Belated introduction

[Jake0030 47]

Hi everyone, Ive made a few posts and received really helpful advice and feedback. What I haven't done is made an introduction.

 

My avatar and my member name are actually that of my faithful companion, Jake, the fearless Miniature Pincer/Chihuahua mix. My name is John and I live in Oceana County, MI. Anyone who lives here knows how bad the winter of 2018 was and it was particularly bad in my area. For what ever reason, a storm system settled in over a 3 county area including mine and just hovered there for a week. We got record snow and too much of it in too short an amount of time. I killed my old Allis Chalmers which already had numerous issues and being short on funds, had no choice but to purchase a garden tractor. Not only do I have acreage that needs mowing because of the tick problem out here, but keeping my driveway which is probably about 200 yards long in the winter is a must.

 

I absolutely dreaded the realization of having to buy a garden tractor. As I have said a few times in my posts, The relatively new snapper I bought worked ok for a season and than went to crap. After trying to repair the thing myself I made numerous visits to have it repaired by specialists. Nothing worked, the thing was just garbage. On one trip when I brought it to a tractor supply company to have it fixed, there were tons of brand new Husqvarnas mixed in with older brands of garden tractors waiting to be repaired. My neighbor's relatively new craftsman that looked brand new also went to crap after it's first use. This pretty much sold me on never getting another garden tractor again, but necessity requires one to do things they don't want to do and fate had a pleasant surprise waiting for me.

 

I went online and began my search for something I didn't believe existed, a quality built, reliable garden tractor. I saw a couple of Wheel horses on Craigs List and decided to see what the online consensus was. Red Square was not one of the websites I originally went to. What I found both with people who owned Wheel Horses and other brands of garden tractors was an absolute lack of any negative comments about Wheel Horse. People had their preferences for Wheel Horse or other brands, but even people who preferred other garden tractors had nothing bad to say about them. I was very skeptical, but kept researching. Things like ease of implement exchange, cast iron and talk of quality built engines kept popping up, even from people who's first choice wasn't Wheel Horse.

 

So my mind was made up. I found one that I knew I was getting a great deal on and would at least get me through the winter. I never understood the hype about Harley Davidson Motorcycles until I rode a friend's. Then I got it. I don't ride motorcycles anymore, but I was and remain a Honda fan, but I understood instantly when I rode that Harley that there was nothing else on earth like it. Even though I would never buy one, I understood instantly why people love them. My first time operating a Wheel Horse was a similar experience. I was surprised by the power and speed and how smooth and quiet my 312-8 was. And boy did she ever plow the driveway with ease. The more I work on My wheel horse and the more I learn, The more impressed I become. I have quickly fallen in love with this brand and will be a Wheel Horse owner for life. In fact, Even though I planned to get a new tractor in the future to pull my Woods L306, I am now seriously considering modding it to be a self powered pull behind mowing deck for a Wheel Horse. No doubt I have contracted WHA disease.

 

I Have gotten so much helpful info from the forum and from members. I plan on becoming a supporter in the very near future. Thanks for all the Help Everyone. I'm happy I found Red Square, grateful for the creators who made it and maintain it and happy for the warm, friendly and helpful responses I have received. Thanks Everyone, Glad to be a member!

 

Edited April 4, 2018 by Jake0030

[Jerry77 1,218]

  again John...

[JPWH 6,047]

Great Introduction!

[roadapples 6,983]

Yup, you're hooked... and

[Ed Kennell 38,411]

 to the   again Jake.........sorry John, but being an old dog, I'll probably call you Jake forever.

[AMC RULES 37,134]

[WHX?? 48,932]

 John & Jake

[elcamino/wheelhorse 9,329]

Welcome and you will become addicted to . Be careful horses multiply , started out with one on 2015 ,now have 4 with one on the way. You need a horse for every attachment ( if you are my age ) and just because. Happy hunting for you next horse.

[KC9KAS 4,741]

@Jake0030  and the same for your master, John!

[jay bee 906]

again Jake and John.  Very nice introduction.  You won't find a better place for WH info nor will you find nicer people on the interweb!!!  Did you get any of that snow today?  We got maybe a couple inches down here in Kazoo but not enough to push or blow.  Pretty much melting as it hits the pavement.  There is a fellow in Crystal, MI (a coupe hours east of you) that advertises on CL all the time that has a lot of WH Tractors, Implements and assorted parts if you get in the mood for a road trip.  I haven't gotten over there yet but it is on my short list of things to do.

Again, welcome and we're glad you're here.

Jim

[953 nut 55,538]

                  Great introduction.                    

[SylvanLakeWH 25,730]

 

Good to see yet another Michigander!

[Jake0030 47]

Thanks Everyone and even if it seems weird, please just call me by my member name: Jake. We got about 4 inches but with near 20 mile per hour winds, the drift got up to a foot in some areas while other areas were cleared down to an inch or so. A lot of it melted by late afternoon. Not enough to plow. Felt bad for all the robins in my front yard scratching at the few patches of dirt where winds and melt opened up some areas of grass.

[edgro 677]

10 hours ago, SylvanLakeWH said:

 

Good to see yet another Michigander!

Second that