Tractors, Mowers, Chippers, Trailers, Chainsaws, Generators, Driveway Erosion Control, ETC.

Prep is most of the job, things I paint don't turn out all that well -- because I'm lazy...
The Mustang looks pretty sharp from what we see.

 

My buddy who does powdercoat work says "the top coat is only as good as what's underneath". It's true

 

OK. After washing this again yesterday. $8 in quarters later and this no longer smells like a warthog's anus. Today I pulled the L side shroud off and blew the crud out of the blower housing. Ran it and blew it some more until nothing more came out. I got it cleaned out really well. I don't think I need to pull the engine.



The front spool valve is dumping oil even just at idle and it drips on the rear axle making it look like it was leaking. I'll change the o-rings today then the diff oil/filter if the rear isn't leaking. I don't think the rear end is leaking after watching how bad this was dripping when it was idling today.



Here's the no mess oil filter trick we were talking about a few days ago.

 

You gonna make it for dinner tonight?
Hog head soup.

 

Yum-O! Ding dang ol bawled hawg brains. Set me a plate mang.

 

Don't like!

 

I get the cheek meat!

 

Can we switch up to shrimp boil? I'm jonesing for a shrimp boil!

 

You could hang the light bar inside the ROPs for added protection.

 

Plowing leaves down my holler out of the back yard.

https://youtu.be/7P1josMz45Q

 

Should I condense my “fleet”

Been looking at this thread for a while and figured this was the best place to ask. Don’t slap me, but I have too many toys. I mean tools. Feels like something always needs attention and running out of garage space. Looking for suggestions or ideas.
I have 2 riding mowers. With 1.5 acres to mow and 1 acre of woods, creek, pond to work around.
A 2005ish simplicity conquest 20hp 54 inch deck.
And a beater craftsman lt1000 with a triple bagger that I bought and repaired the blown head gasket and have $200 into it. Only use it for leaves in the fall and it’s much much cheaper than finding and buying a bagger for the simplicity.
Also have a 48 inch 30+ year old Exmark walk behind mower that was a freebie in exchange for mowing my former employer’s properties.
I have a 2004 Polaris sportsman 600 that I use for plowing my 800 foot driveway since my 4cyl Tacoma wouldn’t do it. Also the atv for getting around my creek/pond and wooded area moving fire wood.

Guess I’m looking for the “all in one” tool. Mowing, occasionally bagging, plowing, pulling trees and a utility trailer.

I pretend I “need” something with a front end loader for moving dirt and rocks and pulling out fence posts.

Don’t need anything immediately just need some winter time ideas to work towards. Dream of the sub compact tractor with front loader at costs more than my Tacoma. Maybe a zero turn with a bagger and keep the atv? Cheers guys!

 

I'm the wrong guy to comment here, my decisions always come back to "need a bigger garage". Naturally I vote for a compact tractor with a loader, and a zero turn.

Random thoughts:
Anything you buy will cost more than keeping your fleet running.
Anything heavy enough to plow snow well will be hard on a nice lawn, garden tractors may plow snow ok but they are way slower than the ATV.

A nice zero turn would cut your mowing time by 50% or more. I'm eyeing a Hustler Raptor XDX, won't be soon though.
Some big zero turns like Grasshopper can plow snow -- I wanted one until I figured out they are huge machines that take up a full garage bay, also they would be way too big for your 1.5 acres.

I bet the Exmark walker is awesome for trimming under things.

 

Bought my house almost 2 years ago and all I saw was the 30x34 foot garage and big yard. The house was a bonus. Thought I’d never fill up the garage lol. Guess what.
I’m actually faster with the Exmark walk behind than either riding mower. That thing is a beast. 14hp Kawasaki motor starts first or second pull no matter what. 30 years old and the dealer doesn’t have a way to look up parts because the serial number is too small. I got it with seized pulleys everywhere and belts with missing chunks. I love how simple it is.
I do think a zero turn might be the way to go. I do have a side hustle that has been growing for mowing lawns/commercial properties. I like the extra cash and it helps my friends/family out with their businesses. I am unfamiliar with zero turns. Where are the weak points? What to look for with a used one. I’m not afraid to wrench myself, just don’t want to throw money at something over and over.

That is what I thought, something with real capabilities like a tractor would tear things up more often than I would need heavy lifting ability. Just a dream for now I guess.

 

Understand. My dream property could be a 800 sf house -- next to a 20,000 square foot warehouse.

I mow 6 lawns (not for $, long story...) and was talking myself into a Wright Stander mower, way more mower than I actually need but like your Exmark very rugged and simple -- and fast! I got distracted and bought the Tacoma instead.

Check them out: https://www.wrightmfg.com/products/mowers/commercial/stand-on/

Weaknesses are all in the price point, my daily ZT is a 2006 Cub Cadet, RZT 42. The "R" is for residential, I bought it new for $2600. I never intended to be using it so hard, all the lawns are miles apart, the mower has thousands of miles on the trailer. It has had a tough life: went over a 6 foot bank, hit rocks, pipes, concrete, been stuck in the mud so bad I needed my car to pull it out.

I have straightened the deck out several times, reattached the hangers -- once I mowed 3 lawns with a bungee cord holding one side up, replaced the deck bearings several times along with some pulleys and maybe one belt, rear tires and dozens of blades. The big advantage to this machine is it is made by MTD -- parts are easily available and cheap, it is a simple to fix machine and has far exceeded my expectations.

If I started with a heavier commercial machine like the Toro mowers Kirk @koditten refurbishes I probably wouldn't have had to make many of those repairs as they are made to be serviced -- grease fittings on the spindles for example and are built heavier all around but at a higher up front cost.

With anything used, parts support is key, I really don't like being hostage of a dealer, especially if it is the only dealer for miles. Part of the attraction to the Hustler for me is that there are 3 dealers within 20 miles of me.

 

Last Winter I mounted an LED on a Harbor Freight magnet bar, hospital grade coiled wire, and an eye bolt to pry it off the ROPs. Really comes in handy.

Could be used to shine pigs, but we have very few here in Southern Indiana. They are around, but few so far. I once heard some while deer hunting and I stayed in blind after dark to see if deer were coming through after I left each night.

 

Neat idea, I like the coiled cord.

 

Yeah, I can pull it and stick it on either of the uprights, the crossbar, or hand hold it. Really is handy.

 

You made my point perfectly.

I start out with Toro Commercial units with 2500-3500 hours.

I refurbish them and let the new owners know that this unit will be the last mower they buy.

It's easy to point out that it took a pro 8-10 years to reach 2500 hours cutting 8hr/day. How long is it going to take you reach 1000 hours cutting your own yard? Then I say cut that number in half, because these ZT mowers are 2x faster than your craptastic rider.

They give me no trouble giving me $3k+ for a 10 yr old unit that cost $10k when new.

 

I really like sticking with Toro.

Their online diagrams and data bases are super easy to find and then find the parts numbers.

I copy the parts numbers then paste to Amazon. Parts are very easy to source.

I've only gone to the dealer 1 time. I needed a brake cable asap and needed to compare the old to new and couldn't risk getting sent the wrong part.

I've only found 1 discontinued part on a 2008 machine. Other than that, parts are simple to find and these commercial machines are simple to work on.

 

If you ever get something with a loader you’ll wonder how you got by so long without it.