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My widowed neighbor brought this sign into my shop about 3 weeks ago. Her special needs son had tried to restore it with a rattle can. She said she had a dream about the sign and my name came up. Would I like to paint it.? No way I can ruin a dream for a wonderful neighbor. So it became a project. I took the sign to a local cabinet / sign maker for advice on paints and clear coatings. In 2 minutes he had it on his screen. He made the sign in 1995. I thought about paying him to make a new one, but I knew my neighbor would prefer the old one. It had taken a 1/2" warp over the 30 years and I decided to not correct it, but added two ribs to keep it together. Used some soldering irons as wood burners to reestablish the outlines. Three coats of brown oil based enamel, three coats of gold water based acrylic, and the fourth and final coat of water based spar poly today.

Still recovering, took a marathon drive to Conway SC yesterday. Met a southern gentleman, Cletis Nester, and picked up my first sickle bar. Cleat was a generous and accommodating host, invited me in to his shop, regailed me with stories. I was so drained from the drive, I didn't have the wherewithal to take pictures. One photo from when I stopped for supper, more to follow.

Yeah, it was in the right place by the hoist where I wanted to hang the sign. I was real careful not to damage the priceless patina on the hood.

Fish Tank Floorshow Night is celebrated on September 28. It’s a night dedicated to making the fish species the main attraction. The quiet and beautiful animals in the corner of the room take the stage for the night. Fish have been kept as pets for so many years, and they remain a favorite choice for many amazing reasons. Did you know watching fish is good for your health? It helps you destress and calm down. So join us as we watch some fish in the tank, on TV, or in the aquarium. Toss a pillow on the floor of your living room and get ready to do some fish-watching!

I wasn’t happy with the way the paint job on the C-141 came out so I figured I’d fix it. It’s supposed to be nice the next few days so I figured I’d give it another shot before it gets cold. That might be a tomorrow morning or Monday project. It’s a learning curve….right😁

Moved the 2” receiver from the Workhorse to the 520-8.

Today the wife and I took a boat ride over to the North Fork of Long Island to grab some lunch. On the way we passed the ferries that run to Shelter Island. Here’s a few pictures.

I took out some tractors I had stored in my enclosed trailer to put different ones in to go to a show yesterday. When I got home I didn’t feel like reloading them so I just put them in the garage.

Yes. Any classic tractor (300/400/500) series will fit.

I've painted and stripped the hood on my current project 3 times now. It's primed, sanded, and ready to go. I'm gonna wait for a cooler evening later this week so I won't get bug tracks in it. Good luck to us both!

We told our wives we were going after some parts.

856 Test drive after carb rebuild and transaxle flush. Want be long till Halloween 🎃 so thought this would be fitting pic.

Made some footrests. This one is done, done, done! Before and after as well as a close up of the back plate.

The 2 closest in the photo are mine and the Charger 10 is my neighbor's.

Ready to roll this morning. I can even open the tail gate.

Picked up one today. More to come soon

It's stick bug season!

Maybe you should go ahead and just tape the paper on there permanent.

I had one in the shop a while back. If you find it is an electrical problem this may help. With all the safeties, I ended up making my own map.

Good job on the sign. No great job on the sign! I do see you had your mobile work top out for the job. Somehow just the right height. I have a couple of those, WH pro tip (black hoods are more spacious)

They actually manufacture many of the new door hinges this way, in fact I can get a kit to add those to my RV and for good reason. Once when in S.C. I opened the door and the wind grabbed it and swung it opened so hard that the plastic door stopper mounted on the wall of the camper poked a hole in the door. The stiff door hinges prevent that from happening, and I would bet is why Coleman used them in this case, also to hold it open when the awning is extended. This is a really nice camper Eric, I was trying to convince my son to get something like this to pull behind his Wrangler. I think you are on the right path to replace the cheaper tires with good quality tires, and if you can add a TPMS because most blowouts happen from under inflation. With the 120v systems powering the core utilities of the camper, I would definitely consider an inverter and Lithium batteries. My understanding is that this camper is wired for an inverter already. Generators are great, but some places don’t allow them past certain hours.

