I bought a 5665 Gravely (about 1987-1989) with 12 hp Kohler engine about 3 years ago with 104 hours on it. Have following attachments:
o 30" bush hog/mower
o Sulky
o Cart
o MacKissic shredder
o 48" snow plow
o 26" square chute (VERY much earlier vintage) snow blower
o Rotary garden plow\
When I bought it, it had 2 wheels and no brakes. I've since added dual wheels and brakes to it. It was unmanageable on my hills without the brakes as power steering. It also needed more traction and side-to-side stability that the dual wheels gave it.
Initially, it had tire chains on the 2 turf tires. Except on very wet snow or ice, the dual wheels provide more traction that doesn't dig up the ground when slippage occurs. I've since bought 4 wheels and tires with ag tires and have put metal screws into the lugs. These are only for winter time, because they are very much like the tires with chains on them, e.g. dig up the ground terribly when they slip and bounce the tractor around. In general the dual turfs provide more traction, evenly distributed and don't dig the ground up when they slip. The brakes give you another method to get out of a slippage situation, by the way, you just rock the brake handle back and forth. This gets me out of most slippage situations. The dual wheels help A LOT to keep the skinny single wheels from dropping into holes.
The 30" bush hog is my most-used attachment. I basically put it on in the spring and take it off in late fall. With the added crossed blades to replace the sinlge bush hog blade, it makes smoother cuts. The bush hog blade is a little better for really heavy stuff, but not much.
The sulky is great for doing long mowing stretches but reduces the maneuverability for serious bush hogging. It's harder to response quickly to wheel stoppage turning the tractor (when striking something) when on the sulky.
The cart is GREAT for hauling very heavy loads. It's also great for hitching behind the sulky (I added a hitch on the sulky for this) and hauling light loads, like a water cooler for drinking water. There's no room on a Gravely for such stuff.
The most balanced tool is the 48" snow plow. You have to ditch the sulky when using it in wet snow, or else mount the chains again. With or without the sulky it's gotta be the best balanced attachment and probably is what the original owner used it for mostly, as I saw his LONG driveway and his near-impossible-to-mow sloped lawn.
The MacKissic shredder is about worthless without the
chipper. I only use it once/year to shred up leaves that I steal from the stupid city folks that don't use them. It also has a ridiculously skinny belt between the PTO shaft and the shredder shaft. I mainly still use my old 8 hp TroyBilt shredder/
chipper for serious shredding/chipping.
The rotary plow was great for doing virgin, heavily grassed, soil. It was also good for making mounded rows for good drainage in my veggie garden. Since then, it's been parked, with it's drive end elevated because the seal leaks badly at that end when parked.
I've only needed the snow thrower once. AFTER using it, I found out about the external bearing on the inlet to the PTO shaft. It's supposed to be lubed with grease but best to give it a shot of heavy lube oil. Usage didn't seem to affect the dry bearing. Had to use it to throw about 7" of heavy sleet. Couldn't make it out the carriage house entrance with the snow blade. The snow thrower is AWSOME. It threw that sleet about 50' feet or more high and to the side. Watch out for any windows or open garage doors when using that thing! It's sling gobs of snow/ice into any opening.
Only troubles have been a blown fuse (only has one) because the fuse holder metal ends had recessed and weren't making good contact. Replaced the holder. No problem since. Had to replace the ignition points. They're external, an easy job but required the gap to be set at only 0.016". Otherwise, the points would not close. This is a common Kohler problem. Supposed to be set at 0.020". Engine runs fine at 0.016" but won't start at 0.020" because the points never close. Had to tighten the forward clutch to keep it from slipping going uphill. No problems now. It'll climb a tree if you let it. Engine smoked initially when left to idle very long. Quit this after switch to Mobil 1. Still uses some oil, like a Benz does. I'm suspicious of engines that don't use a tiny bit of oil. The right side wheel seal leaked a little oil after I put the brakes on. Must have disturbed that seal lip a little. One method of getting to the the seals is to remove the 4 bolts that hold on the brake backing plate. Changed the trans oil. Slowed it down to almost nothing. After I bought another wheel seal, the leakage has stopped (new seal is still in the drawer in my carriage house).
Have had to have the ovaled holes on the cart attachment points reinforced with weld and washers, to keep the cart from sagging when it attaches to the tractor via the "Y" hitch.
Ralph
