LawnBoy UTLTV aka MULE

Thanks- but I didn't actually MAKE the hubs. They are high speed trailer (highway) hubs. Seals, greasable, tapered roller bearings- the whole works. I welded matching trailer spindles onto the steering knuckles and then just bolted the hubs on.

Oh ok i might do the same thing with my mower so it will be easier to find tires and wheels for it.

Yes- it really opens the door for wheel choices. 4 on 4 is a dead common pattern. Trailer wheels, some ATV wheels, golf cart stuff, Jr Dragster and go kart stuff. Probably the most common pattern on the planet. Lotsa sizes, lotsa styles. Next, I'm going to be working on building or modifying some hubs for the rear. I have some wider 8x7 trailer wheels that the ATV tires I'm using will mount right up on.

Doc Sprocket wrote:

Yes- it really opens the door for wheel choices. 4 on 4 is a dead common pattern. Trailer wheels, some ATV wheels, golf cart stuff, Jr Dragster and go kart stuff. Probably the most common pattern on the planet. Lotsa sizes, lotsa styles. Next, I'm going to be working on building or modifying some hubs for the rear. I have some wider 8x7 trailer wheels that the ATV tires I'm using will mount right up on.

Yeah im going with 4 lug car tires.

nice front tires i also got 4 bolt hubs on the front of my mower there from a honda fourtrax the bearings just pop out and i had some bushings that fit right in i plan on replacing the bushings with high speed bearings istill need to buy some better 4 bolt hubs for the rear of my mower the ones i made i didnt like so i think ima buy some insted then get 4 bolt wheel spacers

hey doc, i did a vid on my hubs, they work good

Great! Link?

Yeah do you got a link

Nicely done! How much fun did you have trying to get the holes aligned perfectly so the wheels would run true?

You might want to tack-weld the bolts in, so they stay put- you won't have to fiddle with them and try to hold them place while you mount and dismount rims.

5 on 4 1/2", eh? Nice! A very common pattern- lets you use 5-bolt utility trailer wheels, as well as Ford small truck wheels.

Well, got some wiring done today. Tied the taillights into the AC lighting circuit. On the DC side, I ran a new circuit thru a fuse and a new switch, to run the auxiliary lights. While I was at it, I fell victim to the "because I can" syndrome, and wired up the brake lights, through a motorcycle brake light switch. Both the brake lights and auxiliary lights are tied in through the ignition switch, so that even if you leave the light switch on, turning the ignition off kills the lights. Also, the brake lights run through the auxiliary light switch, so that they only activate if the lights are switched on. Since I had them, I swapped a set of LED taillight bulbs in. Pics after dark....

Oh, one other thing I did, I finally got the hood mounted. Factory clip at the back, hood pins at the front.

For your viewing pleasure...

perfect pictures at perfect timing

Oh, man... THAT was FUNNY! Okay- I want to submit a banner, using the pose in pic#2, above. But I had to retake the photo zoomed out a bit for resizing. I drove back over there with the camera, but got the tractor a couple inches too far to the left. I started to go OVER! Faced with rolling, I jumped off the low side...

...Into the POND!!! My shoes are soaked! LMAO. Fortunately, the tractor didn't roll, and out comes the winch cable again!

Doc Sprocket wrote:

Oh, man... THAT was FUNNY! Okay- I want to submit a banner, using the pose in pic#2, above. But I had to retake the photo zoomed out a bit for resizing. I drove back over there with the camera, but got the tractor a couple inches too far to the left. I started to go OVER! Faced with rolling, I jumped off the low side...

...Into the POND!!! My shoes are soaked! LMAO. Fortunately, the tractor didn't roll, and out comes the winch cable again!

that would of sucked big time ive rolled sarge while floating him across a pond it really sucks have to drain the engine of water and oil mix crack the tranny open and make sure no water got in there god its a pain

That woulda messed up my evening for sure. Well- I'll say this: When I DO go to submit my banner, there's a helluva good story to go with it!

Doc Sprocket wrote:

That woulda messed up my evening for sure. Well- I'll say this: When I DO go to submit my banner, there's a helluva good story to go with it!

LOL yea a great story lol i wish i could make a banner but im not very umm good with software lol

Me neither. I'm messing with it right now, but haven't got a clue.

Night-Bright!

very bright how far can u see with them

ok what kind of lights are you using lol them are some bright mofo's

They're definitely bright enough! I can see much farther than I need to. Funny thing is, they're just the factory lights in the hood (4 1/2" 12v sealed beam utility, 35W) and the ones on the bumper are the exact same lamps in rubber housings. The factory headlights come off the AC lighting coil, the bumper lights are run off the DC side.

Those are better then my leds
Lol

i need HID's on my mower lol my lights suck well the ones from the factory the ones on my hood work pretty well

Yeah- the particular type of composite lamp your tractor uses form the factory are nothing to write home about for sure. True HID's are pretty expensive, and somewhat overrated for the purpose.

The greatest tips I can give you to make the most of whatever lights you get is to pay more attention to the circuitry than most people would. Wires that are of too small a gauge cause a power loss, and therefore dimmer lights. Go with larger wire than you think you need. There's charts out there that will tell you based on wattage or current draw, how large the conductor needs to be.

If you have a pretty good draw on the circuit (say, 2 lights greater than about 40 Watts), I strongly suggest the use of a relay. You would use smaller wiring through the switch and coil side of the relay, and larger conductors on the actual lighting circuit. This will prevent your switch from damage caused by higher current, and will maximize the light's output potential by delivering all the current they need.

And remember folks- Install a fuse!

Doc Sprocket wrote:

Yeah- the particular type of composite lamp your tractor uses form the factory are nothing to write home about for sure. True HID's are pretty expensive, and somewhat overrated for the purpose.

The greatest tips I can give you to make the most of whatever lights you get is to pay more attention to the circuitry than most people would. Wires that are of too small a gauge cause a power loss, and therefore dimmer lights. Go with larger wire than you think you need. There's charts out there that will tell you based on wattage or current draw, how large the conductor needs to be.

If you have a pretty good draw on the circuit (say, 2 lights greater than about 40 Watts), I strongly suggest the use of a relay. You would use smaller wiring through the switch and coil side of the relay, and larger conductors on the actual lighting circuit. This will prevent your switch from damage caused by higher current, and will maximize the light's output potential by delivering all the current they need.

And remember folks- Install a fuse!

yes cant forget the fuse's i was thinking about getting hid's but then i remebered my factory lights where pretty dim with the old engine and i got a high reving monster opposed twin so there is no telling how bright my lights are gonna be lol i will just have to wait and see