Somebody told me recently that I needed to fill a spot in my 875 dash!

I have a couple that the return spring is bad on. I have just gotten in the habit of if I feel a Cole Hersee key in my fingers, I return the switch to the run position. I should just start replacing them but like @WHX?? always says "Got a lot of mouths to feed here"

Today we dug into it. First got the hub and drive pulley off. Then got the hitch pin to move some so we will smash the rest of that out tommorow. Then drained the water from the transmission and soaked all the bolts so we can remove the transmission tommorow and really dig into it. And in one of the pictures you can see how the brake rod is missing that bearing Here’s the pics!

Trina found a monarch butterfly here. This afternoon we cut a piece of carpet for the basement apartment so the momma will have warmer feet.

I used the wrench I got with my angle grinder. Even used the grinder on the wrench so it fit

Magnum is in, had to move it forward to clear the battery and the fuel tank isn’t going to work. Choke and throttle all set, wiring harness moved over but not hooked up. But I have it all figured out in my head . Have a fuel tank that will work. Belt will be interesting. 1/2” on the tranny input and idler pulley, 5/8” on the motor. Will need a new 1” ID pulley on the Magnum. Would like a 3” to increase ground speed just a wee bit. Father son project, good times!

I never had a problem. I even let mine locked down when moving trailers with my tractors to prevent a tractor from doing a back flip. Never had one collapse.

My C81 usually holds the platter awaiting steaks or burgers off the grill....

Add a foam noodle to your camping gear. Cut to size, slit it and put it on the canopy support. Throw it in storage when not in use. I used bright green. Does two things: 1) makes support visible, 2) adds softness to the inevitable head contact...

This door has the stiffest hinges I've seen. It takes actual effort to move it all the way from closed to wherever you stop it. Hopefully that'll last and hopefully the door won't bash smash bend the awning frame. I took a brief look at the contact point there. Wondering if I could/ should add protection of some sort. Maybe put a rubber baby buggy bumper on the door edge..... The rear is higher than it looks. My head is the only one close. Will I hit it? You bet! Came damn close at least twice yesterday. That may get a DOT Conspicuity Tape on it. And I'll still hit it.

This deck (also came with the idler) came with a few '70s era tractors we picked up today but looks like it belongs on an older tractor. Appears to be in really good shape, but I couldn't find any numbers to look it up. Any help with what models would use this deck? Never mind, it actually goes to the Charger 10 we picked up today.

Just for confirmation. @nylyon @Achto & others. I'd asked, What systems are 12V or 120V? Answer: 12V - Water pump, awning, all lights. 120V - microwave, cooktop, fridge, AC & heat.

We cut the forward half of the top bunk out. This makes the middle bunk more user friendly with better light and space. It also offers good storage space in the back, up top. Was: Is:

You can also mount a rear view camera to the back of the trailer. Power it from one of the running lights and drive with your parking or headlamps on to supply it. i put one of THESE on the back of our pre-backup camera car that my daughter drives (powered by the backup lights so it only runs when the car is in reverse). I liked it so much I put another on the back of my boat that I use as a rear view camera when towing. The signal easily makes it from the rear of my 18’ boat to the dashboard of the truck. Works really well day and night. I steal power from the boat cranking battery, but it’s commonplace to use the trailer running lamps. My boat is wide and big enough that it hides anything directly behind me and this makes me feel better that I can fill in the gap. They apparently don’t make the exact model that I bought anymore, but there are a lot of options. Mine have been out in the weather for a couple of years now and still work like new. There may be some legal reason that might require extended mirrors, but this is a great supplement. Steve

Looks nice!!! Did you get it from @Pullstart's guy?

Today I got the group out in the sun for Front End Friday. I worked some on the C-141 rerouting the gas line to make it start easier, which was a success. I also worked more on the C-85 getting it to the point where its easier to move around. I also started a bit of disassembly on the shaker motor mount as I'm going to set it up like the others. I also removed the PO added external idle handle.

