First Kodak Moments

[Harv]

I gotta pay homage one more time to my tractor broker, Mike, who I shall now call "Miracle Mike". Not only did he find me my L2500DT, but within 48 hours of my signing on the dotted line he got the tractor from the dealer, picked up the loader from a Kubota parts house and installed it, ordered and then drove out to pick up the implements I wanted, threw them all on his trailer, and when I arrived at my foothills property Saturday, there he was having just unloaded it all.

Anybody in central California looking for any kind of tractor or implement, I'll be glad to put you in touch with Miracle Mike.

I had never met him in person before the delivery and he must have thought I was crazy, 'cuz instead of running over to jump on the tractor, I grabbed my camera and started taking pictures (gotta share with the board, don't you know). /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Mike proceeded to give me about a one-hour lesson on how to use the machine. He wouldn't leave until he was sure I understood all the controls and could demonstrate them to his satisfaction. I was self-conscious as hell, but it was a very worthwhile hour.

After he left, my first priority was to make sure I could get this thing through that infamous garage door on the side of the shop. I had made doubly sure that the tractor I got had at least a take-apart ROPS and this one did. Sort of.
Anybody out there actually try taking one of those puppies apart? Ever notice how the sides of the ROPS is angled in, making it almost impossible to lift the top part off? I wound up using a sledge hammer to take it apart, and a car jack to put it back together. One go 'round with that hassle and I was aggressively looking for alternatives.

Then I remembered that this was a slightly smaller tractor than the ones I had used for measurements a while back. According to the specs, this one is over an inch shorter! A few measurements later and I was attacking the garage doorframe with a vengeance! The problem got solved.

If anybody else has faced this problem, you may have also run into a garage door which doesn't voluntarily stay quite high enough to be out of the way when opened. Being a techie kind of guy, I came up with a high-tech solution for that one, also.

By the time that was done I had precious few hours left to master the fine art of tractoring. I drove around for a little while, getting the feel of the gears, steering and what-not. Oh yeah, about tilting -- I determined that I am unlikely to exceed 15 degrees real soon 'cuz when I hit one short stretch that was maybe 5 degrees or less I 'bout peed my pants! /w3tcompact/icons/blush.gif

With the first inkling of confidence creeping in, I clamped on my bucket forks and went after a couple of logs that were clogging one of my water channels (currently dry). Buckling into my tractor feels just like putting on my Superman suite! /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif I hope that feeling never goes away.

I then started clearing the channel with the box scraper and bumped into a sizeable rock, mostly buried. Time for the rippers!!! /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif
I lowered 3 of the 5 shanks and dropped them behind the boulder. The rest is history. /w3tcompact/icons/cool.gif

Time ran out just as I was making my first attempt to dig out the water channels. I think that's going to take a little practice. Sure wish I could see the front of the bucket when I'm doing stuff like that.

Sorry for this very long post. It was just one of those hog-heaven weekends, and I had to share it with somebody.

 

[Thomas]

Great pictures Harv.
I would say you indeed had a busy weekend./w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Got to admit those Kubota's beat a shovel and a wheel barrow anytime,and you didn't even break a sweat. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Keep those pictures coming I enjoy them!!

Take care and stay /w3tcompact/icons/cool.gif

Thomas..NH /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

 

[Thomas]

Harv,
Are you planing to have a chain hook or hooks install on your bucket? /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif
A chain hook plus a good tool box can be most handy also.

Thomas..NH /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

 

[Rowski]

Harv,

Congratulations. Nice pics too. I like the garage modifications. I wish I could do that with my garage door. My problem is I need to remove about a foot /w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif. Hope all the effort you put in is worth it to you. Like you I put on the superman suit too but don't have the x-ray vision to see through the bucket! Enjoy, have fun and be safe.

Derek




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[bsauter]

Harv,

Looks like you've got a nice clean tractor there! Great post and pix! And you put it to work right away!! I just got my new L3010 Saturday and put on my front and rear lights and switches, tiltmeter, am/fm cassette (a Walkman velcroed to the fender like my old B2150, ear buds and hearing protection muffs over that and makes a nice stereo system), and then I waxed it yesterday while the kids were napping.

