Fertilizer/Lime Spreader Update

[D&D Farm]

Hey and thanks for putting up with me........Anyway the saga of the "Bumper Buddy" spreader continues..................After MANY hours of research online, in person down at the feed stores, on the phone, and personal observation I chose the "Bumper Buddy" manufactured by On Time Wildlife Feeders.........http://www.ontimefeeders.com/bumper.html </P>


I actually ordered it from ......http://www.stevenstractor.com/ .........talk to Brent............because they are the only ones who fabricate a choice of mounting brackets that I could find to fit MY needs........Specifically, a mount/bracket that will go on the tailgate of the RTV..............</P>


Got the order for $169 in a very timely fashion................I had talked to Sheila at On Time several times in my research and found her very helpful and honest..................Stevens was the sameway with a very Christian spirit..................</P>


Putting the unit together was a bit of a challenge as their directions are not exactly clear and I had been shipped a hardware bag for use on another device................Talked toSheila about the hardware and the "hows" about my assembly questions..............POLITE AND GRACIOUS..........Got it together and installed.............The bracket is perfect except I didnt like the way that it for sure would mar the paint on the tailgate............Brent and I had discussed this and I ended upcuttingthin strips of rubber horse stall matting to silicone in place onto the bracketwhere the bracket comes into contact with the tailgate.................PERFECT</P>


OK..............test time................Loaded up the RTV with lime and fertilizer....................WHOOOOOOOHA..........sideways on the 20 degree slope in 4WD and low creepin along..............loaded the hopper..............one bag........my golly look at thing go........2nd bag..............did what took me hours by hand...............3rd bag..............BLEW A FUSE................shucks, the new wiring panel/harness that wefabricated has a short...............NO after trouble shooting with a 30A fuse..............with thespreader motor coming onat full speed foran instant and then bogging down...................it isnt the wiring harness............................IT's the NEW MOTOR with a BUMPER BUDDY LIFETIME WARRANTY........try saying that 12 times...............talk about dissapointing.........................</P>


This morning.............Called On Time..........talked to Sheila...................GRACIOUS, KIND,CONSIDERATE.............I will have a replacement motor tomorrow and other customer satisfying offers....................COULD NOT ASK BETTER.............yes, a bit of a dissapointment to say the least upon initial use...............BUT..............Excellent service with a great product..............</P>


Thanks for listening as I vent and tell the story; but have learned to get it out of me........Now I can get out there and get my garden tilled..........We top coat with compost straight from the floor of the goat sheds...Tomatos8 feet tall, okra 10 feet.........on and on but GOOD STUFF.....thats another thread though but the RTV gets into the sheds perfectly and dumps onto the garden as a spreader .........God Bless...........Dennis </P>

 

[TWO GUNS]

Dennis,</P>


Glad you got that off your chest !!! Don't need to hold that in ~~~</P>


Anyway, That's why I use ON TIME products, for service is everything. And found out threw the years dealing with this company. You couldn't ask God for better folks >>>>></P>


Doing the deer management thing on the farm. I have many, many auto deer feeders, from every manufactor on the planet, but , as time goes by, and one of the " OTHERS" go ka-put, I always replace it with the On Time products, for reasons of great products and SUPERIOR SERVICE. We all know, these things are man-made, and things can & will go wrong. BUT, it's up to the maufactor to make things better, Just like they do with you and I >>>>.</P>


What is so great about this company, I have their telephone number in my cell phone, if and when I'm out in the swamps / woods / fields doing my thing with the deer, and find something messed up, tore up, or just out of wack, they are no more than a phone call away. Next day, replacement part are in and back in business with the feeders. We have Black Bear & wild hog troubles down here, and let me make this statement, they can tear up some equipment ... But, knowing I have On Time just a phone call away, it saves lives, and saves my blood pressure from going threw the roof !!!!!</P>


Happy you got your situation fixed up ~~~~ Let us know how everything else works out !!!!</P>

 

[bczoom]

Glad to hear you'll be back in business soon.

We will want a full report once things calm down. In particular, I'd like to see pics of your tailgate protection as well as whether having to hop off/on the RTV to open the dump gate is an issue.

[quote user="D&D Farm"]We top coat with compost straight from the floor[/quote]
I read that 3 times before I finally got it right. I thought you said "We top <u>goats</u> with compost" and was wondering what the heck you were doing... Is this a new winter weather protection system for animals I haven't heard of?

 

[D&D Farm]

Hey............you guys crack me up ....................thank God I am blessed with folks like you to keep my serenity intact...............still laughin..........thanks.......Dennis

 

[D&D Farm]

Hey Guys........Just a bit of an update on the spreader saga...................</P>


Got the replacement motor from On Time 2 days after I reported the problem to them........Easy to replace the motor and adjust it........................</P>


Yesterday, my wife and I went down to the pature and did the job. She volunteered to ride along with me and jump out to turn off the dump gate on the spreader when necessary. I do need to rig up some kind of linkage to be able to do this from the seat; but I enjoy working on stuff with her so maybe that is the blessing about that...................</P>


Anyway.............In previous posts I have discussed about going across the slope as I felt that this would be the best way to preserve the soil...............Was afraid that going up and down the slope would cause to much damage.............ONCE AGAIN THE RTV PROOVES IT's WORTH............After going across the slope for a pass or so, spreading 15-20 feet, I got into a place where I needed to go up and down the slope.....................NO DAMAGE to the soil........The traction in 4 wheel low just chugged up and down the slope with zero slippage............thereby NO damage..........In fact, it seems there are fewer tracks left afterwards when going up and down.........Perhaps, the slight sideways slipping causes there to be tracks left.............</P>


Did the entire pasture with lime and fert in an amazing small amount of time...............So......would I go through this again................YOU BET.............the spreader works, yes there are and were glitches; but to be able to cover 5 acres in a little over an hour where by hand it isnt done or takes a day is worth anything..............OK................now the next project.................God Bless.....Dennis</P>

 

[bczoom]

Glad to hear all is now well!!!!

My preference is to go up and down when I can. The balance on all 4 tires seems better.

 

[TWO GUNS]

I agree with you Dennis, the spreader / broadcaster is a big plus. Like I said before, have several of these On Time Spreaders, along with some more " fancy " models from other manufactures.... Yes, you do on the On Times have to get out and shut off the funnel gate. On some of the others, one has a cable draw, the other a rod linkage, but all in all, still go and grab up the On Time, it just seems to go with the flow so much better, easier to hook up & intallation, on & off , and didn't cost but half the price of the so called more advanced models from others ~~~</P>


<FONT face=Arial size=2> </FONT><FONT color=#ff0000 size=6><FONT face=JohnHancock>~~~~ Two Guns ~~~~ </FONT></FONT></P>

 

[ez chair]

Dennis, I use an automatic circuit breaker on mine. Sometimes my motor uses a little more juice when it starts, sticky firtilizer. The circuit breaker trips then automaticly resets. They are used in all the large trucks. I get mine at NAPA. Plugs into fuse connector. No mods needed. Costs $3 to $5.