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Got a letter from Deere about our 2023 Z930M regarding Kawasaki's stop sale notice on some engines. The 21066-0785 voltage regulator has a flaw that can cause it to catch fire, even if not running. Instructions were to disconnect the battery ground until fixed. They went on to say that they...

Fedex Freight just delivered a WG24 stump grinder. Big truck, no liftgate. Fortunately the 1025R w/pallet forks was up to the task & lifted it off the trailer deck without a problem. The cardboard is just a shroud around a steel framework & pallet. Everything arrived intact & undamaged...

I'm not too good at looking over my shoulder (cervical vertibra fusions), which makes it hard to check traffic behind me when mowing on the shoulder or to check before backing. I put together a mirror mount to attach on the control arm using the 3d printer, a cheap stick-on 4x5.5" convex...

Taking the 2020 Ram 1500 back to the dealer Monday morning for a second attempt at fixing a water leak in the back of the cab. No headliner stains, but the rear carpet gets damp after a rain, more so on the driver side. The first time they said it was coming from the bottom driver side corner of...

She wanted an upgrade from her 12" 40v Kobalt, so we got her a 16" Stihl MSA 220 with AP300 battery & charger. She is aware the Stihl is a more 'aggressive' saw than the Kobalt and to be handled with care.

Just ordered a Z930M with 60" rear discharge deck & full suspension seat w/24" back. Tried to locate one in the local dealer network first but there weren't any rear discharge machines available ( three in the system but all had been sold). Early estimate puts delivery about 30 days out.

The seat on the 2010 3038e was getting past due for replacement. There was a split in the cushion, the cushion was separating from the metal pan, and the metal pan had more rust than paint. Seats for the 3038e have changed over time. My seat used sheet metal tabs for mounting to the seat base...

A while back I knocked off one of the rear jack stands on our Aluma 18' car hauler. I didn't pin it up & it caught when that side dropped off the pavement turning onto our developement road. I've finally gotten around to getting it fixed (I've been using car jack stands a for about a year). I...

I installed a front receiver (JD part # BM23363) on the 590E S4 this afternoon. It is the install kit with the receiver, nuts, bolts & backing plates. Installation was pretty straight forward, but in an awkward location. No real access even with the wheels turned to the stops. The hassle being...

A while back we picked up an XUV590E S4. The S4 is 12' long, 56.5" wide and the only trailer of ours that could haul it around was the 18' aluma car hauler, which was not real convenient (big, wide & pull out ramps). Anyway, we went trailer shopping & the wife decided she liked the red Texas...

Just came into the dealer yesterday & went down to sign paperwork today. I had gone by the JD store week before last & asked about S4 availability. None of the in-network stores had any but the sales person found one that was scheduled to be shipped into another store for general...

Replaced the battery in the 2010 3038e again today (wouldn't start without a boost). The original lasted about 5 years, the NAPA that replaced it made 71 mos. so I went with the 7551R from NAPA again. It was also about $40 cheaper than the JD battery (per web site pricing). Fingers crossed it...

I finished doing some mowing down the road with the three point finish mower on the 1025R & went to lift it off the ground for the trip back to the house and nothing moved. Looked closer and saw the rockshaft had moved to the left far enough for the right side lift arm to come off. I guess a...

I was mowing today & noticed the PTO indicator light on the instrument panel was no longer lit even though the rotary cutter was still cutting. It had been illuminated when I first engaged it. Disengaging/re-engaging the PTO worked fine but had no effect on the light (it stayed out). Are...

During the last trip to the dump with a load of brush we noticed one of the trailer tires looking a bit slack. When we got back I checked & it was way low. Inflated it to 50 psi & checked about an hour later to find it at 42. Replaced it with the spare & looked for a leak source, expecting a...

Finally got all the parts together to use some worklight mounts I made a while back for the 1025R & 3038e on the 3d printer. They were done in a semi flexible version of TPU, a material that lets you produce parts whose feel is very similar to tire rubber. These are the mounts done for the...

I decided to put a new set of mirrors on the 1025R. I mow the developement road side out to the county road & mirrors help let me know if something is coming up behind me. The old round mirrors were a pain to use, being attached off to the side on the grab handles via metal strap mounts & I...

