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I thought that theory was proven to be false quite a few years ago.

Are you insinuating that it's not only my crappy operator skills?

One disadvantage with my box blade version is that whatever grade the tires are at is what the blade will create. In other words, it can be tricky to make a 2% grade if the tires are at 3 or 4 degrees when beginning. That's one reason I made the 3-way blade, which can be adjusted accordingly...

Something like this? Everything is pinned or bolted onto a regular box blade, and with the receiver tube on the tongue I can use whatever length 2" square extension I want. As long as I have enough hose length. Also converted a 3-way blade to a puller version, using the same basic concept.

I absolutely hate having to slip a clutch. That's why I put a creeper kit in the M6040. Not that it's used often, but it sure comes in handy at times.

After starting with a small stick shift Kubota I thought it was great, compared to a shovel and wheelbarrow, but quickly learned to dislike the standard transmission. Especially for loader work. Got a larger Kubota with hydro shuttle and think it's great. But, when getting another small Kubota...

After trying to bring the gravel back up to the surface of the driveway for years, using a heavy rear blade rotated 180 degrees and at about a 30 degree angle, some gravel resurfaced and there was a bit of a crown. Thought about adding more gravel, but decided to get a 7-foot land plane...

A former neighbor bought the best fire rated safe he could find, for a somewhat reasonable price, and put it in a steel shipping container on his well cleared property. Well, a fire finally came through (this particular SoCal area was well overdue), and...everything in the safe got ruined...

I would've gladly driven 4,000 miles, and paid someone whatever they wanted to extract that mill and lathe since I can't lift heavy things.

Neither did I.

I have one Maxey 7K 16' flatbed and one custom built gooseneck that came with those damn things at every junction. Needless to say, not many of the lights work on either one.

A few years ago my girlfriend was talking to a friend in the L.A. area about shopping. I have three Trader Joe's within six miles, he said. Yes, she responded, I have to go about 100 miles to get to one - but I can get there faster.

Thanks. We have a fair amount of elk, too. The other day about 80 of them wandered by in one group.

Your second guess is correct. Thankfully a friend of mine moved to the area years ago, and after visiting him a couple of times I realized that this is a great place. No way I would've stumbled across the area otherwise. Didn't think I would be able to deal with the winters, but quickly found...

This was a scary thread to read, especially the first half or so. I'm surprised that so many are apparently oblivious to the forces involved, even if nothing unplanned happens.

Have you considered buying it at the pump at a truck stop instead? Quite a bit cheaper than in boxes.

Chinese, and some early Japanese, translations are often amusing. The worst one I remember said to "clean out the cock with a stiff brush". Had to do with the radiator on a Nissan Patrol.

Get the stronger and cheaper ones, then fiddle with the pressure relief?

Northern NM, close to the CO border. If you were dropped here you'd swear you were in CO. Which makes sense, as the Rockies don't abruptly stop at the state line. Anyway, I don't mind that most drives are a minimum of 150 miles round trip. The roads are curvy and fun, plus it gets the oil up...

It's not just used trailers, unfortunately.

I don't go to Costco, but my girlfriend does. And maybe once a month on average, or she'll end up taking the Ram 3500 crew Cab longbed, and filling it. Keep in mind that the nearest stoplight is 70 miles away. There's not a lot near here, thankfully.

Everything is relative. That's about the same amount of time it takes to go to Costco and back from here. And that's when exceeding the speed limit by some 40% on roughly half of the trip.

Something like that I'd make myself. Especially after having bought a set and know how limited they are for real life usage. Could work well for large but light stuff, I suppose. Yet heavy enough that my bad back and knees don't care for them. Especially when it's so easy to drive up to the...

Okay, NW New Mexico or NE AZ then?

Utah, most likely.

Nope, all bone stock. Well, except for a creeper kit, a 3rd remote, and an extra valve to operate the snow plow's angle, a few lights, and some other stuff I installed. But it was born in '10, before it knew to worry about if it identified as a smaller tractor. Although, it could very well...

As I recall, the loader is supposed to max out at 2K. Thankfully it doesn't seem to know that.

