Between the River Hills & the River Bottom

[cliftonbros89]

Back at it again today. Another cloudy damp day. Got a bit cooler too. Dad had a doctors appointment today. So he was gone most of the day.

I started with feeding hay and feeding the calves. It’s still nice and muddy out. I think the cattle are as tired of it as I am.

After taking care of all the feeding I started working on the anhydrous applicator.


It’s by far the roughest piece of equipment we own. As I mentioned before it used to be a rental for one of the local farm/fertilizer supply companies it’s seen very little time inside of a shed and it’s been run to hell.

We added the Raven system to it ourselves, which is probably worth more than what the rest of it is worth. It’s been patched and welded on several times. We’re just trying to get it along for a few more years til hopefully we can upgrade. I checked over all the knives, coulters, tires, hydraulic hoses and anhydrous hoses. I also checked over the frame and most the of mounting hardware to make sure nothing was broke or missing.

I did find a few bad bearings that needed to be replaced. One was totally out. The second probably wasn’t going to last much longer. So I put in some new ones.

That took up most the afternoon/evening. I have the monitor/controls in the cab of the 8400 for the applicator. It should be ready to go. I’m hoping all the anhydrous hoses will hold up. It seems like 2 years is about all the can last before they start crack. That anhydrous is hard on them.

Besides a brief trip to town to take some papers to the bank this afternoon that pretty well wrapped up the day.


This evening we backed our 16 foot trailer in the shop. We had to get some measurements. It’s going to be getting some new axles. As you can see this trailer looks about as rough as the anhydrous applicator. It’ll be getting some new fenders as well.
This job needed to be done. However, it is really going to put off my start on the sprayer.

 

[cliftonbros89]

I have to share 2 of my favorite tools of the day.

First are my Snap-On race punches.

Sure I’ve been able to get bearing races out with a chisel or even a punch before. But these things work a lot better. They can really sit on there and make contact. I really like these things.

They must be rebrand. I think Mayhew. I have a Matco set exactly like them in my service truck. I know that Mayhew makes a set too. Cheaper as well. But no matter the brand, they work.

Second are these dust cap pliers

USA made from VIM tools. Today was really the first time I’ve been able to use them. They work really well. I was able to grab the dust caps and wiggle them out in no time. They grip really well. It works a lot better than trying to knock the cap off with a hammer and a chisel or screwdriver. Plus you can pop the cap right back on with the hammer end. Just enough to knock them back in. It works great.

 

[jblnut]

All I see here is green grass and rain. We got 8" of snow total the last two days. To say I'm getting antsy is an understatement !!!!

 

[cliftonbros89]

Got up and fed the calves this morning. They got a little overly excited for me to throw out some more straw for them to lay in.

With the anhydrous applicator looked over and ready to go we returned it with the 8400 to the shed in the bottom.
View attachment 752623
There it’ll sit with the 8760 and cultivator patiently waiting for dryer weather.

I was reminded today that my dad and uncle will be leaving at the end of the week to attend another tractor pull in Indiana this weekend. So he came over to the shop this morning to get all 4 of the pulling tractors washed up. Then we fueled them up, checked the oil, tire pressure and charged the batteries. This afternoon dad and loaded them up on trailer.
View attachment 752632
View attachment 752633
View attachment 752634
View attachment 752635
They’re all ready to go. We’ll see if they come back with anything.

We have to wait for parts for the 16’ trailer so I was able to pull it out of the shop for now.

With the trailer and the pulling tractors out of the shop I was finally able to get the sprayer out.
View attachment 752640
We got it out and ran it awhile just to get things moving and warmed up. Then we backed it in the shop.

We also swapped wheels on it. We have a wide and a narrow set. The wide works good for the spring when the fields are wetter. Plus it works good for burn down and pre-emerge spraying, when you don’t have to worry about running anything down. The skinnier set is for drier conditions. Also helps avoid running less down to spray the field post-emerge on what’s planted.

A special plate mounts to the back of the hub to jack up the axle to swap the wheels. It’s definitely a 2 man job. They’re big and heavy to move around. The rims are thick and stout. All the 10 of the nuts are removed. Then some lowering and raising of the jack to remove one wheel. More raising and lowering to put on the other. Lining it up, then putting on all 10 lug nuts. Then it’s lowered back down and all the nuts are torqued down. Takes a good hour to do all 4.

This evening I started on a few things to start to service the sprayer.

It will be getting looked over pretty good. Lots of filters to replace.

I had to squeegee the shop floor twice today. Last night the temperature was about 30. Today it quickly rose to almost 70. All of that temperature change and humidity had everything covered in dew.


I squeegeed the floor and put the fan out on it to dry some. Everything in my toolbox was even coated in water. I pulled open a few drawers at a time and aimed the fan on it to dry things.

The second time was when it rained while the doors were open while we were trying to bring in the wide set of wheels to put on the sprayer.

