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Post by jimmyt on May 27, 2008 1:35:57 GMT -5
Hey, Mark--just wondering how your shoulder surgery came out, been mighty quiet out of Ohio lately. Hope it gets ya back in the saddle... Thanks for the welcome Rob its looks like you have a butt kicker of a forum here most definitely an asset to the owners of Chinese tractors Theres alot to learn about all the different brands good & bad. I've been reading about all you & your wifes adventures with the Kama & her Jima and it looks like you have the capabilities of turning your 554 & your wifes Jima into top-notch tractors. So far i've narrowed the playing field down to DF & Agtrac but i'am still looking. I wont be able to buy one till next yr. when I lose one of my big monthly bank payments. Biggest problem is I haven't worked since Dec. 07 slipped on the ice & tore my rotator cuff and the DOT wont let me drive my truck with one arm. I go in next week for surgery for the second time ,maybe they can get it fixed this time. Its going to be done at the Cleveland Clinic so things will probably be ok , i'am into my insurance c. for $20K so far. So thanks for starting this great forum Rob its what owners of these tractors needed. Mark
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quikduk
CTW Life Member
Dog House
Posts: 552
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Post by quikduk on May 27, 2008 10:56:26 GMT -5
At first I tried to buy one through eBay, in Arizona. Missed by a couple thousand. Contacted that seller, and they wouldn't have any more in until June or July. Then Eric called me, had one in stock, and I went for it. After I already sent the check, a guy in Acton called me too, which would've saved me a few hundred miles, but cost a few hundred more $$$. I'm happy with the sale and service, too, plus it got me somewhere I hadn't been before. Where are you located, Ken? I can't count the times I've been up over Tehachapi Pass, both for recreation and work... Edit: I found you on the map--south of Phelan? I worked one summer at the Cajon Maintenance Station for CalTrans, pretty close to ya! I really liked the sales and service from Keno Tractors. I will say that they, as well as Affordable and Ranch Hand Supply and a few other dealers on this site are a big help. I am a bit south-east of Phelan right before you go over the top of "The Pass". Give me a PM some time if you are in the area and want to stop by. Ken
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3RRL
Administrator
Huge Kama
Posts: 2,027
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Post by 3RRL on May 27, 2008 19:47:57 GMT -5
my turn here I guess. I live in Cheyenne, Wyoming on 60 acres of prime SE Wyoming dirt. I was born in Wheatland WY, which is 70 miles north of my current house. My wife and I have a beautiful baby girl that is 6 months old now and if I do say so myself the cutest baby ever. I purchased an Agking 4540 Tractor from Triple D in Texas in January after having our mile long driveway drift in with snow over Christmas and New years. Christmas wasn't bad as I could get the Ford powerjoke out during those storms but over new years the drifts were about 4-5 foot deep and the truck just wouldn't climb out of the house. After tearing up the front end of the truck up (four chains and to much go pedal) and having my buddy bring his L series 39 horser out and digging for 8 hours to clear enough of the drive to get out, the wife told me to find a tractor. I tried the local orange dealer and green dealer but just couldn't bring my self to spend that much money. So back to the internet for some serious tractor shoppin. Found that the best deal on the horse power tractor i wanted was in Texas. HOLY CRAP thats a far drive. So my buddy and I headed out on Friday at 7:00 pm (got a late start as I was putting the front end back together on my truck, (see above for chains and go pedal reference) and headed for Dodd City Texas. Got to Dodd City at noon on Saturday picked up the new tractor fitted with the Koyker 195 and new trailer and headed back to Wyoming, another 900 miles to go. Got back to good ole WYO on Sunday at 4 in the afternoon and slept for 12 hours straight. Whew So now I have my tractor & ready for some snow ..........wouldn't ya know it we didn't get another storm for 3 months. Oh well at least I am ready for next year. we have approximately 5 acres of stuff needing mowed and a mile of driveway to maintain along with landscaping and my need to build a motocross track and a walking track around the other 55 acres. The wife wants a garden and some other stuff done so maybe the 45 horse is a little overkill but after watching my buddy's 39 horse Bota struggle with the snow i decided to go bigger, and I am glad i did as I have already found the limits of my tractor and am wishing I would have gone bigger. Now the real problem is that I found this site and all the cool shit you guys can build with your tools and I now need to get a welder, steel stock, cutoff saws, grinders, lathe's, CNC machines and so on to try and keep up. i am continually amazed at what some of you on here can build. 