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Prior to the successful surgery :

So I saw it come up a few times. Here is kind of an overview of what I have going on in my head ... besides eating breakfast today ... 1. I have about 3/4 of an acre of land now to work with. 2. I have to move a LOT of dirt and rock and gravel around to make this land workable 3. I am going to have to have some dirt delievered for sure which means MORE dirt to move around ... 4. It's winter and its gonna snow and right now I have one shovel ... driveway is weird. roughly 60-75' long and double wide, with one pulloff area to the right which is also triple wide and 2 car lengths (guessing measures about 20x30) 5. There are a lot of leavs and pine needles that I want to set on fire ... 6. I have a push mower but that isn't a tractor, but it works and I don't even have a lawn at this point 7. I have to rebuild a retaining wall too .. 8. i want a freakin tractor because now I am addicted to the idea of having one

Just one ?

Can't say much about your Gramp's old Horse but, love those 60's Stallions. Grandson just wants to ride Horses.

Hey Russ, just checking in, hope you're on the mend, if you need anything just ask, lots of folks here who can help out.

Here's the August calendar picture from last year. Rustoleum regal red and canvas white. It does take a while to cure, but it seems pretty durable so far. It's been almost two years since its been painted and has worked hard since, but it still shines up pretty good. A few spots could use a touch up, but its really a worker and deserves a few battle scars.

Help me to understand this. From time to time, there are comments by RS members about which is better, cast iron wheel weights, loaded tires, suitcase weights, weight boxes etc. Positions for against are sometimes supported by the comment to "not add any weight to the axle bearings" Are these comments fact based or an urban legend?. The reason for bringing this up is that I recently read a post that advocated one position. So I decided to check out the allowable loads for the typical Torrington needle bearings used on 1 1/8 inch transaxles. (I made the assumption that this is the weakest bearing-could be a bad assumption). The maximum allowable dynamic load for this bearing is 8130 pounds and the maximum allowable static load is 18,800 pounds. Even a modest safety factor of 3 (recommended by Torrington) reduces these to 2710 and 6267 pounds respectively (per bearing). Two bearings per tractor means that the load can be double. So then I checked the tensile strength of cast iron, assuming that the transaxle housing may be the weakest link. The minimum tensile strength of cast iron is 20,000 pounds per square inch. Now I did not go about calculating the allowable load on the transaxle, but the greatest load is a bending stress where the axle housings meet the transaxle body. However, the design is such that the allowable stress is way below the minimum tensile stress. I have yet to see a WH that weighs anywhere close to the allowable loads that the needle bearings will support. Perhaps if you cantilever a 300 pound weight box 2 feet from the axle, which results in 7200 inch pounds of bending moment that has to be counteracted by something (housing and bearings?). Maybe that is enough to damage the bearings. As a side note, the idea is adding fluid to the tires is probably OK even though rotational inertia is generally a bad thing the farther you are from the axle (results in sheared gear teeth). Since the fluid is not solid (frozen), and the tractor speeds should be pretty slow, the liquid will slide along the tire/rim interface and have a minimal contribution to rotational inertia. So I guess I would like to hear from RS members regarding their actual experience with respect to bearings or transaxles being damaged by cast iron wheel weights, loaded tires, suitcase weights, weight boxes.

Made To Disintegrate

He has the WH addiction next he will need plans for the WH horse barn.

Years ago we used auto brake drums, a couple of bolts, cement, Drill a couple of holes that match your rims. The brake drums from local salvage yard, drums sized to fit your rims. Once 'n awhile find myself thinking, "Stacked brake rotors?"

1-9-1916; CIA operative James Snowden, Grand father of Edward Snowden, listens in on conversation between German Kaiser Wilhelm II and his high ranking officers. He employed the latest eavesdropping technology.

is that climate change I hear?

Can ya hear me now......

When I win the 900+ million Powerball tonight I will take whatever share would be needed (within reason ....) and go straight to TORO and get them to start producing new 5xx series Wheel Horses with either an 8 speed or the Eaton 1100 . Fuel injected engines with closed evap systems would take care of one of the issues that caused Toro to discontinue them ---EPA wanted a closed fuel system... 42 and 48 plows, a forward swept heavy duty front end, 2 stage snow blowers... 42 rd , 42, 48 and 60 sd decks... on and on... Boy it would be nice... There's how I would "waste" some of it.... and even if I had to loose money on every one I would make them affordable so everybody could own one. Tony

In all reality, it's just part of owning older equipment. I'm not upset and I knew that I was taking a gamble with just replacing the valve keepers. Does it suck it failed again? You bet it does. Stuff breaks so you fix it. Worst case, it gets new valves, keepers, retainers and a few gaskets. Looking at the big picture, I have far less invested in this tractor and have improved my mechanical skills then I would if I had bought a brand new tractor with mower, blade or blower. Plus it's always fun when your little 8hp Kohler from the 70s can pull the neighbors new tractor down the road in a friendly contest of whose tractor can pull whose.