It was a typical Missouri early spring day. Thirty at night, clouds, then sun, then more clouds and almost 70°. Then on came the thunder, lightening, and pouring rain that twice also had some small hail with it. The actual storm didn’t last long. But it brought it some chilly air and quite a bit of wind. Not sure how much it rain. But I think it may have been roughly a half inch or so. Since last week we’ve had over 6” of rain. There still may be a chance for more precipitation at the end of the week.

 

[cliftonbros89]

Today got to start slightly different. Before I fed the calves we ran them all through the head chute to give them their shots, wormer, and to cut the bulls. I didn’t manage to get any pictures as I was pretty busy with them. I also am the one that has to hold the bull calves still while my uncle cuts them.

So after we got them all through I strayed the barn real good for them. Then gave them their corn for the day. Hopefully they all heal up well the next few days.

So after taking care of that I went back to the shop to get back to the 4630.

I worked on changing filters, checking lights, wiring, hose clamps, hoses, hydraulic fittings and everything between.

While I did that dad got the lawn mower going and mowed around the house and the shop. He also rolled down several mole hills.

This evening I helped him hang his purple martin houses.

He hates when sparrows makes nest in them.

I have some more to do to the 4630. I have a few parts coming for it tomorrow. I also have several other things I want to get done tomorrow. I ended the evening letting one of the hubs drain oil.

Each one of them need to have the oil changed. I need to get 2 more fittings and cut my hose in half to make a second so I can drain 2 at once.

My uncle and dad leave tomorrow to make the trip for their tractor pull. So I’ll be one my own again for the next few days. I have several jobs I’d like to try and get done. We’ll see if it happens.

 

[cvairwerks]

You need to get or build a tire dolly for dealing with those sizes in the shop. We use them on the aircraft at work, but then our main tires run about 150-180 pounds each. Set it and remove the bad assembly, get the new one on the dolly and roll it back in place. Less of a chance of damaging anything and it almost zeroes out the chance of anyone getting hurt. Got a few guy that want to be tough and not use them as they area little bit of a hassle, but no one goes home with a wrenched back or smashed hand at the end of the day.

 

[Earp69]

How do you guys keep all those batteries charged in your tractors?

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

 

[cliftonbros89]

Between the River Hills & the River Bottom

You need to get or build a tire dolly for dealing with those sizes in the shop. We use them on the aircraft at work, but then our main tires run about 150-180 pounds each. Set it and remove the bad assembly, get the new one on the dolly and roll it back in place. Less of a chance of damaging anything and it almost zeroes out the chance of anyone getting hurt. Got a few guy that want to be tough and not use them as they area little bit of a hassle, but no one goes home with a wrenched back or smashed hand at the end of the day.

I’m not sure but I think these make exceed 180. The centers are 5/8” thick. But I agree we could use a bit of a safer method. We have a lift for duals that requires a loader or picker but unfortunately I think the booms would get in the way for the sprayer. We’ve been told a pallet jack works well for the job.

How do you guys keep all those batteries charged in your tractors?

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

Really most the time they all stay charged without any issues. The 9500 combine and this sprayer both seem to have an issue that causes the batteries to drain in the off season. We usually just disconnect them during the winter. Our 9770 combine has a shut off switch for the batteries, with all the electrical and monitoring a slow drain can happen over a long period of time when it’s not in use.

I also periodically test them with a tester, check the acid levels and test the acid with a hydrometer too during the rest of the year.

 

[lis2323]

It was on my list but I never got around to building a proper tire dolly with rollers. Just used a forklift. I'm retired now so it's pretty easy doing the odd tire repair or dual removal when they're probably only 5-600 pounds apiece.

I remember when we used to use calcium chloride for ballast and wheel tire assemblies were over 1000 pounds each. [emoji35]

 

[cliftonbros89]

It was on my list but I never got around to building a proper tire dolly with rollers. Just used a forklift. I'm retired now so it's pretty easy doing the odd tire repair or dual removal when they're probably only 5-600 pounds apiece.

I remember when we used to use calcium chloride for ballast and wheel tire assemblies were over 1000 pounds each. [emoji35]

If only we had a forklift. But even then I know there wouldn’t be room for it plus the sprayer in the shop at one time

 

[cliftonbros89]

To start I’d forgot to mention yesterday the first of some of our seed corn was delivered.

There sits over $7,000 worth. That’s not even half of what we’re getting. That’s after all their “rebates” too. We always store our seed corn in an empty bin. Good way to avoid mice from tearing into them.

As far as today goes. I checked on all the calves. They seemed to be doing fairly well after yesterday. I also gave some of the cattle corn and put out mineral to all of them.

Dad and my uncle headed out for their tractor pull. They won’t be returning until late Saturday night. After they left I had to make a trip to town for a few things. Then i headed back to the shop to continue servicing the 4630. I got one of the other hubs drained.

