MF35 Utility - repairs for winter

[pmsmechanic]

bmiszuk I looked at the picture and what you have is safe. What my uncle had was two parallel bars that you would slide under the bale instead of into the bale. Your setup is impossible to slide under a bale.

I just think about everything your daughter is learning. She needs to pay attention to where the front end loader is. She needs to plan where the manure spreader is going to be if she goes through a gate. She's learning how to operate a clutch and gears. She gets to see how an implement is hooked up and unhooked. To back up something doesn't always come intuitively. To back up a tractor with a manure spreader behind is another art. You are setting her up with the ability to tow a camper at somer point in her life with the ability to back it into the camping spot. All in a truck with a manual transmission. She might not ever have to do that but just having the knowledge that she can, improves her self confidence. There's probably more that I've missed but this is a good start.

 

[PatrickS2222]

I don't remember if your loader has a bale spike or not but if you have just forks please be careful lifting a bale like in the first picture. My uncle spent several days in the hospital after a bale rolled down the loader arms onto him.

I really like the fact that your daughter spreads manure. Those kind of experiences are good for every younger person to experience.

Just an observation regarding your hay-handling attachment, which I reckon is a great piece of equipment :thumbsup: you'll use a lot:
Where the tilt cylinder attaches to the bale lifter - I feel it would be much better to connect it to the top pair of holes rather than the lower ones. This will greatly reduce the force on that one cylinder, its pins and the corresponding pressure in its hoses, as well as both main mounting pins. You will note it will tilt much more slowly though, which might be a bit safer, but if it saves something from breaking (or a hose bursting) it will be a lot safer - you've got little control after something's failed. We don't want you - or anyone else - spending several days in hospital!

On a side note: I love to see youngsters being able to help - especially where a high degree of skill for a given age is essential. It also enables them to learn to drive in more detail, initially at a slower pace, and they'll doubtless be much better drivers as adults. All our kids can drive our tractors well, reverse with trailers and various other helpful jobs. I showed our younger daughter that picture of your daughter driving she loved it! Jennifer said it reminds her of when she was driving our loader at her God-mother's property. :laughing:
It is a sizeable Arabian horse stud quite near to us. Shortly after I reconditioned the engine I thought the best thing for it was real work. Whilst I was on leave from work, I took the loader over there and put their soil aerator on it - a heavy 3PL-mounted implement with a large spiked cylinder across underneath it. Rolling it across the paddock punches thousands of holes into the surface, so rain can penetrate into the soil, rather than merely run off. I aerated about 65 acres, mostly driving at around 15-1600rpm in 5th gear - it pulled it well, and did the engine the world of good. They are very good friends and I quite enjoyed doing that - it took me back to my boyhood in a lot of ways, but was also an easy job, not mind-boggling either, which was a welcome change. I could just listen to music with an iPod and enjoy the country air.
I'd spend 5-6 hours each afternoon doing this. Jennifer would sometimes walk the short distance from the school bus stop and spend the remainder of the afternoon there, then come home with me, otherwise spend a whole day there on a weekend. She was at the time 14yrs of age, quite conversant with driving it - she declared "it's just like our red tractor (our 135, which she could drive a year earlier), just bigger" and would spend a half-hour driving with me sitting on the side fender talking and "coaching". I had pulled the pins and removed the bucket leaving just the frame to improve general vision, and the power steering was a huge bonus. She could raise the aerator, turn, plan and turn again lining up the edge, drop the aerator again and proceed - all without stopping!
I looked but cannot find any pics of her driving, but here's a couple aroung that same time of her in general control of much less horsepower - the 3rd pic was at 10years of age. And the latest news ..... be very cautious, I now have my car driver learner's permit!