Berniep
Platinum Member
It started out very nice. Good weather and all.
I thought I would trim some branches off Some trees to make it easier to mow under. About halfway through I decide to cut a sapling close to the ground and hit a rock. This is my last good chain because Lowes had the wrong chain in the box the last time i bought a spare so for the next half hour I am almost burning through the rest of the limbs. Well I get all that cleaned up and even cut behind the house with the rotary cutter. I get lunch and decide to head for under the power lines which haven't been cut yet this year. About a third of a mile from the shop (this is pertinant to the story) I cut for about an hour and at some point I look back and the R/C looks funny. One of the wheel assemblies has come out. It is the orange king kutter with two caster wheels that are held in by set screw type bolts. Well after driving around for looking for a little bit I find it and head back to the shop. Got them cross drilled and bolted, now they ain"t comin out. Now I hit a lucky streak of almost two hours of mowing without incident.
It's kinda hilly and I am getting used to leaning a little but I am on a relatively flat portion and I think to myself "why is the tractor still leaning?"
I look at the low side and sure enough the right rear is extremely low. I got it to the entrance to the field but thats as far as I wanted to go. If the bead came unseated then I would have to take it off in the field and i didn't want that as there were some storm clouds on the horizon. So it's off walking to the shop for the portable air tank. I could have hopped on the 4wheeler and brought it back but I figure that I will just have to walk back to get the 4weeler eventually anyway so I will just carry it. It takes most of the tank to get it aired up and as soon as I start to drive it it starts hissing and leaking back out. So I end up having to make two more trips to the shop to fill the air tank to get the tractor back to the shop. I get a patch put on it with surprisingly little drama. I was able to wedge a piece of wood in and get to the damage without unseating the lower bead so I didn't lose all the slime I have in the tire. I am starting to feel good about my day again. Well I have about two hours of mowing left (easy mowing on relatively flat ground as I had already done the hard stuff) and about two and a half of daylight so I decide to head back out. made less than one round and I hear a loud hiss and something hits me on the leg. It is slime being blown out of a hole in the left rear tire this time. I immediately put it in high, shut of the pto and head for the shop. After a couple of revolutions the slime starts to do its stuff and I think I might make it back to the shop when I notice the tractor is not steering right. Sur enought the front tire is very low and the sky all of a sudden looks very black. I think "screw it I am driving it back, if I ruin the rim or tire then I can buy a new set of R4s that won't get a flat from driving over a blackberry bush."
I made it almost all the way back before the front bead came unseated and was able to drop the R/C and get it in the shop with no apparent damage to the tire or rim. I put a jack stand under the left side frame to keep from resting on the rims overnight and proceeded to crack open a beer and hit the porch swing for the last hour of daylight.
Here is a pic of the poor thing.
Hopefully tomorrow will be better.
I thought I would trim some branches off Some trees to make it easier to mow under. About halfway through I decide to cut a sapling close to the ground and hit a rock. This is my last good chain because Lowes had the wrong chain in the box the last time i bought a spare so for the next half hour I am almost burning through the rest of the limbs. Well I get all that cleaned up and even cut behind the house with the rotary cutter. I get lunch and decide to head for under the power lines which haven't been cut yet this year. About a third of a mile from the shop (this is pertinant to the story) I cut for about an hour and at some point I look back and the R/C looks funny. One of the wheel assemblies has come out. It is the orange king kutter with two caster wheels that are held in by set screw type bolts. Well after driving around for looking for a little bit I find it and head back to the shop. Got them cross drilled and bolted, now they ain"t comin out. Now I hit a lucky streak of almost two hours of mowing without incident.
It's kinda hilly and I am getting used to leaning a little but I am on a relatively flat portion and I think to myself "why is the tractor still leaning?"
I look at the low side and sure enough the right rear is extremely low. I got it to the entrance to the field but thats as far as I wanted to go. If the bead came unseated then I would have to take it off in the field and i didn't want that as there were some storm clouds on the horizon. So it's off walking to the shop for the portable air tank. I could have hopped on the 4wheeler and brought it back but I figure that I will just have to walk back to get the 4weeler eventually anyway so I will just carry it. It takes most of the tank to get it aired up and as soon as I start to drive it it starts hissing and leaking back out. So I end up having to make two more trips to the shop to fill the air tank to get the tractor back to the shop. I get a patch put on it with surprisingly little drama. I was able to wedge a piece of wood in and get to the damage without unseating the lower bead so I didn't lose all the slime I have in the tire. I am starting to feel good about my day again. Well I have about two hours of mowing left (easy mowing on relatively flat ground as I had already done the hard stuff) and about two and a half of daylight so I decide to head back out. made less than one round and I hear a loud hiss and something hits me on the leg. It is slime being blown out of a hole in the left rear tire this time. I immediately put it in high, shut of the pto and head for the shop. After a couple of revolutions the slime starts to do its stuff and I think I might make it back to the shop when I notice the tractor is not steering right. Sur enought the front tire is very low and the sky all of a sudden looks very black. I think "screw it I am driving it back, if I ruin the rim or tire then I can buy a new set of R4s that won't get a flat from driving over a blackberry bush."
I made it almost all the way back before the front bead came unseated and was able to drop the R/C and get it in the shop with no apparent damage to the tire or rim. I put a jack stand under the left side frame to keep from resting on the rims overnight and proceeded to crack open a beer and hit the porch swing for the last hour of daylight.
Here is a pic of the poor thing.
Hopefully tomorrow will be better.
