Attaching the 6-bag super spreader onto the 3-point linkage and PTO of the tractor wasn’t easy for someone who didn’t understand the devices. The two main lifting arms had to match the width and height of the brackets on the spreader, the angle adjusting arm had to be right so the PTO meshed with the drive to spin the thrower, and the spreader should lift up straight and not bounce around when operating. There were telescopic arms with pins and big screws for distance adjustment and I didn’t know whether I had all the required bits.
By the time I had the spreader in position on the tractor I could have spread the pile by hand and it would have taken less physical effort. I knew I had to do it though otherwise someone would say “why did you waste money on that tractor”. I pulled the lever to raise the spreader. There was just a loud humming noise but no action. I tried to raise the massive blade on the front of the tractor. Same result. Clearly the hydraulics had expired. I shouldn’t have bought the tractor. It turned out the hydraulic oil tank was empty and after a refill everything worked, though hesitantly at first.
I bounced the tractor the 1.5 km or so up to the blue-tarpaulin pile and started loading. There are a lot of shovels-full in 6 bags and the spreader lip was high. I bounced the loaded tractor back to the River Paddock and we were away. The spreader was fantastic covering an acre in no time. By mid-afternoon I had the whole Paddock done and the pile had enough left for a couple more runs.
I was so cocky. I decided to take a short cut back through the Middle and Top Paddocks to the diminished pile and leave the tractor there overnight and finish off tomorrow. The route by the Long Paddock road was too far. That season was wet, the creeks were flowing strongly and the river had been in flood twice. It was really quite a good season to apply fertilisers. No problems through the Paddocks, the tractor pulled beautifully, until we had to slow down approaching the pile from a new angle, down a steep slope. The brakes didn’t do anything but still no problems as I was in control. At the bottom, the ground wobbled and bounced as we started to cross it, the surface broke, and quite quickly the whole tractor sank right down to the engine. The big blade at the front was fully immersed in wet soil. A spout of water a metre high burst out of the ground at the side. We were going nowhere. It was time for a cup of tea anyway.
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