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Well once I drove from Elgin, Il. to the Big Show...684 mi one way (1368 mi round trip)...not to buy a horse, but I bought 5 raffle tickets ($5) and won the raffle tractor. That has to count. BUT!!!...I can top that. Again I drove to the Big Show 684 mi (1368 mi round trip)...picked up a round hood for Ryan in Minnesota, and delivered the horse to him at the La Sueur show 743 mi (1486 mi round trip) for a grand total of 2854 miles.

So the long awaited update and potential conclusion. Figured an update was least I could do for those who participated in poll and provided input. I have all tractors sold or pending sold but 2. As such the market has made my decision. Assuming all pending buyers follow through. I will retain the C160 with 48 inch deck for mowing and the GT22-8 which I will attempt to more fully complete for the show.

Soon after I retired I made a little horse rustling trip that totaled 3,610 miles. I can't claim the entire trip was a venture, part family visitation too. I departed Fort Pierce FL with the 1055 in tow on my way to our present home in Franklin, NC (675). From there I headed to Syracuse NY (850) to visit my Mom and visit some friends. Now the rustling started, headed to LeRoy MI (570) to pick up an RJ project, next stop was Niles MI (185) for another RJ, next was Lawrenceburg KY (325) for a Suburban and then back to Franklin NC (330) to unload. After a couple days I headed back to Ft. Pierce (675). So the legitimate rustling mileage would be 1,410

So, I'm pretty sure I did the lamest book reports ever in school, as a teacher "taught" my class this: "To copy from one source is plagiarism, to copy from two sources is research." I would find book reports, copy half of one and half of another and hand them in... not even changing font or layout - but making sure to include a bibliography siting my sources. I was given high grades, though nothing was learned from it. I hated to read. Then one day about 3 years back I was helping to clean out a storage unit, most everything was being donated or tossed out and there was a book that caught my eye. It had an old International pickup on the front and it was labeled "TRUCK - A Love Story" by Michael Perry. My wife asked why I put it on my dashboard. I told her I'm gonna read it and she basically laughed my story away. Well, now it's a challenge! It took me about 5 or 6 months to get through all 200 and some odd pages, or so. Within the remainder of that year, I had read almost everything Mike has published! He even came out with a children's book, that he wrote for his children, one of whom he gained while marrying his wife (the love story in the "Truck" book) After reading his works, I feel like Mr. Perry could easily be my family member, or a good old friend. So, with that... I now am a reader. I have read the entire Little House series to my kids, and received a few new Perry books for Christmas that some day I'll sit down and catch up on. I've read Truck a few times now, once I made it through half of it in one flight to vacation... a far cry from 5 or 6 months! If you find any of his books, pick one up and have a laugh. Don't try to explain it to your wife, she probably won't get it. But you'll get a kick out of it!

Was always a lover of the Kohler's. A bit cautious picked up a (was a steal)) a '90 520-8. The Horse and Onan, after the normal PM (penetrative maintenance) this Stallion performs! Sounds great!

How'd you get that tractor on top of the ladder for the first pass? Must have been quite tipsy!

20 years ago this month I bought my first (anniversary 520H)brand new as my dealer was my neighbor seperated by a creek and with the following pic you'll see how far I went to go it , and it's also where I picked up my second 520H as well as a non running 523Dxi (gone now) after moving about 125 miles away, anyways the blue outline was where used to live and use my 520H the red line how far I went to get it and service/parts after the sale, and yellow my dealer, Jeff.

Could be tough for me to be a competitor here.... Approximately 29 miles. That's a 2, and a 9. Now here's the thing. I had to go there. And back. So that's really 58. But I also dropped the machine at the shop for an additional 20 miles or so. And back of course. So I'd say about 98 miles !!! hehehe.....

Anyone that is lucky enough to go to this...please...please...please post very many pictures here. Thanks Kate

Think I got you beat on this one Last fall I did a 8700 and some miles trip to bring home some horses. Granted, most of it was in a tin can in the sky.

Wise choice grasshopper😊

Here's one of the wood box beside our fire pit. To give proper scale, it's about 30" wide. Maybe 5 feet tall. More later on. .. Just to the right of above pic:

more success last night. Finally able to get the steering block off and shaft removed. Unfortunately the shaft is bent so I'll makea new one. Sorry for all those purist but it nothing more than round steel bar stock. Will be easier to make a nrw one than try to straighten this one. Also was able to get the Vari-Drive to work.

