When the horse dies

[MalMac 1,332]

N3PUY brought up a subject that has probably happen to all of us one time or another. What do you do when your horse just quits? Now I am referring to winter operations. I am sure some of you, myself included don't just plow or blow your own driveways but do neighbors whether there right next to you or down the road a bit. There have been times I have been traveling to or from neighbors that are a 1/4 mile away or sometimes a bit farther and wondered what would I do if this thing would just quit. There has been times that I was out in the road with the blower down on a hydro and it quit. When your tractor is dressed up in winter gear you just don't push them with ease. I have rescued them with other tractors, 4x4 pickup, farm tractors, even a snowmobile. Just wondering how many of you have been stranded by breakdown far from home base and what you did to get it home or at least out of the way. No fun when you have a blade full of snow or a blower full and your horse just quits.

Edited January 11, 2015 by MalMac

[squonk 43,750]

I was running the blower on Marvin The C-145 I had last year. doing my neighbor's driveway. I  backed up and then started going forward and all of a sudden it just started spinning and things felt kind of strange. The back wheels were off the ground!   Turned out the lift bar for the mower deck had come loose from the chain and had wedged into the ground. I was about 100 yds. from my garage and had to drag my 2 ton floor jack through the snow to get the bar out of the ground.

[boovuc 1,090]

I burned up and disintegrated my drive belt pulling large logs from a neighbors yard quite a few hundred yards away from home. 8 speeds are easy though and a team of humans pushed it back. I did crap out a C-120 Auto and the tow screw was mangled. Though it was only a couple hundred feet from the house, with another neighbor, we lifted the rear-end onto the back of my dump cart and strapped it in and I towed it back to the garage. 

[leeave96 490]

This is a good topic. While the Wheelhorse is a TOUGH tractor, it's sheet metal hood, fenders and steering wheel aren't exactly made for pushing the tractor around like some other color tractors.

As I get older, my back is letting me know that one of these days if I lift, push or pull to much, it's going to strike back with long term debilitating pain! If it were my Dad, at the age of 82, and he broke down a couple blocks from the house in deep snow, the walk back to the house could be a challenge. So I limit my snow plowing/blowing to my dead end street these days.

The easiest to retrieve is a gear drive. The Eaton hydros with no real bypass are a challenge. Nothing to push on, once y do start pushing, they are hard to push or pull.

I guess maybe one could use another tractor to tow the downed tractor - if you had another driver. Perhaps a small trailer with a winch on it where you could load the tractor and bring it home.

All of the above is great, but I recommend multi-tractor depth in numbers and just leave the downed tractor in a snow pile until spring and get out #2 or #3 and keep moving the snow.....

Bill

[pfrederi 18,640]

C175 lost a front wheel plowing snow a couple years ago. Carry a bottle jack snow shovel and wrench about 1/4 mile and got pretty cold and wet jacking her up and getting the wheel back on. Most failures other wise are towed home with another horse.  Easiest is wife is around to steer dead tractor. If not I try to tie the wheel but it doesn't tow well. Really need to rig up something on the D200s 3 point to lift the front end of a dead horse.  If she dies I just hope the FEL is up.  If so I can use one of my case tractors and chain the FEL bucket to the tractors 3pt

[doc724 925]

I have not had any "far away from home" incidents like many of you.  My worse winter fiasco was the common shift lever set screw backout.  Here I am with the shift lever in my hand. snow blowing all around me, trying to figure out what went wrong.  Fastest repair ever! 

 

However, that one pales with the summer fiasco of 30 years ago.  We had a small pond on the property and the land slanted down toward the water.  My wife was cutting grass and she got off the machine to pick up something, left it in neutral without the parking brake on.  Yup, it rolled down into the water.  The water was only 2 feet or so deep (and lots of muck on the bottom) but the tractor rolled down the far side of the pond and there was no access to the other side to get a car over there.  I went out and bought 20 feet of 1 inch hemp rope, waded into the water, tied it around the transaxle and my wife and I hauled it out.  Changed all the fluids-twice and it started right up.  That tractor is gone now, but I still have the rope, which I have used many times since to pull my mower decks out to the shed or to tow the occasional "stopped" tractor back to the garage.