While it was draining I had the hydraulic reservoir draining too. While those were draining I filled the back hub that I left drain over night.

I was draining the hydraulic reservoir because inside of it are 3 filters. Three expensive filters that are supposed to be change every 500 hours. We had them so I figured I’d change them once.

A cover and seal come off the side to access the inside. It’s a little tight to get to. The reservoir is between the cab and the solution tank. But partially under the cab.

It also helped to remove a panel on the side of the cab and a mounting bracket for it.

Two of the filters are the same. The 3rd is different. They have a hex end where the thread on a fitting for removal and installation. The one of the problems of this is the size of the hex. The 2 smaller filters have a hex for a 1-5/8” wrench. The larger filter require 2-1/8” wrench. With the combination of the placement of the filters inside the reservoir, the lack of space provided from the hole to access the inside, and the some what confined area around the hole to access the filters, there’s no way a regular 1-5/8” or 2-1/8” wrenches would work to remove these filters.

Luckily, the crowfoot wrenches came in handy yet again.

These things are on tight. They also turn off tight almost the entire time. Luckily there was just enough room to allow me to break them loose with my long handled 1/2” ratchet. After breaking them loose I was able to use 2 of my new purchase. Both of which I bought strictly just for this job.

My new Martin service wrenches. I could possibly use a few other sizes I may consider purchasing in the future. They worked great. Like I said the filters turn pretty tight almost the whole way off. These fit perfect inside the reservoir and were a lot easier to maneuver inside the tight space. I think I’ll be able to use the 1-5/8” wrench for some other jobs but this is the only time I’ve ever needed a 2-1/8” wrench. But even if I’ll only ever use it for just this one particular reason it’s well worth it.

I had a few problems with a calf during the day as well. But it’s resolved now. That took up a couple hours too.

Some of the parts one of the JD store were supposed to deliver to the drop box in town didn’t arrive this evening as they were supposed to. They were parts I’m going to replace on this 4630. So I may have to find out where they are at so I can finish this thing up.

Aside from feeding I’m supposed to load some hay for a guy who is getting some bales from us. We should hopefully be turning the cattle out on pasture in a few weeks and won’t be feeding much hay anymore. This guy is pretty much out so he’s buying some since we can spare a little.

There’s also a storm expected to move in late tomorrow night. It’s starting as rain but they say will turn into snow. Accumulating snow. For April around here that is unheard of. The meteorologists are going crazy over it. All I know is it is really going to make things sloppy and muddy. There won’t be any field work any time soon.

 

[cliftonbros89]

Caught up with the Matco guy this evening.

I picked up a large set of Sunex angle wrenches. Up to 2”. They skip 1-7/16” which seems to be fairly common for hydraulic fittings for me. I had him get me a Martin for that one. The 2 Martin service wrenches I actually bought on Amazon. I was able to get them quicker that way. But I’m sure my Matco guy could’ve picked them up for me. Just would’ve had to wait about a week.

I also picked up a stubby bottle jack from him.

I’ve been wanting one for the truck. This time of year especially. Every year if I’m pulling anhydrous wagons to the field I’ll end up with a flat tire. It’s usually 1 or 2 a year. The dealer who has the wagons whom we get the anhydrous from tends to run their tires as long as they can. Most of the wagons sit low and have low clearance axles on them. I think this short bottle jack will be great for them while I’m trying to change a tire on the side of the road. I’ve grown to expect it so much that I always care one of our own spare tires with me. It always happens.

I housed my new angle wrenches with last weeks Deere wrenches.

It’s nice to have options.

 

[gt05254]

Just spent a couple very nice hours reading your entire thread. You easily win "best kept machinery" award. Almost got me motivated enough to go change the power steering hydraulic line on my old Kubota L2850...almost. At 68, my days of lying on frozen ground fixing things are well over. As, I hope, are the days of plowing snow for the year (because then I'd have to fix the line!)
Great stuff!
Gary

 

[NKlamerus]

Agreed with gt, spent the day reading the whole thing and admiring the pictures. Thank you spending the time to write everything up and take photos!

Love the cleanliness and care taken to keep things tidy. I'm all about cleaning things up when I work on them, never understand why people don't!

Any plans to paint up the new work truck? Seemed like the passenger side could use some. I'm thinking maybe.....green?....with yellow rims...? Too cheesy?

How often do y'all run equipment at night? Been noticing a lack of work lights it seems on most of the equipment. Everything I work on these days usually gets a set of LED pods or a light bar before it leaves the shop. Super cheap these days but are worth their weight in gold when something goes wrong.

 

[cliftonbros89]

Just spent a couple very nice hours reading your entire thread. You easily win "best kept machinery" award. Almost got me motivated enough to go change the power steering hydraulic line on my old Kubota L2850...almost. At 68, my days of lying on frozen ground fixing things are well over. As, I hope, are the days of plowing snow for the year (because then I'd have to fix the line!)

