Nooby-noob-noob

[REDID 5]

Hi Tractor-wise gurus! 

 

My name is Matt and I just got my first tiny tractor, a WH B 165 5-speed. First a little about me, then why I picked this tractor.

 

I'm originally from Grand Junction (ish) Colorado. I loved growing up in the farms and orchards but didn't realize it until I grew up for real (back then I though big city living was the way to go). Left for the military as soon as graduated high school. Spent 10 in the Navy and 6 more in the Army (ten years of boat riding left me with a deep seated desire to drive a tank and blow stuff up). Got out and worked as a mechanic, then a fabricator, then an industrial mechanic again before using my VA benefits to go back to school. During that time I cultivated my deep love of Jeep trucks, which means a love/hate relationship with all things AMC. I first learned that AMC made little tractors about 5 years ago and ever since then, I figured that if I broke down and got a little tractor, it'd have to be an AMC era Wheel Horse. And there's the rub!

 

I never wanted a little tractor. while my yard is the biggest yard in my neighborhood, it's still only a fraction of an acre and takes little more than half an hour to mow it all with a 21" pusher. I always thought that if I needed to move something I could just use my old wheelbarrow, and snow removal? Heck, that's just an excuse to get some exercise in the cool Colorado air! Yard tractors were for the lazy, or those with more money than gumption. Boy, has my opinion changed, haha!

 

Last couple of weeks I was on month long sabbatical to get some much needed work done around the house. I felled some trees, tilled some dirt, shoveled about 6yd^3 of former front lawn into a big honkin raised garden box. The second time my wheelbarrow fell over (on my foot) my attitude towards a little tractor changed dramatically. Dragging around those chopped up trees and fancy new flagstone by hand in 90+ degree heat started to suck too much for this guy, so I started looking into tiny tractors. It took one afternoon jumping from Sears to Lowe's to Homedepot to realize I'm still not a "new tractor" guy, so off to the craigslist I went! 

 

I set out to find the most bang-for-the-buck for under a grand, and quickly realized there's a pretty big gap in there. There's a decent amount of cheap stuff with problems/limitations and plenty just over $1K that looks pretty decent. This WH was towards the bottom of that range, but left me with some wiggle room for repair/accessory purchases. I had to pull the "Father's Day" card to get the missus to sign off on it though, haha! She only sees another project, not a tool for me to do more chores faster (she may be right). 

 

I have some questions to ask, but I know I should probably ask them in the appropriate forums for the best info, which I'll do If I don't learn what I need to here.

 

1. My sidewalks are 36" wide and "tractordata" claims that WH made a snowblower for this tractor that's 36" wide. Is that true? I've noticed that "tractordata" has some glaring errors and I'm hoping this isn't one of them. 

2. I see that the main difference between my tractor and all the WH tractors in youtube videos is that my PTO is a horizontal pulley instead of a vertical pulley on the right side of the engine. Is this a huge limitation in driven accessories? It seems most new yard/garden tractors have the same PTO arrangement, but their accessories are all way bigger than anything I could use.

3. Rear hitches, what was available for my B165? Right now it's just a stamped steel tongue with a hole in it. 

4. What should I expect from this transaxle? Is it a Peerless 801 (again, tractordata could be right or wrong), and if so, what it the real limitation?

5. Rear tires! Right now it's got 18x9.5x8s. The manual I've found online says that they should be 20x10x10s. How hard is it to find the right size rims? I have no idea how proprietary the wheels are to the shafts of the transaxle. 

 

Anyways, I love my new little tractor and I look forward to using it and learning all I can about it from you swell folks here! Thanks!

[Sparky-(Admin) 21,314]

Welcome to RedSquare Matt! 

  Dig thru our manuals section, I'm sure we have manuals for your tractor, download and print em for free!

 

 

[953 nut 55,155]

                Very good introduction, the attached manual should help confirm what your  can do.

 

[KC9KAS 4,741]

@REDID  to 

[Digger 66 3,478]

Greetings !

[jay bee 896]

to  Matt.  Great introduction!  You've come to the right place for a help and info.

[REDID 5]

Thanks for the warm welcome, folks! Glad to be here and looking forward to all I'll be learnin'!

[REDID 5]

Well schucks! I forgot to say why I chose this particular tractor! 

During my adventures in yard work/exterior home improvement last month (I really hit it hard, like might be in one of those neighborhood show-off tours when it's all done. You know, the things where a bunch of old people drive around looking at other peoples yards.), I realized that while I enjoy mowing my yard with the push mower, it takes a while. It's really apparent when it's hot out. Moving all that dirt manually was even worse. I decided I need something to cut grass quickly and pull a little dump trailer around this summer, with the ability to move snow when winter comes. Once the landscaping is all done I'll have a little apple orchard to care for too. This little tractor looks to meet those requirements!

 

However, I've decided that I'm also going to use it to move dirt. I'm gonna fabricate a sleeve hitch that lifts with the mower lift lever and buy/make a rear blade to scrape my front yard level. I know it's not rated for "ground engaging", but I'm gonna do it anyways.

 

I know a bigger tractor is more appropriate for this one project, but it's not in the cards. Too expensive, too big, and once I'm done shaping the yard, I'm back to the same requirements that lead to choosing this tractor in the first place (on top of the fact that it's an AMC era wheelhorse, that I got delivered with deck for $350). We looked into renting a bobcat or dingo (walk-behind skid steer), but decided to look at other options. The homeowner rate is almost double the commercial rate which I find a little rediculous. I also rented a 9" Verneer woodchipper to turn one of the ash trees I felled into mulch and it was a wreck, spitting out chunks big enough to be firewood and jamming at least twice with every branch. I watched the same model woodchipper make all the mulch I already have so I know that it wasn't right. Didn't inspire confidence in rental equipment. 

 

Here's the landscape plan my wife made up. Right=North.

The south lawn is done, so now I'm working on the East lawn. The goal is pretty with minimal water usage. We want plants to absorb the heat from the sun so just dumping a bunch of colored rocks is out of the question (although we did pick up a pallet of flagstone to take up some space). On a side note, looking at all that scale drawing of my sidewalk I can't believe I've waited this long to think about giving up the shovel.

 

Here's the south lawn looking from the back deck:

 

 

Now with the East lawn, first order of business is getting it graded into shape. I think my little tractor can do it. If the ground is too hard, I'll use my tiller, grade with the tractor, then roll it and repeat until it's how it needs to be. I'll put down fabric and rock for the drainway and my wife can plant all the pretty flowers and bushes.

 

Once my wife's plans are complete, then I can tear down the plank fence dividing the North yard (not pictured in the schematic above), wrap it in a nice split rail fence, put up a small barn and plant 5-7 apple trees. 

 

Aside from that one tiny dirt-moving project, I'm feeling pretty confident that I found the right tractor. My dad came by this weekend and I mentioned that someday I might do a resto on it. He reassured me that the patina is the way it should be for now. Tractors look just as good faded and rusty as they do when new and shiny. Heck, sometimes they even look better.

 

[DennisThornton 4,769]

Welcome! 

Lots to learn right here!