[Forest Road 594]

This has the makings of a great thread... My avatar is my 314h with a busted drive belt. It snapped 20' or so outside of my garage. I tried to push or pull it back inside. Quickly found myself getting nowhere. The nearest parts store is 30-40 miles away. Used a piece of 3/8" triple braid rope and weaved a belt. It wasn't pretty but did the job. It ended up snapping just inside the garage after climbing the up the 3-4" high step

Since then I've hung a spare belt on the wall. I also keep carb kits and spark plugs on hand. Cheap insurance for those rare "O-sh**" moments.

[Lane Ranger 11,395]

What is most embarrassing is when the horse dies and  someone else has a camera to record the death - and you are on it!     

 

 Here are three photos my uncle  Don Redding (one of those green tractor collectors) took of me being pulled on my 1967 Lawn Ranger by my brother David  with his 633 Wheel Horse at the Winamac, Indiana "Power from the Past Show"  in  2013.

 

I don't even recall what the issue was but I think it was gasoline related.  

When you haul these tractors around 100 miles or so they tend to shake loose a lot of the old stuff -me included!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 10, 2015 by Lane Ranger

[AMC RULES 37,196]

Looks like a Shriners convention there Lane.    

[Tankman 3,523]

When a Horse "stumbles", cry. We love these Stallions!

 

All else fails, call a tow Stallion, use a strap to pull the poor Horsey to the barn shop. 

 

The Horses love work!

 

Edited January 10, 2015 by Tankman

[squonk 43,750]

What is most embarrassing is when the horse dies and  someone else has a camera to record the death - and you are on it!     

 

 Here are three photos my uncle  Don Redding (one of those green tractor collectors) took of me being pulled on my 1967 Lawn Ranger by my brother David  with his 633 Wheel Horse at the Winamac, Indiana "Power from the Past Show"  in  2013.

 

I don't even recall what the issue was but I think it was gasoline related.  

When you haul these tractors around 100 miles or so they tend to shake loose a lot of the old stuff -me included!

 

 

 

Power from the Past -20130002.jpg

 

 

 

Power from the Past -20130001.jpg

 

 

 

 

Power from the Past -20130003.jpg

Did Dave around in circles so everyone could get a good look? 

[varosd 1,185]

I wasn't too far off the driveway, but tried to start the 416-H with snow blade on it and barely turned over. she is outside so I can keep the car inside.

Now it's 17 degrees now with colder at night and unknown battery came with the latest rig. plus while the hydro filter and oil had changed before I got it, the engine oil was old and filter had crud over it. the engine oil was like cold molasses.

switched out the cold battery for a nice, toasty warm one and she fired right up. 

I moved a big brush pile back to get ready to burn it tomorrow.

brought her inside and changed oil/filter and fuel filter. running ethanol free only gas

[stevasaurus 23,274]

Here is a picture of me and my buddy, JimD, trying to pull Horsefixer's horse onto the blacktop.  This horse will not start when it is on grass.  Picture was taken at the Big Show in 2010. 

 

 

Yes, somebody always has a camera. 

[GT14 243]

Got stuck in a neighbors driveway with a broken blower belt.   

[squonk 43,750]

Here is a picture of me and my buddy, JimD, trying to pull Horsefixer's horse onto the blacktop.  This horse will not start when it is on grass.  Picture was taken at the Big Show in 2010. 

 

 

Yes, somebody always has a camera. 

If all those lights and gadgets weren't   on there you would have ripped that baby right out of the ground! 

[brandonozz 168]

Well I think you guys have most of the "do's" covered.  I'll elaborate on the "don't".

 

My parts tractor is a D200 that was purchased from a guy that had inherited it from his grandfather.  He ran it out of gas about 100 yards from his house and towed it back to his house with his truck.  Problem is he didn't know anything about the tow valve and left it closed when towing and after getting it fueled up and running it wouldn't move.  After learning a bit about the tractor he tore into it to find the problem.  He found the transaxle drive motor a mess.  Broke several parts including several slippers.

Edited January 11, 2015 by brandonozz

[Molon_Labe 731]

It pays to have a backup when one breaks down for sure. Here's what happened to me last November while plowing snow  hydro's are great as long as the engine is running but a real pain when it isn't. Glad I had the C-101 to drag it back to the barn.

[Lane Ranger 11,395]

Squonk:  Yes David made sure I was a plenty visible victim!