What have you done to your Branson today?

[sbronemann]

Got off work yesterday at 2. Spent an hour using the loader back-pulling snow. Works fabulous. Getting the hang of it pretty fast actually. Then I had to open up my driveway back to our pole building(which I haven't done all winter due to not having a reason/equipment to do). The snow was about 5 ft tall from the drifts and road-grader that does our gravel road. It was very hard(pretty much solid ice). Took a few times to get it chopped down, but did it with relative ease. I am really surprised at how sharply the tractor turns. Actually amazing how sharp it turns. Loving it so far! Only 2 hrs of seat time since Sunday. Looking at 4-10" more of snow tonight/tomorrow morning. So I'm going to get some more seat time in! can't wait!

 

[Branson Bob]

Got off work yesterday at 2. Spent an hour using the loader back-pulling snow. Works fabulous. Getting the hang of it pretty fast actually. Then I had to open up my driveway back to our pole building(which I haven't done all winter due to not having a reason/equipment to do). The snow was about 5 ft tall from the drifts and road-grader that does our gravel road. It was very hard(pretty much solid ice). Took a few times to get it chopped down, but did it with relative ease. I am really surprised at how sharply the tractor turns. Actually amazing how sharp it turns. Loving it so far! Only 2 hrs of seat time since Sunday. Looking at 4-10" more of snow tonight/tomorrow morning. So I'm going to get some more seat time in! can't wait!

Seat time is good.

Glad you're enjoying the wonders of winter tractoring.

 

[Aquamoose]

I drifted. Unintentionally.

Was plowing when I was using the split brakes to turn tighter at the end of the run on the street carefully. Finishing the job, I was on my way back to my driveway when I tapped the brake on the inside wheel as I was making my turn. It drifted perfectly! My EVOC training kicked in and simply turned in the direction I wanted it to go and gassed it. In case you were wondering, it was all slick ice with no bare spots for the rubber to grab.

 

[Cougsfan]

I drifted. Unintentionally.

Was plowing when I was using the split brakes to turn tighter at the end of the run on the street carefully. Finishing the job, I was on my way back to my driveway when I tapped the brake on the inside wheel as I was making my turn. It drifted perfectly! My EVOC training kicked in and simply turned in the direction I wanted it to go and gassed it. In case you were wondering, it was all slick ice with no bare spots for the rubber to grab.

Maybe we should get together and do some tractor ice racing:thumbsup:

 

[Cougsfan]

I got tired of never having the two most common tools with me: A shovel and a rake. There is no decent place to carry them on the Branson 4720ch, so I made a couple places out of some scrap 2" ABS pipe, some fabricated wooden support brackets and some nylon strapping. Probably an easier way, but this wasn't really that hard to make.

 

[Aquamoose]

Cougsfan, that’s a first, seeing how it’s mounted! Wouldn’t it fly out while you are drifting?

Mine’s a 3520h with no cab. I’m curious if yours is the same type that can fit mine. How do you like it & how much do you reckon it cost?

 

[Cougsfan]

Everything is easily removable for tractor drifting competition and ice racing Anyhow you might notice bungee cords wrapped around the tool business ends to hold them in place for the jumps and wheelies.

I had the ABS pipe laying around, but a 10' chunk of 2" ABS costs about $10. I used a 1 foot piece of 2x4 to make all 4 supports using my radial arm saw and belt sander. I should mention that the supports are notched to keep them from sliding sideways an the FEL rails. I painted the supports black to use up a partially full rattle can of spray paint. The 3/4 inch nylon belting and quick release plastic clips were left over from a motorcycle luggage project I did earlier, but can be bought on Amazon for under $10 (they cost a lot more at the hardware local store). The pipes are secured to the supports using wood screws. I think it would work on any FEL with minor modifications. I actually had the rake mounted last summer in the same pipe on a hack job for a mounting system and this is just a refinement. It worked just fine.

 

[Aquamoose]

Cougfan,

Price of the cab, not the holders. I have boys to carry the tools ;-)

 

[Cougsfan]

Yes, cabs are very good accessories for ice drifting.
I didn't get a quotes for a non-cabbed tractor vs a cabbed one. After owning cab-less tractors for years and have used the neighbors cabbed tractor on occasion, I knew I definitely wanted a cab. The cab makes using the tractor so much more pleasurable, especially in the heat of the summer and the dead of winter. There may be a few times that I find the cab a bit of an inconvenience, such as when spot spraying weeds, but I am not sorry I have it at all.
I am guessing it is about a $3 to $5 k upgrade. Maybe someone else has a better idea. I have no idea how easy it would be to retrofit a cab. or if a 3520 and 4720 cab are the same. I know the new 4720 cabs are slightly different (and slightly better) than mine. I would expect it to be quite difficult to retrofit a cab considering the air conditioning compressor and piping that would be required (maybe not required, but very desirable) to be added. Probably better off to trade the tractor in for a cabbed version (That isn't as bad as option as one might think. Tractor resale values are much better than cars).

 

[Aquamoose]

Cool. Thanks! I don’t mind the summers, it’s the winter that is starting on me. I ain’t made of anti-freeze!