No doubt there's some of you laughing already. The ones who are laughing know what my 4 wheeler looks like to start with. For those that don't, here's the picture
Now the rest of yuns are laughing.
Fortunately no injuries, and the damage is minimal except that the cowling was ripped off, but who needs it anyway, the headlights don't work. The only thing I need is the clip to put the tie rod back on the pitman arm.
It was one of those Skip adventures that wasn't going right from the start. It's supposed to rain a monsoon starting tomorrow, so I planned on going to the farm and filling my feeders this afternoon. I stopped by my favorite farm supply place and picked up 800 pounds of corn. I wasn't thinking real good while CJ was loading the truck and about 3/4 done, I said, I should have got 50 pound bags. Those 100 pounders are going to be tough to handle in the woods. CJ's reply was just drive the truck to the feeders. He's obviously not thinking that they are up on top of the ridge and to get a truck there would involve about a week of work with a saw and a dozer. Anyhow, I figured the Green Machine could handle it.
When I got back to town last night, I piled up the bags in the back of the office since it was cloudy and threatening rain. So today before I went to the farm, I had to first load the bags in my work truck, I decided to take 400 pounds and save 400 pounds for the next trip. Then go home, load the 4 wheeler and trailer in the farm truck and take the corn out of the work truck and put it in the farm truck (long bed v's short bed Note to self, never buy a short bed truck again. What good is a truck that is rated to haul 5000 pounds but can't fit 500 in the bed.) Finally I got to the farm, unloaded old green and the trailer and piled in the 4 bags of corn. Off to the feeders through the woods and across the ridge. Everything was going according to plan until it all went south I didn't make it to the top on the first try.
About half way up the ridge, I came to the realization that old Green wasn't going to make it with 400 pounds in the trailer. I stopped, and unloaded 200 pounds, then turned around and headed back down to get another run at the ridge. I had to go all the way back out to the pasture to turn and once I managed to get turned and headed back down the log road, I centered a grape vine that tangled up the frontend of the 4 wheeler and tripped the dump on the trailer. Out goes the corn, trailer backend is wedged into the ground, can't back up, can't go forward because the grape vine had a pretty good grip. Finally, I got out of that mess and had it would back up to wide open getting a run at the ridge when suddenly the frontend took off to the right and the 4 wheeler ran off the road and into the scrub bushes along side it.
This is pure speculation, but the $1.50 spring clip that holds the tie rod to the wheels is in fact missing, I suspect flipped off by the grape vine. The good thing about owning a piece of junk is it usually doesn't cost much to fix it. If it costs more than that, you can always give it away to someone else.
I decided to just tote the corn up the ridge to the feeders since I was closer to them than the truck. CJ don't want to know what I was thinking about them 100 pound sacks on the 4th trip up the hill. Finally, I made it to the feeder with the corn and the bucket I brought to dump it in. I'd done decided I couldn't hold 100 pounders in the air high enough to dump them in my 8' high feeders. The original plan was to stand on top of the 4 wheeler to dump the feed in but obviously that plan was in dire straights back in the bushes at the bottom of the hill.
By now, it's been dark for an hour thanks to half a dozen people who decided to wait till 10 minutes before quitting time to show up at the office, I didn't get to take of an hour or so early to get this project done before dark. I figured out why I haven't seen deer on the farm for a month. They are moving at 7 pm. 2 came up the ridge and scared the whiz out of me as I wrestled with the corn trying to get it in the feeders.
I made a decision to only fill one feeder since the other one is on out the ridge and I was bushed from toting corn and wrestling with the stuck 4 wheeler. I figured the 55 gallon feeders would hold all 400 pounds no problem. What I didn't count on was one of the legs deciding to sink to China on the far side of the feeder. By the time I dumped in the last of the 3rd bag, the feeder leaned over and out the corn starts to pour.
Now I'm hunting around in the dark for a rock to set the leg on finally finding a flat rock and muscling the now loaded with 300 pounds feeder back toward the other 2 legs so I could kick the rock under the sinking leg. Finally get that done and realize I left the battery for the motor back in the truck seat.
By 7:30, I had one feeder loaded, felt whipped, and ended up leaving the 4th bag of corn that I was afraid to put in the feeder since it was sinking.
