My First Tractor will be a Ventrac 4500Y.

[John Joseph McVeigh]

You look happier than a itchy pig rubbing against a rail fence

Hah! I am indeed happier than a itchy pig rubbing against a rail fence, but I was the one taking the pictures. The fellow unloading the Ventrac and its attachments from the flatbed is the dealer, Roy Hutchins, 80 years young!

 

[John Joseph McVeigh]

GREAT John,
I have a question about the lights on the ROPS - Are they facing forward for a reason ? You have headlights and unless you are always going forward, you will want light behind you. I wish my garage was that well organized. I'm sure you will enjoy your machine ! I did not see a set of dual wheels or a mower ???
Keep us up to date and more pictures !

Hi, BKBrown.

The dealer installed the ROPS-mounted work lights facing rearward, and explained that this is a Ventrac requirement, but that it was up to me if I wanted to rotate one or both. So, after the dealer left, I rotated them 180°. I did so because it seemed by eyeball that the body of the snow blower would block most of the light produced by the headlights. Most of the driveway is unlit. The primary nighttime operating mode will be blowing snow.

When I took the tractor with snow blower attached out for its maiden run, I found that the massive body of the snow blower did indeed block most of the light from illuminating the path ahead and actually reduced visibility through the large amount of light reflected back by the glossy red paint. I found that the path was much better illuminated by leaving the headlights off, but the ROPS-mounted work lights on.

Truth be told, the garage was slightly less organized a few weeks ago. In between work sessions drafting a document on behalf of a client, I have been reorganizing things and clearing out a bit of clutter, so that there would be as much free space for the tractor and attachments, and as much walk-around space for me and other family members as possible.

At present, no dual wheels. I may not need them, depending on how I use the tractor. Small areas with the steepest slopes are mostly moss and can be kept tidy with a string trimmer or a walk-behind mower, both of which I already have.

I am going to get axle extensions, however.

I happened to have a pair of reasonably sturdy casters with 5/16-inch threaded shafts. So, I installed the casters in the ⅜-inch holes in the base bars of the generator, to facilitate moving the generator around. I used two flat washers and two retaining nuts on each caster shaft. These casters look like they will do the job, but I may bump up to casters with ⅜-inch shafts, as a matter of principle.

I did get a mower deck. It is down in a storage shed at the base of the hill on which the house stands. When Spring comes, I will move the snow blower and possibly the broom down to the shed, and bring the mower deck up the hill. The generator will stay in the garage year-round.

 

[John Joseph McVeigh]

That Garage makes mine look like a junk yard. Nice collection of toys you got there.

Thanks, Murph.

Truth be told, the garage is a bit more cleaned up/organized than it was two weeks ago. The pegboard has been up on the wall since we moved in. The wooden shelving (from Ikea) is modular. We bought it about 20 years ago, and brought it with us when we moved here. It is made of spruce, I believe. It is light in weight but reasonably strong. I believe that Ikea now sells a variation of the modular system that I have, using the name "Ivar"... which I believe was also the name of the product/system when we bought our components. Our units are held together by lag bolts with 11-mm heads. I think the current production uses some other means of attachment.

 

[murphy1244]

If you have time put a coat of wax on your tractor and attachments. Keeps them looking good and last longer.

 

[John Joseph McVeigh]

If you have time put a coat of wax on your tractor and attachments. Keeps them looking good and last longer.

Thank you for the suggestion, Murph. Do you have a recommendation for a particular brand of wax? I have a can of Mother's California Gold Carnauba Wax (solid wax, not liquid) out on one of the shelves. I use it on our road vehicles, and have obtained good results.

 

[murphy1244]

Thank you for the suggestion, Murph. Do you have a recommendation for a particular brand of wax? I have a can of Mother's California Gold Carnauba Wax (solid wax, not liquid) out on one of the shelves. I use it on our road vehicles, and have obtained good results.

That should do it John. The big thing is to get some protection on on it before you use it.

 

[BKBrown]

Great equipment John !

Hi, BKBrown.