I don't know what my Titan forks are rated at, but they do handle 2,600 lbs. on a pallet, even at the far end of the 60" ones. Have obviously done stupid stuff with them, too, but not trying to fling out roots. Not yet anyway.

My (smaller) wrecker supposedly gets 3 mpg.

If anything, on all the Titan stuff I have the slots are larger than they need to be. Had that mattered to me I would've welded them up, but it doesn't.

Well, it helps to pay attention when using them, much like when using the tractor in general, and the M6040 does have adequate lifting capacity to use all of the 60 inches. Having the extra reach is great when stuffing things into the shed, for example. And I couldn't load cars on trailers if...

On the L3800 I can see the 48" inch forks, sort of, but still use the 60 inchers 50 to 1.

I've used my palletforks.com (Titan) forks a lot and have no issues with them. Got 48 inchers at first, but quickly realized that 60" was far more versatile. Also have extensions, but have only used those maybe twice. At the time, about 10 years ago, they cost about half. Sure glad I got the...

That's because you've never seen my home made (Jeep based) tractor. Then again, it actually has drive flanges in the front and locking hubs on the rear axle. Close enough?

I read up on the subject before depositing $44K not long ago. It's actually worse to do several below 10K deposits than one larger one. Many smaller deposits apparently do raise suspicions. Yes, they now know that I deposited that much, and while I told the teller the truth (that I'd squirreled...

Whoda thunk?

Was the coil still functional?

I beg to differ. It's a really good thing when people feel like they shouldn't be doing it, I think. Way too may oblivious drivers out there who apparently think there's nothing wrong with having a trailer oscillating behind them.

But...but...J9807 and the salesman said...

Indeed! My '14 1500 with the same engine and trans got similar hwy mileage, but just an empty 16-foot flatbed wiggling around back there sucked it down to about 10 mpg. Yes, I tried it once, just to prove the obvious to myself; don't tow with a 1/2-ton.

I dunno. When dealing with the 1-1/4 diameter bolts that hold the loaders in place on my backhoes, I think the effectiveness of the penetrating oil can be crucial. Those bolts are also pretty much a worst case scenario, being threaded in from the bottom and then having about an inch worth of...

Yep, I bought a 359 Pete in very nice condition for $20K, then made it a single axle. Ironically, the mileage really wasn't all that different from my current Ram 3500, although the 3406B and 18-speed could pull a whole lot more. At times I definitely wish I hadn't sold that Pete, but these...

You may be surprised. I recently tried to pay cash when buying a car. Nope, the dealer wouldn't take it. Had to go to the bank and put perfectly good money into the account so I could pay with a check instead.

You have to give WD-40 some credit, though. Tons of that inferior product are still being sold, for some reason. Bad habits are hard to get away from, I guess.

Both the jump pack and the batteries for the cordless tools charge fairly quickly. It's no big deal to keep an eye on the charge indicators while I work in the garage, then unplug things once they show full charge. Basically, I leave nothing plugged in that doesn't have to be. Could help save a...

Those things are a lot like first aid kits, extinguishers, etc. Useless, until you need them.

What really impressed me with the Noco was when it worked to start my Peterbilt. But I still won't leave that, or any other lithium ion battery, charging when I'm not present.

Batteries that has lasted since '09 (the last Dodge pickup) is impressive. I recently replaced the ones in my '17 Ram, just to be safe. Lots of places around here with no cell service, so even though I had started carrying a somewhat potent Noco jump starter, I chickened out since I already...

I dunno. After three or four diesels, my girlfriend got rid of her 2500 Cummins and bought a 3500 longbed with the 6.4. And she really likes it. Me, I'll stick with the 3500 Cummins C&C. For normal car duty I have a 1500 gasser.

Have used it for trailer decks and the decks around the house for years. What I don't use up goes in the same 55-gallon barrel as the used oil and is given to a nearby shop that uses it for heating.

Most likely the dealer filled the tires to max. Try running them at pressures correct for the actual axle weights, according to a load chart, and the ride quality should improve a lot.

Let me guess...you have more than one 1-inch drive impact?

I hope it'll turn out to be as simple as a U-joint or two. A number of things can take offense when using 4WD on high traction surfaces. I put mine back in 2WD as soon as having filled the loader bucket with dirt, for example, before turning, to help protect the weaker front axle which now has...