I've had this deck maybe 8 yrs. Every year I take the mulching insert out to clean. Lots of grass powder gets trapped between the deck and insert. 2 years ago I coated the insert with Por 15. I think it's held up well. Here is all the grass that was between the deck and insert. Blade side. You can see how much grass gets under the wings Wire brushed both sides of the insert I used stainless steel bolts so they come off easier. Wire brushed both sides of the wings. Coated one side and will do the other side when it dries. Coated both sides of the insert I sprayed truck bedliner coating on the inside of the shell. It has held up well. The insert must protect the spindles some as there is no corrosion on the aluminum. Shell cleaned. I will coat around the spindle area of the shell as there is some minor pitting. I also will coat the edges. More to come once things dry.

Picked up a 169 over the weekend. I might have over paid for it, but i know these are pretty uncommon. Has a deck, integral hitch and plow. Has a cracked oil pan from an over tightened drain plug and a brush paint job, but I'll be excited to get this one going again! Also the muffler is in great shape so thats a plus!

Here's a video for ya in case ya need a nap.

LOL - That's what I told her!

@Bar Nuthin Well technically you didn’t lie, there is a lot of parts on that trailer!!

Excellent question. And yes we did. The 2025 model year had a bunk that was hinged where we cut it. Keystone Coleman stopped the hinging because several people mentioned that the hinging platform would close on its own while on the roads. We inquired on a 2025 model year but couldn't get it. There's a double cross member right at the end point of the shelf you can see. Bracing. The odds of us wanting the 4th bunk for sleeping aren't zero, but far lower than storage needs. If we ever decide to put the bunk back we've kept all the pieces in usable condition.

We drove from our Mi. location to our Mo. location yesterday. Towed the utility trailer, as we have jobs for it here this month. A couple slight issues with it, though. The toung jack was lowering g itself as we drove, ant we discovered that one of the tires was real low when we stopped for breakfast after about 1/2 hour of driving. The low tire was confusing. The trailer only has about 2000 miles on it, so it was unusual to have one tire leak down. Quick inspection didn't show anything, so we stopped at a gas station and filled it up. We had purchased the trailer at a TSC store, and there was one a short distance from the gas station. As an insurance policy, we stopped there and bought a matching spare. Everything we stop, it is my habit to check the hitch and the temperature of the hubs and tires. The suspect tire was holding air at every check. About 500 miles later, I noticed a nail in the suspect tire in one of my checks - Mystery solved. It was still holding air, so I didn't mess with it. I'll put the spare on this week and get the other tire to a shop for repair. Got to figure out a good place to mount the spare now. It turns out that the toung jack needs to be snugged in the fully up position to stay up. One of the reasons for the trip to Mo. was to attend a fundraiser dinner for the robotics team today. Nice dinner, had a bit of fun, and won a silent auction on a rocket stove custom built with the team number. It is built out of 1/4" plate and looks like it will disassembled into a stack of flat plates. Pictures coming soon. Looks like it will be a good porch or deck accessory for the lake house.

Most of the safety switches will prevent cranking (neutral, clutch, pto), if it cranks over fine, id give it a sniff of carb cleaner down the intake, if it lights off...you have a fuel supply or delivery problem. If it doesn't, you have an ignition problem. Coils do go bad.

I figured out the motor now it runs good and doesn't smoke anymore all it was bad points it's had a hole in one of the contents and that was new points parts now days

Painted the rear body/fender of my GT18 today with three coats of New Holland-approved paint. I used up almost three rattle cans on this body part. In hindsight, I should have just ordered a quart or two of paint and used an HVLP spray gun for this project, but it came out OK...no runs and pretty shiny. What looks like wrinkles in the paint is just the masking tape on the data labels. The GT18 came with rear-facing reflectors, which are essentially taillight lenses with a piece of white (now yellow with age) plastic behind them. Here are the original reflectors (which are still in pretty good shape): I thought I'd upgrade the GT18 by replacing the reflectors with "real" taillights, like those on my 522xi. I did a bit of searching and found a set (see part number in photo): I just ordered a set of lamp sockets for the new taillights, and I plan to add the taillight wiring when I have a moment. The taillights will come on when the headlights are on. The total current for the headlights and taillights together should be less than the original headlights alone, since I've switched to LED bulbs for the headlights.