3rrl, larry, flick, kid just to name a few. I wish I had your talents and skill. all for now, I will have numerous stupid questions in the future later Jay Hi Jay and welcome to our little board. I'm sure you'll find some interesting reading and lots of service tips for your Agking. That's a hellofa turn around trip you did to Texas, man I'll bet you were beat. I've driven a couple times through Cheyenne in the truck while hunting and also on the Harley on my way to Sturgis. It's been many years since my last visit, but I love Wyoming. If ever there was a place that personifies the great American cowboy image, Wyoming is it IMHO. Rob-
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vt365
CTW Member
Posts: 13
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Post by vt365 on May 27, 2008 21:21:55 GMT -5
Rob, your right about being beat after that trip. Wyoming is a great place to be that is for sure. not to many people and lots of stuff to do. If you are ever through give a holler and we can discuss what you can build for my tractor. The add ons you put on your tractor would look real good on my new toy.
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Post by baknblack on Jun 1, 2008 7:44:48 GMT -5
Hello to all the new members that have joined in the last few months. I've been busy with my farm hobby and haven't had much time to read. Winter is better for chatting for me.
Most of the board members that have been around for a bit know me.
My name is Dwayne and I live near Louisville, Ky. I like Rob have a Kama only in the smaller 354 version. If you have any questions about Kama's I will try to help.
My tractor held together long enough to get my tobacco in the ground and sometime in the next few weeks I'm going to be tearing my front end down to see what I broke.
I was going to try making some hay with some used equipment but, broke a shaft on my mower. Had to get the neighbor to finish it for 1/2. Going to make another attempt on the 2nd cutting.
Stay tuned to the Kama folder!!!
Dwayne
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Post by oleblu72 on Jun 9, 2008 22:47:42 GMT -5
Hey, Mark--just wondering how your shoulder surgery came out, been mighty quiet out of Ohio lately. Hope it gets ya back in the saddle... Thanks for the welcome Rob its looks like you have a butt kicker of a forum here most definitely an asset to the owners of Chinese tractors Theres alot to learn about all the different brands good & bad. I've been reading about all you & your wifes adventures with the Kama & her Jima and it looks like you have the capabilities of turning your 554 & your wifes Jima into top-notch tractors. So far i've narrowed the playing field down to DF & Agtrac but i'am still looking. I wont be able to buy one till next yr. when I lose one of my big monthly bank payments. Biggest problem is I haven't worked since Dec. 07 slipped on the ice & tore my rotator cuff and the DOT wont let me drive my truck with one arm. I go in next week for surgery for the second time ,maybe they can get it fixed this time. Its going to be done at the Cleveland Clinic so things will probably be ok , i'am into my insurance c. for $20K so far. So thanks for starting this great forum Rob its what owners of these tractors needed. Mark Sorry Jimmyt I haven'y been on much since surgery. I was wiped out for about a wk and a half, but they did a good job on me at the Cleveland Clinic, the doctor was happy, he was able to do more on my shoulder than he thought he could. I'am getting alittle more brave i can take this contraption off by myself that they have on my arm ,just can't get it back on yet. I have 4 more weeks in this sling, then their going to put another sling on me fo 2 more wks after that ,then therapy starts pass the pain pills please.Got out of the house today and helped my cousin put the BH on the F;;d 800, it was 95 and humid, i've been a couch potato for 7 months and that was alittle to hot. i was looking for a cooler place.Thanks for thinking of me Jimmy,talk to ya later. Mark
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Post by Rich Waugh on Oct 29, 2008 21:00:27 GMT -5
I'm not quite sure if I'm doing this right, but here goes:
I'm an almost-owner of a Jinma JM304 with FEL, bush hog and box blade. I should be getting my new crate tractor in about two weeks if all goes well. Then comes the fun of assembling and prepping it.
