oldtech Posted May 10 Share Posted May 10 I know ive done this a few thousand times and always check to make sure the shifter is in neutral but all it takes is once! Interesting that my older Massey 85 has starter lockout on the shifters tho. https://fox11online.com/news/state/tractor-runs-over-man-dodge-county-town-clyman-airlifted-hospital-serious-injuries?fbclid=IwAR3v9K2WUAS9wtOFroKGtM3NKALCYh3dpz0_acpZoNTOgm4RRDr_TR5LbNY 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmallFan Posted May 10 Share Posted May 10 Incidents such as that is why I always start the tractor with me in the seat first. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
New Englander Posted May 10 Share Posted May 10 I only recently found that the clutch safety on my 786 has been disabled. I've always started it in park with my foot on the clutch but happened to turn the key without the foot and found the switch bypassed. It's on my list. I'm not a fan of bypassing safety items. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hardtail Posted May 10 Share Posted May 10 Happened to my buddy with his Case 1370 last summer, tire just brushed him and knocked him out of the way, they had been using the FEL to help building his wife's greenhouse which was almost finished, mowed it flat, thankfully she was going to get more materials when it occurred, then it was getting up dusting yourself off and getting on an un manned machine, lucky reminder and could have ended so much worse Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike H Posted May 10 Share Posted May 10 my uncle Mike was run over by a Cat road grader starting it with the pony motor he pulled threw but his head looked like a foot ball lived to 82 yrs old Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poor farmer/logger Posted May 10 Share Posted May 10 As a rule I will not start anything from the ground. Once in a while I get in a hurry and do it though. I cringe when I see people do it on a daily basis though. Neighbor almost got ran over when he had to jump start the tractor off the solenoid with a screwdriver. I helped him bring it home from the auction and cringed when he did that with the tractor parked in front of the restaurant lol. Wasn’t more then a couple weeks later it happened in his garage. Took out a wall and his overhead door. Lucky it didn’t take him out. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nomorejohndeere Posted May 10 Share Posted May 10 Papa was run over by an 8n years ago. Brush hog caught his knee cap and they had to go back and find it. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Bud guy Posted May 10 Share Posted May 10 5 hours ago, oldtech said: I know ive done this a few thousand times and always check to make sure the shifter is in neutral but all it takes is once! Interesting that my older Massey 85 has starter lockout on the shifters tho. During harvest and hauling we start our tractors from the ground too but they all have either/both clutch and transmission safety switch’s. They are not antiques Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1256pickett Posted May 10 Share Posted May 10 Still not the safest but I do it from the steps. I probably would to do it all the time from the ground but usually have to climb up to check it’s in neutral so I just do it there. I had one once, can’t remember if it was a truck or tractor, that I climbed onto steps but didn’t check. Luckily I released the starter before it fired. I felt it rock and that gave me a little scare. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1586 Jeff Posted May 10 Share Posted May 10 I know a fellow that had a remote start/stop switch on the control platform of his Ford F600 boom truck. While servicing it inside his shop one night it he started it up from the platform expecting it to be in neutral. I can only imagine his surprise as it trundled through the closed overhead door!!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjf711 Posted May 10 Share Posted May 10 To me its like wearing a seat belt, driving without a seat belt feels naked to me because its an ingrained habit from when i was a little kid, Same way with starting a tractor from the ground, it has a naked and exposed for no good reason feeling about it. Seems to happen all the time though.... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TractormanMike.mb Posted May 10 Share Posted May 10 7 hours ago, Mike H said: my uncle Mike was run over by a Cat road grader starting it with the pony motor he pulled threw but his head looked like a foot ball lived to 82 yrs old Mike Having the pleasure of operating a number 12 with a pony I can definitely see that happening. I always make sure BOTH shift levers are in neutral before I even attempt to start the pony. If I don't remember checking I walk around just to make sure. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1586 Jeff Posted May 10 Share Posted May 10 13 minutes ago, TractormanMike.mb said: Having the pleasure of operating a number 12 with a pony I can definitely see that happening. I always make sure BOTH shift levers are in neutral before I even attempt to start the pony. If I don't remember checking I walk around just to make sure. Were those early Model 12s? The reason that I ask is because the Model 12 that we had was equipped with inside the cab starting controls. Presumably this was a later model machine, but I cannot tell you what the serial number was and it is now gone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Qc.Can.IH man Posted May 10 Share Posted May 10 8 hours ago, New Englander said: I only recently found that the clutch safety on my 786 has been disabled. I've always started it in park with my foot on the clutch but happened to turn the key without the foot and found the switch bypassed. It's on my list. I'm not a fan of bypassing safety items. Your 786 should have 2 safety switches, one on the clutch and one when it’s in park.you can test it by putting it in neutral and try to start it without pushing in the clutch. If it doesn’t start then you know the park switch is working,if it does start you know that somebody has bypassed the clutch switch on the firewall. I’m not a big fan of the safety switches on clutches, I prefer either neutral switches and or park switches. Sometimes people will start a tractor with a clutch safety switch and then let the clutch out and forget to check and make sure it’s in neutral, then the tractor will lunge forward or reverse! Had a neighbour that went to shut off his tractor one time, he reached in to turn off the key and he accidentally hit the shuttle lever and put it in forward. The tractor moved ahead and caught his foot under the wheel and knocked him down and drove up his leg then his hip, his ribs and his shoulder just missing his head! He said he could hear his bones breaking as the tractor ran over him! He had to have a few surgeries to get “glued” back together! