Oh no, I think I have TRACTOR-ITIS.....

[Ford960]

Send picture of the Cessna...

What year and model is it?

One little dab of wax on my tractor would give it a heart attack and it would roll over a die.
It also only gets a bath when it rains. I really don't want to know whats leaking now.

 

[bill6]

Hi Doc Bob and Ford; My Cessna is a 150m 1976. It's a Texas Taildragger, with prop pitched to cruise, Horton STOL kit, all gap seals, wheel pants, etc. Original Continental 0-200 A.

Speaking of Wisconsin, I go there often. In fact, every summer (including this coming July) I go to Hybridfest in Madison ( I display my Honda Insight and I got best of show last year) and I go to Sheboygan, New Holstein, Fond du lac, and then Oshkosh for the EAA fly-in. Also I often attend the American Lemans Series race in Elkhart Lake. This July 21, Hybridfest will be a huge event. It's at the Dane county fairgrounds. (Hybridfest, a hybrid electric car show and more!)

Madison is 1900 miles from my house in WA. I will be driving there on July 19, hoping to average 98 mpg. Too bad I can't pull a trailer with my tractor on board. My Honda will not pull 4700 lbs, and it would ruin my gas mileage!

 

[flusher]

Last August I bought a brand new Mahindra 3215 G. It's a turbocharged, sturdy workhorse made in Japan by Mitsubishi. I also have an airplane (Cessna, 28 mpg) 2006 Ford Ranger 4 cylinder (41 mpg) and a 2005 Honda Insight (88 mpg). I'm not sure of the gas mileage on the tractor, but my friends tease me, accusing me of over inflating the tires trying to increase my fuel economy. (it burns about 1/2 gph of diesel at 1900 rpm)

Anyway, I spend alot of time cleaning and waxing the tractor. Even after 90 hrs of use, it is so clean, I almost hesitate to use it for fear of getting it dirty. But there's lots of work to do; box blading, moving piles of rocks, spreading gravel, disking the field. So, I work it fairly hard, but then it takes me HOURS to clean and re-polish it.

I remove all 4 wheels and wax the backside of the wheels, and put rubber tire dressing (the wet look) on them. I wipe down the entire underside. I remove the floor deck mat, and wax the steel deck. The whole FEL gets wiped down & waxed. The toothbar gets touch-up paint to keep it beautiful.

The machine is kept in a heated garage. I did my own 50-hr service and spent 6 hours on it. High-end synthetic fluids all the way around.

The wife says I should sleep out in the garage with it. And 3 nights ago, she reports, I was mumbling tractors in my sleep.

I'm comparing prices & features of 72" finish mowers; nearly ready to buy. The last 2 nights I was dreaming of pulling a Bush Hog RDTH 72, and getting a wonderful cut on the green grass!

My airplane is being somewhat neglected, I daydream of tractors while at my desk at work, and close friends say I seem distracted or occupied. What's wrong with me, anyone know??

Never wax my 2005 Kubota B7510HST/LA302 FEL.
Hose it off a few times per year.
Do the periodic maintenance myself.
Spend my quality tractor time behind the wheel going places and doing things.

 

[Ford960]

My Cessna is a 150m 1976. It's a Texas Taildragger, with prop pitched to cruise, Horton STOL kit, all gap seals, wheel pants, etc. Original Continental 0-200 A.

I've got a lot of hours in a 1947 Cessna 120 w/Rolls Royce 0200 and a variety of 150's, 152's, 172's, and a 195 from the rt seat. Even a 152a w/160 hp Lycoming.
Lots of fun!!!

 

[machmeter62]

Hi Nosliw: No typo. Over the years, I've owned 3 Honda Insights (2001,2003,2005) and each one averaged between 85-90 mpg. On long freeway trips, I get 95-105 mpg. The car is designed from the ground up, for high fuel economy. Just put more air in the tires, and slow down a little; then it remains in lean-burn mode. It's a fantastic car!

My Mahindra (Mitsubishi diesel) engine is even more efficient than the 1.0 liter gas motor in my Honda.....

The money you save on fuel, you will eventually spend on new ball joint and other under carriage items, plus wearing out the center of your tires prematurely, which will add to your operating expense down the road! Good luck!

 

[BTDT]

Hi Doc Bob and Ford; My Cessna is a 150m 1976. It's a Texas Taildragger, with prop pitched to cruise, Horton STOL kit, all gap seals, wheel pants, etc. Original Continental 0-200 A.

Speaking of Wisconsin, I go there often. In fact, every summer (including this coming July) I go to Hybridfest in Madison ( I display my Honda Insight and I got best of show last year) and I go to Sheboygan, New Holstein, Fond du lac, and then Oshkosh for the EAA fly-in. Also I often attend the American Lemans Series race in Elkhart Lake. This July 21, Hybridfest will be a huge event. It's at the Dane county fairgrounds. (Hybridfest, a hybrid electric car show and more!)

Madison is 1900 miles from my house in WA. I will be driving there on July 19, hoping to average 98 mpg. Too bad I can't pull a trailer with my tractor on board. My Honda will not pull 4700 lbs, and it would ruin my gas mileage!

My Mahindra (Mitsubishi diesel) engine is even more efficient than the 1.0 liter gas motor in my Honda.....

If that's the case, use the tractor to pull the Honda (may need to leave a day or two earlier)

 

[john_bud]

Speaking of Wisconsin, I go there often. In fact, every summer (including this coming July) I go to Hybridfest in Madison ( I display my Honda Insight and I got best of show last year) and I go to Sheboygan, New Holstein, Fond du lac, and then Oshkosh for the EAA fly-in. Also I often attend the American Lemans Series race in Elkhart Lake. This July 21, Hybridfest will be a huge event. It's at the Dane county fairgrounds. (Hybridfest, a hybrid electric car show and more!)

I'll have the power washer fully fueled, the wax out and a cold one for when you're done!

Let's see, I have liquid wax, paste wax and 8-9 different Meguires compounds
for the paint, 2 for clear plastic and a couple more for chrome. Do you like the compounding sponges or wool pads?

jb

 

[bill6]

Hi John Bud; I prefer the wool pads for initial metal polishing. For waxing, I use cotton pads, then soft microfiber or cotton towels for buffing. Maybe I will see you in late July!

Regarding higher tires pressures: with the new generation of stiff steel belts, most tires do NOT wear out in the center. I've been doing this high-efficiency driving stuff for 26 years; it has become quite a hobby! In fact, I had a 1987 Honda CRX HF, purchased new, and put 502,000 highway miles on it, then sold it. Never a problem, I just changed the oil often. Never wore out a set of brake pads, no engine or suspension trouble.

 

[john_bud]

Bill6 - Maybe. The tractor is getting all excited, looking forward to the attention no doubt.

I too like to get good fuel economy. No matter what is being driven, better economy is a sign of better efficiency. I added an O2 sensor and display to my 1973 Cougar convertible 351 cleveland 4V so monitoring the right foot could be easier. It's very visible when you drive with a heavy foot or a light foot as the display goes from lean or neutral to full enrichment. Also added an AOD transmission to get that .67 OD. Still, it's a sub 20 mpg vehicle. Maybe I shouldn't actually be TRYING to peg the meter on full rich? {chuckle}

502,000 miles ??? Your butt must be sore! What was the overall mpg on that puppy?

 

[nosliw]

i just drove 350miles in my truck over the last two days and filled up with a 19.5MPG

i had stuff in the bed both times (ATV, generator, 10' chainlink fence, tools)

just thought i'd brag