As for me, I'm just a whisker shy of 60 years old, married for the fifth time, sort of. That is, I remarried my third ex-wife about six years ago and things couldn't be better. We'd been married initially over thirty years ago, got divorced because we were young and dumb, and went our separate ways for a couple of decades. I was married to a real harridan for the longest fifteen years of my life until I got desperate and divorced her. She vowed to take everything I had and pretty much did. House, business, money, etc. And, as I told her, it was worth every penny of it. :-)
At the time, I was a police sergeant here in the Virgin Islands. A short while after the divorce, I got in touch with my ex-and now current wife Sally and we just fell back together as naturally as if we'd never been apart. Sally moved down here and we got married again in what was probably the shortest marriage ceremony on record: "Do you two really want to be married again? Yes. Okay, I pronounce you man and wife." Done in sixty seconds.
I was originally a silversmith, having obtained my BFA in Metalsmithing an d Jewelry Design in 1971, though I switched to law enforcement after only a year of working as an active silversmith. Seven years of that, in my hometown of Boulder, Colorado, then I took up signpainting and did that for ten years in Phoenix. That's where I met and married the harridan. Left a bad taste in my mouth for Phoenix ever after. (grin)
When Hurricane Hugo demolished St. Croix in 1989 I was struggling with the sign business due to Charlie Keating's savings and loan debacle having killed off the developers who were my main clientele. My sister-in-law, a Lutheran minister, suggested that I put my construction skills to use and volunteer to assist in Saint Croix for a few weeks, which I did. Shortly after, I sold the house, closed the sign shop and moved to St. Croix. After working construction here for a year, I got talked into going back into law enforcement work and joined the VIPD.
I worked at the VIPD for seventeen years, attaining the rank of Lieutenant and worked as an assistant to the Commissioner of Police the last few years. When an election year changeover brought an incompetent to the office of Commissioner, I took early retirement to save what little sanity I had left. By then, I had re-married Sally and we lived in a tiny rented cottage on the site of a historical museum. Still do, in fact.
I decided, while recuperating from a ruptured gall baldder that left me with septicemia and gangrene, to get back into my metal working. This go-around though, I went with blacksmithing and built a small shop on the farm surrounding the museum property. The owner of the farm is a nice widow who lets me build what I want and only lets me pay for it by fixing things for her. I do that gladly, and would even if I was paying rent. She farms about ten acres of mangoes and avocados, though the place is overrun with jungle since she can hardly afford to pay for quarterly mowing of the fields. So, I'm getting the tractor so I can mow the place, maintain her road, and do the same for a few others in the immediate area.
Since the tractor isn't a money-making proposition, I had to limit the expense as much as possible, therefore a Chinese tractor. I have a fair amount of Chinese tools such as one of my TIG welders, numerous power tools, milling machine, etc, so I have no reason to doubt that the tractor will do the job for me.
I'm really looking forward to getting my new toy, errr tool, and putting it to use. Having this forum group to ask questions of and gain insights from is going to make things much easier, I know. I moderate and contribute on several blacksmithing forums and this group is just as friendly and helpful as the blacksmiths I interact with. Life is good!
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Post by baknblack on Dec 31, 2008 15:27:27 GMT -5
Interesting life there Rich!!!!
