Tuesday, March 27, 2018

Detrailered Toro pro force blower

Nearing the end of winter maintenance .
Toro pro force blower in for a cleaning and service. Last season I seen a post on Twitter of one mounted to a tx gator . 


With some tight tee areas and hills it can be difficult to blow towing the trailer .So After discussing the idea with the senior staff it was a go . 


Step one I'm recycling a couple of hydraulic jugs .


After removing lids and cleaning them cut the bottoms out. Then cut from top to bottom .


Test fitting . Then bolted it to the shut . The second one was cut and wrapped around this one too filling in the gap .


Reason for extension is that on the dump bed there is around 22" difference . Now there is about 2"


Next ...remove wheels...fenders ...and hitch . 


Using 4 jack stands made quick work of it . 




I'll be using some hardware bolts to bolt new hardware on using original holes .





Using the beam mounted lift for a test to figure out center .




Ended up crossing chains and made mounts using axle bolts.Test fitting on gator. Boards are for spacers . I'm going to make metal ones that will bolt or weld on . 



Shut spins around no problem . 


There will have to be something built out from machine here to keep engine away from dump bed . 


Chain hardware .All bolted on so it can easily be put back to OEM if needed.


Made a couple of these using bolts from fenders .



Prime and painted . They will keep it level and off the hitch mounting hardware . 



going to cross strap it in place on both sides . 




Had to weld this bump out on but won't affect with hitch if its turned back . Going to use these holes for cross strapping onto TX gator . 



Waiting for paint to dry .




Made this gauge to let them now when the shut is straight down . 



Picked up more straps today and paint should be dry tomorrow . It can be remove easily and rolled around on a movers dolly in the shops . I'll post more....later


And done had it out and works great . so much easier to use .


zip tie any loose straps and chain so it doesn't get sucked into turbin

Saturday, March 10, 2018

Reviewing the past and present ...blogging and education


I started of Blogging as a new tech many years ago because there wasn't much available out there in the way of education for new people to learn about turf equipment maintenance and repair .
My blog site seems to be doing what I intended it for . That's to get the word out about what we do for our clubs and getting a peek at the daily jobs and problems we're faced with .By Blogging it got the word out that we are here . Hard to think that such a position gets overlooked at times and personally believe it's just because we are working in the background keeping things organized and rolling .Invisible man syndrome I use to call it .It has gotten much better with social media and Organizations ( to many to mention)and industry leaders like Stephen Tucker ,Hectors Shop , Golftechs ,Turfnet( to name a few ) promoting and paying forward to what we do . National recognition awards to honour techs really help and maybe entice new people into our side of this industry .
Also great to see more bloggers out there putting time in to help others .
Good turf equipment mechanics are becoming scares and anything we can do to get new blood involved is a big plus . This past year a few of the guys retired in their 70's hanging in there hoping for replacements .
It's a great trade ( and it should be recognized as such ) and now with educational material and lesson plans available at GCSAA it should make for a smoother transition from another mechanical field .   
Turf techs also stick together always willing to help a colleague out to get them out of a jamb to keep the gear rolling . 
Social media (twitter , face book etc)great way to connect with everyone all over the world in the trade . I've used the direct message or private messages to give advice and ideas or to ask for it to . Your always learning something new online from one tech or another . It's great . 
My blog has gone from sort of a diary to a learning tool for some .
Hope you enjoy the site and I'm always open to suggestions ,ideas or corrections to make it better . 
For the seasonal guys hope your wintering well ...springs just around the corner . Can't wait to get back to the summer routine . 

If you like my blog and want to support what I do you can donate any amount to the new gadget on the side bar .