Promoting the WH Hobby ~ Passing on the Tradition

[HorseFixer 2,012]

Last week I recieved a E-Mail at work from a lady that herd about my hobby she is a fellow

employee and thought I would share the conversation.

Hi Bob, Chris Johnson told me to give a shout out your way. I have a

8year old son that dug out an old Wheel horse lawn mower out of his

grandpas barn last spring. He has since gotten it running and has a

small trailer that he drives around the neighborhood (we call it his

poor mans 4-wheeler) Chris seen the pictures of him driving it in the

4th of July parade and told me about you and your wheel horse hobby!

Ethan has been wanting to restore his old tractor like the big boys

do with theirs. Chris said you have quite the collection and maybe

you wouldnt mind showing off some to a curious young man, or at least

letting him pick your brain some. If you dont have time please dont

feel you have to, but if you so it would make his day. Let me know.

Thanks in advance!

Charity, not a problem, and would be glad to take a Horseman under

my wing :>)

What is Your E-Mail Address At Work And Home. I will first wet

his whistle with some pictures, he will then have my E-Mail Addys

and he can send me pictures of His Horse.

There Is quite a story behind how Wheel Horse came to be, Im sure

that he will enjoy hearing the story & how it all happened, A father

and son team in 1946 who forged and changed the lawn equipment

Industry forever."WARNING"!!!!!! This Hobby is addicting and I have

never seen anyone stop at just (1) Horse. :>) Take Care ~Duke

Thanks, Bob got it!! Ethan is taking pictures of his pony today and I am

going to see if I can down load them. He would like to see pictures of

yours when you have time, and what started you in this.

Ethan, My name is Bob Davis. Don`t ever call me Mr. Davis cause that makes

me feel old!! Besides friends don`t call each other MR. :>) You can call me

Bob or Duke my nickname. Anyways I have loved Wheel Horse`s ever since I

was a kid. Unlike you, I unfortunately I never owned one myself until 5 years

ago. I Grew up in Niles across from the High School so the yards never

warranted having a lawn tractor, because you could mow them In 20 minutes

with a push mower. (It was pretty hard to talk dad into such an expenditure.) $$

(Wheel Horses are/were the most expensive tractor out there). With that being

said, that is why my family never owned one. How I got my love for these Horses

was I used to mow lawns when I was a kid and these two older ladies used to

have me mow their grass with an 857 Wheel Horse Tractor! Geesh, I think I would

have done it for FREE! :>) but guess what, I even got paid! How cool was that.

Anyways both of the ladies died, girl friends came along, automobiles etc. and the

Wheel Horse and lawn mowing was soon forgotten.

Five, years ago I needed a lawn Roller to Roll my yard and needed something to pull it

with, so naturally I bought my first garden tractor and only would settle for a Horse

and guess what? Yep the one I found was an 857!!! Later I started researching them,

and looked and looked at all the models and decided to collect the ones that are

passionately known as the “Round Hoods†these are tractors that are pre 1964 and

have a rounded hood up front. My oldest tractor is a 1955 RJ-35 and the RJ stands for

Ride away Jr. I also have a 1956 that is fully restored. And my newest is a 1991 520-H.

I have had as many as 27 tractors and am down I think to 21 which include a few Non

Runners and parts machines. I have written magazine articles, and have been contacted

by people all around the world about my articles. I take my horses to shows and have

met a lot of neat people and have developed many friendships. I have hauled horses

home from Marquette Mi, Shelby NC, Des Moines, Iowa. And have been to shows as far

away as Gettysburg, PA.

Dont think I have that many!! I hardly have any Horses compared to guys I know that

have over 100 of them!! I have also researched the History of Wheel Horse know the

basic story by heart, and have even met Cecil Pond Son of Elmer Pond who were a

Father & Son Team and who was one of the Original founders of the company in 1946.

It`s a shame that they no longer make them because they are the finest Garden Tractor

ever made. In the winter I used to use a walk behind Toro Snow blower to clear the snow

from my drive and it was pretty tough for this old man (I`m not as young as I used to be)

With all these tractors I had I didn`t have one setup for snow. I had since sold the 857

and was collecting smaller round hoods. One day the Toro broke and I had to have a friend

come by and plow me out. And he said the words that made me want the newer machines.

