Breaking in my new toys... from Yeehaw! to Uh oh!

[john_bud]

Spiveyman,

It looks like the tractor has a single sump for all fluid. So, you water the lawn with it and the steering gets hard (except in the slippery spots!).

It looks to me like some former owner added a fluid return to the line in that location. A more permanent fix would be to weld, braze or silver solder on a threaded stub in that spot and thread on a plug. Then you can actually use it should the spirit move you.

If you didn't want to ever use that as a fluid return, then welding a patch onto it would fix it. It's not a hard fix to accomplish, but you have to take it off and degrease it. That's the trick!

jb

 

[RobJ]

Hey Spiv,
I just went through that myself at camp. I used a farm jack by putting the bottom onto the tire to break it off the rim. I hooked the top of the jack under the tractor itself. When I jacked it, the jack pushed down and broke the tire off the rim.
Go here to read about it.
DIY Tire Repair

I don't think anyone has mentioned this but this is how I do it. Might have to turn it a couple time but it's easy. It MIGHT have even got that old rusty rim off. That one looked special..

Rob

 

[Spiveyman]

...Those are all fantastic photos you shared, especially of your cattle and tractor working like that.
I saw the new scabbard in the very first photo and then the close up too. They are pretty good and have several of them also. Not for scoped rifles though. I do have one for a scoped rifle but it's strapped to a post at camp near my seat. Those are swell firearms you have.
I usually carry the M1 Carbine or Winchester model 94 30-30 on the tractor. Sometimes the Browning side x side or the .22.
Thanks for sharing those cool photos.

Thanks Rob, very keen eye to have noticed that scabbard in the first tractor shot. As for the herd, it's not that big yet, but we're up to about 60 head. Would have been more, but with the drought we had to hold up a bit. I will have to say feeding them those bales was one of the coolest things I've done with my tractor. It's not like a build-your-own-home-foundation kind of cool, but there was a definite satisfaction being able to move that big bales around so easily and getting to give the cattle much desired hay! We have lots of grass still in the back pastures, you can see a couple patches of grass in the back ground. Everything in the picture is on our farm, but we don't have good enough fencing back there to turn them loose. I'll be working on that come January so that they can take advantage of it as well, but we have to keep them out of the woods and pond.

My 7710 gets hard to steer when the power steering fluid gets low, and I don't have a FEL (yet). Still waiting on that call from KY, lol.
David from jax

Those are some fine looking cows.

Nice... subtle, persistant pressure. Just like geology, enough time and pressure and you can do anything. That's how I got my wife to marry me, but it's going to take a few (thousand) more posts to wear me down on the FEL deal!

Thanks on the cattle compliment too, but they are looking kind of thin to me. We'll try to fatten them up this winter when we can turn them loose on the winter pastures, but then again the horns do distract from how thin they look.

What year is your 7710? The guys at the shop told me I had dual pumps, that they didn't start using the single pump until later in production. They didn't look at the tractor, but that's what they thought. I guess we'll see when I get the new boot on and refill the fluid.

Just curious but what would be the purpose of a fluid return line? It has two remotes, why would you tap in (and where) that you would need a return? I think I'd be fine just closing up the thing, but for now the new boot will suffice. I assumed it was factory because the clamp used on the boot was coated blue. You can see it laying on the seat mount in one of the pictures. Looked like it was factory to me, but that's not exactly a professional opinion.

I don't think anyone has mentioned this but this is how I do it. Might have to turn it a couple time but it's easy. It MIGHT have even got that old rusty rim off. That one looked special..

Didn't think of trying that, but it would have been worth a shot. However, it's done now. Those tires had probably been out in the field for 20+ years. Long enough to rust a hole through part of the rim. Hopefully I'm out of the "getting rid of old tires" business. Well, except I have two tractor tires I have to get rid of. The city won't take them.... aaarg.

 

[sandman2234]

I figured when I hit a million posts, I might have a chance, but if you say thousands, maybe I need to start typing more!
Cows aren't thin, but not overly plump either. Just about right, but who am I to say, I specialize in FEL removals.
My Ford 7710 is a 83 model and my JD 2555 is a 89 model.
Most of my needs for a firearm on the tractor are handled by a Thompson Contender with a 41 long colt barrel on it, which allows for shooting a .410 shotgun shell. When I had my Ford 1100, I carried a 45 colt because I would do some mowing in pretty rough areas around town and needed to keep tabs on the two legged snakes running around. Haven't been transporting the two current tractors, so the shotgun pistol works fine around here.
David from jax

 

[RobJ]

As for the herd, it's not that big yet, but we're up to about 60 head. Would have been more, but with the drought we had to hold up a bit.

