T-Mo-(Moderator) 4,345 #1 Posted December 8, 2016 This is in relation to this thread: Me and the wife took the 8 hour round trip to Pontiac, Illinois (yes, I know I'm horse rustling in another state), to pick up the 520-H. It's in great shape and it came with the original owners manual for the tractor, deck, vacuum system, etc. It even had the original brochure. If you can see from the pictures, the manuals have stickies on them, oil filter, air filter, etc. part numbers, maintenance dates, etc. There were two Fram filter boxes also, empty of course. I will be scanning this stuff later to add to the manuals section. The leaf bags and chute I took off and put in the cab of the truck. The bags were full of stuff also, blades, deck covers, etc. The trip was interesting. Lost the license plate on the trailer on the way up there (any suggestions on making the license plate stay instead of those filmsy plastic plate holders, etc.?). Fought the cold and wind in Pontiac to load it up. The dealer was very nice and I got another cap from another John Deere dealer. I sort of collect dealer hats (I have a lot of them so far). More to follow later. It's time to go to work now. 17 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WVHillbilly520H 10,369 #2 Posted December 8, 2016 Don't know if it's legal where you live but I bolted my trailer tag to the lower left corner of the gate/ramp (bolt heads inside when up),Jeff. 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JERSEYHAWG / Glenn 4,487 #3 Posted December 8, 2016 Boy or boy, that is a clean one. And you know how I am with getting paperwork. A BIG bonus for me is the paperwork. Best of luck, will be looking for more pictures when you can. Glenn 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
1995 520H+96+97 935 #4 Posted December 8, 2016 Congratulations, enjoy the ride. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SylvanLakeWH 24,140 #5 Posted December 8, 2016 1 hour ago, WVHillbilly520H said: Don't know if it's legal where you live but I bolted my trailer tag to the lower left corner of the gate/ramp (bolt heads inside when up),Jeff. Same here - works like a charm! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Retired Wrencher 4,877 #6 Posted December 8, 2016 T-MO Nice find on the H. Real clean looking some took care of it. I like your trailer also nice set up. as for the plate I do see a lot of people put them on the ramp. may run a light over it for night use. Enjoy. 1 hour ago, 1995 520H+96+97 said: Congratulations, enjoy the ride. 520H+ I like the old F body in your pick. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RMCIII 838 #7 Posted December 8, 2016 You could have stopped in to see Steve! 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pollack Pete 2,273 #8 Posted December 8, 2016 VERY nice,clean looking 520H.Gotta remember about those license plates.........They gotta have a light on them. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tankman 3,515 #9 Posted December 8, 2016 (edited) Very nice! One problem, I am allergic to TORO decals. I staple gun belt sleeves, filter box lids, whatever, all with part numbers on a ceiling beam in my barn. Poor memory, going on seventy. Edited December 8, 2016 by Tankman 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
T-Mo-(Moderator) 4,345 #10 Posted December 8, 2016 I usually run with the ramp gate folded inside the trailer bed when the trailer is empty, so I doubt if I'll put the plate on the gate. I did that with my old trailer, but the gate didn't fold into the trailer bed, so it was always up and in place. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ed Kennell 35,773 #11 Posted December 8, 2016 WOW, She's a beauty. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
T-Mo-(Moderator) 4,345 #12 Posted December 8, 2016 Okay, as Paul Harvey said, here is the "rest of the story". We left the house at about 4:30 CST, pulling an empty trailer with our '01 Dodge Dakota 4WD Quad Cab with the 4.7 V8. If you ever drove across I-255 from the Mississippi River to where you would venture off at the I-55/I-70 interchange, you know how rough that section of the road is. It's rough and makes an empty trailer bounce around quite a bit. No problem, at least I thought, since I drove the same trailer, empty, across this section a couple of other times. We stopped after going 144 miles on I-55 somewhere south of Springfield, and north of Lebanon, Illinois. We noticed after passing a few gas stations where gas was $2.25 or more, this station had it at $2.09. Only burn about a quarter of a tank, so why not filled up, use the restroom and grab another Diet Mountain Dew for me and a Diet Pepsi for my wife. That's when I noticed the trailer plates had lost one bolt and was hanging by just one bolt. A quick look into the truck's glove box and every orifice it had revealed just a wire tie. So I tie the other end of the plate up and went inside the convenience store to see if they had some some screws and nuts. Not very convenient as it turns out this store had none. So I figured, we're be okay until we can get some. Off we go, until we're just south of Pontiac where there's a rest area. Remember we stopped and got sodas each, so it's time to use the rest area. It was smooth sailing since the roadway was pretty smooth. We stopped and I check the license plate again, which is now completely gone. But the one bolt and nut is still there. Great. We get on the phone with Missouri Department of Revenue who isn't any help, we're left alone in a foreign country without a passport, work visa, and worse, no license plate on the trailer. The only advice the Missouri DOR gave us was this, as soon as we get to Missouri stop at the first license bureau and get new plates. We get to Pontiac where all goes smooth. We load up, and man it's cold and windy. The temperature isn't bad, maybe 30, but that wind made it feel like 10 (or colder to me, a wimp like me when it comes to cold weather). I decided the bags will be okay hooked to the tractor but I strapped them secure anyways. We start to head home where we noticed a BP where gas is $1.99. Cheap by Illinois standards, so we stop yet again. My wife is worried about the bags, so I take them off and strap the top part down. Remember it's cold here in Pontiac, and did I mentioned, windy. Oh, btw, the wife says, the right rear tire on the truck is low. Great, but there is a air machine there. 