This stuff gets heavier as I get older

[newbury]

GAD!
Haven't you guys heard of the expanding universe?
And when things get more massive they have more gravity!
That's my story and I'm sticking to it

 

[SoCalRedTractor]

Expanding Universe - yup, it is directly proportional to my expanding waistline and the amount of tumble weeds that mange to grow out here in a drought season.

 

[SoCalRedTractor]

I just went down and picked up 5 bundles of shingles to redo a shed roof, they seemed a lot heavier than I remembered them being. Think I'll take them up to the roof a few at a time.

I had to go get the heating pad for my back after reading this.

 

[fried1765]

I'm 37 and already find half of this stuff too heavy.... At 80, maybe a robot can pick me out of bed and put me on the tractor

It is not THAT bad at 80, but as my dad would sometimes say: "It ain't like it used to was"

 

[JethroB]

I remember when commercial fertilizer came in 100 lb. bags. They were a bear to handle even in my younger days.

 

[PILOON]

I remember when commercial fertilizer came in 100 lb. bags. They were a bear to handle even in my younger days.

Yep, my first job was in an ice cream factory.
Sugar was delivered once per week and it was all in 100 lb sacks.
My back still aches just thinking of those days.
I had to heft them onto a cart and stack them near the batch pots.

 

[Ledgemere Farm]

I like how you think

 

[Ledgemere Farm]

At 79 I comply with all of the above . Two tractors , zero turn and an old toro wheel horse for odd jobs . Isn't it fun

I have 3 Farmall Cubs. Putting cultivators on and off is a bear.

 

[TimberHole]

I wised you a few years ago and quit lifting the stupid heavy stuff.

2 weeks ago I rolled my ankle till it popped. Thought I broke it but apparently didn’t. Last week was tugging on a wrench with my ribs against a machine. I heard a rib pop. It’s still sore.
You know what they say...getting old isn’t for puzzys!

 

[BravoXray]

Helped a friend (actually I did most all the work) change the brake proportioning valve on his 1970 Dodge Charger yesterday. Had to jack up the front and rear and put on jack stands so I could get my big ass under it. To get to the valve, you have to jack the left side of the engine up so you can take off the driver side header and starter. Then you can finally get to the valve. Thankfully all the brakes bled out pretty easily, so he will have rear brakes now. Lying on the creeper working under it is not a problem, but getting up and down a dozen times isn't as easy as it was 20 years ago.
Soon I am going to get started putting my 1970 Nova back together, it's just a bare shell of a body now. I'm not looking forward to all the contortions you have to go through to put some things back together on it.

 

[OzKioti]

Ah, ha - so you guys have noticed that. Well, wait until you are as old as I am - 79. I have a JD X570 mower. That's all it does - mow. You should try changing Class 2 implements on a 3-point. I have a rear blade, LPGS, ROBB, single bottom moldboard plow, BX62S chipper - ALL are too heavy to man handle for hook up. Thank God for extendable 3-point arm ends. AND a whole lot of patience.

72yo here, but for years have been storing all my implements (except the 6' slasher/rotary cutter) either on pallets or low trolleys with wheels/castors. All in a shed with smooth concrete floor, and a pallet jack/pallet truck to wheel them up to the rear of the tractor. My collection includes a 400 litre air-blast spray unit, chipper, fertiliser spreader, and rotatiller, and soon to get another 400 litre spray unit, this one with a 6 metre boom. Same goes for the 4-in-1 bucket and forks for the FEL - both loaded onto pallets when not on the tractor.

As for the slasher hitchup, I set the lower arms to the correct width, then back in and raise the quick hitches.

All in all, next to no heavy lifting, pushing and shoving, which is so different from hitching and unhitching implements in the field. I remember when I had the old Fordson, I used an "endless chain" to suspend the slasher from the rafters (dirt floor shed then) then bring the tractor in close proximity, and swing the slasher back and fro till the pins lined up! Bloody nightmare.

 

[Frankenkubota]

I Hand mixed 8 80lb bags of concrete yesterday for 2 post footings. turns out the Truss co screwed up the entrance trusses so my entrance posts missed the original footing by, to quote a famous Bob Uker movie line........a bit outside.

$40 total.

The truss co told me to pound sand, they would rebuild all the trusses involved but, it might take a while.

