Picked up a new toy


 
LMichaels

LMichaels

TVWBB 2-Star Olympian
So, one thing I found that has been truly handy in helping me work on the Kubota (thanks to it's 2 channel frame design a regular jack did not "cut it") has been this Craftsman Motorcycle jack.

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My only gripe with it is it weighs nearly 90lbs and is very long and unwieldly. Making it VERY hard for me to store, or put away for the winter. So, since I've been having a good year at THEMIXERDOC, I went over to Hazard Fraught and joined their "insider's club". Picked up this shiny new beauty. It made of aluminum, a little narrower a couple inches shorter and lifts up to 4" higher. And only weighs about 48lbs. So come winter it'll be much easier for me to store out of the way in the back garage. Thing is incredibly well made too, with some really cool features (especially safety). Cost me $29 to join Insiders but I got $45 off on the jack. So paid for itself on first purchase.
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I will get a shot of it this weekend. Already have someone on the line to buy the old VERY heavy Craftsman. No mistake it's still a heavy piece and awkward but 45lbs is a helluva lot easier to handle than 90lbs
 
Good score.
I need something like that.
I need something that will safely lift a large motorcycle.
My days of bending over to work or working on my knees are done.
 
BFletcher said:
Nice, and good luck! Can you help with a visual on how you will place this to lift your tractor?
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My Kubota has a "dual channel" frame. It's VERY thick and heavy IIRC the walls are about 7/16" thick. And it's the same width from front to rear and just so happens it squares perfectly with the lift points of these jacks. So rather than trying to jerry rig a beam off a standard hydraulic floor jack, this bridges the frame rails perfectly. I can get the machine up high enough (and since the jack has large locking safety pawls) I don't even need jack stands unless I want to lift it front and rear.
I can get it high enough that I don't have to pull that 400lb mower deck out from under it, to service it. like changing the blades and so on. Which reminds me the bolts holding the blades on are 30mm (huge). I have to go back to HF and get some 1/2" drive large size impact sockets as I only have 30mm in deep wall from when we were working on cars and needed 30mm to pull the drive axles. The deep well 30mm is too "ungainly" to use with a heavy impact wrench and laying on your back trying to hold a large heavy blade in place. Anyway I think this new jack is going to make my life much easier
I also need to get under it because there are so many grease fittings on this thing you cant believe it. Two driveshaft with splined slip joints, multiple U joints with fittings as well, front axle pivot, PTO bearing, large bearings and pivot points on the deck and spindles. Takes me about half an hour just to hit all the grease fittings :D
 
LMichaels said:
My Kubota has a "dual channel" frame. It's VERY thick and heavy IIRC the walls are about 7/16" thick. And it's the same width from front to rear and just so happens it squares perfectly with the lift points of these jacks. So rather than trying to jerry rig a beam off a standard hydraulic floor jack, this bridges the frame rails perfectly. I can get the machine up high enough (and since the jack has large locking safety pawls) I don't even need jack stands unless I want to lift it front and rear.
I can get it high enough that I don't have to pull that 400lb mower deck out from under it, to service it.
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Wow; sounds like you found a match made in heaven and you answered my question: it would not work with my zero turn, lol.
 
Yeah, I'm not sure. Since a 0 turn is something I've never looked at up close because I've really never had interest in one. (not because I believe them inferior or anything unlike what's going on in pellet grill thread), but I just like the "look" of a tractor. Honestly speaking I think a 0 tun would do better on my personal application. I'm just a "tractor guy" because it reminds me more of "old school" cars that I cut my teeth on as a "pup mechanic" in the late 60s. So I am unsure how they're constructed or even if a jack like this is helpful.
 
lol at the other thread. I bought the zero turn last year. I, too, prefer the look and appeal of a tractor but we have 4 acres and in the end I made my decision based on the cutting time difference. I looked a little bit at specs on a 4-wheel steering unit but didn't ask to test drive one... maybe I should have. I had been using a 2003 Deere L110 with 42" deck up-until last year, so struggling with that unit also influenced my decision.
 