Dolly Parton's doctor's special stethoscope

Uh-huh. That is what I said, too. Now they seem to be everywhere

That would have been a great "Caption This"

Tokyo , Tokyo , come in Tokyo ...

There is any easy fix for attachment storage , buy more WH tractors and leave the attachments on the tractors.

I think the knowledge and advice is well worth the cost of becoming a supporter. There are other advantages as well, finding parts and being able to find suppliers from members who have had good luck dealing with them. Seeing what others have done with their Horses and what possibilities there are for your Sure you can also get all that for nothing, by just hanging out here at this forum, but it shows those of us who are members and supporters that you to are willing to keep this hobby alive and well. My

Yes Jim, I can hear you just fine. Where's the damn volume on this thing?

Why sure it does Steve... that's my "dibs" tractor, remember?

If it was mine and I didn't have a need for it I would see what they go for on Ebay and ask half that amount, point out what a good buy you are giving him.

Weights added to the hitch area will increase traction on a level surface BUT weights added to the wheels increase stability on a side hill.

A very good friend of mine told me. "Electric motors run on smoke, and when the smoke comes out, they are shot"!

Thanks Don...a lot of good information there. I can't help you with your question as I have never had an axle bearing fail and probably would not know what caused it if one did fail. Although I am guessing most of these low speed bearing failures are due to improper lubrication. It would be interesting to see bearing life expectancy data at different loads, with proper lubrication and no lubrication.

Took me 13 years to save up enough cereal box tops to get these things.

Don't sweat it. A "u" is a tired "v".

One thing I am ahead on ... I just got a HUGE barn. I'll get some pics up when I can. Lofted storage, garage door, building a ramp for it ASAP, right now it houses a different kind of toy but there is room for probably 2-3 ponies! LOL

Which, of course, was paid for by the Presidential / Congressional health care program as opposed to the Affordable Care Act, since "ear jobs", along with other similar "jobs" are not covered by the ACA.

Yes, the storage rack for decks I am building is evidence of that. I need a barn, but the rack will have to do for now.

hi yes I must agree the cost of advice and honest help and info is well worth the cost and ill become a supporter. Thanks guys

The best benefit may be ....The satisfaction you get from knowing you are helping to support a great organization.

The first rejected NFL quarterback communication system.

Another option would be to use brake rotors from cars that use that bolt pattern as a base, and then build on that.

This topic is getting a lot of miles. And I can`t disagree with anything others have said. But I like my loader. I have a snow blower and a plow and didn`t use either one last year. If the snow is too wet to blow or too deep to plow I can still use the loader. Ideally it would be nice to have a tractor for each attachment and some do. Good tractors can be bought for a few hundred $. A place to keep them gets a lot more expensive. I`m up to seven myself now but if I could only have two, it would be one with a mowing deck and my loader tractor. The loader may not be ideal for every job but you can do more with it than any other single attachment. At least that I can think of at the moment. What ever you decide, the main thing is enjoy the seat time on your "new" Wheel Horse.

Pleased to "meet" you ACman. Your positive attitude is wonderful, and it will enable you to make gains in your recovery. It will also be the reward to your family that has rallied behind you, "you gotta throw the dog a bone every now and again...." Love that Trac-chair - that is bad-a$$.

So...lubrication isn't an issue at low RPM?

Good job Karl...kawasaki

Only 2-3???

When you look up "Good Listener" in the dictionary...this is the picture that is there. I HEARD THAT!!!

Thanks everyone for your thoughts ,praise,and prayers . I love this forum and the great people who belong to it . Words can't describe how much it means to me how you can care for someone you haven't even met . If anyone wants to learn more about SCI injuries or just needs someone to talk to , PM me . I'm always glad to answer ?'s . You can also go to the Christofer Reeve Foundation and get lots of info and answers . Thanks again ACman REDSQUARE RULES !!!

I could go for a loader myself one day. right now the number 1 job is of course mowing the lawn. then job 2 is snow duty. but with a 500 ft driveway the snowblower is the way to go. I have blades for back up if needed. The loader wouldnt do much. but I could find an occasional chore for it. I have 5 tractors. want more. BUT storage becomes the issue. as it becomes an issue with attachments. you will see. right after you buy your first one. then your second. then your third. then your 4th. get it. lol oh. forgot to mention leave duty. thats another big job. but once a year anyway. best of luck to you. Glenn

Yes lubrication is a huge issue when running a new engine at low speed, not enough oil splash to lubricate surfaces when engine is tight. When I rebuild a kohler I will run it for one hour at full throttle (3600 rpm) then change oil. Then use it for the next 5 hrs at full throttle. Then I am confident it will be good to go. Been kicking around the idea of something I can hook up to put the motor under load for 1 to 5 hours to break in motors.

Just wondering if The Ponds didn't miss an opportunity for a pitch man - Elvis could have sung "All Shook Up" standing next to a WH with a Kohler rattling and rolling...just a thought...

I'm a little tea pot and I'm a nut, I pull my Techie cord and putt putt phhhhht!