Wisconsin Tacomas and bad financial advice

Late to this discussion, but will add that I have the Milwaukee electric lawnmower and I really like it. My only gripe is that when cutting damp/wet grass in mulching setup it tends to build up under the deck and after I'm done I need to tip it and scrape out the compacted clippings. Maybe it's not necessary, but I don't want to see the deck prematurely rust.

Also, I could have fixed my busted rear bumper back to OEM, but where's the fun in that, especially when I would likely bust it again. I have a problem with upgrading when I break stuff. When that lawnmower wheel falls off again (plastic?) you'll be out $50 toward a new mower. Just saying... because that's how this thread works.

 

I could take a lesson from this.

 

Perhaps we can try for a group buy on the Milwaukee lawn mower!

 

@rubbersidedown Grass build-up can be prevented by not cutting wet grass.
But no, you don't want to leave that stuck on there.
My deck has a plug in for a garden hose. Turn the water on and run the blades to flush it out....
I've heard of guys applying wax to the underside of the deck. Snowblower chutes, too.

 

Well boys, 3+ years of planning is coming to a head.

The 80 is shipping to Washington state today, to a speciality land cruiser shop called Torfab. They'll be refreshing the drivetrain, rebuilding both axle housings w/ lockers, installing new fuel tanks, and some other goodies. If the price is right, I'll have the body panel holes filled and a partial paint respray done while it's there. Edit: my rear bumper was shipped there too and they'll slap it on.

I should be taking delivery of it in about 2 months. I'll be flying out and road tripping back.

Stay tuned!



(Had about 3 inches to spare with the trailer height)

 

Hopefully the suspension doesn't bounce while on the road. (Wouldn't think it would bounce that much?)

 

I have a hose fitting also. I spray mine with silicone spray, stays pretty clean.

 

The interior of the trailer had more clearance, not worried

(jk I'm always nervous when shipping vehicles)

 

You don't know any spots, do you?

 

Re: the Milwaukee lawnmower - I've been slowly switching over and still can't bring myself to do the mower yet. Mostly because I've seen multiple failures on reddit where the motor housing shears off where it meets the deck because the housing is plastic. For as much as it costs, this seems like an inexcusable flaw. I'm waiting for a Gen2 offering. By then, my current Honda self-propelled will be like ~15 years old and I won't feel bad about moving on too soon (though I know they last damn near forever).

https://www.reddit.com/r/MilwaukeeTool/comments/1eea0ak/another_broken_mower/

Good luck on the 80 upgrades, can't wait to see when it's all done. Also can't wait to see everyone's reactions (crying) when you chop a little off the top for that one upgrade. Very cool stuff!

 

BTW, did you shed a little tear?

 

I was thinking along similar lines when I spaced mine down. The washers I used are 25mm x 4mm thk. The downside of spacing it down is depending on how the force is applied to the skid it's putting the bolt in yeld vs shear. To that end a solid spacer is better than a stack no matter the configuration.

I took my engine skid off yesterday when removing the sway bar. My skids are beat! definitely doing the job but are all kinds of bent up. I had to really flex the engine skid to get the back 2 bolts started.
I'm at the crux of deciding if I want to spend the time to straighten the aluminum skids or move to steel and suffer the increased weight.

 

Saving this photo so I know what straight skids look like.

 

I am excited to see the results!

 

I just got done swapping washers to something with a little more surface area. 2.25"o.d.
(I'm imaging Rock bridge on 32's again.)
The smaller o.d. washer left a dent in the xmember already, just from me tightening it when I put it on.

 

I was not aware of this issue with the mower. Thanks for the info, and I'll make sure to not ignore any weird vibrations. If the shear plate isn't doing its job, then this is a design flaw, but this sounds like a problem that develops over time before failure.

Mine has been going strong for over a year and a buddy of mine got one when it was very new and has had no issues. I'm not doing a deep dive to look into the reported cases on Reddit (because Reddit can be a colossal time-suck) but I imagine some may leave out the fact that they hit rocks, curbs, roots or whatever on a regular basis, or they're pushing it hard at the high speed with a dull blade. Still, I agree that the housing and/or flange base should be metal with the abuse the average homeowner might put the mower through.

 

Go steel. It's real armor. And the weight isnt that bad.

 

When you figure that the skids are thicker (1/4") to give similar strength of steel (typical skids are 3/16"), you really aren't saving that much weight.