The only work I did was moved hay and shavings from one barn to the other but even that little bit was fun.

May you have many years of enjoyment with your "L"!! /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Brad in Indy

 

[Harv]

Thomas -
I already have the hooks for the bucket -- just not sure how I'm going to attach them. Lately I've developed the urge to buy a welding torch and learn how to use it. Sounds like some of you guys have been welding all your lives, so maybe you have suggestions?
About the toolbox -- look close at some of the picts and you'll see I already mounted a toolbox on the right fender, using existing mounting holes (couldn't bring myself to poke new holes in her, yet). This is a cheapy plastic toolbox for now -- just an experiment to see how I like the idea. It's got a couple of 10-foot chains with hooks, miscellaneous pins and bolts, protractor's level and a few tools in it. So far I like it fine -- makes a nice arm rest. What do I really need? A CUP HOLDER!

Rowski -
If you ever reach the frame of mind I did after taking off the top of the ROPS and putting it back on, you'd go ahead and remove that foot. /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif Hopefully you'll wake up in the middle of the night when that "perfect solution" pops into your head.

BSauter -
It actually hurt a little to jump right in as I did and put a whole bunch of scratches on my shiny new machine, but I did treat it to a bath before putting it to bed.
I also have a lot of "enhancements" in mind, some already in production. Stay tuned for the corresponding pict posts later on. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[W5FL]

Now aren't you glad you found such a nice tractor! Rotate that boxblade with as much side to side tilt as you can and use it instead of the bucket to clean the drainage ditch or lower the scarfiers and make that ditch the width of the boxblade. Dig slowly with the loader to not damage something.

Buy a DC Welder. This is important, but it looks like the same welder but costs $100 more and work $1000 better.

The pictures are really nice. Thanks for sharing those with us.

 

[MChalkley]

Harv - Congratulations! In response to "Why doesn't anybody talk about this part? in "Rock.jpg", all you need is a 4-in-1 bucket and you won't have to do that anymore... Let the enhancements begin!

As for the cupholder, just glue a hard drive magnet to the bottom of a plastic mug (or the 7-11 Xtreme Gulp mega-tanker) and you've got a cupholder anywhere on the fender you set it.

Mark

 

[gordon]

I'm with Wen a DC welder is the only way to go better penatration and alot less spatter. So Harv if you do get the urge for a welder thats the way to go.

Also cools pic's of the new tractor. It might have hurt the wallet alittle more than the used tractors but this way you've got a warr. You also know exactly what has been and will be done to the tractor because you will have put all the hours on it!!!

Also be careful and go slow at first it's easy for the job at hand to get out of hand before you know it!!!
Good luck
Gordon

 

[dullpain]

Harv - You are a HOOT. Enjoyed the pix and long post. Don't know how you mustered the patience to make mods to the garage before playing on that great looking new tractor! Although I understand the importance of being garaged. When I get my digital camera, new M5700 Kubota, and learn how to do markups or post pix I'll give you a run for your money. Too ashamed to show ya'll my old, trusty Ford. Sure did envy you that good weather this weekend as it rained (finally) all weekend here in Middle TN. Looked out the den window and there sat old blue with 2 wagons hooked to her ready to go trim some more fence line - but no seat time for me this weekend. Enjoy and be careful.
When you get that welder - DC capability is worth the extra bucks. Start off with simple projects and use (powdered iron)7014 rods. They are the easiest to use for learning on and then you can step up to others. Course you will probably wind up with one of those Super-Duper SMAW-GMAW-TIG-MIG-PLASMA trailer mounted, diesel driven, power generating (at least 10KVA) PIPELINER Welders. If so don't forget to paint it Orange. All of you remember Tennessee is BIG ORANGE COUNTRY.

 

[Harv]

Wen-
Thanks for the ditch-digging tips. I will probably try all the techniques that everyone on this board has already mentioned and see what works for me. I'm still at ground level, so to speak, on the learning curve, so it will take a while to build up proficiency with any technique.

