one of my family don't know how to ride so the ppint is brakes on these tractors i ride are realy bad and i want to know how do i brake more safe please i love you videos you are smart keep going thabk you.
Safety warning labels are required because folks are born absent common sense & a viab!e thought process. . My favorite is do not place hands/feet under mower deck while blades are rotating.
What about locking the diff brakes? I always thought that would be pretty dangerous if you’re panic braking.
50 years ago when I was in my teens and spending a summer on my relatives' dairy farm in PA, I today look back at all the stupid s*** I did (and got away with) on various tractors back then. Today, owning a sub JD (much smaller that the IH my uncle had), I don't let anyone ride on it except for just me. Amazing how the personal perception of personal and collateral risk changes with age…
Hey Mike.. Say something about Indian tractor brands
Thanks for the video. I have a L 3301. Can anyone give me some info on reaching and removing Mas Flow Air Sensor. Thank you.
Lack of common sense will kill you..
Thanks for the tips Mike! Always enjoy listening to your experience.
You raise some very good points. I would like to mention to especially the new tractor owners to be sure to keep your steering brake pedals locked together, lest you want to find yourself skidding sideways at brake time.
Don't tell my dad about being in the bucket at full height going down road. Did it many a times when I was a kid.
I grew up with a Dr. Brown too. My day ran over my foot with a set of disk while I was standing behind the tractor hooking them up for him. It was a Massey Ferguson 135. He used to keep the engine reved up so it wouldn't discharge the battery… the exhaust would blow in my face… I wasn't happy about what I was doing and he wasn't happy with how I was doing it… he popped the clutch and ran over my foot. Luckily the front disk had the cut outs on them instead of the solid ones on the back…. or I would have lost the end of my foot… I learned to pay REAL Close attention after that…
Good video, thanks for sharing this information Mike.
How about a fire extinguisher 🧯 being carried in a tractor? Just saw a burnout backhoe and have wondered if a on hand extinguisher may not have saved someone a lot of money. Not necessarily a personal safety issue but seems it might be useful.
Good information-here's a related story to brighten your day…… My Irish Grandfather went into recreational farming in Michigan after he retired. One day my cousins were helping him and three of them were riding on the wheel wells of his old Ford Tractor while he was pulling a trailer up a small hill. He hit a bump and one of them fell off. The wheel of the trailer ran over his leg. His brothers screamed "Grandpa, you just ran over Mike!" Grandpa proceeded to back up, and ended up running over Mike again with the trailer! Fortunately the trailer was empty and Mike was relatively unscathed, but it could have been worse! 🙂
Great advice. Growing up on a farm, I rode on the fender of our Farmall H, and it was a pretty small fender, especially with the oversized tires my Dad had on it. I also rode on the drawbar. I never fell off, but I can recall a few times it was hit and miss and only by the grace of God did I not get hurt.
My new tractor that I'm still getting accustomed to is a 25 HP New Holland. I have to admit it doesn't instill confidence in me on slopes. I really like the tractor, but I won't be attempting any side hill maneuvers. It just feels top heavy, especially without the loader on. With the loader, I can keep the bucket low as possible and that helps, but that bucket gets in the way when mowing too. Always a trade off.
Time is precious, but life even more so. Be safe y'all!
Honestly I was surprised that you even said kids could get in a bucket on a tractor period. If hydraulic hose were to break even though unlikely it could be fatal. It isn't even advisable to be working on the front loader without putting something to support it for safety in an up position. Not good for any child to be on a tractor in dads lap or really anyone riding in a bucket. I understand that they have lifts for people that can go on a front loader, but honestly I am leery of those as well. You have to have a lot of trust in the operator. I myself don't trust any operator enough for me to get in one.
If anyone criticizes you for emphasizing safety with tractors, check them off as the morons they are. I managed to survive several errors on tractors that didn't result in anything bad but some others I knew didn't. Lots of new operators need the safety reminders. I do and I've been operating a tractor since I turned 6.
Never carry riders. That is why tractors only have seating for ONE. Safety first disaster happens in a split second.
When either end of the tractor is light Braking and Steering are weak or nonexistent. I agree with your safety concerns and I think many people don't realize dangerous machinery is. They become complacent with time until something happens and it's too late.
Safety ! Then doesnt lock tongue latch when moving horse trailer.
I think he missed the most dangerous thing possible with a tractor – pulling trees or stumps out.
With old tractors with out a roll cage, it have been the most common reason for fatality accidents around here.
About seat belts, I have never seen a tractor with a seatbelt, does older tractors have seat belts in the US?
About riding on tractors: The most number riding on a tractor I've been part of was eight (8). My best childhood friends Dad had two Zetors and the newer of those had a very large cab with a flip-up passenger seat. It also had very wide fenders that were flat on the top and mostly inside the cab. Once in haying times, I remember going to the field to get a trailer of hay – then trailer was waiting loaded at the field – there was my friend's Dad driving, one person on the passenger seat, another standing on the floor opposite to the passenger seat, two kids on each fender and my friend's big brothe standing on the lower 3-point hitch arms and holding himself in the frame of the lower rear window. Everything went wellm and why wouldn't it? Nobody died in accidents in the 1970s, right? Another thing, if memory serves me right, at least seven of us were men or boys and the girl that would have broken that wall of masculinity was a real tomboy.
There is a saying in aviation: Regulations are written in blood. The reason things are done or designed a certain way is because in the past someone probably died and that's why it changed.
You might get away with it this time, but it could also be your last time.
Older straight shift tractors best to shift to lower gear when going downhill.
Let transmission hold tractor back. Do not ride the brakes.
Those tips are all valuable information Mike. I do hope that everyone is safety conscious.
There lives or the lives of their loved ones depend on it. Thanks for the video
Just a month ago a young 10 year old fell off riding the fender of a open station tractor his uncle was driving. The tractor ran over his nephew before he could stop and killed him. The sad and worst of it is that we know this kind of behavior happens daily. It doesn’t change until it happens close to home. Please keep preaching safety Mike!
Good reminders, Mike.
Running with buck up high can make for easy tip-over, with weight n it is worse.
all good advise…Cheers!
Calling bullshit on that story.
From an old friend who flew helicopters in the Air Force, here's the flight safety version of the "stopping is a must" rule: "takeoffs are optional. Landings are mandatory." And here's something I've figured out over the years: you cannot break the laws of Newtonian physics.
Thanks Mike. It's all good stuff you're telling folks. Have a fine week.
My dads friend lost his grandson while bushogging with the child riding along. Sadly the friend never recovered. Because of that I’ve never let anyone ride on a tractor unless they were the operator. It’s not worth it.
Operate at safe speed and you will rarely even approach a dangerous situation.