That's the very rare NOS 857ldr-roof-a-matic.snw.rmvr... It was a WH prototype designed exclusively for large snow events to help with roof clearing using blowers. It was discontinued due to liability concerns for exactly the reason Squonk notes: they became "quite tipsy"...But the WH lawyers were referring to the driver after hours of plowing and the typical use of hot toddies to assist the operator - not the stability of the tractor...

I have the shop like I want it now so I can start working on tractors again. Today I was playing with adding more light in the blast cabinet. I have been rescuing led strips and drivers from the trash bin at work. This is what I'm adding. Before After

And you know what. I only have a big handful left to sort out still. Hopefully I will be done before grass season starts here in about 6-8 weeks. If I can do one a week I'll be on time, but oh my god it has been work work work. Next time will not have as many project tractors for sure. I'm dreaming GT's, re-wirering, painting and fixing all night, doing it for real all day after work, repeat........ Wife and kid says I speak horse when they get to see me. Well I guess we live and learn the hard way, and just as we get old and smart enough not to get these brain farts, nature grants us diapers again...... Just swell that is! According to this undertaking of mine, I clearly haven't gotten to the smart fase yet...........

We got about 16" yesterday and had a difficult time. Seems the DOT plow caught some of the curb and tore it up coming down the street and deposited asphalt and stones in the snow bank. Sure enough my 2 stage found one right away and wedged a big stone between the paddle and the chute frame effectively stopping the blower cold real fast quick and in a hurry. Got it out with a pry bar and the paddle took a good hit and bent but that can be fixed later. Started again and the belt snapped after 20 ft from being burned up from the sudden stop. Of coarse the replacement belt I have was wrong! For 2 years I've been staring at that belt knowing I have a replacement if a problems arises but obviously made a huge mistake. Luckily one of the local shops was still open so went out and got a belt. Install new belt, go another 20' and the chain snapped. I'm not up for doing that in the middle of a storm with snow and wind. Had to fire up the little 654 and push wet heavy piles which puts a beating on that thing. I know people will say "whatever you do don't ram the snow piles" . Well, I'd much rather spend 2 hours in the Spring fixing the frame than spend 6 hours of freezing my nuts off pushing little bits of snow around the driveway. Anyway, end of rant and just needed to vent

About 400 miles has been my greatest. Picked up Emory's 60 and 61 suburbans - 2 different trips a few months apart. They were our first horses. Probably some of best times we've had are on horse trips!

I went to Fla. for a 520-8.

Got it easy here...just went out and did a final “scrape” before bed. Maybe 1.5” of new stuff.

I bet you shoveled uphill both ways eh Steve?

I was reminiscing the other day with a WH friend about some of the trips we have taken to pick up Horses. It made me wonder how far some of us have traveled to buy a Wheel Horse. I am sure I have not went the farthest and would guess I would land in the middle of the road trip pack. I picked up a 520 once in Indiana 5 1/2 hours one way. (that is probably my limit!). Anybody else?

24 hour turn around. Great to have wonderful and very talented friends.

Here's a different view maybe that will clear up the mud...

Uphill both ways in the snow I bet!!!

Did you walk to get parts or drive a truck or a ?

Round trip for each tractor that I currently own. #1 20 miles #2 180 miles #3 1520 miles # 4 330 when I go pick it up I think that works out to about 5 hours per mile for the builds.

I went about 250 round trip to buy what turned out to be a parts tractor C-160. The only piece I ended up keeping was the frame that I made a sulky out of but I finally sold that.

Skipper...I think what you did counts. You did come over and pick up all those horses...not just have them shipped over to you. You got to see what you were buying.

Yeah I know, it was unfair of me to flaunt that.

The good old days when every hill was an adventure

Went out today to clean up the edges and the area where the street drain is so all the water doesn't flow down the driveway. ^%$ # 654 tranny locked in 2 gears at the end of the driveway. I'm skipping right past the Rock & Rye and going to shots of Tequila! I should be out there fixing instead of typing but probably best to leave it for now and get to it when the frustration is over! One good thing is they will now finally get the attention they've been neglected of. Just haven't had any time this past year to do ANY preventive maintenance so I basically got back more than I put in. At least this didn't happen 2 storms ago!

I knew that going into this! Perhaps a "Long Distance Domestic" category. not a competition, just a conversation anyway, right.

