The Life of a Custom Mowing contractor

Hay Dude · Dec 9, 2023

33MPH

BleedingOrange · Dec 9, 2023

Hay Dude said:
33MPH

Ah, so that.s why you were in the passing lane. LOL

Hay Dude · Dec 9, 2023

BleedingOrange said:
Ah, so that.s why you were in the passing lane. LOL

LOL
No, it’s because I had to make a left turn.

Hay Dude · Dec 9, 2023

EddieWalker said:
How fast does your tractor go on those paved roads? Every time I've driven on paved roads, I'm a lot slower then everyone else, and I'm always nervous about how quickly I can stop of I have to really fast.

It’s good to go slow. I try to most of the time, but now I’m battling very short days. There’s a lot to do before nightfall at 5PM.
Road-speed tractors DO save a lot of time. The difference between 20MPH and 30+ is a lot more than I ever realized in terms of production.
These tractors are not infallible, but they do have very good brakes-especially if they are properly maintained.

LouNY · Dec 9, 2023

Also almost all of the larger 4wd tractors if they do not have actual brakes on the front wheels will engage the front axle drive when both brake pedals are pushed together. Also brake connections are starting to show up on the newer tractors to connect to implement brakes via air or hydraulic.
Many the times I wished we had the high speed transmissions in our road hauling tractors but you had to get the front suspension systems to get the high speed trans. Often the thought was just more to wear out and go wrong. Also most of our road hauls are under 5 miles.

Hay Dude · Dec 9, 2023

LouNY said:
Also almost all of the larger 4wd tractors if they do not have actual brakes on the front wheels will engage the front axle drive when both brake pedals are pushed together.

Mine all have that feature. Touch the brake pedal and the 4WD indicator light comes on. The Massey and the Challenger both have front cardan brakes.

LouNY said:
Also brake connections are starting to show up on the newer tractors to connect to implement brakes via air or hydraulic.

All 3 of mine have hydraulic brakes for towing braked implements. The Massey has air brakes.

LouNY said:
Many the times I wished we had the high speed transmissions in our road hauling tractors but you had to get the front suspension systems to get the high speed trans.

Yes, you have to get that or they claim theres a handling & control issue. It adds cost, but on the used tractors, it’s not much more.

LouNY said:
Often the thought was just more to wear out and go wrong.

The accumulators lose pressure and theres more grease fittings. More Bushings, too

LouNY said:
Also most of our road hauls are under 5 miles.

My roads and fields are so bad, even with suspended front axle, suspended cab and air seat, the ride can still be rough. lol

deserteagle71 · Dec 9, 2023

Navy-owned hay baler

Hay Dude, I thought of you as soon as I came across this gem yesterday. Surely you need a baler to make a few small bales occasionally?? I'm sure you can get a great buy on it; it belongs to the Navy. Some years ago the Navy bought out all the ranches in a valley that's about 100 miles long and made it a "Supersonic Operating Area" so the fighters at the nearby Top Gun school could break the sound barrier at will without annoying a lot of people. Much of the equipment and buildings are just as they were before the Navy took over. This one is no doubt sitting in the field it last worked in.

A shot of grease into the zerks on these knotters and I'm sure they'll work just fine:

While we were checking out this old ranch there were Navy planes dogfighting overhead. Suddenly one of those F-18s came over at tree-top level with burners lit. The sonic boom just about knocked us to the ground.