Never did it on a tractor, but would imagine that it works the same as on a car. If so, lift the tires off the ground then cycle the steering lock to lock a few times.

A lock is a really bad application for WD-40 according to locksmiths. And it makes sense. You really don't want anything that turns gummy or slimy and collects dirt in there, which is why they recommend graphite powder for lock cylinders.

Lots of aluminum in planes, which don't play well together with many other materials.

Removal and reinstallation of the BX25D's backhoe is quite effortless, really. Then again, it's so small that it couldn't be hard. Two people could probably set it in place without using the hydraulics for help.

Thanks, I still have two of the SEEs, down to one HMMH (crane/forklift), and one HME (trencher/dozer). They certainly have their quirks, but I like challenges and learning.

Yep, huge difference. A toy versus a tool, basically.

Well, to confuse the issue a bit more, mine aren't exactly industrial backhoes, either. Instead, they're military surplus. Used to be able to pick up nice ones for between $5K and $15K, but those days are unfortunately over and now they tend to go for $15 to $25K. Still, that's not bad for...

Okay, that's a third of what I paid for the Case 580 I use the most - because it's the one in best mechanical condition, even though it was originally bought as a parts car. Thankfully, my investment (while higher) has allowed me to use that machine for some six years now, whenever I feel like...

I have to admit that I have some WD-40. It was given to me, so I use it on the band saw blade. For freeing up rusted things, I think it's next to useless. Especially when compared to a 50/50 mix of acetone and ATF. For normal daily use it's generally JB-80, aka Twice as Good. Which compared to...

Yeah, I used to hire backhoes somewhat frequently, thinking I should buy one and save some money in the long run. But since I didn't know how to operate one I never did. Well, things changed and after moving I finally did buy one. And kinda got the hang of how to use it. Then bought another...

If the backhoe is relatively easy to remove and reinstall, I think you should get it. Faking a backhoe can be quite hard to do, and they're useful for more than just digging.

Probably for the same reason as why the drain plug is underneath: Gravity. The Pentastar V6s have their filters on top, which ensures an empty filter at each startup. But they do make an aftermarket check valve setup for those. So, if I'm underneath the vehicle anyway to drain the oil, why not...

That's not what they said on The View.

Again, quite similar to modern diesel pickups.

Our BX25D does indeed have enough power to operate the backhoe. Sort of. On the occasions I use it, the times that the power is lacking are far fewer than that the little thing doesn't weigh enough to use the power. And the tiny loader bucket holds so little than power isn't an issue then...

In the pickup world it seems like DEF solved a few issues. If I had a tractor with emissions I'd prefer if it had DEF and kept itself clean. Otherwise I'd look at eliminating the system.

To live long and happy lives, those two batteries should be the same make, model, and specs, and ideally have come off the assembly line one after the other. That doesn't really matter while they're being charged, but when not, the weaker battery will take the better one down to its level.

Yep. Fuses and shear pins are also overrated.

A five to 10 Watt version (waterproof) should do the job. Any more than that and you'll need a controller.

Neither one is even comparable to a skid steer, I think. If mine didn't have the remote quick tach lock it'd be gone by now. The one extra step to get in and out of the M6040 (with a cab) isn't that much more work than the single step on the L3800. And when it's 75-80 degrees out, the A/C is...

There must be more to that story.

For use in Florida I'd go with an airconditioned cab, plus an auxiliary A/C. Then double pane glass, not only to help the A/C work better, but also to have a bit of defense against gators and pythons.

As mentioned, it seems to be a very rare occurance. Better yet, it's painfully simple to eliminate the potential issue. Disconnect the cable that feeds the solenoid, at the battery. But...but...then the engine won't start. Yes it will, but can run a bit rough for a second or two if it's -10...

Yikes! I think we paid about $78K (each, obviously) in '21. But those were somewhat lightly optioned, and bought well under MSRP instead of with an ADM.

I don't know much about those, but they seem like a superior alternative - if you want a 1/2-ton diesel. Had a '14 Ram 1500 for many years, by the way, a good little car. Had the V6 gasser and was probably the most boring car I've ever owned. Got about the same mileage as an Ecodiesel, too...