I've used a set of "strap-on" forks on both the 3038e & 1025R for 7 or 8 years now. They are a cantilevered set that extend under the bucket & have a chain that wraps across the back side of the bucket & gets ratchet strapped to a catch sitting on the cutting edge. They really helped with a lot...

I'd been looking at these for a bit (3 point/FEL adaptor) & recently Titan attachments ran a 20% off sale on theirs. Normally $299, $239 on sale (delivered price). Got here via Fedex ground in 4 days. The version I ordered works for both the 1025R & the 3038e FEL's and came with a CAT 2 top link...

The factory tow hitch on our 2008 Ford F-150 needs weight distribution (WD) for tongue weight (TW) > 500 lb. and/or towing > 5000 lb. With WD, it is rated for 1000 lb. TW & 10,000 lb. towed. We have stayed under the WD requirement limit with our 7k aluminum car hauler when moving our small...

Finishing up the last outstanding JD installment purchase with the payment on the 1025R FILB this month (nothing owed on the new x394, paid cash for that). Both the 2010 3038e & 2013 1025R had been purchased via the 60 month 0% financing option. (will have to resist going out to look for a new...

No strong reason for me to do this other than it is inexpensive & does make running the dump process a little easier (no heavy cable remote to drag around). Tractor Supply (TSC) carries a Traveller brand wireless remote for use with Traveller brand winches with an 8000lb + capacity (i.e...

I picked up an old Lincoln AC-225-S a while back & been using it for a few small projects. I have finally gotten around to replacing what appeared the original leads. I had (re-)patched them in multiple places with self-fusing tape w/an over-wrap of vinyl tape before using it but the old...

I have wanted an easier way to judge tongue weight (i.e. no bathroom scale & lever), but didn't want to pay for a $140+ scale. I finally put together a "budget" version that should at least get me in the right ballpark when I have concerns using a small hydraulic ram & a pressure gauge. I...

The 17 year old SST18 is getting a bit long in the tooth & held together with pop-rivets & duct tape. I have been looking at two different possible replacements. One is an X384, it has the 48" deck & all wheel steering. The other is the ZTrak Z540R zero turn, probably with a 48" deck. Mowing...

Went into the local Tractor Supply Co. store with the wife to pick up scratch feed & black oil seed (wife likes fat birds...) and stumbled across some mark down items. They were some "unsellables" for various reasons and the manager wanted them off the inventory. It started with a couple of...

I had cleared an area, intending to build a small shed for some yard equipment, but ran out of time before getting serious (winter is coming...). The Shelter Logic 20x12 round top "Garage in a box" is a quick fix so I can get the offending items out of the tractor storage shed so I can bring...

No, not Christmas decorations ... I finally got around to reducing some of the aggravating bits associated with cutting the fields out at the acreage (20 acres mixed fields & woods we inherited). Low limbs have been interfering with cutting more & more lately so they had to go. Bought a Stihl...

We put in a 22kw whole house generator last year, plumbed to our existing self-owned 500 gallon propane tank. Since that time I had been ruminating over run times vs. fill level & finally decided we really needed to expand our fuel reserve. The issue was that we normally wait until about...

Cranked up the truck to take a trailer load of tree trimmings to the stump dump & the engine was running rough with a "check engine" icon on the display. Plugged in an OBDC II scanner to check & read a "coil pack C primary/secondary" fault. OK, we had replaced one about 10K back so knew it...

The wife decided she wanted a flagpole up in the front yard by July 4, so I have been working at getting one made. I found a DIY materials list on a flagpole products web site & used it as a basis for ours. I built a "tip up" version, so it can be lowered if needed for repairs (or whatever)...

I've been doing some updates on our little 6x12 single axle box trailer (fender running lights replaced with LEDs & new tires), and finally got around to addressing the vent cap. The cap on the pop-up vent had degraded over time (12+ years?) and been taped over multiple times. Initially the...

The wife has been wanting a dump trailer for a while, so we finally brought one home :). We had decided on a 7K dual axle, partially because the weighted plates on the F-150 already accommodate the 7K car hauler. We looked at a few of the locally available choices (BigTex, Hawke and PJ) and...