Great stuff!

Gary

Thanks. I appreciate it. But I can’t say I hardly feel like it’s all the best kept machinery. There’s still a ton of things I’d like to take care of. But have the time and money to do it all is almost impossible. I just try to keep ahead of some issues. I can get pretty aggravated if I loose a couple hours while we’re hitting it hard full time it the fields because of some small failure that could’ve easily been taken care of ahead of time. I’ve had that happen before and it drives me crazy.

Agreed with gt, spent the day reading the whole thing and admiring the pictures. Thank you spending the time to write everything up and take photos!

Love the cleanliness and care taken to keep things tidy. I'm all about cleaning things up when I work on them, never understand why people don't!

Any plans to paint up the new work truck? Seemed like the passenger side could use some. I'm thinking maybe.....green?....with yellow rims...? Too cheesy?

How often do y'all run equipment at night? Been noticing a lack of work lights it seems on most of the equipment. Everything I work on these days usually gets a set of LED pods or a light bar before it leaves the shop. Super cheap these days but are worth their weight in gold when something goes wrong.

Thanks. When I started to be really involved with things I just went along with things. But over the years I’ve started to find that there are a few things that could change to make things a little easier. I look at it as I’m trying to save a little bit of time and maybe even a little bit of money.

I can’t say there’s any plans to paint the truck. I’d almost be afraid to. When it’s time to be busy and we’re on the go it would be dirty, chipped and scratched in no time. Maybe in the future. But no time soon. Plus I wouldn’t want to look like some of these other guys around here. Driving around with their brand new F-250’s with custom flat beds that only haul around a cooler.

If we’re running hard I’ll try to run as late as I can. I can’t say I’ve had too much of an issue with lighting on anything. I’ve thought of possibly adding some more lights to mainly just the 4440 and 8760. We’ve just never taken the time to buy more. I can’t complain about them though. I’ve been in the 8760 f I’m sunset to sun up more than once and got along just fine.

 

[cliftonbros89]

For Friday I fed the calves. Then I gave all the cattle hay. I pushed up some of the **** piles from around the feeders too. Makes it a little less sloppy for the little calves. After I did the feeding I loaded up they hay for the guys who came to pick some up. They’re parents are landlord of ours. They always have quite a bit of clover that we make for hay every summer. We make it and split the hay on shares. We have them this load since they’re almost out of hay and we’ll get that many more from their share of hay this summer.

After feeding I was back in the shop to continue on the sprayer.

I put the new filters in the hydraulic reservoir. I’m really glad I picked up to 2 Martin service wrenches for these. They’re awesome. Also glad I’d decided to get that Sunex crowfoot set that goes to 2-1/8” from my Snap-On guy a few years ago.

After I got the filters installed, I put the cover back, plugged the drain hose and filled the reservoir back up. The oil is drained still looked good so I put it back in. I used a funnel with a screen which helped filter out any small bits of debris that was in the oil. Just a few small bits similar to what was on the filters. Other than that it was clean. Then I had to put the side panel back on the cab I’d taken off to give me just a tad bit more room.

If you look closely, the filters were starting to have some build up on them. This one actually looks cleaner in the picture that in does in person. Considering how good of shape they are, and how expensive they are to buy new I’m going to let these drain good and clean them up a bit. I may hold on to them in case of emergency.

Fun fact: On these sprayers Deere doesn’t just recommends but basically demands you use 10w-30 oil for the hydraulics on these rigs. They don’t not want you to use the JD hydraulic oil at all. They recommend the JD Turf-Gard 10w-30, which usually used for the engine oil of most of the lawn and turf equipment line.

The shop has been a bit neglected this week. Lots of in and out. Then the day it was so sweaty in there, followed by raining in doors, what dirt was on the floor was smeared everywhere.


Of corse draining all the oil from the engine, hydraulic reservoir and hubs hasn’t helped anything either. There’s a lot of stuff sitting around.


As you can see the tools need to be cleaned up and put away too. There’s isn’t room for much of anything else either. Hopefully I can get things picked up soon.

I had to quit a little bit early. I had to stop by the funeral home. Early Thursday morning our landlords, co-owner of the retirement farm, passed away. He was 82 and had been fighting pancreatic cancer for a few years. He was by far one of our easiest to work with landlords we’ve ever had. He always used to like to check on the cattle and check on the fences for us when he was still able to get around. I’d always enjoyed talking to him. We discussed all the typical farmer talk, complaining about politicians, complaining about the weather, complaining about the price of corn. He honestly didn’t like very many people but him and I always got along well. His family is just relieved he doesn’t have to fight the cancer anymore.