Ah, good for you. Speed read your first post a little too fast apparently.

A crate engine is about $8000 as I recall. If you can find one.

They did, and not only as a mercy killing. Personally I don't quite understand 1/2-tons in the first place, even with good and reliable engines in them. They're nice riding cars, yes, but at the cost of painfully low payload. Worst, I think, are the unrealistic J2807 tow ratings, making people...

Hay Dude, I hate to tell you, but i wouldn't touch an Ecodiesel with your 10-foot stick. Supposedly they have about a 15% failure rate, so if they fix yours I'd suggest selling it as soon as possible afterwards. On the other hand, we've had very good luck with our Rams, gassers as well as...

Any place that sells and/or makes good spacers. It doesn't really matter what they're for, but the measurements do matter, so have the correct bolt circle ready, and pilot hole size if you can use hub centric ones, when you call.

All things being equal, fat people use more soap.

Yes. And if applied to the kids instead of the outriggers they'll be safer overall. And if using enough of it, they won't be able to crawl up on a machine and pull any levers.

I've made a few hydraulic side links from basic cylinders. The only somewhat tricky one was for the L3800, because the tabs at the bottom must be at a specific angle.

I used to buy used, then switched to new. Now that new usually is worse than old I have largely stopped buying. But whoever buys my used vehicles is getting very well cared for vehicles.

Well, I have laid many vehicles on their side, and lived through several rollovers. Maybe I'm somewhat desensitized, but tractors and backhoes can make me much more nervous than other vehicles. Either way, when in doubt throttle out usually works, and when on a sidehill with a tractor (or...

I think I used 3-inchers. But it's odd that you could run duals, which should add a crap load of width and be much harder on the axles.

Wheel spacers (in the rear) can make a big difference. It was scary to drive the little BX25D before putting them on, even though it's so small that tipping it over wouldn't be a big deal.

In the past few years I've become more and more convinced that if you can't work on it yourself you probably shouldn't own it.

Maybe. Maybe not. I've attended destructive testing of hitches, 5th wheels, etc. in a lab setting. What impressed my the most was how the flimsy looking RV 5th wheels hung in there and didn't completely break apart, long after getting severely deformed. Guess there's something to be said for...

Yes, but with the individual lower hooks there wouldn't be a frame in the way when dealing with PTO shafts. That upper structure of the quick hitch really serves no purpose in my case.

I wouldn't want to be without hydraulic top links, as they're great when using box blades or regular blades, and mowers, plus for many other things of course. But I generally need to get on the ground no matter what, to manually adjust angles, or hook/unhook hydraulic lines. It was the lack of...

I do have the hydraulic top link, but there was one implement (don't remember which) where the hook just wouldn't work.

I gave up on that top hook and use the included link instead. Yes, that means still having to use one pin, but that's far quicker than having to do the lift arm pins no matter what

Everything is relative. My 359 Pete's Cat engine holds 10 gallons of oil (yes, it's technically a tractor), and the M6040 hold around 15 gallons of hydraulic fluid. Some of the other machinery hold quite a bit more.

It's such a small volume. Why wouldn't you change it?

Looks like Vice Grip welding pliers, probably modified to just fit over the OD of the coupler.

Unlike diesels, that run forever. Actually, it's kind of odd that they come with starter motors. You'd think the dealer would start it for you when buying the tractor, then there's no reason to shut it off. Ever.

Yes, as mentioned above, you just don't tighten the chains up as much with a light load or empty trailer.

For the full visual effect, take a ride in the fall when the leaves have started to turn.

Got tired of messing with (lifting) 5-gallon tanks and have not regretted getting a Lee Agra 200-gallon tank. Ended up getting a second one for gasoline, and a few 325-gallon totes for diesel, to easily replenish the Lee Agra tank with. That the fuel is also cheaper when delivered than at the...

That's an interesting concept I've never heard of before. In what way does it differ from a gas engine?

Generally I carry a powder extinguisher in case someone elses' stuff is burning, and Halonite or equivalents if it's my vehicle.

In this day and age, many new vehicles shut themselves off as soon as the vehicle comes to a stop. Not that I like that feature, but what do the let-it-idle crowd do in those cases? Emit primal screams?