Had some scrap ends of 12 gauge square tube (2" ID) left from the equipment shed install, so I thought I'd do something with some of it. Picked up a couple of cat 1 lift arm pins & made a trailer mover. (My first attempt at stick welding, using an old Lincoln AC-225 I picked up) Consists of 4...

Tractor Supply Co has a sale going through the weekend on their Traveller Premium Heavy-Duty Lithium Complex NLGI #2 Grease, 14 oz. Cartridge (red). They list it as two tubes for $3, it works out to $15 for a 10 tube box. Don't know if it is national, just ran across it at the store today (&...

I ordered some components for adding a solar charging system to our Aluma car hauler's breakaway kit battery. The trailer often sits a long time between uses. I should get the solar panel in next week. It is a 12"x6" aluminum cased 5 watt panel. No blocking diodes, but I have some suitable ones...

I know this has been done a hundred times, but it is my first go at it :) Since I figure I am done moving dirt and gravel for a while, it seemed a good time to get the the CountyLine 6' back blade ready for moving snow off the drive and about 1/3 mile of the neighborhood's private road out to...

We recently had a 22'x21' metal storage building installed to house the 1025R & 3038e and various implements. I had put in some 12v 27watt tractor worklights for interior lighting & just used one of the spare SLA batteries with an Anderson Powerpole pigtail to power them when needed. That was...

We decided to get some projects crossed off the "to-do" list for the house. Since we moved into the house in 2010, the wife has been bugged by the fact that there was not a sidewalk from the driveway to the front door. Both of us were also less than happy with the half-a**ed job that had been...

Getting a whole house genny installed... (pics start pg 4) Up til now, we have made do with a portable generator during outages (currently using a 7k/9k dual fuel) - but it does take some doing to setup & monitor/maintain while it is running. The wife finally decided she wanted a system that...

While cutting out at the acreage earlier this week I noticed that the pond was over-full & starting to back up on the feeders. With just a trickle coming out, it was clear the overflow was pretty much plugged... Today was the first chance to get back out there. I had to deal...

One of those days where what can go wrong does... Was bush-hogging the acreage yesterday, managed to lose the fuel level indicator when opening the hood to deal with a dust related over-heat, noticed earlier that the pond overflow pipe was clogged & water about 2' too high and then, while...

With a few projects coming up, we picked up a TSC post hole digger with 12" auger this past week. It looks to be a County Line branded Speeco HD unit. We figure on using it with both the 1025R and the 3038e, but I did the first hookup & trial with the 3038e. My biggest hassle on that first...

Went out, uncovered and started the 3038e this morning getting ready to remove the small layer of snow and ice from the driveway. The seat felt, literally, like a block of ice so I wasn't really surprised to have it die when put in gear, but resume running when quickly put back in neutral...

I recently added some LED work lights to the 2010 3038e. The first added were some fender mounted 6 element floods (18w). I had previously installed a couple of side mirrors originally intended for use on ATV roll bars. To clamp them on the grab handles, I had drilled new holes & formed them...

Finally added a new worklight to the 1025R ROP. I had been bugged a bit by the way the FEL blocks the headlights on the few occasions I'd had to be working at night (& usually in bad weather ...) and wanted to mount something high enough to shine over it. I picked up a 22" flood/spot...

The bucket only curls about 1/2 way. This just happened while I was moving some rotted deadfall material from a trail, one minute everything normal, the next no curl from the (then) current position. I can dump to the full extent, then curl back - but only to this half way point. What I...

I had forgotten how well the MS290 could cut. Finally picked up a new bar and chain (oregon 20" set) to replace a much sharpened chain and 18" bar that was looking kind of blue around the edges (good oiling but still getting hot during a long cut). Did a quick honeydew job on a 5" cedar after...

Just got back from the final post surgical followup from the work I had done back in February. The bone graft is solid & I am cleared for all activity. Yeah!:dance1: Been on light duty & gnashing my teeth at work that couldn't get done - no chainsaw - no hooking up implements - no...

With the warmer weather, we've started seeing some of our less favorite woods denizens moving around, ticks & snakes. Last night I made up a batch of snake medicine (ticks get chemical warfare...). 50 rounds of Speer .38 caliber shot capsules filled with #8 or #9 shot over 3.8 grains of...