I guess I'll be back out there tomorrow. I gotta go pick up the 4 wheeler before someone steals it.
Skipper
Now the rest of yuns are laughing.
Fortunately no injuries, and the damage is minimal except that the cowling was ripped off, but who needs it anyway, the headlights don't work. The only thing I need is the clip to put the tie rod back on the pitman arm.
It was one of those Skip adventures that wasn't going right from the start. It's supposed to rain a monsoon starting tomorrow, so I planned on going to the farm and filling my feeders this afternoon. I stopped by my favorite farm supply place and picked up 800 pounds of corn. I wasn't thinking real good while CJ was loading the truck and about 3/4 done, I said, I should have got 50 pound bags. Those 100 pounders are going to be tough to handle in the woods. CJ's reply was just drive the truck to the feeders. He's obviously not thinking that they are up on top of the ridge and to get a truck there would involve about a week of work with a saw and a dozer. Anyhow, I figured the Green Machine could handle it.
When I got back to town last night, I piled up the bags in the back of the office since it was cloudy and threatening rain. So today before I went to the farm, I had to first load the bags in my work truck, I decided to take 400 pounds and save 400 pounds for the next trip. Then go home, load the 4 wheeler and trailer in the farm truck and take the corn out of the work truck and put it in the farm truck (long bed v's short bed Note to self, never buy a short bed truck again. What good is a truck that is rated to haul 5000 pounds but can't fit 500 in the bed.) Finally I got to the farm, unloaded old green and the trailer and piled in the 4 bags of corn. Off to the feeders through the woods and across the ridge. Everything was going according to plan until it all went south I didn't make it to the top on the first try.
About half way up the ridge, I came to the realization that old Green wasn't going to make it with 400 pounds in the trailer. I stopped, and unloaded 200 pounds, then turned around and headed back down to get another run at the ridge. I had to go all the way back out to the pasture to turn and once I managed to get turned and headed back down the log road, I centered a grape vine that tangled up the frontend of the 4 wheeler and tripped the dump on the trailer. Out goes the corn, trailer backend is wedged into the ground, can't back up, can't go forward because the grape vine had a pretty good grip. Finally, I got out of that mess and had it would back up to wide open getting a run at the ridge when suddenly the frontend took off to the right and the 4 wheeler ran off the road and into the scrub bushes along side it.
This is pure speculation, but the $1.50 spring clip that holds the tie rod to the wheels is in fact missing, I suspect flipped off by the grape vine. The good thing about owning a piece of junk is it usually doesn't cost much to fix it. If it costs more than that, you can always give it away to someone else.
I decided to just tote the corn up the ridge to the feeders since I was closer to them than the truck. CJ don't want to know what I was thinking about them 100 pound sacks on the 4th trip up the hill. Finally, I made it to the feeder with the corn and the bucket I brought to dump it in. I'd done decided I couldn't hold 100 pounders in the air high enough to dump them in my 8' high feeders. The original plan was to stand on top of the 4 wheeler to dump the feed in but obviously that plan was in dire straights back in the bushes at the bottom of the hill.
By now, it's been dark for an hour thanks to half a dozen people who decided to wait till 10 minutes before quitting time to show up at the office, I didn't get to take of an hour or so early to get this project done before dark. I figured out why I haven't seen deer on the farm for a month. They are moving at 7 pm. 2 came up the ridge and scared the whiz out of me as I wrestled with the corn trying to get it in the feeders.
I made a decision to only fill one feeder since the other one is on out the ridge and I was bushed from toting corn and wrestling with the stuck 4 wheeler. I figured the 55 gallon feeders would hold all 400 pounds no problem. What I didn't count on was one of the legs deciding to sink to China on the far side of the feeder. By the time I dumped in the last of the 3rd bag, the feeder leaned over and out the corn starts to pour.
Now I'm hunting around in the dark for a rock to set the leg on finally finding a flat rock and muscling the now loaded with 300 pounds feeder back toward the other 2 legs so I could kick the rock under the sinking leg. Finally get that done and realize I left the battery for the motor back in the truck seat.
By 7:30, I had one feeder loaded, felt whipped, and ended up leaving the 4th bag of corn that I was afraid to put in the feeder since it was sinking.
I guess I'll be back out there tomorrow. I gotta go pick up the 4 wheeler before someone steals it.
Skipper
