I had a real scary situation happen a year ago when trying to haul logs down a steep hill and I felt that by doing this video it might help a viewer avoid a similar situation and possible rollover. It's a real important video for anyone who operates tractors in hilly conditions, to watch.

The scenario was brought about by a really large oak tree that was blown over in a windstorm we'd had. The tree was probably close to 100 years old and was uprooted. I have a neighbor who has an outdoor wood stove and he told me he'd be glad to cut it up in exchange for the wood. One day in late winter we started to remove it.

Wes operated the chainsaw and I moved logs. He had his trailer at the bottom of the hill and he would cut up logs and I would use the tractor with pallet forks to carry them to the trailer. Because the area where we were cutting was cramped, I would drive up the hill, get the pallet forks under the wood, pick them up and then back down to load. The last log was the one that got me in trouble.

The last log we cut was the biggest, (and heaviest) as we'd been working from the top down. I have no idea what it weighed, but it was a load for the 40 hp tractor. Since most of the wood had been removed, I had the opportunity to turn around and drive down the hill. That was a big mistake. As I age, I'm starting to have neck problems and I was tired of having to turn around to watch where I was going. Backing down the hill meant the back end of the tractor dropped, shifting a lot of weight to the back wheels and keeping everything stable. As I drove straight down the hill, the weight of the log heading down first made the weight on the back wheels decrease, and the front wheels couldn't hold the weight of the tractor. I skidded down and sideways down the hill and fortunately hit level ground before the tractor rolled over.

Here's the takeaway...anytime you're moving a heavy weight in a bucket or on pallet forks down a steep grade, go backwards. Always have 4wd engaged if you have it and ALWAYS WEAR YOUR SEAT BELT! Hopefully you'll avoid a similar situation.

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