Bought another Yanmar - YM186D w Loader

[California]

Too cold to go outside yet so I'm editing photos.

Ten years ago I bought a Yanmar YM240 (US YM2000 equivalent) with loader and backhoe, then in 2009 a YM186D which is smaller and goes under the apple orchard trees much better. (Photo).

I finally located the model I consider ideal here, a YM186D with loader and Power Steering. It will replace the non-loader YM186D. And if I ever find the tiny backhoe that was available for this model, I may not need the YM240 either.

These are all early 1980's models. YM186D is Yanmar's smallest model with Powershift. This the same as an automotive A/T, except with a direct connection from a standard clutch back to the trans in place of a torque converter. (and it stays in whatever gear you select). The advantage is it can be shifted up or down under full load and the internal hydraulic clutches buffer the shift without losing power. This is a huge improvement on the various slopes all over this orchard - operating the YM240 it feels like I make a full stop to shift gears every 200 ft as the slope changes or I change direction. (Thread with photos).

This is just the right size for projects like in this photo. I was on my way down to the family Persimmon tree in the back of the orchard and stopped to pose this photo at the upper Persimmon tree.



I had pulled 300 lbs of Persimmons off the lower tree last week and filled these 3 bins ( 3x 70 lbs) yesterday. After its warm today I expect to pick a similar amount from the tree in the picture.

A few lbs of family-tree fruit goes to family, friends, neighbors, anybody who will take them. Remember the cartoon of anonymous midnight doorstep excess Zucchini dropoffs? . But I take most of the family tree harvest to the Downtown Food Bank in town - a place that hands out food to various homeless vets, street crazies, and I expect some minimum wage people who are just getting by and wouldn't purchase premium fruit. I love being retired, I now have time to do projects like this just for the heck of it.

The next thing to do when I have time is make a removable plywood panel, a carryall, to replace the pipe I put across the scraper box to support the three bins in this picture. Does anyone have photos of such a contraption?

 

[OhioTC18]

That looks great California. Nice find.

 

[California]

Thanks Jerry!

Do I recall correctly, did you have a YM1700 long ago?

 

[OhioTC18]

Yes I did 10 years ago.

 

[winston]

It always warms my heart to hear stories of people sharing with others not quite as fortunate. Thanks for sharing.

I know you will figure out a carry all. Just looking at your box blade it looks as though you could just cut a piece of plywood at least as wide as your blade and not sure how far back you would want to go and then maybe just make a couple of simple j hooks to attach it up around the scarfiers to keep it in place and keep it from cantilevering back.

 

[California]

Thanks Winston.

I hadn't thought to make a platform big enough to worry about cantilevering. I like your idea of a larger platform secured by hooks.

Here's what I used on the first YM186D that doesn't have a loader. (2010 photo). I welded up a forks 'implement' that clips into the Quick Hitch, then put plywood on a pallet for a carryall. That works well to carry fruit and the little household ladder shown here, but I wouldn't carry the 11 ft orchard ladder back there where I can't keep an eye on it as I go under/around obstacles. Carrying the big ladder on the new front loader (previous photo) where I can see it is an improvement.

The new YM186D with loader will always need ballast hanging off the back, so using its scraper box as the basis for a removable rear carryall seems the way to go.

 

[winston]

Off subject, but maybe I won't get arrested. I have been admiring your Persimmon tree and it's fruit. I have a native Persimmon tree out in front of the house. It is usually loaded with fruit and was this year. They are all gone now. No one to my knowledge eats the persimmons off these trees. I know they are very bitter before ripeness and have always heard they are better after the first frost. That is sort of an old wives saying I guess. I am assuming they are a complete different species than what you have. Your fruit is much larger. Ours are normally in the golf ball size.

Years ago, my brother had a pet deer. He had access to a Persimmon tree and would eat the Percimmons. They would for lack of a better term, make him drunk. He would wobble all over the yard. Didn't seem to harm him in the long run. Brother didn't allow him to become addicted though.

 

[Doc]

Congrats on your new addition CA. Looks like another workhorse. And you know the inerds of that model so well that no matter what might need attention you'll be ready and most likely have the know how on what to do. Good luck finding that smaller hoe but it might be better for you not to find it so you have a reason to keep the big brother around for the bigger tasks.

 

[California]

I have a native Persimmon tree ... No one to my knowledge eats the persimmons ... bitter before ripeness and have always heard they are better after the first frost.... Ours are normally in the golf ball size.

...pet deer. .. had access to a Persimmon tree ... make him drunk..

Sounds like you have the native American Persimmon.
https://www.google.com/search?q=american+persimmon
I don't think I've ever seen these.

The two trees in my photos are Hachiya Persimmon. We also planted a Fuyu Persimmon recently. These are the two common commercial varieties.
Google description:
https://www.google.com/search?q=hachiya+fuyu+persimmon

These Hachiya Persimmons are nasty bitter - astringent - until they are full ripe and soft as a tomato. Then they are very sweet. We open the skin and eat the pulp with a spoon like a jar of jam. I ate a couple of ripe ones while I was up the ladder harvesting yesterday. (Messy!) We keep the firmest ones and force-ripen a couple per day by freezing then thawing overnight. I'm not surprised that the natural sweetness ferments to liquor that the pet deer liked.

Hachiya Persimmons are taller and pointy on the bottom compared to Fuyu, the other popular variety. Fuyus ripen to a texture like an apple, chewy and sweet. I think Fuyu is now more commonly sold in stores.

Doc, for a while I've thought I needed another barn for my projects. Lately it occurred to me the buildings here were sufficient for the real farmer who operated the orchard the first fifty years, and what I need to do is slim down to one tractor and suitable implements matched to my actual needs. The apple orchard is contracted to a commercial farmer neighbor - pruning crew in winter, spray, discing, tree propping crew, harvest crew - with me mostly digging out stumps, watering new trees, etc that he never has time for. Plus I harvest the family trees - peach, pear, citrus, persimmons, walnuts, and the blackberries for our own use. I would love to have a commercial-size tractor and/or a different tractor for every task like the big guys but honestly, this little Yanmar alone is a good match to my projects. It pulls the 4x8 trailer and 2600 lb watering trailer all over the orchard; anything bigger is an attractive Want but not a reasonable Need.

Couple more photos from yesterday.

 

[winston]

Can't help but notice the deer through your trees. Do they ever help themselves?

 

[California]

Deer tear the heck out of buds on newly planted trees, and new shoots on existing trees. This is a major problem for a few years getting new trees established.

But the family peach tree is the only place they eat all the fruit they can reach. They are surprisingly tall standing on hind legs, chomping through the bird netting. Drives my wife nuts. For other fruit this is rare, not a problem.

The little guys in the photo hung around for my last half hour out there, not at all spooked. If I had walked toward them they would edge away then vanish.

I and my neighbor have some of the last open ground as orchards in all directions get sold to vineyard investors, fenced, and the deer lose their range. I've counted up to 14~18 deer here at a time.

 

[twoforty]

Down here in Louisiana, we have a solution for the deer issue. My particular preference is 30.06, but I've recently begun to incorporate the .308 into my efforts. Makes for some lean and tasty steaks and the jerky is mighty fine too. Of course in Louisiana, not much in the way of bad food, unless you are opposed to spicing it up.

On the more serious side, what are the specs on the FEL on your 240 Cal? Any recommendation or suggestions on where I might find one or what to avoid?