No worries though, as far as the farm goes. His younger brother still owns the farm. Nothing will change. His daughter actually lives on them farm. She’s kind of taken over on everything for the farm as far as financially. We always discuss our plans and everything with her too. I know she has no intentions of going anywhere so we won’t have to worry about loosing that farm any time soon.

 

[cliftonbros89]

Saturday morning I did the usual. Fed corn to everyone. Friday evening I’d got a call that our parts for our trailer were in.


New axles, rims (because the new axles have a different bolt pattern) and new fenders.

My mom was watching my nephew for awhile so I took an hour or so to go hang out with him. Then we went to the shop. He wanted to ask questions about the sprayer. Of corse he had to get in the cab and honk the horn a few times. Then he wanted to know, “why do you farmers have to work all the time?”

After my sister picked him up I got back to work on the sprayer.

I finished changing the oil in the hubs. In between draining and filling the hubs I managed to get all my tools cleaned up and put away. I was even able to get some of the other stuff around the shop picked up and put away. Even got the floor swept up pretty good. I replaced a few minor parts on the booms. But I’m still waiting on parts. There’s a few fuels lines that are looking cracked. I want them replaced before it gets in the field.

All afternoon I listened to the same Black Crowes’ album.

Southern Harmony and Musical Companion. Never gets old. One of my all time favorite albums.

 

[cliftonbros89]

Between the River Hills & the River Bottom

So if anyone is curious I have the figures just for the regular routine maintenance on the sprayer

So I replaced:
Engine oil filter
Primary engine air filter
Secondary engine air filter
Fuel filter
Water separator filter
Hydraulic filter
2 hydrostatic filters
3 hydraulic filter in the reservoir
Air drier cartridge filter
1 gallon of 85w-140 gear oil for the hubs
5 gallons 15w-40 engine oil.

Comes to a grad total (rough estimate) of:
$1,121.11

This isn’t counting the special carbon cab air filter kit priced at $512.95. Or if I’d refilled the hydraulic reservoir with new 10w-30 oil, which would’ve required a little over 14 gallons. I didn’t look up the price on it.

Like I said this is just for regular maintenance. This isn’t counting the parts I have/will be replacing. Or all the spray tips we just bought new to use for this year.

(Photo was when we first purchased the sprayer almost exactly 8 years ago. We bought it brand new)

 

[jblnut]

Whilst cruising YouTube today I found these neat gadgets. The YouTube channel has some neat stuff.

Tire changer/helper.

Sprayer Jack Stand

 

[west_perf]

I've really enjoyed reading your thread thus far. You have a great appreciation for detail.

Do you mind saying what part of MO you are in? My great-grandparents farmed 500+ acres of Mississippi bottom near Egypt Mills. My grandparents had a farm in the bootheel and I spent a good amount of time listening to complaints about Reagan, the economy, the co-op, REA electricity prices, the local Country mart prices, etc.

 

[cliftonbros89]

Whilst cruising YouTube today I found these neat gadgets. The YouTube channel has some neat stuff.

Tire changer/helper.

Sprayer Jack Stand

That’s an interesting system. I would like to have a good heavy jack stand for the sprayer. We could probably come up with something similar to move the wheels around.

 

[cliftonbros89]

I've really enjoyed reading your thread thus far. You have a great appreciation for detail.

Do you mind saying what part of MO you are in? My great-grandparents farmed 500+ acres of Mississippi bottom near Egypt Mills. My grandparents had a farm in the bootheel and I spent a good amount of time listening to complaints about Reagan, the economy, the co-op, REA electricity prices, the local Country mart prices, etc.

I’m just a little north of Egypt Mills. Been awhile since I’ve been there but I know right where it’s at.

 

[cliftonbros89]

Back to it today. Dad started in on the trailer yesterday

He got the new axles in.


First thing this morning we moved the calves from my uncle’s over to dads

Now they have a little more room. Within a week or so they’ll be out on pasture for the summer. There will be more joining them before too long.

We fed hay everywhere. Checked in on all the cattle.

We got the tires mounted for the new axles on the trailer. We also had to have 2 tires for the cattle trailer fixed.

We also took the new 10 wheeler truck to town to have new decals put on it.

This evening I did a few things to the sprayer. Also hauled off some of the scrap metal from the shop and put it on our ever growing pile. Hopefully it can be hauled off sometime this year.

My brother-in-law also came over to weld the new fenders to the trailer.


They’re a lot stronger than the old fenders we had on there. It may even get some new paint this week. We’ll see.

It looks like a full week of nice weather for once so there’s a lot on the agenda this week.

 

[NKlamerus]

Good looking build! Pretty interesting power/extension dolly you have there as well. We picked up a few "turtle boxes" from a military surplus a few years ago, they stack and store well but no wheels!

 

[cliftonbros89]

Between the River Hills & the River Bottom

Good looking build! Pretty interesting power/extension dolly you have there as well. We picked up a few "turtle boxes" from a military surplus a few years ago, they stack and store well but no wheels!