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TractormanMike.mb Posted May 10 Share Posted May 10 I'm not really sure of the year but I think its late 40s. The operating controls for the pony are right on the right side of the machine, I actually sit on the front rear, bogie wheels, when I start it. We were blessed to have a good pony when we bought the grader. All it took was a carb cleaning and some fresh gas to get it running. The previous owner never used it because he didn't like the idea of being in by the tires so he just tow started it. I'm not a big fan of it either but I seldom have help and the pony works so I use it and be very careful 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacka Posted May 11 Share Posted May 11 One thing I like about transmission park lock and living on hills.Nothing is flat driveways,fields etc.So you always have to put it in park and your park lock better work or your either get run over or it runs way even if it's only a few feet.So you gotta keep them working.I don't like starting stuff standing on the ground either but a IH with the park lock working and down is pretty safe.I cringe when you see people doing stuff to tractors that they really don't know what their doing.I do and agree with tractorman Mike, I double check before I hit the switch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve C. Posted May 11 Share Posted May 11 8 hours ago, hardtail said: Happened to my buddy with his Case 1370 last summer, tire just brushed him and knocked him out of the way, they had been using the FEL to help building his wife's greenhouse which was almost finished, mowed it flat, thankfully she was going to get more materials when it occurred, then it was getting up dusting yourself off and getting on an un manned machine, lucky reminder and could have ended so much worse A runaway 1370 would be a pretty serious deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
England806 Posted May 12 Share Posted May 12 Friend was trying to start his 2290. I told him to sort out the starting problems but he just used to bridge the solenoid. One day he had parked it tight between other machinery. Had to climb over to get to the starter. Power shift was in 1st so was gearshift. It started and went forward. He had no way out. He was pretty lucky there was a big tree in front that stopped it. He said it just sat there with front and rear wheels digging holes. I’m surprised it didn’t stall but it was at part throttle. He managed to climb over the hood somehow to get to the other side to shut the engine off. He was very lucky. He did fix the starting problem after that! 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diesel Doctor Posted May 12 Share Posted May 12 We lost our IH shop foreman this way. And it was an IH that got him. RIP Bill Alexander Please, be careful! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sterling B. Posted May 12 Share Posted May 12 Got bit by my dad's Ford 4000 some years ago. That was the first time I hadn't checked the gear shift since I though I was the last one on it. Was the fastest that sucker ever started and got my ass up just in time. Since then I don't recall starting a tractor from the ground... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nepoweshiekfarmalls Posted May 12 Share Posted May 12 When I worked at Grinnell Implement, we lost a customer when he shorted the starter on his 884 w' loader. He had his granddaughter on the seat with the clutch held down, but it was in gear when She released it...... he passed away quickly. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IHandJDman Posted May 13 Share Posted May 13 My Grandpa got ran over and killed by his John Deere G. It was running in gear and he wanted to move it forward slightly. He pushed the hand clutch forward some and it went far enough to snap in. He couldn't snap it back out at that angle and it knocked him over, then ran over him. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MinnesotaFarmall Posted May 14 Share Posted May 14 I've had a tire pull my jacket before. I learned, should have never done it in the first place. One other time, don't know what even happened, but uncle pulled the 886 down to the shop with the mower on the back. He went in the shop, all of a sudden it sounded like grinding gears, looked up and it was going across the yard. Stopped it two feet short of the power pole. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
int 504 Posted May 14 Share Posted May 14 Old Cat 14 grader I was around pony started from in the cab. Had a pony start D7 that some idiot got headed down a too steep slope sideways. He turned it and got it stopped but then he shut it off. Too steep for gas to feed from pony tank. I pulled it up over with D8 that didn't even know it was there. Government man was upset about the tracks across the road. Drove brand new grousers full depth through the pavement. Took care of people speeding through the job site. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oleman Posted May 14 Share Posted May 14 I have had a runaway mower! New driver said he was an operator. After a few hours mowing he came back to the nurse truck for a drink. He stopped by using the clutch stepped off the tractor turning lose the clutch and we had a run away mower, luckily he cleared the tractor completely when he exited the running board and we were in 25 acres. It was in LL at just above idle speed. I stepped onboard and stopped the machine. Just another day with hired help. Another one, that I always remember: I had been driving for several hours in a self contained RV, it was time for a pee-call. I pulled of to the side of the freeway. Left the drivers seat and hit the head. When I came back to the drivers seat I discovered that I had left the engine running, tranny in drive and the emergency brake not set. Fortunately a nice flat road! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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