A "167"???--Caleb's Grizzly--in search of a perfect plow tractor!

[kmcconaughey]

More photos:

 

[eford]

Holy cow! Looks wonderful! Your son looks ecstatic! This is one neat project. I'm glad you found such a hydraulic place, I can get soft lines, if I fab one up first, funny to see a clamped hose barb and adapters on each end...

 

[jstertz]

Thanks Earl--he is stoked!

Last night I finished wiring the LED lights to the 149 switch. I placed it on the dash in a non factory yet quite accessible location. I spent about 35 min discussing the rear hitch with my uncle. Hopefully, Saturday we can work on it some! He has several idea to make it strong and yet simple and practical. Honestly, at this point I'm interested to see which one we will end up going with...

 

[mhomrighausen]

Joshua S. Your son is going to have one very nice tractor. It'd be awesome to see him plow with it.

Keep those pictures coming!!!

 

[jstertz]

Marlin--I can't wait to see him be able to plow with this machine. I hope it will work out well for him for years to come!

Saturday we made it a father/son day. In the morning we shot a cowboy action match together (the last one before the winter hiatus) and in the afternoon we hooked up a plow light on his tractor. It took us several hours and I had him do most of the hands on work. It was his first time using a drill, bench grinder, wire strippers/crimpers, etc. He listened well to instruction, asked enough questions to make me realize he was actually paying attention and wanting to learn! I can't describe to you how excited he was when I let him be the first one to turn the plow light on. It is a 15W LED light that will be perfect for night plowing at BPD X! I hope these memories last him as long as they will me! Pics to follow...

 

[mhomrighausen]

Joshua S. OH YES!!! Those memories are locked into his memory. It brings back times when my kids were young. Good memories.

 

[kmcconaughey]

More photos from Josh:

 

[jstertz]

The most difficult part of this build has definitely been the hitch. It has tested my uncle Roger's skills to the max. Not the fabrication but design...he said he wished he would've paid more attention in geometry class, presumably like Steve B did! Anyway, I'll let the pictures above do most of the talking. We wanted a hitch design that would be strong but relatively easy to remove if needed. At the end of the day, I'm quite happy with the visual appearance of this thing. Once I get my hoses built for it tomorrow, we can test it and make sure it works as good as it looks! Many thanks to our favorite keeper of the photos...

 

[kmcconaughey]

Here's the photos of the hitch:

 

[mhomrighausen]

<u>SWEET!!!

</u>

 

[eford]

So, you want to be able to lift the weight of the tractor on the hitch alone?! Lol. Looks good guys

 

[jstertz]

That's classic Earl! When Roger finished the build, he said a similar thing--something about if the plow was deep in heavy soil and Caleb tries to raise it, it'll pick up the front of the tractor

I got my last hoses and fittings today on my lunch break. Then after putting everyone to bed, I hooked it all up and we have a working hydraulic lift. It is definitely a one of a kind piece and I wouldn't recommend following our example with the time, effort, and money it took to set up but it should be a solid system for years to come. I can't thank my uncle enough for his work put in, without which this project never would've made it past the dream phase. Hopefully tomorrow evening, we can test it in a real world setting with a plow, etc

 

[eford]

I completely understand. I have had many ideas, including rear lifts and a loader, but the welding and fabrication, well, shine the lights and waves the red flags! Project haulted!

 

[jwiggins]

What an Awesome father/son project,,,,
Fabrication, Hydro Rear Lift, Tractor, EVERYTHING,,,,
You guys did a Fantastic Job,,, Had Fun doing it,,, and "Memories" to last a Lifetime!!!!!

Super CooL,,,

EXCELLENT!!!
Good Job,,,

 

[cstertz]

thanks guys, my dad and I are having fun working on this tractor! Tonight we will try it out in the dirt.I am so excited to see this tractor come together

 

[kmcconaughey]

Caleb, WELCOME!

 

[sshaff]

Very cool, guys...what a beast! I love the decal, too...it's perfect! Looking forward to seeing you this weekend

 

[wshytle]

Cool pics guys and welcome Caleb.

Joshua-

You might as well start building a cub barn. I have a feeling more cubs will start showing up in the near future.

.

 

[mhomrighausen]

Caleb S. Don't forget a picture of your first furrow.

 

[jstertz]

Wayne--you are more right than you know! I'm actually thinking about a "portable one". I would like to pick up an 8.5'x24' v nose car hauler. It would work great to haul six or so plow tractors plus equipment and luggage. It would be a great "mobile barn" to store GT's in throughout the winter or summer. It would also be handy if I ever needed to haul the "Goat" somewhere. And often a large enclosed trailer like that can be used for many purposes. I figure that if I spend about $5K I could have a really decent one for my needs!

Guys--thanks for the comments and kind words. I'll try to get Caleb on here this morning to share his sentiments. He is SO EXCITED about Grizz and BPD X therefore he has been doing extra schoolwork so that he can take Friday off. He also has wrapped up his soccer season. The coach have him the opportunity to kick a PK and he nailed it scoring his first goal in the last game of this season! I'm proud of this young man--I know I'm biased--he's a good guy!