Ranger 800

[slim67 2,740]

Anyone here ever have one of these? I know it’s not the typical tractor we think of when we here Wheelhorse but it’s still part of the product line. Anyway it was free with a snow blade included. Be fun to get it running and see how it cuts.

[Pullstart 63,261]

Looks like it has good bones at least 

 

I like the “electric” on the decal…

[slim67 2,740]

1 hour ago, Pullstart said:

Looks like it has good bones at least 

 

I like the “electric” on the decal…

Almost misleading isn't it? When the previous owner said Ranger , I thought he meant Lawn Ranger !

[wh500special 2,244]

I’ve had several of those.  Completely stripped and restored one of them back before I knew better. 
 

They’re actually not a bad little rider.  Everything on them is either fabricated sheet metal or fiberglass.  Tecumseh engines and Peerless transaxles.  They had a 7 hp rope-start and the 8 hp electric start like you have there. 
 

the little 32” deck cuts pretty nice but really has a hard time discharging the clippings if you’re taking more than the smallest of bites off the lawn.  The brace running across the opening of the discharge chute seems designed to clog it up. 
 

The 39” snow blade isn’t real common.  I think they offered a snowthrower for them too.  And a bagger that hung off the side of the discharge chute that stuck out like on a lawn boy push mower.  There was also a bracket to mount a special weight under the rear seat. 
 

i put a hitch ball on one of them years ago and it was amazingly adroit at pulling a sizable trailer around.  Those little tires grip way better than you’d think when they have some weight on them.  Of course the whole transaxle was wiggling in its mounts which might have pointed at heavy towing as not being the smartest idea. 
 

Every diehard WH guy really should have at least one of the vertical shaft tractors in their collection.  That’s not a bad one to have if you’re after something simple that doesn’t take up a lot of space. 
 

steve 

[Dan.gerous 2,696]

That style are fetching big money over here now, it's almost like we have run out of horizontal shafts and these are the next "big thing".

 

Or more likely the owners are greedy and hoping the brand name is enough.

 

I'm sure they are fine little machines though, wouldn't say no if one became available.

[slim67 2,740]

7 hours ago, wh500special said:

I’ve had several of those.  Completely stripped and restored one of them back before I knew better. 
 

They’re actually not a bad little rider.  Everything on them is either fabricated sheet metal or fiberglass.  Tecumseh engines and Peerless transaxles.  They had a 7 hp rope-start and the 8 hp electric start like you have there. 
 

the little 32” deck cuts pretty nice but really has a hard time discharging the clippings if you’re taking more than the smallest of bites off the lawn.  The brace running across the opening of the discharge chute seems designed to clog it up. 
 

The 39” snow blade isn’t real common.  I think they offered a snowthrower for them too.  And a bagger that hung off the side of the discharge chute that stuck out like on a lawn boy push mower.  There was also a bracket to mount a special weight under the rear seat. 
 

i put a hitch ball on one of them years ago and it was amazingly adroit at pulling a sizable trailer around.  Those little tires grip way better than you’d think when they have some weight on them.  Of course the whole transaxle was wiggling in its mounts which might have pointed at heavy towing as not being the smartest idea. 
 

Every diehard WH guy really should have at least one of the vertical shaft tractors in their collection.  That’s not a bad one to have if you’re after something simple that doesn’t take up a lot of space. 
 

steve 

Thanks for the info. I like the “ before I knew better line” 😂. I don’t think this is a restoration candidate but again I haven’t done a full restoration on any of my tractors. Useable restoration is the term I like to use. I have a corner of the shed to stick it in for now.