Holy Cow John!!! Brake downs, when you are using the machine, are not fun. Have a large Rock & Rye and things will be much better. Horse Doctor's orders.

Nothing wrong with that as long as no precious metal is harmed in the making....a guys gotta do whatta guys gotta do what with even how scarce 90/91s are getting. Might be some vintage Briggs 3.5/4 HP out there yet too?

I believe the market has decided in your favor

729.7 which would be 11.5 hours of not for 3-4 cities and rush hours. Turned it into 4 day round trip excursion.

8hours once for a WH that cost only $100 for a running Commando & I visited relivatives on the way back!

That's the entire point of these tractors. The design worked, probably got tweaked over the years but they stayed the same. I'm thinking that's why they are such a good candidate for doing rebuilds. So much similar that its easy to get familiar with everything and pass it along. Not to mention that the tractors do their job to full expectation. I plowed my 1000' driveway yesterday with a 310, not a bit of problem except for the soft ground underneath. I grew up on a dairy farm and plowed with all sorts of stuff and the little 310 amazes me as to how it works so well, given its size. Watching Richie do his magic on some of the design is just the icing on the cake, (Although I won't admit it in public). Thank goodness you guys are so miserable and not helpful and grumpy, this site would be too nice to get away from if it were any other way. Thanks for putting up with us Richie.. Chris

Hours on the 520 would be a factor for me. Onan, people luv em, people dont. There pricey to fix when they go down, finding parts is hard. However, when running right, a great sounding powerfull dream. A lot of power in them. The 60 inch deck, nice, but about 300lbs if I remember, heavy duty as can be. If nice shape its worth a few bucks to. Best of luck. Glenn

National weather service has my hometown at 16" and I can tell you guys that might be a conservative estimate. I just got done plowing for 13 hours.

This is 1978 with the 857 and sno-blower which I still have...this is snow!! Testament to an 8hp Kohler and a single stage blower.

Ok so more backyard brake engineering going in today. Got my slot cut for my rod to move back n forth in, trimmed a little off of it to clear a bolt. Just need to thread it for a clevis rod end and redrill a hole for the connecting bolt that goes through the brake band bracket. Needs to move out about 1/2” to line up. I got all of the motion control group mounted and the parking brake lock installed with the release spring. Just need to tweek the levers for clearance and make a new top plate. Think I might just leave the hand control lever for now to see how I like it. Running out if time and dont know if the foot control thing is going to happen yet. Little things here and there but I think she’s gonna work just fine.

Depended on the weather

@JPWH The rescue may be defined as dumpster diving or the unit has too much dust on it , I 'll order a new and take the dusty one home.

Hi John...that 654 has the suction problem. You have been shifting to fast plowing snow and one of the shift forks sucked back into gear as you shifted into another. Prescription...1/8" allen wrench...lift up boot on shifter...place allen wrentch and 7/16" lock nut open end wrench. Loosen lock nut...turn out set screw enough to lift out shifter from transmission. Take long screwdriver and move both shift forks back into neutral position. You can now move your horse back from the tree bank. Replace shifter, set screw and lock nut...lower boot....continue plowing snow... Sipping Rock & Rye before plowing snow...has the effect or not being able to shift faster then the shift forks can move...thus eliminating the problem that it took Wheel Horse 5 years to tackle by re-engeering the shift forks. The time my 702 locked up like yours...I did not have any Rock & Rye...until I walked back to the garage to get my tools.

The engine pulley had a brass ring built into it and when the pulley that goes to the variable drive is pushed all the way forward it would contact the ring and cause the tractor to go backward. The owner manual said this would be used to stop the tractor also.

You posted about Wheel Horse tractors for sale on a Wheel Horse site where there are MANY Wheel Horse collectors and Many people that want to buy Wheel Horse tractors. The saying goes. "you snooze you loose" so people are trying to get a jump on others before they're gone. It's that simple.

There are many posts on here describing the many techniques used to remove these stubborn pins. They include penetrating liquids, drilling small holes in each half of the casing lug to get the penetrant to the pin, heat and candle wax, drilling the pin nearly thru and driving the pin out using a drift inside the drilled pin, cutting the pin in three pieces with a radiac wheel to remove the hitch and then press the pieces out on a press and drill the center piece out of the tranny. Just search "frozen hitch Pins or hitch pin removal" and you will find the horror stories. GOOD LUCK