He was about 15 and had been going downhill pretty fast the past year. Probably 80 - 90 lb instead of his former 100+. The wife was really down after finding him gone this AM. He had apparently died in his sleep laying in his favorite spot under the shed on the hill. She was already distraught...

...so things are going to start looking pretty rough around the house and acreage. I rolled the dice on another spinal surgery, this time a L1-L5 laminectomy with an uninstrumented fusion on one pair. Some long term issues had started getting more extreme with guicker onset. The surgery was the...

Back around Christmas, I decided to get serious about getting a ham license. I'd kicked around the idea for quite a few years but never got around to actually doing anything about it. My dad had gotten a Technician license just a few years before he passed & I have had his equipment boxed up...

I find myself in somewhat of a catch 22. We bought an 1100 lb., 18' Aluma car hauler w/ tandem 3.5K axles. We have a 2008 F-150 that came with the factory tow package, including the hitch. The F-150 hitch indicates a max of 500 lb. tongue weight & 5000 lb. towed weight unless weight...

I was getting the MS 290 ready for a trip to the rental property this morning to drop a couple of small maples. I sharpened the blade, filled gas & oil tanks, cleaned & adjusted the bar and intended to crank it up to check the idle speed since it had stopped while idling during use yesterday...

I put a set on the 3038E a while back, & finally got around to adding a pair of Ken's bolt on's to the 1025R bucket. I've been dragging a fair amount of dead wood out lately, often using a tie down chain secured by wrapping it onto a pin on bucket hitch. These should make things a little...

I was considering doing the 1025R's 50 hour HST fluid & filter change rather than drop it off at the dealer where it might sit for anywhere from 3 days to a couple of weeks before it bubbles to the top of the service dept's to do list (a "first in - first out" list for those without an...

It didn't go exactly as planned but ended ok. We had some concerns about how safe it was working around it since it appeared partially hollow at the base & was missing big sections of bark along the length. The main trunk was 50' + in length and there was another 20' or so of sub divided trunk...

It wasn't a tractor though. We got a couple of Stihl items, an FS90R trimmer and a 18" MS290 "Farm Boss" chainsaw. Add a couple of smaller additional items & it was an $800+ package after tax. Recently a couple of equipment items, a Poulan "Wild Thing" chainsaw & a Honda powered 4-cycle MTD...

I really like the Aluma 18' tandem we recently purchased, but it is worse than the little SnowBear tilt utility trailer for bending up a license plate. The plate mount was under the back at the lowest possible location. Since the trailer is low slung, with a moderate beaver tail, any change in...

We recently picked up a trailer with a 2 5/16" hitch where our other two smaller trailers had 2". I picked up a multi-ball mount for the truck, so the old 2" ball & ball mount were surplus as the other tow vehicle uses a different size mount. Since we now have three different trailers...

We have been talking about getting a trailer since we bought the 3038e in 2010 to use at the "farm" after moving back to NC. Then this year we picked up a 1025r FILB for use at the house & have already run into jobs where transportation of tractors/attachments between the two locations would be...

My package from Bro-Tek showed up the other day & it was good timing. I had ordered a thumb & ripper for the 260 backhoe on our new 1025R (the "house" tractor...). Just that evening before delivery we had a fast moving storm go through and a few trees go down. A dead one fell across the...

Looks like we will be bringing a 1025R FILB home. While cutting & loading a couple of trees at the house the other day, the wife commented that a loader equipped tractor would help out with stuff like that ... so we decided to size something for the house (4+ acres w/ 3+ being wooded) to help...

We are considering picking up a 1025R FILB for use at the house for cleanup & landscaping activities. We have 4.3 acres at the house, 3+ of which are wooded & needing cleanup for full access & use (& the 3038e is kept at the "farm" about 15 miles away) . Does anyone here know the total overall...

Well, spring has definitely arrived. I had to remove the first latched on ticks of the new year... A dog tick & a deer tick. I don't think I was past the tree line for more than fifteen minutes or so! Nick

I don't recall seeing this being posted, but thought it might be good for a chuckle (& make some of us non-professionals feel better about their construction skills by comparison). The following is a link to a forum thread started by a guy whose landlord decided to diy a shed for his...

