New Hampshire Gathering

[AndyR]

Didn't get my TBN hat yet but Hayden, Dekker and I were there in the morning. I left around 11:30 to pick up some sifter screens for my next project. I was checking out trailers and tillers, Hayden was looking at haying equipment and I met Dekker in the lawn tractor pull area just as I was leaving. Quite an elaborate machine they had for the pulling sled. Did they run the excavator competiion when you were there? (for those unable to attend, they had a small excavator, think it was a Terex, and several rounds pans of kitty litter - coarse/old-style. Attached to the bucket of the excavator was a 2 foot long spoon (looked like 2" diameter) with a hole in the bottom (maybe 3/8"). Object was to transfer as much material as possible as quickly as you could. <font color=red> Scratch the previous sentance - see other posts</font color=red> Controls on that excavator were 2 joysticks on each side of seat.

Now as for equipment, there was a lot of Massey, some big Terex (and little too), Land-Pride, Kuhn, buncha big hoes, a few sawmills, an outdoor water furnace, trailers, atv's old iron, etc. Nice setup. Gotta remember the camera next time.

 

[SteveV]

The jury is still out whether the show or Sat. activities were more useful (fun). I would have liked to meet the crowd but we had a bit of a wind storm and the loader moved a 35' spruce, the mower did the lawn and 20 ft of stone wall got completed. Now if someone had taken a bunch of pictures, we could have had the best of both worlds! Now I suppose you're going to ask where's my pixs. SteveV

 

[hayden]

I got a few pictures of the mini tractor pull equipment as they were staging for the main event. Unfortunately, I had to leave (not long after AndyR) so I missed the action.

 

[hayden]

Here's the excavator tallent contest. It turns out the task is to move eggs from two pans into a third. It's a timed event to see how long it takes to move 5 of the 6 eggs.

The bucket is outfitted with a spoon taped to one of the bucket teeth. Three eggs are placed in each of two pans, and you have to pick them up with the hoe and place them in a third pan.

Pictures attached. I was sufficiently intimidated by the second person up that I left quitely without trying. However, I think this wins the prize for rediculous uses of a tractor (excavator in this case). I even think it goes beyond Boondox's pooper scooper application of a backhoe!

 

[SteveV]

Thanks for the update. I saw tractor pulling last summer at Churchville NY fair; there were some pros mixed in the field. One of the machines had a Japanese motorcycle engine (4 or more cyls) mounted on tires that were virtual slicks, and we soon found out why. He cranked that screamer open and filled the air with atomized clay faster than any orchard sprayer could dream. It did the job though! If you go looking for Ryan tractor at Tilton NH, it's now next door behind the Agway called MG tractor. New building, with healthy inventory. SteveV

 

[EdDekker]

I arrived at about 10:15. There was already a large turn out.

As AndyR already said I ran into him at the lawn tractor pull. I didn't see Hayden.

The range of events was larger than I expected: kids tractor pulling with pedal tractors, lawn tractor pulling, antique tractors, chainsaw carving, new tractors and attachments. The range of attachments on display ranged from 2' by 3' trailers for small lawn tractors (surprisingly Tarex brand !! ) to large haying equipment.
Standalone accessaries included chain saws, operating bandsaw mills and even Tarex construction dump trucks.

A local club had a food service trailer and an ice cream stand set up (I think it was a snowmobile club). The lines were long.


There was a Terex Mini Excavator (HR 18 I think) set up for a contest. When I walked around inside and signed up for the door prize drawing a young woman encouraged me to also sign up for the excavator contest.

The contest started later, it was shortly after I met AndyR. A heavy steel 'serving spoon' was duct taped to a tooth on the bucket. The contest winner used the minimum time to transfer 5 unbroken eggs from the side pans of kitty litter on the ground to the center pan of kitty litter on top of a 55 Gal drum. Contestants were limited to 5 minutes. It was about 10 feet from the center pan to each side pan. Each run started with three eggs in each side pan and none in the center pan. Broken eggs were not counted and the eggs in the side pans were replaced when the contestant swung the bucket over to the other egg side pan. I watched the two contestants ahead of me. They were professional operators of excavation machinery for a family business. They each broke three eggs and one broke the duct tape holding the spoon.

At this point I knew I was to be the comic relief for the day.

My name was being called. I stepped forward and told the MC of the contest that I had never operated an excavator. After I climbed in he showed me the two joysticks I would use to control the machine and set the machine for a slow idle. I was given a few moments to move the bucket and see how the controls worked. My five minute contest period started. I broke three eggs, knocked over the tub of kitty litter and eggs once and broke the duct tape holding the spoon twice. No eggs were lifted in the spoon. I just did not have a fee for the machine. I would have to explicitly think and try (TRY) to remember which joystick is moved in which direction to move the bucket in the direction I wanted to go, while I try to move the control slowly and smothly. All in all my performance was not an impressive demonstration of operator excellence.

The next contestant was the father of the two men who had competed before me. No broken eggs and 5 eggs transferred in 2 and a half minutes.

(For beginners like me, a simpler contest would have been nice (e.g. time to fill a trash can with sand from a sand pile.)


Of the accessories I was very impressed by the Normand 5' by 8' trailer. Over that last couple months I was looking for a small dump trailer and ordered an EzDumper two weeks ago. I was unable to even get a pamphlet from Normand or the Dealer that Normand passed my name on to. The dealer Normand had referred to me (not Knoxland) did call and offer to take an order but did not have a trailer in stock for me to see and promised to send a pamphlet.
The Normand trailer is made of 7 Gauge steel with Dual axles, compared to the 12 Gauge (optional upgrade to 10 Gauge on the floor) steel and single axle used on the EzDumper. The sides on the Normand are hinged as well as the rear door. It is clearly a heaver duty trailer and would be an easy choice for heavy commercial use.
On the other hand the Normand costs a lot of money (over 50% more money). ($2600 vs $4400) (For my purposes (light non-commercial use) the EzDumper is the right choice. But, the heavier-duty, bigger, more powerful ... devices have a strong appeal. )


I left just as the rain started.

 

[Thomas]

There new place in Tilton sure is a grand place,for we stop by yesterday and took a peek-aboo and they have just about evey model of NH & Kubota in stock.

 

[hayden]

Ryan in Tilton merged with Mears in Plastow to create MG. I haven't been to either since they combined, but it sounds like it's worth a stop in Tilton next time I'm gogin that way.

 

[AndyR]

Sounds like you had a great time on that excavator. I think I would have not been too good myself, being used to 2 sticks in front of me, not 2 joysticks at my side.

I can see this as a must-have for the tractor olympics.

 

[Youare]

My wife and I arrived around 10:30, we were both taken by the crowd of people and the size of the operation which seemed like it was out in the middle of no where, no pun intended. We walked around until about noon.

There was a lot of intresting stuff, my wife kept steering me away from the silent auction, she didn't think I needed any more of that stuff. We we both intrested in the tiger, I didn't know they were quite that large.

I was looking at the Massey tractors in the same size range as my Kubota L3000DT. A salesman asked me how the price of I think $18,500 compaired to what I paid for the Kubota. He was a little shocked to find out there was almost a $3,000 difference, the Massey was more money. All things seemed to be equal on both machines, that made me feel good and it was good for the wife to hear also.

Seems like some of us were there around the same time, I kept looking for TBN hats but didn't see any, and I don't have one yet. Bumped into some other people we knew and had not seen in quite a while, so it was a good day. The only thing I missed was the earthquake that happened around 6:45 Saturday morning.

Randy