I'm not a cow expert but I recall in the old days the longhorn were well suited for long dry conditions and the long pushes.

I'm not sure if I've read this but are you raising longhorns for nostalgic reasons? Again not being a cow expert I think there are better "beef" cows out there. Only one guy around the weekend place with longhorns and he only has about a half dozen or so.

Just curious,
Rob

 

[3RRL]

I don't know didly squat about cow farming either...ranching whatever... (see what I mean ), but my neighbor runs longhorns because he has 2000 acres and lets them forage for themselves. They are supposed to be drought resistant and able to forage off land like that with very little up keep. They calve out there too, sometimes right by my fence line! Their are a bunch of little dudes running around with the herd now. He sells them for beef and only loses a few to coyotes, mountain lions and bears.
They are majestic and beautiful animals.

 

[WSJ]

"Incidentally, the last two nights out there have also taught me something else, this is my mortal enemy! Anyone ID it?"

As I think someone else mentioned it might be, your weed's a goldenrod, Solidago canadensis. Disk it, lime it, fertilize it, plant a native sod-forming perennial hay/pasture grass and you'll have it licked. -WSJ

 

[Spiveyman]

I'm not a cow expert but I recall in the old days the longhorn were well suited for long dry conditions and the long pushes.

I'm not sure if I've read this but are you raising longhorns for nostalgic reasons? Again not being a cow expert I think there are better "beef" cows out there. Only one guy around the weekend place with longhorns and he only has about a half dozen or so.

Yes, the Longhorns are survivors and seem to do better in harsh conditions than other cattle, that is to say they hold their own. Other breeds are always going to gain faster because they've been bred to do so, but they will likely lose faster as well.

We are raising the horns for beef. I own a beef business selling Texas Longhorn beef for freezer beef, in restaurants, and grocery stores. However, I only do the beef thing to pay the bills so that I can raise the horns - not the other way around. My dream job is sitting in a saddle on my land riding amongst the herd, I get to do that some this way when I'm not hauling cattle or beef.

As for better beef cattle, it depends on what you are going for. If you're selling to the commercial market, sure there are faster gainers and polled animals bring more, but we are doing it differently, selling into a nich market. Nich is a nice way of saying small but high priced. Same work, more pay. My papaw is happy if he can run a herd through the spring, summer, then sell in the fall and make a couple hundred a head. I can't run enough animals at that profit to make it worth my while. Taking them from conception to consumption we capture the whole process and can make enough to justify doing it.

I also happen to like the beef way better than corn fed angus the other commercial type breeds, but taste is, well, a matter of taste.

I don't know didly squat about cow farming either...ranching whatever... (see what I mean ), but my neighbor runs longhorns because he has 2000 acres and lets them forage for themselves. They are supposed to be drought resistant and able to forage off land like that with very little up keep. They calve out there too, sometimes right by my fence line! Their are a bunch of little dudes running around with the herd now. He sells them for beef and only loses a few to coyotes, mountain lions and bears.
They are majestic and beautiful animals.

Yep on all accounts. They are the easiest cattle to raise because they take care of them selves. And yes, you may occasionally loose one to a predator, but they also seem to take care of themselves better then other breeds (something about the 6 foot skewers on their heads). You never have to pull a calf, unlike the european breeds, so that is also nice, and there's no comparrison to the looks. Our company moto is, Real cattle have horns.

 

[RobJ]

I'm sure you are doing this but use the tax man to your full advantage. A guy down the road leased some land near the weekend place, wrote off the mileage from Houston to Elkhart. There use to be big 1 year credits for large expenses to. I don't run cattle so I don't know all the details.

Rob

 

[Spiveyman]

I'm sure you are doing this but use the tax man to your full advantage. A guy down the road leased some land near the weekend place, wrote off the mileage from Houston to Elkhart. There use to be big 1 year credits for large expenses to. I don't run cattle so I don't know all the details.

Howdy, just got back from a short vacation to Gatlinberg, TN - so I'm catching up on things. You betcha on the tax thing. I've done tons of research, you wouldn't believe the stuff you can deduct. Between the beef business and the farm, it's amazing. My actual tax rate was 6.1% last year despite the fact the those who love to tax us would consider me "rich." I won't break the law, but I'm sure 'nuff gonna see how fer she'll bend!!!