It seems like some engines have a combination of both. They'll do a regen based on time no matter what, but when the right (wrong?) parameters come up before the time based regen happens, they'll react to that. In the pickup world, those who use their diesels as intended (pull somewhat heavy...

Apparently some diesels (Cummins in pickups, for example) regens based on time, no matter what the circumstances are. Sounds like your tractor is doing the same thing.

There's a big difference between cold starting an engine, one that has sat for an extended period of time, and restarting one which has been shut off for only an hour or six. Oil doesn't magically disappear from the bearing surfaces when an engine is turned off. The oil film will remain for...

Glad my diesels don't do that. But the 6040 does sometimes put out a puff when shifting gears. That does not keep me from shifting it as needed.

More east, south of Pagosa Springs. If you're somewhat familiar with the area, it's about 70 miles to the nearest stoplights going south, east, or north. And over 100 when going west. That's one reason I really like it here, and get good mileage with 700+ hp vehicles going a wee bit over the...

Dang, that was nice of them. I added a third remote myself after the fact, which as I recall wasn't expensive (12 years ago) and a very easy install. The creeper kit wasn't too costly, either, but a bit more work to install. And it would've been somewhat risky had I removed the filled rear...

Is a splitter an option? I ran one on my M6040 for a while when needing four remotes, but it was for a rarely used function.

Never thought of it that way, but yes, it's probably close to mid south. But likely a bit more south. Now I gotta look at a map. EDIT: Has to be nearly spot on mid south.

Divide the country in half, then divide the western side in half. In my mind that should be the Midwest, instead of most everything west of the New York border. Anyway, in the southern Rockies.

I'm guessing it was some sort of clamp-on forks. Mine are also all welded.

Too bad we're so far apart. You could have mine for cheap.

I bought a JD eGator a few years ago, but rarely use it. Thankfully I couldn't be more than a 1/2 mile from the garage if it quits, but I hate walking. Being perfectly quiet it's great to shoot sod poodles from, though.

Needed a way to adjust the front blade angle on the tractor, made a simple bracket and welded two 45 degree fittings to it. Also used for the grapple these days. Same concept, but crude, this time with shaft collars holding the couplers in place. Used to run a snowblower on a backhoe/loader.

I've had that happen with the couplers for a grapple, once. So instead of pushing the male onto a flat surface, I had to use something that protruded enough to release the pressure on the flat faced version. Specifically, one of the serrations on the side of the rock bucket. As often as I...

A stupid head makes the whole body suffer.

That's really two separate things. Position the tractor so there's sufficient tongue weight, then use the WD to bring the rear of the tow vehicle back up.

Fair enough. Even though there must be many millions of NPT connections in use that work just fine in high pressure applications. Maybe you could switch the couplings over to flat faced ones? I much prefer those over the cheapy standard tractor couplings. Much easier to keep clean, no fluid...

That I don't remember, but if they aren't listed on Surplus Center's web site, they may not exist. Any particular reason you don't want to use NPT thread?

I have pallet forks (2 sets), an 8-foot snow pusher, a rock bucket w/grapple, 3-point to QA adapter, QA to 3-point adapter, (2) 3-point trailer puller setups, a thumb for the backhoe, a conversion kit to get QA on a loader that had a pinned bucket, and probably a few more things. Quite happy...

I used NAPA filters that time, so had to reuse the magnet. OE filters seem to come with it. As long as I have one extra the new filter is ready to go as soon as the old one is out of the way.

The initial (50 hr) filter change on the M6040 taught me a lesson. For the next one I parked the tractor with as much of a side tilt as I dared, and lost a lot less fluid. It also helps to have a second magnet ready so time isn't spent on cleaning off the one that was in there.

Adapters are cheaper and easier than getting new hoses that fit. Especially if they have to be custom made for the purpose. There's nothing wrong with using quality adapters, and it looks like there was one already so it should only be a matter of using the correct one instead.

Or try Surplus Center. Just about anything can be adapted to anything.

Unless there's something unusual about the Kubotas (I have an M6040) that I don't know about, two to three minutes should be plenty. For example, when stopping for fuel with the Ram 3500, which is always towing something (from 8K to 25K) at a typical gas station, the temps are already down...