I like the new look better.

Learned real quick to 1/2 empty the bags before lifting. I'm guessing a pound of cement weighs a lot more than a pound of feathers?

 

[MiserableOldFart]

70 here. Fighting the 54" deck on the GR2120 every spring drives me nuts, as does the struggle to line up the balky splines on its drive shaft. I would do away with the lawn tractor completely except that it fits under the apple trees in our orchard of about 15 mostly semi-dwarf trees. What really irks me is that the design of lawn tractors today is ridiculously high seats, and I end up banging my head on limbs all the time anyway. The GR sits a little lower than the Deere 4x4s, and that's the main reason I bought it. The old Wheelhorse sat much lower, though it didn't have power steering or the tight turning radius of the Kubota GR. I am not a happy camper when it comes to working on that little machine, and it seems there is always something going wrong to get me into it.

 

[locknut]

70 here. Fighting the 54" deck on the GR2120 every spring drives me nuts, as does the struggle to line up the balky splines on its drive shaft. I would do away with the lawn tractor completely except that it fits under the apple trees in our orchard of about 15 mostly semi-dwarf trees. What really irks me is that the design of lawn tractors today is ridiculously high seats, and I end up banging my head on limbs all the time anyway. The GR sits a little lower than the Deere 4x4s, and that's the main reason I bought it. The old Wheelhorse sat much lower, though it didn't have power steering or the tight turning radius of the Kubota GR. I am not a happy camper when it comes to working on that little machine, and it seems there is always something going wrong to get me into it.

I have a GR also. Wrestling 200lb decks is no fun when you're older. I made the process easier using an electric hoist in the garage. Set cutting height knob to lowest position and lower deck. Unhook deck front and back,raise the front of the tractor up,then take the bolt out of the driveshaft at the deck end. Before sliding it back, mark the shaft and the coupler with a white paint marker for realignment. Pull deck out and let the tractor down and move back a few feet. Hoist the deck up to clean and sharpen the blades. Before rolling the deck under the tractor, raise lift arms,lift the shaft up high and slide a stick of wood or similar across the arms to keep the shaft up out of the way. Maybe this can help.

 

[beenthere]

Thinking this is in the John Deere Lawn & Garden tractor forum.
But sorry to hear about the Kubota GR problems.

Many things get heavier as we get older. Fact of life, and beats the alternative.

 

[oosik]

Hmmm - - I have a new JD X570 mower. I've NEVER even thought about removing the mower. One read thru the Owners Manual convinced me. I have the Kubota M6040 for serious tractor duties.

So ....... to clean the underside and remove/sharpen the blades. Hydraulic floor jack under the front. Up she goes to max height. Under I go with sharpened stick to remove dirt/grass build up. Then remove, sharpen, reinstall blades.

The JD sits in a carport stall all winter - waiting for spring and more grass to mow. I take the battery in the house.

 

[Hay Dude]

I’m telling you, just buy a tractor for each implement.
While you’re getting older, get wiser! Lol

 

[PILOON]

All this talk reminds me that I'll need to program my SIL for my annual winter switch over to blower, plow and chains.
Thankfully he is nearby and always willing but then it goes 2 ways (well went) when they did major cottage updates.

 

[Ledgemere Farm]

Hmmm - - I have a new JD X570 mower. I've NEVER even thought about removing the mower. One read thru the Owners Manual convinced me. I have the Kubota M6040 for serious tractor duties.

So ....... to clean the underside and remove/sharpen the blades. Hydraulic floor jack under the front. Up she goes to max height. Under I go with sharpened stick to remove dirt/grass build up. Then remove, sharpen, reinstall blades.

The JD sits in a carport stall all winter - waiting for spring and more grass to mow. I take the battery in the house.

I just put the deck back on. Hardest part is lifting it the 1-2” to attach the rear draft link while you’re laying on the ground.

 

[beenthere]

I just put the deck back on. Hardest part is lifting it the 1-2” to attach the rear draft link while you’re laying on the ground.

I put a board under the lower deck edge and lift that edge to connect the rear links, or lower the deck wheels so that edge remains high enough to fasten the links.
Or place some blocks of wood under the edge to raise it high enough.
Any of a number of tricks to avoid lifting and connecting at the same time, while laying on the ground.