Tractor Walk-Around Safety Inspection

Series Summary

The tractor is the workhorse of the modern farm, replacing oxen and mules. Though tractors nowadays often come with air conditioning and radios, the essential function of the tractor has not changed. Farmers use tractors to plow fields, sow seed, fertilize and harvest crops, mow fields, and occasionally to give their children or grandkids a ride around the farm. Tractors can be dangerous however, so take care to learn how to drive and operate a tractor properly before starting one up. Learn how to drive, operate, and maintain a tractor in this free video series featuring small-tractor expert John Ryan. Ryan shares invaluable information about tractor operation including how to do a walk-around inspection, how to use a tire pressure gauge to ensure tractor tires are loaded properly, how to start a tractor, how to drive a tractor, how to avoid overheating a tractor, how to re-start a diesel tractor engine after it has run out of gas, how a PTO shaft works on a tractor, how a PTO clutch works on a tractor, how to shift gears on a tractor, and how to prepare a tractor for storage.

Video Transcript

"We want to talk to you a little bit about a pre-work inspection or a walk around, we like to call it. It's very important, any time you're going to use your tractor, don't assume that it's in the same condition that you left it in. Things can vibrate loose, tires can lose air pressure, and all those can create potential safety problems. We're going to talk around the tractor, show you the things that you can do, in just a couple of minutes, to make sure you're going to have a safe experience every time you run your tractor. On our walk around, as the name implies, we want to walk around the tractor and look for anything that might create a potential safety problem. You're wheel lugs look good, we don't see any leaks on the fuel line. We'll go ahead and up the hood up on this one, make sure your filter and everything is tight there. On your cooling system, you've got an overflow bottle here with a full and a low mark, but it's always a good idea, when the tractor's cold, of course, which this one is, to check in the radiator as well. I made a little bit of a mess there but that's not a big deal, we can wipe that up. The reason is, there's a hose here that allows this fluid to be drawn back into the radiator, as the system cools down, and if that hose becomes obstructed or comes loose inside of there, this fluid won't return back to the radiator, so you want to check that. We're good, it's full to the top. We want to get it back on there nice and snug. So, we're good on radiator fluid, checking your battery, your leads are tight there and we'll just continue walking around the tractor. Check the same thing on this side. We would check the tire pressure again, on both sides. Again, looking for any loose nuts and bolts, these frame bolts can be important. Tractors vibrate, they tend to, much more so, than an automobile so these things can loosen up on you. We want to check our fluid level. You've got oil fill here, it may be different on your tractor and, for the interest of time we'll keep moving, but your oil fill. Your fuel level, we don't have much fuel here but that's enough for an hour or two of operation. Be aware of that because running out of fuel can be a pain. Continuing on around the tractor, we're checking for loose fittings, loose nuts and bolts. Coming back to the back, with any implement that you have on the back of the tractor, it's important to keep these stabilizer chains adjusted. You want these to be nice and snug, that's what keeps the implement from swinging side to side and making contact with your tires, which is a potential way to break things. We've completed our walk around, we've done three hundred and sixty degrees, we don't see any major problems, we're ready to run it."