The Infamous Commando 8 Back-flipping Show Horse

[rmaynard 15,436]

Nope, no damage other than the seat, muffler, a dent in the side of the hood, and paint damage to hood and fender. Happy to say that my leg is back to 100%, but I do have a nice scar to remind me of how NOT to load a tractor.

[zanepetty 117]

Man. That's crazy. Glad you recovered 100%!

[rnsdoughty 0]

This reminds me of a similar accident that happened to me some years back.  I had my Raider 12 in the back of a 18' Uhaul truck and was getting ready to unload it.  The truck was sitting leaning slightly to one side.  I put the Uhaul ramp in place.  I climbed on the Horse, cranked it and started down the ramp.  I was half way down the ramp when the ramp bent to the leaning side and the Horse started over the side.  As luck would have it one of the rear wheels hung up and there I was laying on the ground with the Raider 12 hung on the Uhaul ramp directly over me.  My 300 lb. son-in-law picked the Horse up and set it on the ground.  Lucky for me everything was OK for me and for the Raider 12.  

 

But from your experience I will be backing all riding mowers up the ramp to my trailer from now on.  Thanks for the tip and glad you came out OK.

 

Rod

[Warning:Unsupervised 81]

Reminds me of my stupid youth stunts...lol
 At age 11 or so my freinds bro n law was a care taker at a local cemetery.  One day my friend & I got a couple of thier old rear engine snappers out and went cruising through the cemetery while nobody was home (except the after life). It didnt take us long to discover we could roll backwards down the hill and pop the brake/clutch and wheelie up a hill. After about a 1/2 hr or so I saw my buddy go all the way backwards and the mower landed on him. Blades turned off mind you but after pulling it off him that seemed to take the fun out of it all.  We never tore up any stones or anything else since the snappers really have no weight like a wheel horse and so we never got cought. But to think how bad it could have been if it were a heavy tractor like this sure makes one count his blessings. That friends burried in that cemetery about 20yrds from were he flipped that snapper. It was ruled a suicide but most believe he was murdered around age 28, he got into hard drugs really bad and was in/out of prison alot when he got older....Shame!

[rmaynard 15,436]

It's amazing how some of us made it out of our youth alive. Glad you saw the light and didn't go over to the dark side.

[AMC RULES 37,130]

      Literally.     

[shallowwatersailor 3,213]

And all I did was walk down a ramp!  

[WNYPCRepair 1,918]

I learned to always take my cell phone with me when I work outside. I was chopping ice off my roof this winter, and after I was exhausted, I started pushing my way through the waist deep snow back to my driveway. I slipped and fell, and between the depth of the snow, and my exhaustion, I couldn't get up. It was a scary moment, no one was home to come check on me. I finally rolled side to side enough to pack down enough snow to roll over on my stomach and was able to get back on my feet.

[BESTDOGEVER 218]

I just did  the  slide one tire off the ramp maneuver  yesterday  crazy  tractor was  sitting at about a 45degree angle so I  do a tuck and roll  off the  thing and come up just as it starts to  motor toward the  ditch  even  I am amazed by how quick an old  guy can  move when it is necessary.  I  guess we all  get  complacent sometimes. 

[Warning:Unsupervised 81]

I am amazed by how quick an old  guy can  move when it is necessary. 

 So true, no doubt about it our pain signal gets passed right up by our fear and adrenaline signals when need be. Wish we could manually control that signal daily.

[WNYPCRepair 1,918]

1 hour ago, 123GO said:

 

 So true, no doubt about it our pain signal gets passed right up by our fear and adrenaline signals when need be. Wish we could manually control that signal daily.

Right after my wife came home from the hospital, and was sleeping downstairs in a hospital bed, I had a gout attack and could barely walk. Gout feels like broken glass has been inserted in your joints, for those who have never had it. 

One night about 3 AM, the smopke detector went off for no apparent reason. All I could think of was my wife can't get out of the bed, let alone the house, and if she tries, she may never walk again. I went down the stairs 3 at a time, and didn't feel a thing. She did try to get up out of instinct, but luckily she didn't do any damage. Still have no idea why the smoke detector went off, but it is amazing what you can do while the adrenaline is flowing. 

[UncleJerm76 103]

On 6/24/2014 at 8:16 PM, squonk said:

Another tip. If possible, slap some anti skid tape on the ramp where the tires normally ride to reduce spin. When it wears out, replace it.

 

Even better (and more visually pleasing) is “grip paint” that can be purchased at any hardware store. Comes in a gallon and can be brushed on as thick as you like. It’s basically sandpaper in a paint form with lots of bits and chunks of somthing in it. Once dry it’s gives the rubber tires somthing to “bite”. You could paint the whole surface of the expended metal and have grip across the whole ramp instead of just strips of skid tape.

 

I recently learned walking next the tractor (or “cowboying” as my 701 manual puts it) is also dangerous. Just imagine you walking it up the ramp and YOU are the one that slips and falls but the tractor keeps going. Possibly running over a limb or pinning you against the trailer. Be careful out there. I think your end statement of not letting the tractor drift backwards while in a forward gear is the best lesson to learn here.

Edited October 27, 2017 by UncleJerm76