Owning a small tractor is a blessing.

[bigtiller]

I did the same thing yesterday.
But I got lucky, no damage was done.
It was a nice calm day so I put the forks on the loader and set the sprayer in the Gator.

Finished spraying and returned the sprayer and the tractor to their parking spots and lowered the loader.

I heard a clunk and looked. I never did pin the forks to the loader.

 

[Jstpssng]

I did something tonight, I'm not sure what. I went up and swapped the grapple for the bucket because I wanted to bury/compost some food waste and sawdust. First decided to run some material down to the scrap metal pile...
I dumped it, backed up and found myself wondering where the water in the trail came from. Then the loader started working slower and slower... and the tractor stopped moving. Looking down I saw a stream of hydraulic fluid and realized I must have caught a hose coming out of the transmission. I will crawl underneath tomorrow morning when it's done dripping to find out what I broke.
Day 7 of the month and that seems to be the way things are going.

 

[tacticalturnip]

Oh that's no fun at all, I hope it's not too bad of a fix. How far from the shop/garage/barn is the Kubota sitting?

 

[BackRoad]

I'm commiserating with you Mr. Jstpssng. Hope it's an easy, low cost fix. Just the cost to replace the lost hydraulic fluid is bad enough!

 

[Jstpssng]

I went out with a flashlight and looked... just a broken hose fitting for the loader. I still am not sure how I broke it but will pull it off tomorrow and get a new hose after work.
It's only the second breakdown in 8 years... the first was because I got some bad fuel.

 

[Razzmatazz]

I agree with this statement. My dad had an old 8N Ford until he was in his mid-70s. He used it weekly for getting firewood, etc. I finally talked him into selling it and buying a used Kubota BX2200 with a loader. He would then call me weekly and tell me everything he used that little Kubota for. It was so much easier for him to get on, and more compact and maneuverable, that he found way more uses for it than his 8N. He had significant mobility issues and could only walk/stand for about 5 minutes at a time. So he used the ATV and now his Subcompact tractor a lot.

When I'm older, in my 70s or 80s, God willing, I will live that long, I will own another Subcompact tractor.

Like your Dad, I got to the point (70) where I had trouble getting off and on my YM1700. Moving to the Yanmar SA425 was a blessing. Adding the hydraulic top link made a huge difference.

 

[mmaliga]

I call it "Adaptive Equipment". A lot cheaper than the medical supply houses, and definitely a lot more effective!

 

[CalG]

I call it "Adaptive Equipment". A lot cheaper than the medical supply houses, and definitely a lot more effective!

Whenever I feel the need for another piece of equiment, I rationalize (to my wife mostly) "If it saves a trip to the ER, it will be money ahead". She mostly agrees, but then counters with "At your age, you shouldn't be doing that sort of thing".
She IS right, but I can't seem to stop.

Remember, At our age, "A dollar saved is a dollar wasted"!