Joined
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134 Posts
Well I finally got it home......
To make a short story long... As you know I found a 2008 Deisel XL 60" w/FEL in Kitchener (2.5hrs from home, Sarnia). I was worried my 2500lb trailer wouldn't be able to handle the load, so I searched for a Buddy with one. Well either the trailer was cr_p, or it was too big, or too small (I know this sounds like Goldilocks), so I ended up having to rent one from u-haul. Well, the local uhaul didn't have a 6x12' , so I had to rent one in London (1hr away from Sarnia). A one way rental was going to be almost $150, but an in town rental was $49 taxes included. So my neighbour and long time friend Ray and I drove to London to get the trailer. Well, when we got there, we find out that a 6x12 trailer doesn't have a 6ft tail gate, only 4ft 6". It was kinda of hard to tell that from the wee little tiny JPEG on the Uhaul site. (see photo of our rig)
So, cant turn back now, we'll just have to take the deck off to get it in the trailer. The first time you take off one of these beasts, you realise this isn't your 42" Craftsman deck (ouch). Luckily the guys had a forklift and put it in the bed of my truck. Now the XL drove nicely into the trailer. Good thing I didn't buy a 12' trailer, as I would have never been able to load the FEL and Backhoe at the same time..
We took the back roads home from Kitchener, got the tractor off the trailer, and put the deck back on. (lot less time than to take it off.) Just then Slim gets off the bus, and his eyes light up.. "When can I test it". I felt like such a jerk when I said "after you are done your homework" -- I wanted some seat time first - haha!!.
Drove around the yard a little. Found that the 4wd lever wont lock into 2wd, but always locks in 4wd (little help!!). Took it to the back field where I doug up a cement culvert. Learned that FEL in 2wd is not much good in our sandy soil.
Amazingly Slim finished his homework in record time.. He got on the tractor and headed across the road to the 1/2 acre field that needs cutting, and proceeded to put the unit to the test. You can see him in the pictures, but I dont know how to load a video..At about 2200 rpms, the tractor went through the tall grass and weeds at full speed. These units do an extraordinary job cutting. My 16hp Craftsman would have taken an hour to cut that, Slim was done in ten minutes. Needless to say he loves it, and as my #1 employee, he better.....
Well guess what, now I have to hop in the truck, and drive the $#% uhaul trailer all the way back to London (1hr) and come back home...
So, I'll be talking to you guys later, and now the hunt begins for the illusive KW backhoe (for a good price).
p.s. Did I mention that my wife was completely OK wit hthis purchase...
BTW. When I removed the deck from my truck with the FEL, I pulled the back end off the ground. I am going to have to make a weight box.:trink40:
Hopefully the pics are posted
To make a short story long... As you know I found a 2008 Deisel XL 60" w/FEL in Kitchener (2.5hrs from home, Sarnia). I was worried my 2500lb trailer wouldn't be able to handle the load, so I searched for a Buddy with one. Well either the trailer was cr_p, or it was too big, or too small (I know this sounds like Goldilocks), so I ended up having to rent one from u-haul. Well, the local uhaul didn't have a 6x12' , so I had to rent one in London (1hr away from Sarnia). A one way rental was going to be almost $150, but an in town rental was $49 taxes included. So my neighbour and long time friend Ray and I drove to London to get the trailer. Well, when we got there, we find out that a 6x12 trailer doesn't have a 6ft tail gate, only 4ft 6". It was kinda of hard to tell that from the wee little tiny JPEG on the Uhaul site. (see photo of our rig)
So, cant turn back now, we'll just have to take the deck off to get it in the trailer. The first time you take off one of these beasts, you realise this isn't your 42" Craftsman deck (ouch). Luckily the guys had a forklift and put it in the bed of my truck. Now the XL drove nicely into the trailer. Good thing I didn't buy a 12' trailer, as I would have never been able to load the FEL and Backhoe at the same time..
We took the back roads home from Kitchener, got the tractor off the trailer, and put the deck back on. (lot less time than to take it off.) Just then Slim gets off the bus, and his eyes light up.. "When can I test it". I felt like such a jerk when I said "after you are done your homework" -- I wanted some seat time first - haha!!.
Drove around the yard a little. Found that the 4wd lever wont lock into 2wd, but always locks in 4wd (little help!!). Took it to the back field where I doug up a cement culvert. Learned that FEL in 2wd is not much good in our sandy soil.
Amazingly Slim finished his homework in record time.. He got on the tractor and headed across the road to the 1/2 acre field that needs cutting, and proceeded to put the unit to the test. You can see him in the pictures, but I dont know how to load a video..At about 2200 rpms, the tractor went through the tall grass and weeds at full speed. These units do an extraordinary job cutting. My 16hp Craftsman would have taken an hour to cut that, Slim was done in ten minutes. Needless to say he loves it, and as my #1 employee, he better.....
Well guess what, now I have to hop in the truck, and drive the $#% uhaul trailer all the way back to London (1hr) and come back home...
So, I'll be talking to you guys later, and now the hunt begins for the illusive KW backhoe (for a good price).
p.s. Did I mention that my wife was completely OK wit hthis purchase...
BTW. When I removed the deck from my truck with the FEL, I pulled the back end off the ground. I am going to have to make a weight box.:trink40:
Hopefully the pics are posted
