I was on the struggle bus most of yesterday. It started out ok welding two D-rings (repurposed) onto the front weight bracket that I bought last year. I used 7018 rod, beveled the loop to get good penetration, and made multiple passes. The D-rings are for trailering the tractor and so far that's the only part of this project that has gone well.
I thought that the Kubota weight bracket and Kubota "brush guard" would play nice together but that isn't going to happen. Initially I was supporting the brush guard with a floor jack and blocks and trying to lift up and bolt the weight bracket in place through the guard. That proved to be extremely difficult and finally I removed the guard only to realize that the suitcase weights won't fit on the bracket with the guard in place. I don't know if Kubota suitcase weights would fit but it's moot at this point.
Next up was to bolt the bracket to the tractor sans the brush guard. Not ideal but I can live with that and make up a custom guard or modify the current one over the summer in time for forestry work in the fall. So after getting the weight bracket installed I put one weight on and although there's minimal clearance between the weight and the hood it fits. Great, now to get the other seven weights on. Nope! The weights are a little oversized and they interfere with the steel lip that runs around the base of the hood. I bought the weights from Everything Attachments but they're made in India so it should come as no surprise that the "Kubota" weights aren't plug and play. Now I have to modify all ten weights by adding a groove or notch to provide clearance. I must have moved 3,000lb of steel by hand yesterday afternoon/evening getting the weights off the trailer, test fitting them and moving them back to the trailer. Who needs to pay for a gym membership!!
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