Yes, that would really be the main (only?) reason to idle an engine - that has been worked.

Aside from not idling an engine if possible, I also don't start one unless it can be worked until the oil gets up to enough temp to burn off any condensation. With a diesel, that can take 10 miles or more at highway speeds, even towing something halfway heavy. Gas engines can get hot spots from...

Sorry, I couldn't get the sarcasm font to work. If kids run into the outriggers, what keeps them from running into the loader, backhoe, or any other part of the tractor? And if they don't learn from hitting immovable objects once or twice, put the tractor in the garage. Or the kids, but not...

So people don't trip over it??

And what about the loader?

No engine likes to idle. But for some reason many think that it's okay to let diesels do it. That's probably because truckers used to do it while stopped for the night, to get heating or cooling. And those engines' piston rings weren't even made to seal at idle.

Which is exactly what I did, and never regretted that decision one bit. Not only was it a great learning experience figuring out air brakes and such work(or even how to drive it in the first place), but it was great to be able to pull whatever I wanted, and go up to 2,000 miles without having...

I would not admit to knowingly towing without trailer brakes on a public forum. And especially not with a 1/2-ton. As an aside, 7-8 mpg is about what my Ram 3500 gets when pulling 25,000 lbs. And that's in the Rockies. But even if it got only 3 mpg, the extra safety margin of the longer and...

In our case, the barn cat does a decent job of decimating the herd of swallows. And when it's time to close it up for the night, playing Metallica drives them out. Hey, I'm only relaying info here. I don't go to the barn often, preferring to spend time in or near the garage, which is a swallow...

Do you really want their poop on hay and what not? It's halfway nasty stuff.

In California I came across quite a few rattle snakes, and even had a cat that caught and ate little ones. Well, I don't like snakes, so I relocated them. To a nice underground facility.

"Semi truck". There's absolutely nothing right about that term. In real life it's a tractor pulling a semi trailer. And most seem to be unaware that the vast majority of trailers are semi trailers, so named because they don't carry all of the weight.

It's probably world wide, once at 7,500 feet or above. But in this case it's the Rockies.

I hate flying, but do prefer to be in a large metal tube over a helicopter of small aircraft. Used to be able to think that it's in the pilot's best interest that the flight goes well, but that doesn't always seem to be the case these days. Having worked on small aircraft, I don't trust those...

Ah, unfortunately I always think that most everybody has steel and various material laying around. I get my steel from 150 miles away, and usually between 1,000 to 4,000 lbs. at a time (in 20' sticks). But I would trust C-channel just laying on top of the rods. Once the loader's weight is on...

The Jeeps were '20 Trackhawks and the Challenger a '21 SXT GT AWD. No idea what version those were, but thankfully the '18 and '19 Challengers and the '21 TRXs work as they should. Plenty gun shy I even tried to verify that the '23 Durango wouldn't have that issue before ordering one. Won't...

Here the tourists must think that they're really getting their money's worth. Anything sealed, including bags of chips, looks like it's about to explode. Due to the altitude.

Yup. I just renewed four radios the other day, right before those expired, and it came to under $300 for a year.

Wouldn't two equal length pieces of C channel zip tied in place work well enough?

I'm even more left out then. One of my GMs (an '86) doesn't have radio, and never did.

Finally, a good reason to use remote start. Let the ads end before entering the vehicle.

When doing hand over hand steering through the curves, those buttons are somewhere in the 360 degrees of steering wheel motion. If on a straight section section they'll be at 9 o'clock, making it far more feasible to find and use them. But I don't use them anyway since they seem to only make it...

Speaking of Florida...here in the gator free zone it was 53.1 degrees at noon. (I can't stand heat or humidity).

At least Oregon doesn't have alligators and pythons.

On the roads I drive a broadie knob is more useful than buttons on the back of the steering wheel. Why should I have to wait for a straight section of road to change channels? I like having the gauges up on the performance pages on the FCA/Stellantis vehicles that have them, to keep an eye on...

That's one thing I really like about my toy hauler - couldn't get too much weight behind the axles if I had to, since the garage is centered over the axles. But I wouldn't recommend pulling it with a 1/2-ton as it puts around 5,000 lbs. on the rear axle, regardless of what's in the garage.

