[PA RedRider]

Lou was a farmer, mechanic and lover of all types of tractors, most especially old Farmall's. He was gracious enough to allow us to hunt his farm for many years. He will be missed.

http://www.wtae.com/news/local/west...nt/-/10932546/21871376/-/2x2bb4z/-/index.html

Be careful with your equipment folks.

 

[Fla Don]

That is why the Rapid XZ has a ROPS.

 

[CADplans]

I went to get my first tractor, and had selected a tricycle, my BIL went BALLISTIC!! :hide:

He offered to pay the difference for me to get a wide front end tractor.

That was 30 years ago, no tricycle for me. :dunno:

My prayers are with the family, tractor accidents are always tragic.

 

[PA RedRider]

Row crop front-ends are ill-suited for most things around these parts given the terrain, but most especially running a bush hog. A row crop -> wide front axle conversion would have made a lot of sense and probably not been very expensive either.

 

[gburnett]

I've run tricycle tractors on hills all my life and they are no more easy to tunover than wide front Ag tractors as wide fronts have a single pivot point on the front and if the tractor goes over far enough for the axle to hold it its already turned over especially since since most of the time rollovers occur on the side of hills.Most rollovers are caused by the lower rear wheel dropping in a hole or the upper wheel running over something like the stump this fellow hit.Tractors from one model to another vary widely in
where their center of gravity is located which determines how easy or difficult it is to turnover. Tractors are serious machines that can kill or butcher anyone up in a hurry I always cringe when I read someone is 'playing' with their tractors and generally speaking the smaller the tractor the more dangerous it is to operate as things happen quicker on a 20HP tractor then they do on a 100HP tractor.

 

[CADplans]

Different tractors are very different, I can and do go places that lift one front tire off the ground six inches, all the time.

This machine also has loaded rear tires. It is as safe as I can get it.

No tricycle could go where this one goes.

 

[HeyYou]

Different tractors are very different, I can and do go places that lift one front tire off the ground six inches, all the time.

This machine also has loaded rear tires. It is as safe as I can get it.

No tricycle could go where this one goes.

That is a COOL tractor. I want one.

Condolences to the family. That is really sad.

 

[Canary Al]

My heart goes out especially to his sister, and close family. When i was growing up there were these types of stories regularly. Tractors are dangerous despite knowledge and caution. I'm sure this man was stunned during his last moments. May God hold him safe.

 

[gburnett]

Different tractors are very different, I can and do go places that lift one front tire off the ground six inches, all the time.

This machine also has loaded rear tires. It is as safe as I can get it.

No tricycle could go where this one goes.

Comparing your 4WD with blocks on the axles is far different from most farm tractors especially ones of the same era Narrow Fronts were built but even 4WD drive tractors can be turned over as most turnovers are the result of driver error or miscalculation.I've seen wide track bulldozers flipped over.One of the most common ways tractors are flipped is when heading downhill with a load like a silage wagon thats loaded the wagon will push the rear of the tracotor around and flipped the side ways tractor.Also over the years I've observed that most 'experts' on narrow front tractors are folks that have never actually run one.

 

[Fla Don]

Comparing your 4WD with blocks on the axles is far different from most farm tractors especially ones of the same era Narrow Fronts were built but even 4WD drive tractors can be turned over as most turnovers are the result of driver error or miscalculation.I've seen wide track bulldozers flipped over.One of the most common ways tractors are flipped is when heading downhill with a load like a silage wagon thats loaded the wagon will push the rear of the tracotor around and flipped the side ways tractor.Also over the years I've observed that most 'experts' on narrow front tractors are folks that have never actually run one.

That is true. We've had row crop tractors on the farm for over 70 years. With a sickle bar mower on the back, the most likely side it will rollover on is the left side. It won't rollover backwards as as soon as the front wheels lift a foot off the ground, the mower frame is on the ground in the rear. Same with the plows.

 

[tiretrx]

Sad story. I hope I'm driving a tractor, trike, row crop or otherwise at 78.

 

[TWG1572]

Comparing your 4WD with blocks on the axles is far different from most farm tractors especially ones of the same era Narrow Fronts were built but even 4WD drive tractors can be turned over as most turnovers are the result of driver error or miscalculation.I've seen wide track bulldozers flipped over.One of the most common ways tractors are flipped is when heading downhill with a load like a silage wagon thats loaded the wagon will push the rear of the tracotor around and flipped the side ways tractor.Also over the years I've observed that most 'experts' on narrow front tractors are folks that have never actually run one.

Been there, done that one. I grew up on narrow and wide front ends and we farmed steep hills - C, D and E slopes predominately. Heading down a steep hill with a Farmall Super M and a load of bales. Tractor popped out of gear and I thought I was a goner. Guardian angel was working overtime that day.

I also agree that you can roll anything, given the right circumstances. However, I will argue that the margin of safety is somewhat less on a narrow front end assuming all other factors are equal (tractor height, weights, tire spacing, etc). Those factors can make a huge difference in stability, and with the right setup you would likely see the wf flip first (an extreme example would be a wf high crop vs. nf Case SC). When we went from 38 to 30 inch rows, it was amazing how much tippier our tractors felt because we had to narrow up the tires. And that was on large/modern tractors.

One nice thing about running a wide front is that the front wheels hit the potholes and stumps first so you can stop before you hit them with the rears. With the narrow front, the first you know about them is when you feel the rear hit them. At that point, you are committed and what's going to happen is going to happen.

We live in an area with a lot of people moving out to the county and buying tractors. Not many of them realize how quickly things like this happen. We just had a elementary school age kid killed when he was riding with his father bush hogging and fell off the back. The mower ran right over him. As a father, I can't even begin to imagine the anguish that father must be in right now. As a casual observer, I have no idea why he allowed that kid to be there in the first place.

 

[kyyada]

Being 78 and doing what you love is a blessing, very sad accident though I wish his sister well. I can't imagine someone letting a person ride on a tractor pulling a mower. The thing that scared me on the older tractors without a rops is the tires froze to the ground and taking off and the front come up and over. Being older and realizing we were in KY It was very unlikely but as a kid it scared me good, always backed up first in the winter.