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Post by stumppuller on Jun 28, 2009 19:41:28 GMT -5
OK.... I've been a member for about a year now & have a JM 284 with various accessories I purchased to help develop a new homestead in Gilroy CA. I purcashed 12.24 acres on Mt. Madonna 26 years ago with the thought of someday building a home there. Well that someday is now, now that I'm 65 & retired. I've been director of automation engineering for a hard disk (computer) manufacturing company for the last 12 years of my career. My interests are inventing, R/C airplanes, Dual Sport motorcycling, CNC machining, woodworking, metalworking, a bit of gardening, cooking and restoring a '52 MGTD (oh, and futsing around with tractors)
My other tractors were/are a very large Farmall & a Cat D2 wide track orchard tractor which I converted to a bulldozer. Mind you, I currently live on a very small suburban lot in San Jose, CA. My new digs is mostly Redwoods & Oak with Madrone, Bay, Tan Oak and Manzanita rounding out the mix.
I'm building an energy efficient SIPS (sturcturally insulated foam panels) home with radiant floor heating...1,800 sq.ft. 3 rooms, 2 baths with a very large kitchen & great room.
My garage/shop also has radiant heating in the floor so I'll be motivated to work on my projects when the temp dips into the 40's. Capturing solar energy, hydronic & PV will be an on-going project with this home.
The folks here have been a great help in resolving questions & issues with my tractor & I hope to be able to contribute as much to others.
Bruce
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FlyHiFlyLo
Administrator
2007 Jinma 554LE
Posts: 425
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Post by FlyHiFlyLo on Jun 28, 2009 20:20:11 GMT -5
Are you going to start a thread in the Construction Projects? I'm going to add a hybrid solar hot water to my project.
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Post by pipingmad on May 8, 2010 17:23:13 GMT -5
Hello,
Been looking on here for a while now as I am about to purchase a tractor.
I live in Gympie, state of Queensland in Australia. About 3000km from Flick.
I have 6 acres of sloping land with 1 cow and 4 chooks on it at the moment. We were lucky enough to buy our place (4 bedroom brick house, 3 bay shed, tanks etc) when the market was low back in 2000. We probably couldn't afford to buy our own house in current prices.
Have a wife and 2 kids and have been a Police officer for 20 years. Joined them when I was 19. Would love to be doing something else but it is a stable job with OK money and I can retire in another 20 years.
I will be on here a bit as I am looking at heaps of different tractors.
Talk soon.
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Post by bracabric on May 9, 2010 9:55:35 GMT -5
Welcome Pipingmad, good to have someone else from the southern hemisphere on the forum. I am sure you will find lots of information here about which Tractors are best for such and such. I bought a Jinma 354 a few years ago for general purposes and am very pleased with it . Only four Chooks? having a family of four do you draw lots for the eggs ? Again welcome to the "club" Dick
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Post by Rich Waugh on May 9, 2010 15:53:14 GMT -5
Welcome to CTW! Sounds like you've got a great place to live. That retirement sounds pretty tough, though. I'm a retired Police Lieutenant myself, but I retired after only twenty years here in the Virgin Islands. I don't get a big pension, but it helps. They'd have given me the boot in another year anyway, because I was turning sixty. Couldn't imagine hanging in until I was eighty! At that age, even if I could remember who the criminals were I wouldn't be able to catch them from my walker. (grin)
You raising the chooks for eating or for eggs?
Rich Waugh - (no relation to Steve)
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Post by pipingmad on May 24, 2010 6:03:31 GMT -5
The chooks are for eggs, we don't eat many so 4 chooks are enough. I would to raise some for meat but the missus does not like the idea of the killing, cleaning etc, considering they are cheap at the supermarket to get already cooked.
I will try to put some pictures of the place up here.
Test drove a second hand DF254 (East wind) today, supposed to have 81 hrs on it, but noticed the taco and hour meter don't work. Not sure if this is a common problem. East least the dealer is close.
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nuno
CTW Member
Posts: 26
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Post by nuno on Jan 2, 2011 5:22:16 GMT -5
Hello,
my name is Nuno, i am from Germany and new here in the CTW. i am a landscaper and own my first tractor in 2009 crated from China together with a few implements. hope to have a good time here in the CTW.
Regards Nuno
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