That actually belongs to my brother-in-law. We brought his welder over for the fenders so we didn’t have to use our big stick welder on them. He uses that set up for his welder.

 

[cvairwerks]

Here's one that doesn't require a forklift or loader to use...

 

[cliftonbros89]

Here's one that doesn't require a forklift or loader to use...

I have to say that one looks pretty cool. Although I’m sure it’s pretty pricey. But I do like the looks of it.

The bad thing is then all I can think of is where the hell am I going to store it when it’s not being used?

 

[cliftonbros89]

Well I have to say today wasn’t quite as productive as I’d hoped. I helped dad get some fencing supplies loaded up. He got started on checking on some of the pasture fences. We let the big calves we moved to dads yesterday out on pasture today. We may let the cattle out at the end of the week. But we’ll see.

While dad started on that I took the 7510 to our one hay shed to hook to the brush hog

I gauged all the tires, along with the suspension air bags. I greased everything up and checked the oil in all the gearboxes. It was ready to go.

One of our farms up the road that we rent had some CRP ground on it. The CRP contract ended last fall. The land owner decided he wants us to start farming that ground. So I went up the road to start mowing things down.


It’s some tall and thick stuff in places. It started out pretty good. I took my time so it could really chop everything up good. The plan is to mow it all down, burn it, then it will make it easier to disk the ground up.

However, the center pan hit a low washed spot. I saw it coming so I raised the brush hog up. But apparently not high enough.

I saw it happen and immediately shut off the PTO. I guess the slip clutch was a bit stuck from having sat for awhile. My assumption is the slip clutch didn’t slip enough and it caused the yolk on the clutch end to break. So naturally, I didn’t have the clutch yolk at the shop. I did have the universal joint (or cross bearing as Deere often likes to call them) though.

I called the dealer location we usually deal with to see if they had one. One of the 12 locations did have it in stock. Unfortunately, that location is a little over 2 hours north of us. But the earliest that location could deliver it to the location nearest us would be Thursday. The earliest we’d be able to receive it from the nearest location if they received it through their stock order would be Thursday. They could get one direct from Deere overnight. However, then there’s a hefty freight charge and we wouldn’t have it in hand until tomorrow afternoon. So after talking it over with dad I ended up going for a drive.

So after close to a 4 hour round trip I had the new yolk. I didn’t get any pictures of after. But we got the new universal joint in it and got it all back together. So quite a delay today. But things are back and ready to go for tomorrow. Which wouldn’t be the case if I hadn’t gone and picked it up.

So we’ll hopefully tomorrow goes a bit better.

 

[cliftonbros89]

It would for sure need some work done to it. But now that we’ve been discussing wheels dollies and similar ideas. I thought of a possible solution.

I wonder if we could make a few changes and or additions to this old bumper jack to work for those wheels. I’m not sure it’d work correctly. It probably wouldn’t roll well, or be tall enough. I know as is it wouldn’t be wide enough to properly support the wheel. Nor would it be able to spin it as is either. But it’d be handy to lift it to the proper height.

Just an idea. If not it’s still getting sold.

 

[lis2323]

I've been guilty (once or twice) of not loosening up the plates on slip clutches at the beginning of the season to reshine the rusty spots. I'm glad you got her fixed and didn't tear out a gearbox.

 

[cliftonbros89]

I've been guilty (once or twice) of not loosening up the plates on slip clutches at the beginning of the season to reshine the rusty spots. I'm glad you got her fixed and didn't tear out a gearbox.

I’ve usually got them set just right that I don’t have any problems with them at the beginning of the year. But they’re readjusted now so it should be good.

 

[lis2323]

I’ve usually got them set just right that I don’t have any problems with them at the beginning of the year. But they’re readjusted now so it should be good.

Our biggest problem was lack of covered implement storage. Anytime we had funds available for buildings it automatically got spent on refrigerated storage.

Our potato harvesters sat outside year round. Was always too impatient to slip all the clutches to adjust with a load at the beginning of the season with a crew on the machine and trucks waiting.

I can appreciate your time spent in keeping up with preventative maintenance. [emoji481]

 

[cliftonbros89]

Wednesday I got back to mowing.

Clutch yolk was replaced and I was good to go.

It was pretty thick stuff in places. Chased a lot of rabbits outs. They managed to avoid the hawk who was smart enough to know what was going on.

After I finished mowing dad and I used the 7230 to pull out some tress that were too big to mow.

I didn’t realize how many I’d mowed around. But we must’ve pulled out just about 40 trees by the time it was done.

Dad used the 7230 and box blade to fix a few washed spots in the field too.

I finished the day doing a few small things in the shop. I quit a little early to go grab a few drinks with a friend of mine. His birthday was yesterday. He may be leaving town again soon for work for awhile so we decided to throw a few down.

