Ox

Just really depends on what fer sled you have. Got a shorty 340? Better stay home, or you will have a long day. Got a Skandic or Summit - not so much. Just don't hold it to the bars, and don't blow a belt! I've put first tracks on several lakes and swamps way out in the bush. .

Willie from the Bristol Motel (recently sold) in Wawa has one or two rear blowers on his tractors that [I think] will work going either direction. Seems like there is a hydro actuated gate that flips over from front to back somehow? Keep in mind that it's been 3 years since I've been to Wawa in the winter now, so I'm a bit fuzzy. I doo recall that it will suck up a log chain tho. THAT I'm sure of... For whatever reason - it seems that he was not overly excited about that revelation at the time? .

Why does the blower set so far out? Does it angle? Is it to keep a better angle on the PTO shaft? .

Back around 2008, while many of us were in a freefall, farming was having the best years in a LONG time. My landlord needed to $pend some bucks on equipment, and he pulled in one day with this orange thing. It was the biggest that Orange was building at the time. 100 or 120hp. I think that it was new. If not - you could see it from here. I doubt that he had ever owned anything brand new before in his life, and the amount that he was lookin' to dump must have been in the same ballpark that this co$t. He has had some big ticket issues with it over the years. And to this day they need to keep a tarp strap to hold the shifter into high range. I have always been of the mind that I want a used Caddy rather than anew KIA. And this purchase is living proof of that concept. I am pretty sure that had he bought a used Red or Green tractor for the same $ that he would have had less issues and better resale value. I was born Green, but otherwise they run all Red. I just can't figger out where this Orange thing came from.... Another thing - this came with Titan rims and tires on it. As much as I want to wave the Stars and Stripes (over a Rising Sun) and that we have a Titan Tire facility in our county (was General Tire) their stuff is Schidt! Having heard their bad reputation over the years for mine tires, I have watched at least one rim on this thing have issues (don't recall anymore exactly what) and this fall one of the rears started spraying fluid all over the place. It literally cracked all the way through! I've seen many'a old tractor tire with weather checking, but this one is 15 yrs old and actually blew through! What a POS! I'm sure that we have duals around here that are 40 yrs old and are fine. (not Titan) .

Hopefully some of that survives the week. .

I wouldn't know that, and I doubt it. I have three 7K axles under my gooseneck. It is >25yrs old now. I haven't noticed any issues with it. And it sits with a load on it most of the time. Doesn't leave home very often anymore, but sometimes. Again - if you are having troubles with rubber in those axles, more than likely it is not a Dexter axle, which is why Dexter has been trying to sell rubber to the other mfgr's, b/c apparently their junk was giving Torsion's a bad name. .

Are y'all not expecting to git the deep freeze this weekend? We're expecting 0F over the weekend down here. What the heck? An Alberta Clipper dog legging underneath y'all? .

THAT is one of the big issues that I was looking at this last yr+. What doo you doo with your labour pool on the other side of this? .

Aren't all electric brakes "self adjusting"?

... or a heavier thumb... .

You know it's new when the plastic is still on the seat eh? .

At least down here, even tho residential has been ridiculously high recently, commercial has been in the tank for several years. Not sure that it has actually gotten worse, as not much has changed hands. But what has sold in the last few years has been at 1/2 what it may have sold for 15-20 yrs ago. (same properties) And some (many?) of those still sit empty, as they were bought up by investors at those prices, but they are waiting for "the turn", but I'm just not sure that it is comming anytime soon, and for the reason that you mentioned. Sure, there is "all this work out there to be had", but you can't git the help to complete the volumes that you used to do, let alone take on more. So "expansion" just wouldn't be a reason to move to a different facility. I could see small shops being of more value as bigger ones tho, as this would be quite a time to go into business for yourself. If you know what you are dooing, and are willing to actually doo it yourself, and not count on hired help to doo the actual work - while you chase tail down at the watering hole, then there is a future for you out there. So the smaller properties would seem to be of more value to me. But again - not sure if much has changed hands at all the last few years. But I expect this labor shortage to remain for the next 10 yrs. I don't know what would happen to change that? Anyone that wanted to, could have made a LOT of bank in the last 2 years. If your job wasn't the type that had overtime available, there were forty-leven other places around that were begging for help, and they would have taken you in a heartbeat for as many hours as you were wanting. Half of second shift? SURE! Weekends? SURE! Those jobs are still out there yet, but I don't know that many are actively begging anymore, but have learned the reality of the market, and have been lightening their workload to better match their new/lowered capacity. But I am sure that anyone that actually wants a 2nd job, or overtime, can still git all they want - if they actually "want". BUT - if you plundered for the last 2 years, and bought stuff at accelerated pricings, and especially if you bought it on time, and are counting on "Stoopid" to last forever, then you likely will fail, and others will be happy to pick up the pcs. I have been wanting to pick up an ATV for a few years now, but honestly haven't had the time to ride one anyway. I just figgered that if the time comes when we have time to go, I can pick one up on the way to wherever we are going. 3-4 yrs ago my chum bought a brand new hold-over 570 Sportsman with fancy wheels and pwr steering for $6K out the bleeding door! BUT - we had to pick it up by EOB on 12/31.... So we had to drag a trailer with us on the way to go sledding in Colorado, and likely left a day sooner than we would have liked to - to make that happen, but eh... Try to buy that same ATV this last year? = LOL! I figger I'll be able to buy it "slightly used" next year (?) at a greatly reduced price again. I doo wonder aboot the issue of buying a machine with a lean on it tho? Just glad that I got a new sled back in '18! .

Vicariously.... .

Is it OK to drink a Molson in my driveway? I think y'all need to git a hobby.... .

I have no clue. .

Which year did you check it?

My main sledding chum actually mixes the rubber for the lions share of the torsion axles in North America for most of the last 20 yrs. He runs it for Dexter, and actually, their competition has been using such poor rubber mix, that Dexter has been selling the rubber to much of their competition for the last few years, just to try to save the good name of torsion axles. Not all have bought from them. I guess there is still a cpl of hold-outs yet. They have been running +3M # / yr, and likely blew past that this year. The RV slowdown JUST made it to his door this week. He's excited that maybe he can git some riding in this winter. Now the pressure is on me to get time as well....

Doo you back the second one in?

1 sled?

Have you had Dexter's doo this? Or other brands? .

440 fan doesn't scoot along quite as quick as an 850 Liquid. But I added a helmet light for that type of riding after dark. .

Pic of road: Doesn't matter what the road look like, the bunny huggers with ski's strapped on top of their Subaru's are still gunna go flying around you like it was July! I even took a ride in the back of an OPP cruiser, sammiched in the middle, skeered to death that we were going to end up in the drink, and there I was in the middle of the back, drowning in 2' of water! We did make it out alive obviously, but I don't run that stretch of road too fast.... .

Maybe it is an "out of country" issue? I tried it last night, and no-go then either. But it loads "complete" right away. I can reload, and it completes right away with a blank page every time. .

Link comes up as a blank page for me. (but I git the gist of it by now) .