Wow, 4 acres with a little L110?! Yikes. I guess if it's just a "straight" 4 acres (no obstacles and such) a large heavy tractor such as mine vs a similar sized/powered 0 turn would be about the same. Honestly if I was ONLY looking at "practical" I would have a 0 turn. between all the obstacles (trees, flower beds, 2nd garage and such) plus comparably small lot size (1/2 acre vs your 4) it SHOULD be a 0T all the way. But 2 things turn me off of them. One is the noise level. I have 2 neighbors who own them. One is a smaller Cub, the other has one of the larger "commercial" type.. Not the more common named ones but it's huge. Has a 54" deck, a of stainless steel, very large air cooled V twin vert shaft engine. But holy smoke. Both those machines are deafening.
One thing I have valued about the machines I've owned is "quiet". Especially this Kubota. I kick the engine up to maybe 1800-2300 RPM (est by ear), and it's very smooth and quiet. The "rattle" of the 3 cyl diesel smooths out, very little exhaust "bark" and the deck (because it's shaft driven with a large bevel gear box) runs pretty quietly as well. Makes a little more sound than the little Honda I had. That one was a little 2 cyl water cooled engine, shaft driven machine. Mower deck was the noisiest part of it. Because it was a huge long belt off front of the engine, wrapping around and under. So there was a lot of commotion under there.
Really only "issue" running the Kubota is I wish I could find one of the smaller decks. 60" is just too large and heavy for what I do. But, it sure is "fast". Much faster than the little 38" Honda was
 
LMichaels said:
Wow, 4 acres with a little L110?! Yikes.
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Oops, I did forget to mention that up until 2 years ago some of the lot was sectioned off for two horses and was only occasionally mowed with a bush hog. But, yes, even with that, the L110 was not an appropriately-sized mower.

I'm not finding the noise spec right now but the zero turn isn't quiet. It has a Briggs 25 HP V-Twin EFI engine and I think it's universally agreed upon as being a gas hog. I do enjoy it.
 
BFletcher said:
Oops, I did forget to mention that up until 2 years ago some of the lot was sectioned off for two horses and was only occasionally mowed with a bush hog. But, yes, even with that, the L110 was not an appropriately-sized mower.

I'm not finding the noise spec right now but the zero turn isn't quiet. It has a Briggs 25 HP V-Twin EFI engine and I think it's universally agreed upon as being a gas hog. I do enjoy it.
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Yeah the guy across the street has that engine. My gosh it can wake the dead. I think part of that though is it seems anyone I've ever seen using them make me wonder if the machines have a throttle? They all seem "wound" to the point of just shrieking. I'd think with 25 HP on tap it would not need to be wound that tight. I've never run the Kubota more than 1/2 throttle. Even when I was helping a neighbor behind me after she broke her mower and the yard got to like 12" grass.
So again, not knowing anything about those machines. Is it mandated they have to be WOT at all times?
 
It has two electronically controlled mowing throttle speeds and the user can set one custom speed. Our lot used to be a hay field and has timothy grass; I use max.

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BFletcher said:
It has two electronically controlled mowing throttle speeds and the user can set one custom speed. Our lot used to be a hay field and has timothy grass; I use max.

View attachment 89989
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Pretty interesting. Is it air cooled? The guy's across from me is air cooled. Or is it water cooled. I know some of the machines of this type have a water cooled fuel injected VTwin from Kawasaki. Just curious about your Briggs
 
Cool. Well have fun with it. If it's built on an automotive time "twin channel" frame that jack might be just the ticket. I have not tried it on Big K yet. It'll be just my luck it's not strong enough :D It has 1500lb capacity though and IIRC the curb weight of my machine loaded with deck and fuel is about 1700. And I'm quite sure since I lift only one end at a time it should be fine. But I already sold the old jack yesterday LOL
 
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