The dealer installed the ROPS-mounted work lights facing rearward, and explained that this is a Ventrac requirement, but that it was up to me if I wanted to rotate one or both. So, after the dealer left, I rotated them 180ｰ. I did so because it seemed by eyeball that the body of the snow blower would block most of the light produced by the headlights. Most of the driveway is unlit. The primary nighttime operating mode will be blowing snow. OK -My blower only blocks 1 headlight - I plan to put LED headlights on the wings of the blower to add visibility. I'll use bullet or trailer type plug connectors.

When I took the tractor with snow blower attached out for its maiden run, I found that the massive body of the snow blower did indeed block most of the light from illuminating the path ahead and actually reduced visibility through the large amount of light reflected back by the glossy red paint. I found that the path was much better illuminated by leaving the headlights off, but the ROPS-mounted work lights on.I noticed that you don't have rear mounted hitch - the hitch and 3-N-1 allows you to hook up and carry attachments on the rear - plus you can use non-powered attachments on the back and use suitcase weights for traction on the rear. You could always add another set of LED lights on the ROPS facing rearward.

Truth be told, the garage was slightly less organized a few weeks ago. In between work sessions drafting a document on behalf of a client, I have been reorganizing things and clearing out a bit of clutter, so that there would be as much free space for the tractor and attachments, and as much walk-around space for me and other family members as possible.

At present, no dual wheels. I may not need them, depending on how I use the tractor. Small areas with the steepest slopes are mostly moss and can be kept tidy with a string trimmer or a walk-behind mower, both of which I already have.

I am going to get axle extensions, however. If you use the axle extensions you will have no problem with chain clearance.

I happened to have a pair of reasonably sturdy casters with 5/16-inch threaded shafts. So, I installed the casters in the ⅜-inch holes in the base bars of the generator, to facilitate moving the generator around. I used two flat washers and two retaining nuts on each caster shaft. These casters look like they will do the job, but I may bump up to casters with ⅜-inch shafts, as a matter of principle.

I did get a mower deck. It is down in a storage shed at the base of the hill on which the house stands. When Spring comes, I will move the snow blower and possibly the broom down to the shed, and bring the mower deck up the hill. The generator will stay in the garage year-round. OK - That makes sense ! You might want to make something to keep the casters from rolling away from the tractor when attaching it to the generator. 4 locking casters would probably work.

 

[John Joseph McVeigh]

Shin Protectors

Looking at the hitch bars on the power broom, I decided that inadvertently bumping into one of them could be a painful experience, as well as a source of black-and-blue shins. As a result of my garage organizing, a pair of Werner Ladder Company Model AC19-2 blue foam Extension Ladder Covers, still in their original packaging, happened to be lying in a box nearby. On a lark, I opened the package and tried fitting the Covers on the ends of the hitch bars. They fit like a glove. I am going to buy several more pairs and install them on the hitch bars of each of the attachments.

 

[John Joseph McVeigh]

Great equipment John !

Indeed it is. I look forward to many hours and years of productive use.

I noticed that you don't have rear mounted hitch - the hitch and 3-N-1 allows you to hook up and carry attachments on the rear - plus you can use non-powered attachments on the back and use suitcase weights for traction on the rear. You could always add another set of LED lights on the ROPS facing rearward. !

Yes, no rear hitch... yet. In time, I will add one. Probably the 3-N-1 also.

That is a good point about adding rearward-facing lights to the ROPS. The alternator has enough output capacity that I could use halogens, if I so chose, or the less current-hungry LEDs.

The stock halogen lights that Ventrac uses for the headlights and for the ROPS lights appear to be of excellent quality, including the enclosures. I have read some horrow stories about inexpensive LED worklights filling up with water.

If you use the axle extensions you will have no problem with chain clearance.

Agreed. Right now, it looks a little tight.

You might want to make something to keep the casters from rolling away from the tractor when attaching it to the generator. 4 locking casters would probably work.

Locking casters are a good idea. I suppose that I could also use locking casters, in their unlocked mode, to roll the generator into engagement with the tractor, rather than locking the casters and using the motive power of the tractor to push the tractor up against the generator.

Best,

JJM

 

[BKBrown]

It also came to mind that I use the rear hitch with the spreader and sand in the winter - sand works great on slopes and inclines. The weight of the sand in the spreader also helps with traction. I use the spreader for lime and grass seed also. I did build a cart for the spreader and can roll it up to the tractor rear hitch on casters.