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

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 .