I've noticed that on drives that are 500 miles or more, but on the other hand, there are probably at least 200 channels I never even tuned to. Some of them might be quite good.

Sirius is great, I think. Without it (a portable unit permanently mounted in the cab) I'd go completely nuts when mowing for hours. I suppose it wouldn't be quite as nice to have if there were radio stations available, but still.

I have 48" and 60". Hardly ever use the short ones after buying the 60 inchers.

All the damn nannies in new vehicles, making it harder to operate them for those who know how to drive. And I absolutely hate touch screens in vehicles. At least I can't use them without taking my eyes off the road, which I prefer not to do as I tend to drive too fast.

It's probably right about 50% with a typical 40' trailer, which has the axles in the far back. If the trailer is loaded evenly. Anyway, to me the stability is largely about leverage. A bumper pull puts its forces at a pivot point three to 4-1/2 feet behind the axle of a pickup. A gooseneck has...

Somewhat performing the same function, I converted a leftover box blade to smooth out/move dirt with. Used an old trailer axle and bought a cheap cylinder for lifting the rear. Fine tuning with the 3-point allows surprising precision. Using a 5' 2-inch square tube extension makes it more...

As mentioned, that 20K tractor becomes about 40K with a loaded trailer attached, the remaining 40K on the trailer axles. I do happen to be familiar with WD hitches, and especially like the ones with active sway control, like the Reese Dual Cam and Husky. When pulling that 16' enclosed trailer...

I've never tried pulling 130K lbs., largely because the combined weight of the tractor and trailer(s) is generally limited to 80K total. Anyway, the reason I feel that pulling 1,800 lbs. with a 1/2-ton was worse is that the trailer made itself very known back there. I'm used to the towed load...

No, there generally aren't any issues...until there's a need to stop really quickly like in a curve, or the trailer brakes decide to quit when going down a grade, or there's a sudden gust of wind (with an enclosed trailer), etc. What I don't like is that there really aren't any reserves with a...

High tow ratings sells pickups, that's the bottom line for them. And while I haven't been able to resist trying to tow an empty 16' bumper pull flatbed when getting new 1/2-tons, the results have been utterly predictable: There's no way not to notice that the trailer is back there, and the...

On paper, yes. But I feel sorry for those who actually believe the largely bogus J2807 tow ratings, that emphasize speed up grades and acceleration over what counts in real life. To me, the longer the wheelbase and the heavier the tow vehicle the better. And that's after having completely...

Much like pre-existing. Extra letters for no reason.

And that's where having a mill, lathe, and welder, comes in handy. I find it quicker and easier to fix things, whenever possible, than spending time on trying to get a replacement.

The mirror on the skid steer is basically the same as the $16 ones I've used, but original for Daihatsu HiJets, and maybe others. The horizontal mounting pad worked better for this application. And basic cheap spot mirrors on the L3800.

When seeing the photo of those $89 mirrors, they looked familiar. Sure enough, I've bought those for $16/pair for our Can Am Defenders. Hmm, just put magnets on them I thought. But for $27 with magnets it may be a wash. So far I've been using regular stick-on convex mirrors on the back of the...

Maybe that's where it started, but the first time I read it was someone using a "pre-existing hole" in a firewall to run a wire through. I remember thinking that it'd be easier to use an existing hole than one that used to be there.

Hey, I'm still trying to figure out the difference between "existing and "pre-existing". If anything, I think that "pre-existing" would mean previously existing, therefore no longer existing. Then again, lots of things don't make sense to me anymore.

That small crane I mentioned earlier has a 3-stage Cascade forklift in the front (Unimog HMMH). With 4WD and lockers it is quite useful. But I use pallet forks on the tractors far more often. Mine is a cheap one, and not supposed to be outside, but after covering the motor and fluid container...

I agree. If something comes loose with WD-40 it wasn't stuck to begin with. But try a 50/50 mix of ATF and acetone. That actually works.

I like Race Ramps for getting cars into or onto the trailers, but for oil changes and other service I much prefer a lift. And like Race Ramps, the 4-post can also be used for loading vehicles on trailers. Plus many other things as mentioned by others above.

