FobzyLearning to drive a tractor
April 17th 2008 01:55
Learning to operate a tractor can cut the workload considerably. It might take an entire day to mow a field or haul hay bales without one. Driving a tractor greatly reduces work and gives you more time to enjoy the outdoors.
Well I think I'll have plenty of time to enjoy the outdoors once I am installed as the Squire, but in the best of English families it is sound practice to know the tools of trade yourself so that workers cannot trick you with their superior knowledge.
Of course, it is not necessary for me to become particularly skilled but I do need to have actually driven the thing myself and have a rudimentary knowledge of the tractor's workings.
There are a number of steps to go through each time you drive the tractor and while some of them will become automatic others will have to be studied up and learned.
Step 1:
Do a safety check on the tractor to make sure it is in a good working order. Pay special attention to the instruments and tire pressure. Check fluid levels for the oil, fuel and radiator.
Step 2:
Make sure you’re properly dressed to drive the tractor. You should not be wearing any loose clothes, such as scarves, that might be caught in the machinery.
Step 3:
Consult the owner’s manual for any tractor-specific information. Learn all the controls and meter readings.
Step 4:
Make sure all any machinery attached to the tractor is secure and in proper working order.
Step 5:
Adjust the seat and other adjustable instrumentation to your comfort and make sure that the area around the tractor is free and clear of people or obstructions.
Step 6:
Release the parking brake and depress the clutch. Start the engine, and when you’re ready, engage power by slowly releasing the clutch and pressing the gas pedal.
Step 7:
Avoid rollovers by driving cautiously and avoiding steep embankments and slippery slopes. Drive slowly and carefully.
Step 8:
When you’ve finished using your tractor, slow it to a stop and let the engine cool by idling for a few minutes. This will cool the engine evenly.
Step 9:
When you’re ready to turn off the engine, engage the parking brake, make sure that the clutch is disengaged, and turn off the engine.
The above list, which is written so lucidly is provided by eHOW which is a useful little site and now I won't look so stupid in the eyes of the usual driver.
Although I don't drive a car much now, being mostly chauffeur driven or taxied I do have a licence and understand the basics of such things although with automatic cars you don't get any knowledge of the clutch. And there is a wonderful opportunity for a joke there but to-day I am going to stick to the basic elements and keep my mind well and truly on what I am doing.
Tractors can be quite dangerous and there have been quite a lot of tractor accidents and even deaths so I am going to be a very careful driver not being possessed of the skills of our regular driver.
So I turned up for my first lesson and did my inspections. The driver was impressed and even threw in some of his own suggestions, which were good ones. Getting on with people is a skill I acquired early in life, as I needed it to protect myself from the butt of schoolboy humour, especially with a name like Sebastian, and no father, you do understand.
It was not long before I was in the driver's seat and travelling up and down the farm roads.
The driver suggested I was good enough to try the fields so off, carefully, I went.
I came back feeling exhilarated and looked forward to some real work after my next trip to Australia.
Then it was off to clean up, dress up and get ready for the ladies, a pursuit I have never tired of, although now, with Marriage at the end of the game things have tended to take on rather a different hue.
I'll see you again soon with accounts of my other farm lessons.
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Harry, you've got my number, by gad sir, I am a cad sir, but I am being forced to change, more's the pity and getting the hands dirty goes with the territory.
Great to see you, boy. Look after Australia for me while I'm gone.