Getting Big John on the ground

Carol Reed

In Memoriam
Messages
5,533
Location
Coolidge, AZ
This was a really anxious moment. My friend Phil came to help. Thanks, Phil. You added a great deal to my peace of mind.

Here is the task: Big John on the truck.

Unloading BJ 1.jpg

First raise the nose some to decrease the ramp angle.

Unloading BJ 2.jpg

Then add the ramps.

Unloading BJ 3.jpg

And then we were too busy to take a picture.

But success. The job is all wrapped up.

Unloading BJ 4.jpg
 
So I have to ask...how long did you drive around town with a tractor in the back of your truck before you got it unloaded? :D
 
Funny, Vaughn.

But it did sit in the back of the truck for a week or so. I just drove the car. We had to back the tractor off blind. That was the spooky part. The driver could not see the wheels on the ramps. And I had no personal experience with the tractor brakes. Would they hold on the incline to control the descent? Thankfully they did. Phil drove and I directed. Good friend that he is, he followed my instructions precisely. Slowly and carefully we backed down the ramps.
 
well done caro i have paraded a recent hunting prize in the back of a truck for a bit not a week you got alot more advertisement then me:) you need a
JD hat now
 
And would you know that I was at the JD store and they didn't stock them? What's up with that?

A new Tractor Supply store is opening next month nearby. I know they have them, even in pink. Pink!?! What the ....?

I'll get the hat is due course and it will be GREEN!
 
A nice crane could of handled the job!! No crime no foul...but then you couldn't afford the welder because cranes are really spendy:doh:...but you could get a relocated home and plant it there:eek: That's it...Craigs list for cranes. I'll drive it down:thumb::D
 
Funny, Vaughn.

But it did sit in the back of the truck for a week or so. I just drove the car. We had to back the tractor off blind. That was the spooky part. The driver could not see the wheels on the ramps. And I had no personal experience with the tractor brakes. Would they hold on the incline to control the descent? Thankfully they did. Phil drove and I directed. Good friend that he is, he followed my instructions precisely. Slowly and carefully we backed down the ramps.

I don't have a Big John, my tractor is a little red Pony... ever so often I have to haul it over to my mechanic for whatever reason... I'm fortunate that I have a ditch right in front of the house that I can back the F150 down into, drop the tail gate and just rid my pony up into the bed... problem is when I get to Rick's, my mechanic, his yard is flat and while he does have ramps, the angle is pretty steep from my truck to the ground. Last summer he worked on my pony, put in a new gas tank to replace the one I punctured when I hit a dead juniper in the ditch... Rick had just fallen and wrenched his shoulder to the point he was in a sling, I was fighting bursitis in both my shoulders and we hooked up the ramps and I was going to ride the tractor up and onto the truck.... the angle is steep enough that the cutter deck will catch just as I make the transition from the ramp to the bed of the truck... I ran up and when it caught I just jogged forward on the tractor and it usually will jerk loose and go on up into the truck.... this time the ramps slipped, kicked back and the tail of the tractor came down hard, and I think the first thing that hit the ground was my bad left shoulder.... I was kicking and trying to roll out from under the tractor because I could see it coming over backwards on top of me.... fortunately, Rick and his wife jumped forward and caught the nose and the front wheels caught the edge of the tail gate... save me from having a 500 lbs tractor in my lap.

Not sure who needed new underpants the worse, me or Rick.

Bottom line is, take every precaution and keep safe...
 
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