(With all those tractors you have you mean to tell me you have none to take care of the

snow in your driveway?) I thought a minute and said to myself Bob you collect the finest

Garden Tractor made that does more work than any other tractor in the world and you

would think you would have one to take care of Ole Man Winter!! So I did something about

it. and purchase the one you see in the attached pictures which is a 1975 Wheel Horse C-120

Auto that I purchased 3 years ago. I found an old WH snow cab it was a 1979 that was under

some trees in back of a guys house with sap all over it. I then found a HUGE Snow Blower for

it I then went to town and built “The Snow Chucker†I reconditioned everything put it together

and then made some major improvements and modifications. Anyways here are some pics of

the Snow Chucker doing battle with old man winter. I will send some more pics of some shows

I have been to and other Wheel Horse Tractors.

Take care… Yer Pal ~Duke

Bob, Ethan is loving the emails and pictures. I told him today I would sit

down with him and help him send a email back. He was up at 5 am with

me this morning. going over pictures again! Your emails are so fun and

kid friendly that he is forgetting that your not a kid. LOL he asked me

this morning when he could go over to your house and Play.. but then

caught himself and had to big boy up and " I'm mean check out his

horses and go over some manuals!" I laughed... Your making his day.. thanks again!

Well I will post some pictures of him that his Ma sent me tonight. Well from his pictures as

you will see he has an A-90 a 74,76, or 77 I know nothing about these Vertical Shaft Tractors

other than what I have looked up in "Wheel Horse by Years" It makes me feel good to be

able to help this young lad out. And her comment that said: Forgetting yer not a kid?

Uhhhh I am! Anyways I look fwd to meeting him.

Do any of you have an A-90 manual In PDF? I told him I would try and find one for him.

I can see in the future a Roundhood for this lad.

Thanks ~Duke

Here are some Pics Of Ethan I believe pulling his mom and sisters. Looks like his A-90 Puffs Blue

Smoke like my 520 which means we have more in common.

[fourwheels0 191]

now that's pretty cool.

i have a buddy and we are getting his grandson into wheel horses. right now he's chomping on the bit to get his charger electro 12 hydro up and running.

it's always good to pass on something like this to the younger generation.

[fireman 1,021]

"WARNING"!!!!!! This Hobby is addicting and I have

never seen anyone stop at just (1) Horse. :>) Take Care ~Duke

Duke,

I'm on my way down from an all time high of 14 tractors at one time and probably owned over 25 to 30 total. I have 3 left and may be down to 2, (55RJ and 58RJ) as I have someone interested in my C-195. It was fun while it lasted. I had a great time especially when out hunting them down but it's time for me to move on. I never thought it would end for me but like everything else, things and/or interests change.

Jeff

[Brrly1 1,146]

That a boy Duke, I knew there was a reason I liked you but I also knew that it wasn't because you are a Michigan fan. I know its a pretty good feeling as I have helped a few people around here with there tractors. Go Hawkeyes!!! :dunno:

[EdG. 5]

I have an Operator Manual for a 1977 A-90 in a PDF format.

I am not smart enough to know how to attach it here, but if you send me

your email address I would try to get it to you that way.

My email is rncrecording@hotmail.com

Ed

[rexman72 210]

nice to see young kids getting into this.

[71_Bronco 1,072]

:wh:

First off, this is one reason why I love this forum. Everybody here is out to help everybody else. No snobs here guarding their possessions or their knowledge.

Have fun and good luck with this, I'm sure many fond memories are going to come out of this, and I'm sure he will not forget them for a long time.

Oh, and dont forget to remind him that just cause you are a "big boy", its still okay to act like a kid from time to time and still fun to play in the dirt... only difference is that you are atop a Wheel Horse :dunno:

[Doubletrouble 10]

That is really cool! Very "Big Boy" of you to help him out. I love to hear stories of the next generation taking interest in the classics.

[can whlvr 991]

thats a great story duke,we gotta get the young ones into this hobby so some one will keep these machines going

[Coadster32 793]

I'm on my way down from an all time high of 14 tractors at one time and probably owned over 25 to 30 total. I have 3 left and may be down to 2, (55RJ and 58RJ) as I have someone interested in my C-195. It was fun while it lasted. I had a great time especially when out hunting them down but it's time for me to move on. I never thought it would end for me but like everything else, things and/or interests change.

Jeff

Will definatly be missed around here.

[HorseFixer 2,012]

Thanks, Guys when I seen Ethans picture a tear came to my eye, and I dont have to tell you

who he reminded me of. I know he is attatched to that tractor but I'm gonna try and

somehow get him into a Round Hood maybe an 854 or something.

Ed I sent you an E-mail for the PDF, Im sure Ethan will appreciate that and I will tell him his

Uncle Ed sent that!