Oh, can't believe I almost forgot...a crane. After getting a small 8K capacity knuckle boom crane on a Unimog I don't know how I ever did without one. Recently got a 10-ton rotator for larger stuff/heavier lifts, but the little one is used a lot.

My excuse for not getting a 2-post lift sooner was that I didn't trust using one in earthquake prone SoCal. Once out of there I got one, and shortly thereafter a 4-post for outside, mostly used for oil changes and such.

I guess I can't add much to the discussion, never having had enough tools or patience to own a Furd. Used to be all GM all the time, until they went to Inferior Front Suspension. Got a '10 Ram, and then several more. Both gassers and diesels, by the way.

When I buy a new (or a new to me) vehicle, as soon as I back it off the trailer it goes on the lift. Then I check fluid levels, fasteners for tightness, etc., before I drive for the first time. After 10 years of doing that I'm no longer surprised when finding low fluid levels, improperly...

Tired of laying on a creeper and getting "dusted", this year I tilted both the little 5-footer and the larger one so I could stand up while sharpening the blades. Which my bad back appreciated. By now I've found most of the rocks, so hopefully the blades won't take as much of a beating...

Something like that would be easy enough to make, if one wanted to lock the loader in an up position. My Unimogs with the Schmidt loaders have similar hinged setup (both sides) but much smaller. On those they're only meant to keep the bucket from hitting the ground when going down the road.

In my experience it's the little ones that like to get stuck, the BX25D and especially the L3800. Have stalled the M6040 with all the rippers on an 8-foot box blade fully extended, and on very hard packed dirt. Operator error/wanting to find the limit. Not a stuck, obviously, but it does get to...

My trailers don't run on either, but I still won't let anyone borrow them.

It was born a single axle, but had been converted to a tandem when I bought it. Quickly learned that a tandem setup with air ride is less than ideal when off the beaten path. Put a No-Spin in the rear diff, which helped, but also realized that eight tires were four too many for my usage...

Thanks. Mine never left me stranded. thankfully. Had an alternator bracket bolt break, a turbo quit (luckily only a mile from home), and a flat tire trailer. That was it. Not bad for some 20 years of driving it. These are my before and after photos. Old setup vs. current, same place (Meadow...

I had learned about all I could about it, and Class 8 stuff in general, after having gone through it almost completely. Never did do anything with the wonderful Corvette dash, but replaced or rebuilt just about everything else. Replaced it and its custom toy hauler trailer (which started life...

Meanwhile, I sure miss my '80 359 with a 3406.

And the 359 went out after '86. A sad time for mankind.

You forgot about the Cat 3408. It doesn't get much better than that - in a longnose 359 Pete.

If your box blade won't cut into the high spots, either the angle of it is incorrect, or it's way too light. Easy enough to add weight to it, but the hydraulic top link is probably still your best bet.

Surely you meant "a low gear ratio", right?

I've never had enough tools or patience to own a Furd. Have worked on enough of them, though.

Surely you meant numerically lower...or higher gears.

The way the numbers are determined is by dividing the number of teeth on the ring gear by the number of teeth on the pinion, but that's probably not what you wanted to know. Using 3.73 and 3.42 gearing as an example, the difference is about 10%, which means that the engine would turn 10% faster...

I have about 140 gallons of diesel stored in my garage, between three different vehicles. Hasn't been a problem yet. But I keep the lithium ion jumper pack in a steel cabinet. Just like the Milwaukee cordless tools, come to think of it.

If it helps, my Ram 3500 can sit for up to nine months with no problems. But when it is used, the entire nine gallon tank is sometimes used up. At this particular point, about half of the DEF in it is probably two years old.

Okay, it's well enough to propel up to 39,000 lbs. on occasion, makes no noises, and the contact pattern is good. Thanks to finding out somewhat early, there was nothing to repair that I could find, it was only a matter of getting all the debris out of it. I avoid dealerships if at all...

You may want to look up the actual ratings on Ram.com. As I recall, my 3500 cab and chassis with duals is rated at about 22,000, and that's with 3.73 gears. If your 2500 is a '13 through '18 it came with 3.42 gears. For those who haven't heard of many issues with AAM axles, I've had my fair...