As for the welder, it sounds like a DC is the way to go, but my lovely, supporting wife has already called to my attention that we are now several thousand dollars over budget for this year and next. Welding might not happen real soon. /w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif

Having said that, how much we talking about here? And would there be any point in laying out, say, $150 for an oxy-acetylene rig? Can you cut as well as weld with a DC welder? Here goes that learning curve again...

Mark -
Thanks for the comments. I've been admiring them 4-in-1 buckets but assumed they're a little pricey. True?

I've been following your cupholder thread very closely, and I can probably put my hands on a hard-disk magnet, but I was wondering about a gimbled version like they use on boats. That would make the cup a little more immune to the pitching and swaying of the tractor. Did you look into those at all?

Gordon -
Thanks for the DC welder validation -- see my comments to Wen.
The tractor itself isn't brand new. It pulled apple carts for 187 hours before I got it. Everything else is brand new and they gave me the "new" warranty on the tractor, so it's certainly "as good as".
I went slow (low range) for a while and then opened it up to maybe five miles an hour in high range, just to feel the wind in my hair. Then came the hard part -- getting down to the nitty gritty and putting scratches on the bucket, the box scraper and a few places I'm not even sure how the scratches got there. Just had to get past that point.

McCallum -
My motivation for locking up the tractor indoors was motivated by the fact that at the end of the weekend I would be saying goodbye for another week or so. It was tearful -- you wouldn't have wanted to be there.

I didn't want to leave it out in the open where it might attract the wrong kind of attention. Did you know that bright orange is hard to conceal in the woods?

I had my eye on one of those plasma welders, but the dilithium crystals were on backorder. Just as well...

 

[chuckp]

[cry]

 

[Harv]

Chuck -

Was it something I said?

 

[MChalkley]

Harv - For a gimball mount to be really useful, it would also have to have quite a bit of damped vertical travel, something I haven't seen. Without this, you're still going to need a well fitting lid and if you've got the lid, the other motion doesn't matter anymore. You just need to keep it attached to the tractor. At least, that was my line of reasoning. I haven't had any trouble with liquid splashing out, just keeping it on the fender. Now, that problem is solved, too.

MarkC

 

[Harv]

MarkC -

Always glad to hear the voice of experience. I only have 2 hours (according to the meter) on a tractor, and I already lost sight of the fact that the motion does have a lot of vertical components. Bouncing up and down was expected, so I didn't really take notice. Tipping side to side really got my attention, so that's all I remembered.

Now where is that old hard disk of mine...

 

[heehaw]

i looked at welders at Lowes just last week, and $100 higher for dc is about right. they have the lincoln for $2?? and the dc for $3??; sorry i don't remember the exact price. you can pick up a good lincoln ac welder for $100 or less at auctions, and get your $$ back when your ready to upgrade..
heehaw

 

[Harv]

Just got a call from my tractor broker, the guy I now call "Miracle Mike". He was just doing a follow-up, making sure I was happy and that there were no loose ends.

I told y'all earlier that he's a good man to talk to if you're looking for a tractor in central California, but today he tells me he just shipped out an M-series 'Bota to someplace in Texas. /w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif

I know there was some skepticism from some of you about using a broker, but this is one happy camper who believes this guy went above and beyond to find me a better deal than I possibly cound have found myself.

'Nuf said.

 

[redhawk]

harv, i knew up front that i could'nt get my 7500 into either my garage or my 12x28' shed, so i ordered mine with
a folding rops. kevin

 

[Harv]

Redhawk -

My L2500DT should hold me for a while/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif, but looking to the future I am still interested in how those folding ROPS work out in real life. Do you find it convenient enough that you don't think twice about taking the tractor out or putting it away?

I'm sure a lot of us would like to see pictures of the folding down / up procedure. Any chance of that?

 

[scruffy]

Harv, what's with this 'Real Live' thing? Is that curiosity about how it works when the tractor is rolled? Just so long as it doesn't fold up! Can't tell ya anything about nothing, but I can categorically state the front end of my pickup doesn't hold up to well! I'll post a pic down under Rural (Country boy driving in the city)in a few.