4 quarters later and the tire is aired up. Head inside to the rest room and a coffee now, since I froze outside gassing up, airing up and strapping up. Off we go, where we stop once again and ate at a Subway. Why is it that there is a Subway at every exit on I-55 in Illinois? They're everywhere. Made it home, without too much more incident. Oh yeah, the strap coming off the bagger top, but it rested against the ramp gate. It's a lot warmer in Missouri, so no big deal this time. Life is good. 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
elliot ness 1,916 #13 Posted December 8, 2016 Sweet mother of garden tractors, that one nice 520H. Enjoy. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sarge 3,462 #14 Posted December 8, 2016 I either make a mount off the fender or one of the frame rails on the trailer out of decent weight metal (1/8"+) , all welded . Bolt the plate to that using nylocks and flat washers and install an led plate lamp - never had an issue that way . In Illinois we have to run those larger plates like on a regular vehicle , wish they would allow the smaller plates like some other states as they are half the size....grrr. The roads for the most part in Illinois are crap - half due to the snap weather changes and that wind we get and the other half from the State legislature robbing far too much out of the highway fund to prop up the general fund . For the last 13yrs or so all we've been allowed to do on major highways is band-aid overlays and depth patches - I've worked on too many jobs now where we're joining old patches with new ones - it looks like a sadistic quilt of concrete in new and old . Hopefully that will change soon...hard telling . Pretty sweet 520 for sure , good score Sarge 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
T-Mo-(Moderator) 4,345 #15 Posted December 8, 2016 BTW, the seat is pristine, almost new-like. No rips, no tears, etc. I forgot to mentioned that and to rub it in a bit. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sarge 3,462 #16 Posted December 8, 2016 Aerospace 303 Protectant https://www.goldeagle.com/product/303-aerospace-protectant Keep that seat in pristine condition for a very long time... Sarge 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ACman 7,507 #17 Posted December 8, 2016 T-MO , that's one beautiful original machine ! Hope you enjoy it as much as the previous owner did , because it sure looks like it was his baby. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ClassicTractorProfessor 5,262 #18 Posted December 8, 2016 Beautiful 520...and the manuals and service records make the deal even sweeter. As far as the license plate goes I would fab some kind of metal bracket that allows you to put four bolts in the plate instead of just the top two...can't really tell you what works and what doesn't as where I'm from in Oklahoma privately owned trailers are not required to be tagged, it's optional but only commercial trailers are required 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TDF5G 2,051 #19 Posted December 8, 2016 You picked up a mighty fine looking Horse there, IMO! Looks nice and clean. I've seen trailer plates mounted vertically on the fender of trailers here in MO. Perhaps this might help. See paragraph 5. http://www.moga.mo.gov/mostatutes/stathtml/30100001301.HTML 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Terry M-(Moderator) 2,125 #20 Posted December 8, 2016 5 hours ago, Tankman said: Very nice! One problem, I am allergic to TORO decals. Easily fixed by a cyber trip to REDOYOURHORSE.COM Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
T-Mo-(Moderator) 4,345 #21 Posted December 8, 2016 2 minutes ago, Terry M said: Easily fixed by a cyber trip to REDOYOURHORSE.COM I'm okay with the Toro logo - they did their part in keeping Wheel Horse around another 20 years. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Terry M-(Moderator) 2,125 #22 Posted December 8, 2016 Just now, T-Mo said: I'm okay with the Toro logo - they did their part in keeping Wheel Horse around another 20 years. I Agree... 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dirtdog524 61 #23 Posted December 8, 2016 It sure seems that this 520 was taken care of. You should enjoy many hours of seat time . 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Terry M-(Moderator) 2,125 #24 Posted December 8, 2016 I also agree,T-Mo , That your 520 is inVery Nice condition!! Nice find 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dclarke 4,011 #25 Posted December 8, 2016 Wow, what a nice 520, T-Mo... Sounds like you went right by me going up I-55 in Illinois. I'm just 3 miles east of exit 82, just south of Springfield. There is a truck stop there with a Subway. I'd also like to see more pics of that 520 when you get to it. Enjoy. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites