RDrancher's Photo Thread

[ben2go]

I thought you were to busy with work to post.Good to see you're getting some work done.Looking good.

 

[kf4uda]

Thanks for the update and pictures. I look forward to each time you update this thread. Sorry to see that Case is still reaching in your wallet. Keep up the great posts!

 

[Green Power]

Thanks for the update, Great work you do!

 

[weldingisfun]

It is good to have you back again. Ditto all the other comments.

 

[RDrancher]

Thanks guys.

Back at the 175 acre development. As I mentioned a few months ago, the water supplies had been leaking for ten years or so. When we mowed and brush cut the first time, I expected that the owner would have all of them fixed...I was wrong. The road builder will be in here in about a week, so the owner had us go in and brush hog again, THIS time locating as many of the water supply lines as possible and shutting off the leaking ones. Finding them is the hardest part. Many are folded over and smashed flat. Others aren't visible at all. When we did find the leaking lines, they were easy to fix by folding the copper over and pounding them shut.


All of the water lines that were leaking had run to the intersection which had been excavated to find a leaking main sometime in the past. I dewatered the area with the fairweather Case. Two hours of working in VERY shallow mud and four hours to clean the d#mn undercarriage and under-cab out. Case CTL's are not ready for prime time...maybe for a guy that works in dry topsoil all of the time...

Back with the tractor to clear back behind the utilities on the opposite side and locate water lines. Note the tree growing from the base of the leaking hydrant.


I have a lot more photos of the first round of clearing, but I'll be back here several times over the next two years or so. No need to bore you.

 

[dave1949]

John, I'm never bored with your doings. You have a ton of views in two years, so I'm sure lots of people are interested.

 

[ShowroomShine]

Two hours of working in VERY shallow mud and four hours to clean the d#mn undercarriage and under-cab out. Case CTL's are not ready for prime time...maybe for a guy that works in dry topsoil all of the time... :rolleyes

Would have been no different with any other CTL. Other brands have the same arrangement that the Case has. Belly pan, undercarriage etc, its all very similar. Any machine in that mud would have taken that long to clean.

 

[RDrancher]

Would have been no different with any other CTL. Other brands have the same arrangement that the Case has. Belly pan, undercarriage etc, its all very similar. Any machine in that mud would have taken that long to clean.

I'll call BS on that. Look at the photos of the machines below. Pay particular attention to the accessibility in the area surrounding the sprocket and drivemotor. Tak isn't great, but you don't hear of many drivemotor problems either. Bobcats not great either, but at least they left enough room in front of the sprocket to get in there to cleanout behind the sprocket. Cat and Deere are pretty open. Kubota is WIDE open.


Now look at Case. Doesn't matter if it's a CT or TR...same complete inaccessibility. Mud packs around the back of the sprocket and has no way to get out. It stacks on the lines running from the frame to the drivemotor as well. I CAN get between the track and frame on one side to clean it out with my hand, but it's tight...I have the skin missing off of my hand to prove it. The other side would probably be fine for a junior high girl, but my hand won't fit in there at all. Since this is the area that blows the duo-seals on the drivemotor, it's pretty important to get it clean. The lines going from the frame to the drivemotor are also right there (and they're known to rust out) so they must be clean as well. Case sells a guard to cover the lines. I looked at one at the dealer and it will no doubt protect the lines, but it makes cleaning out behind the sprockets impossible. It's a bad design that was not addressed from the CT to the TR series.

Here's mine. No access from the front at all.

Keep in mind that I was working in 4" max deep mud.

 

[RDrancher]

Graveled a small parking area and walkway today for a RE investor. In this particular area, sandstone lies only a few inches under the sandy soil, so I made sure not to get into that mess. I laid down a few inches of washout and topped it with 3/4 minus.


You can see my FIL in the background, brush hogging with his Kubota. The lawn area is full of half-rotted stumps and the owner's guys cut down over fifty dead trees. They broke shafts on two riding mowers trying to mow the place.

 

[RDrancher]

I know a few of you guys have seen pics of this job over on HEF, but since the uploader seems to be back in business here, I'll post 'em up.

Hogging out rock for a retaining wall. I filled up a small canyon behind the shop so the owner could have trailer access to the back.


You'll see my cheater's grading assistant in one of the photos.