 

[cliftonbros89]

Today the weather was nice and warm. But it’s been windy all day. Winds have been constant 20-30 mph all day.

We started the morning weening some more calves. We weened 26 all together. After we weened then we decided to turn the cattle out on the pastures.
View attachment 756073
View attachment 756074
They were glad to be let out. I’ll be glad to have a little more time to do things a few days a week now that we won’t be feeding a bunch of hay.

We also moved the 3 younger heifers from last fall. We took their small calves with them. We ended up moving to the retirement farm. Which actually kind of ruins the name now since we just moved some younger ones out there for once.
View attachment 756079
They were greeted right away by the rest of the cows. The bull was quite interested in them too.
View attachment 756080
This afternoon dad did a little work to some fences again. While he did that I cleaned up the sprayer.
View attachment 756081
I washed it all up and greased it after I washed it. It’s all ready to go now.
View attachment 756082
It was returned to the shed for now. It awaits a slightly drier and much less windy day.

This evening I took a wire wheel to the trailer in the shop.
View attachment 756084
The buddy of mine who has done some painting for us before is going to paint the trailer.

My brother-in-law came by this evening too. He welded up bracket and pins for the ramps for the trailer.
View attachment 756085
He also welded a rod to the ramps for a handle too.



It’s a little sticky to be in the fields yet. Looks like all these warm temperatures and winds are going to be bringing in a cold front early Saturday morning. Looks like it’s going to rain again. Same old story. About the time it’s dry enough to work we get more rain.

 

[cliftonbros89]

Friday started with feeding the newly weened calves. It for once didn’t start with feeding hay everywhere since all the cattle are out on the pasture.

I dropped the trailer off to be painted.


After dropping the trailer off I went to one of our rentals farms and pulled one of our water tanks out of the shed.

It’s a 1,000 gallon tank we use to haul water for spraying. I backed it in the shop to check out the pump motor on it. I also brought along the pump for the other tank which is still at the shed. I checked out both motors. Changed the oil, put in fresh gas, cleaned the air filters, fuel filters, fuel sediment bowls, check the spark plugs, and fired them up to make sure they’d run without any problems.

I also had to help my uncle pull start a few tractors.

The 50 fires right up. He washed it up as he was invited to a tractor ride somewhere for today. But I believe it was cancelled.


This A didn’t want to start so we had to pull start it. My uncle washed it up as well and we let it run for awhile. It’s been sitting for a long time so he wanted to let it run for awhile once.


The 520 really didn’t want to start. But we found the starter isn’t working properly and there was an issue with the distributor cap. So we backed it in the truck shed to check it out on a later date.

There rest of the evening I messed with a few small things in the shop.

 

[cliftonbros89]

Saturday I ran some errands in town early and checked on the cattle at the retirement farm. Looked like things were ok for the ones we moved out there.

Overnight we had a good line of storms come through. Things are wet again. Had it not been for that we probably would’ve been in the field today.

I fed the calves and gave them some more straw.

This bunch seems slightly more calm than that last bunch. But there’s a few of the smaller calves that aren’t quite getting a good taste of the corn yet. They don’t seem to be aware of what I’m giving them.

I pulled the water tank out of the shed and put about 100 gallons of water in it for now. I just wanted to make sure there aren’t any leaks in the hoses or pump anywhere. I ran it to make sure everything worked properly.

Then I checked a few more things out on the sprayer. I think I’d mentioned a fuel line that was looking a little cracked. I finally had some fuel line arrive. But it says it’s only for 50 psi, the hose needing replace says it’s rated for 250 psi, I’m not sure if they sent me the wrong stuff. Also one of the hoses needing replaced has a hydraulic fittings on one end. It is on the bottom of the fuel tank. So I’d need to drain it all or drain some and try to plug it. Either way I didn’t have anywhere to get a fitting put on the hose this afternoon so that job may have to wait awhile.

I noticed a hose for the box blade on the 7230 had been leaking that dad had used. It had oil all over the rear end.

I washed it all off and tried to locate the leak. I found it was leaking at the pioneer fitting in the end of the hose that plugs into the tractor. It seemed to be a little loose. I tightened it back up. It didn’t seem to be dripping anymore. It should be fine for awhile. But I intend to replace those hoses. They’re looking pretty rough. Unfortunately, the box blade sits outside majority of the time. The elements have really taken a toll on the hoses.

My uncle need to put in some post for his deck that he’s going to be working on so he wanted the post hole digger on the 720.

We had to move a few things in the big shed to get the 720. Then a few things in the other barn to get to the post hole digger. The digger will likely be a bit of a permanent part of the 720 for awhile. One of these days we’re going to have to get started on rebuilding a lot fence out by the barn. We’re going to be needing the digger for that job as well.