Well we had a fast mover roll through, high winds, hail, etc. & a bunch of scattered outages. Power dropped here around 2:00 PM, followed by phone (& DSL) a half hour later. Phone (& DSL) returned around 7:00PM but the power is still out and no ETA on the fix yet (Progress Energy outage map...

When I put our 60" Tarter tiller away for the winter, I knew I had lost a couple of tines off the same side of one flange probably to a hidden chunk of concrete in a relative's yard. I put away the replacements to be installed this spring. Getting the replacements was a story in itself - nobody...

I thought I'd share pics of the 59" Caroni rear discharge finish mower (model # TC590NSRD) I just got from Agri-Supply. The pickup price for these is $1299 there, assembled & ready to work. The price includes a remote lube kit so you don't have to pull the covers to grease the 3 spindles. It...

While we were in Raleigh Saturday to visit child & grandchild, I took the opportunity to head over to the Garner Agri-Supply to pick up a 59" Caroni finish mower. The loader went out, picked one up & loaded it in the truck bed and I headed on back. My fault for not thoroughly checking it out...

I had the JD folks pick up my 3038e to check out the loader cylinders (things seem to be leaking down a little too quickly for a machine < a year old) & decided to use this down time to make a little change to the EZ-Hitch I got from Carter & Sons. I do like the EZ-Hitch, it has made hooking up...

We've been having some odd behavior out of a 2010 Gator CX (the smallest of the 4x2's). On a number of recent occasions it will suddenly act like the gas is running out, slowing then dying even though the throttle is wide open & the tank is nearly full. It is generally happening after about...

The pond on our 20 acre site has an overflow pipe that (apparently) the beavers plugged up before moving on a year or so back. The level is now about a foot or so too high & ground on the upper side of the pond, which normally would drain into the pond, is getting pretty swampy with the recent...

I just received a cat 1 EZ-Hitch set from Carter and Sons and tried it out hooking up to the chipper I got from Ronald at Ranch Hand Supply. That one item has been the toughest for me to hook up by myself for some reason (probably due to uneven ground), so I thought it would be a good test...

Just thought I'd let anyone who might be considering a County Line branded Tarter Gate tiller at TSC know that Tarter Gate will not talk to end users about parts. I picked up a County Line 5' tiller, made by Tarter, at the Danville VA TSC last week. When doing the assembly & initial lube I...

After running the rotary cutter over all the saplings I dared to drive over, I still have a bunch that were too thick to try that - & a bunch of stumps that have been a pain to try to grub out with box blade scarifiers & FEL bucket. I thought I'd try a different tack and look into pulling...

While tractor shopping, the wife saw the compact Gator and just had to have one. She's planning on using it for yardwork, the 2/3 mile round trip to the mailbox & carting her mother around the farm... Notice what is being garage kept while the beloved AWD Magnum RT sits outside in the cold...

As the cleanup continues, I'm finding more locations where I can't just drive over & through. The problem with backing the cutter over the material is because, literally, looking over my shoulder is a pain in the neck. After having 3 vertebra (C5-C6-C7) fused, I can't even get my chin close to...

Saturday I had been doing some bush-hogging on a long neglected property. The weather had been driy for a while & it was a pretty dusty time as the dry plant material was getting minced. The area I was cutting was really grown up with briars, brambles, tall weeds, etc. Now I was certainly...

Just delivered today! 2010 3038E w/305 FEL, a Frontier RC2060 5' rotary cutter, and a Frontier BB2060 5' box blade. Primary use (at least initially) is to try to bring some (about 10 acres) neglected pasture back into productive use, & clean up routes through another 10 acres of wood lot...

We just pulled the trigger on a package deal today. A 3038E w/305 FEL, a Frontier RC2060 for $19,940 w/ 60 mo. 0% financing w/10% down. Breakdown of pricing was $17,500 for the 3038E w/ FEL, $1650 for the 5' Rotary Cutter & $790 for the 5' Boxblade. We were budgetting for about $20K, so...

Hi from Person Co. NC! We just relocated back to NC after 20+ years elsewhere and getting settled in. Aside from the house site, we inherited 20 acres of property nearby that had previously been 1/2 pasture/field & 1/2 wood lot but which has been nearly un-tended for the last 10-15 years...