Jeff, I am sorry to here you are getting out of the hobby. I dont know what to say

about that hope you find happiness in other intrests.

Cheers ~Duke

[HankB 16]

Awesome story Duke.

It's good to be back (first post on the new site) and it's great to hear stories like this!

-hank

[speedyleedy 205]

way to go duke :dunno:

[HorseFixer 2,012]

Thanks Uncle Ed for the PDF Manual for Ethan sent you the E-mail along with him!

Ethan, I couldn`t find the PDF of the manual for your Tractor So`s I reached out to my Wheel Horse

Buds and Uncle Ed came up with a manual for you! That`s what this hobby is all about Wheel

Horse friends helping each other out with their tractors. Ethan enjoy the manual, and thanks Uncle Ed

For sharing.

~Duke

[wheelhorse656 20]

This reminds me of how i got started about about 7 or 8 years ago.

Great Job Duke!

I hope more people about my age get involved with wheelhorse. All the people in my high school think im a nut case because i eat breath and sleep wheelhorse. :wh:

[HorseFixer 2,012]

One thing about it "EVERY ONE" has to start, somewhere. That somewhere could be enjoyable or that somewhere

could have left a sour taste in your mouth. "Destiny makes us brothers, None go his way alone, what you put into

the lives of others come back into your own".

~Duke

[WHRNaddict 5]

It's great to see a kid so young that has goals, for him to dig that tractor out , get running, and have the support of his family is awesome. What a future he has. My grandson and I are going to a local show this weekend and he's counting the days, he's only four, I say the earlier the better. Great job!!

[AMC RULES 36,961]

Very cool stuff Duke. :dunno:

[HorseFixer 2,012]

Thanks Guys Here is the Email From Ethan sitting in my In-Box this morning

at work. WHRNaddict you said nice to have goals? WoW! Yep he does...

Cheers ~Duke

Hi, it is Ethan. I like wheel horses How did I get a wheel horse? When my mom was little she had a wheel horse she was the same age as I Me and my Grapae got the wheel horse down from the top of the barn.And that is how i got a wheel horse. I want to change it into a wheel horse with a back on it with honka truck tires and two tracotr muflers on both sides. with a controler that makes the back go up and down. and that is what I want my wheel horse to look like. bye bob!

All I gotta say is YiKES! This looks like a Job for Bob Rock!

[WHRNaddict 5]

I bet a set of a ag tires all the way around would make his day.

[wheelhorse656 20]

I bet a set of a ag tires all the way around would make his day.

WHRNaddict sorry i just like this smilie and it was the perfect time to try it out! I agree i think the ag's would make his day!

[wheelhorse656 20]

I bet a set of a ag tires all the way around would make his day.

WHRNaddict sorry i just like this smilie and it was the perfect time to try it out! I agree i think the ag's would make his day!

[Buzz 502]

Way to go Duke . This past Saturday at the Pumpkin Run they had garden tractor pulls. The Atlantic County (NJ) 4-H has a garden tractor pulling club and there were at least a dozen kids pulling. It was neat watching them working on their tractors, changing weights for different classes, etc, and having a ball. This hobby, like most others, need young blood to keep it from dying out. A big "ATTABOY" to the adults who help them and teach them.

[HorseFixer 2,012]

I came home tonight and this was in my E-Mail Box.

~Duke

thanks for the manual Bob! My mom is going to print it out so I can read it at home and figure it out. Do you know if all wheel horse tractors are suppose to have a lever that your suppose to push forward and hold in, push in the clutch then turn the key all the way to start? cuz thats they way mine works.

I will look in my manual and try to find the lever.

Ethan, the lever you are referring to is a PTO this engages the deck or impliment on the tractor.

If you are having to hold the lever back then there are safety switches that are most likely out of adjustment,

These safety switches prevent the tractor from starting if engaged. Can your dad adjust those safety switches for you?

Please advise. Uncle Ed thanks again for the manual for Ethan?

Thanks ~Duke

[smoreau 658]

That all Duke!! I love the story and plan on following this thread. Just DON'T GIVE HIM ANY APPLE JUICE!!!! I think he is in some great hands with you helping him out! and a lawn ranger is a great round hood for kids, I have one for Gabby. She is 9 going on 19 if you know what I mean Looks like your making a great little buddy and you might have a tag-long at next years Charlotte Show. If so, I would love to meat him! If you do get him into a round hood and I have any parts that you would need, I would love to donate them.