So I’ve got a few little odd jobs I plan to do to finish the day. It’s still windy. The windy has been crazy for the last 3 days. It’s blowing in a cool front that will be settling in tonight. It’s going to dip back down to the upper 30’s. Although it’s been windy the temperatures have at least been in the 60’s so it’s been fairly nice.

It’s going to be wet and cold yet tomorrow. I’m considering taking the day off. At least part of it. Several thing I could do. But some of them don’t have to absolutely be done right now. Plus all the places in town I need to stop at are already closed for today and are closed for tomorrow. So I may take it easy. It’s likely to be a pretty busy week if we can dry out in the next few days.

 

[cliftonbros89]

So Sunday I pretty much took the day off. Just looked up some parts stuff for my inventory stuff. Also typed up an inspection sheet for both the drill and the planter.

Monday came fast. I fed the calves corn and a bale of hay. It was pretty cloudy, windy and chilly most of the day. It also was the start of turkey season. So everyone but me took off to do that.

After I fed I had to make a trip to town. I had some things to drop off places, ship off our drill monitor for a software update. I also had to pick up some thing as well. My friend painted our trailer Saturday morning. He let it in his booth all day Saturday and Sunday and told me it was good to go by Monday.

I picked it up and took it back to the shop. As you can see we painted the floor. I picked up some good exterior paint to maybe make the boards last a little longer and make them look just a bit better. We finished that and let it set over night.

I had to quit a little early since I had a MU Extension meeting to attend.

 

[cliftonbros89]

Today I started by feeding the calves again. Put out some straw for them.

This red one located the spot where 2 of the slays are missing. Naturally, he just couldn’t figure out how to get out of there either. That’s the first time I’ve ever had the happen surprisingly.

Dad went turkey hunting again this morning. Luckily, we was successful.

Some fresh turkey is always good.

We started doing a bit of work to the trailer. We added a few more lights and also some reflective tape to the sides.

Not the greatest picture but it looks a heck of a lot better than it did. It was almost embarrassing pulling it around before.

This afternoon I picked up our big water tank from the shed where the other water tank was.

We’re hoping ok get some spraying done this week. So we’re trying to get everything ready to go.

We put the tank in the back of the new truck. It is going to be the new water truck. We set the tank in and we also put the water pump motor and hoses in it. Dad has to get chemicals yet. This truck should handle it a lot better than the old truck.

Another project I’ve been doing on the side is our electrical supply. While looking for something for dad last night I became aggravated with all the clutter. So something is going to change. I posted a picture of the mess some time ago. So last night and this evening I took everything out of the 2 boxes and some what sorted everything.



It’s all currently strung out on the work bench. Wiring, switches, breakers, fuses, outlets, plugs, connectors, wire nuts, heatshrink, tape, screws, zip ties, loom, screwdriver, testers and more.

All of it was shoved in and popping out of these 2 boxes. Needless to say a new, more organized solution will be found before the end of the week. It makes it a major pain in the *** when you’re trying to locate something. Not to mention most the time dad can’t find what he’s looking for then he’ll just go buy more. Then shove what ever is left in to the boxes. This is going to have to chance.

So. We’ll see what the week brings. Looks like we’ll finally have several clear days for the next week or so. Going to start getting at it very soon.

 

[NKlamerus]

Re: Between the River Hills & the River Bottom

I would highly recommend using fishing tackle boxes for your electrical equipment. I've got one for 12v and one for 120v applications.

We also use them at work for 120v outlets, switches, and plugs. There's quite the variety out there and they seem to stack well, plus its somewhat waterproof and always comes with a carrying handle.

Something like this (pictured) so you can remove 1 tray at a time, keep pliers and meters up top.

DO NOT buy the kind with "flip out" trays like the original Plano boxes all of our grand dad's had, one tip over and everything is ruined.

I store loose wire in "deep 3700 plano tackle trays," they can hold a spool of wire as well as bundles.

(Plano 7771 pictured, it's what I use)

 

[cliftonbros89]

Re: Between the River Hills & the River Bottom

I would highly recommend using fishing tackle boxes for your electrical equipment. I've got one for 12v and one for 120v applications.

We also use them at work for 120v outlets, switches, and plugs. There's quite the variety out there and they seem to stack well, plus its somewhat waterproof and always comes with a carrying handle.

Something like this (pictured) so you can remove 1 tray at a time, keep pliers and meters up top.

DO NOT buy the kind with "flip out" trays like the original Plano boxes all of our grand dad's had, one tip over and everything is ruined.

I store loose wire in "deep 3700 plano tackle trays," they can hold a spool of wire as well as bundles.

(Plano 7771 pictured, it's what I use)

I considered something like that. But I’m not sure if it would have enough room for everything. As far as compartment size goes. I was considering the DeWalt T-Stak system. Since it offers different sizes and styles of boxes I think it’d work good to fit several things in. But I’m definitely open to options.