# Road Trip Turned Ugly



## caseman-d (Nov 29, 2003)

Sorry for an outdated post which happened back on Sept 30 or to those that think this post should be placed elsewhere. Some may have seen or heard about an auction near Makoti ND. Was a big collection and variety of models of older antique tractors. Normally with auction being so far away I call in a bid. This time I decided to make a road trip and see what the tractors actually looked like. Was a 340 mile drive to the sale.

There were several older case tractors, a 57 610 LP, 52 D with clam shell fenders, old case D with chrome strips (thinking maybe a 39 at time), LA, C, cross motor 18-32, and a few others. I had went up to try to buy the 610 LP.
Was a nice looking tractor but had some drawbacks for me. Pictured below.










I ended up being second bidder on this one. Some of the other case tractors sold at what I thought was on the low side. I decided that if I was going to buy another tractor it would be some thing I didn't have. So far all I bought was some odds and ends.

Last tractor to sell was a Case Model C which I wasn't to interested in but the bidding started low and I couldn't pass on (I didn't have a running C yet). They said it ran good and seemed to be a good tractor so I ended up buying it,

Turns out that wasn't such a good deal. People were busy loading other tractors and said that they would put me on the list to have the C pulled on. Was visiting with a relative and he said the tractor should run. I knew the tractor never had coolant in the radiator but thought we could start it, drive it on, shut it off in no time. Normally I like to drive a tractor around to get the feel of things, but driven and loaded many case tractors in the past I thought in less than 60 seconds the tractor would be loaded. 

This is when things turned ugly. I put tractor in low gear (?), drove onto to the trailer, tractor failed to stop, ran into some tires I bought, climbed the tires and veered to right side of trailer. I realized things were going to get ugly as the tractor started to fall off the trailer. At this point I decided to bail off. This is what I seen as I was pulling myself away from the tractor.










By this time pained had entered my legs as people came to make sure every thing was alright. People joked as they said the tractor didn't look all that bad. After several minutes I was able to pull myself up along the trailer using it for support. After several request to call 911 I attempted to walk the knee pain away. They realized from my face expression I wasn't going anywhere. So I got a ride to the Minot ND Trinity Hospital.

What seemed like a lot of fussing over other parts of my body, switching from ambulance bed to hospital bed did they give me some pain medication and sent me to x-ray. Turned out I had a left tibiall plateau fracture. Make long story short Had to have surgery on leg, have a plate, several screws, lots of stitches and unable to put any pressure on leg for 8 weeks. 

Moral of all this is no matter how many tractors or other things you have loaded make sure you know the tractor before loading. I do not know what happened, have been rolling it around in my head for weeks what went wrong. Pictures below may be graphic so take caution when looking.

Me after surgery and about ready to come home.











Now the ugly pictures.






































So people out there be careful. Not sure how many of you can afford to be off for 2-3 months and keep what you have. I know I am not. So next few months I will have to have lots faith in the good Lord, insurance company, employer, friends and family.
caseman-d

PS For those of you that were at the auction , yes I'm the person that did it.


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## catdoo (Jun 16, 2009)

Sorry about your bad luck, hope you mend soon, then you can look after that poor tractor.


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## chrpmaster (May 5, 2004)

Thats terrible Caseman. Glad you were able to bail off. Could have been much worse. I'll be praying for your speedy recovery. Keep us updated on your progress.

Andy


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## Live Oak (Dec 22, 2003)

Real sorry to hear of your mishap Tom but VERY happy to know you are still with us amongst the living and in relatively good shape. 

Is the tractor salvagable? Did someone get the engine turned off in time to prevent damage to the engine? 

Get well soon and best of luck repairing you fallen tractor.


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## MFreund (May 2, 2008)

The routine tasks sometimes are any thing but!!

Always remember, it could have been worse!!

Get well soon!!!!


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## caseman-d (Nov 29, 2003)

Hi all,
Thanks for the replies.
Tractor was running upside down till it ran out of gas, Did not hear any knocking so I hope all is alright. Had no coolant so I didn't have to worry about ant-freeze and oils mixing. Thanks for replies.
caseman-d


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## Morgan (Oct 26, 2006)

I hope your getting better. We will be praying for you Caseman-d


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## caseman-d (Nov 29, 2003)

still kicking, have my good days. I found sleeping in the recliner works best. Glad it's comfortable. Crutches don't seem to work very good when half asleep.
caseman-d


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## MFreund (May 2, 2008)

How is the leg doing?


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## caseman-d (Nov 29, 2003)

Back to work and walking on the leg with out crutches. Some days are better than others. Doctor said break healed great and it up to time to see how much of a weather bug I will be.
Thanks for all the reply's.
caseman-d


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## Live Oak (Dec 22, 2003)

Glad to hear you are up and around Tom. Hope the leg heals up right and is not a future problem.


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## HYDROGUARDIAN16 (Feb 14, 2007)

ouch!


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## Fordfarm (Dec 27, 2005)

Now the important question----

How's the TRACTOR?


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## caseman-d (Nov 29, 2003)

Once the snow melts thats my first task as I want to find out if it was operator error of tractor malfunction. Think I have a exhaust elbow that will fit the exhaust manifold. Will make sure I have a wide open area. 
caseman-d


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## kau (Sep 15, 2003)

Every heal back up and get the tractor fixed?


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