Ep. 22 - Mighty Mule Gate Opener Review and Remote Keypad Installation

Episode #22. In this episode, I give a fairly in-depth review of the Mighty Mule MM360 gate opener. Bonus content: my dad and I install the remote keypad kit on the inside of the gate for exiting guests.

[@ignite2excite]

OOPS. IGNITE TO EXCITE. my past life. fireworks and explosives for agricultural use lol

[@grantmarut7488]

I just put my battery in a amo box bought my battery from tractor supply works good

[@JeremyTVOK]

I didn’t have an ammo box that big but a battery box worked just fine.

[@grantmarut7488]

That remote will keep that gate open for as long as u need if u know what your doing with out taken arm off

[@JeremyTVOK]

Yeah, it’s a setting on the opener to keep it open until you close it. I prefer it to automatically close most of the time.

[@grantmarut7488]

U need to turn one of those gate pins holding your gate one up one turned down or they can lift your gate off

[@JeremyTVOK]

If it wasn’t that way for this video, it was done right after the video was made. I realized like you did that the gate would be easy to take off, otherwise.

[@grantmarut7488]

Ok u did I see

[@grantmarut7488]

Where is your control board

[@JeremyTVOK]

It’s located on the opener arm.

[@grantmarut7488]

Need to get a pin lock they will steal your arm

[@JeremyTVOK]

I always intended to but haven’t yet. May not ever since I haven’t had any problems.

[@jltodd1789]

Their product sucks. Their tech support sucks. And they don't stand behind their warranty.

[@JeremyTVOK]

I’ve had good luck with the stuff I’ve bought so far but I have heard from others that their support is terrible.

[@greghouser7375]

why wouldnt you show the lawn battery? is it because it looks like dog shit inside that box? i already know.

[@JeremyTVOK]

Why would you need to see a battery? Not ever seen one before? It doesn’t really look like dog shit - it looks like a battery. Not that you really care based on your comment, but it’s about half the size of the battery box, which gives me room for a bigger battery if that becomes necessary. So thanks for watching, I guess.

[@troyb4533]

I spent 30 bucks on a 20 watt solar rather than 130 for the mighty mule panel. Best decision ever

[@JeremyTVOK]

freddy jackboot that’s a much better price. I just grabbed the Mighty Mule solar panel off the shelf and didn’t spend any time looking around for a cheaper alternative. Thanks for watching.

[@schizy]

I'm surprised you didn't install an electric lock rather than putting the block to stop the gate. I wonder how long the actuator will with stand the wind or someone pushing on the gate when its closed.

[@JeremyTVOK]

I had kind of planned to put one on it but after I thought about it, if it was truly necessary for the opener to work properly, it should have been included with the opener. I don’t think a person should have to buy an extra $150 part to make a product work. That’s my biggest gripe about Mighty Mike - that they nickel and dime you to death on accessories. But it’s been working fine for 2 years so I guess I’ll see how long it lasts as is. I’m sure the wind puts a lot of strain on the mechanism and it sure may cause it to fail. Plus, it would close better! Thanks for watching and for your comment!

[@ignite2excite]

G'Day Jeremy, I live in the land down under,,, Australia,,,, and found your You tube videos by chance while researching the different gate opening mechanisms available that operate on the 12 volt system. I was wondering. why do you have a 16 foot wide gate , 12 foot would be ideal for a vehicle and if you need it wider to allow lager agricultural machinery to gain access to your property. then its a simple installation of a 8 foot gate that is permanently closed and opens only when necessary. now that come to the concrete block. lol. why did you not instal the other side gate post in a position that when you gate closed. that post acts as the stopper , now. for security purposes the gate should open out from the property so that one can't push the gate open ,,,illegally... those keypad opener are essential but. the bend should be a bit longer so you don't accidentally smack it with you car. I would paint mine yellow so I can see them, now. for the solar panel and battery box location. , I would suggest that it be installed about 8 to 10 feet above the ground. and ideal on the same pole located about 3 feet inside your boundary. less likely to be tampered with. who carries a ladder around with them, lol. now for the issue with water snow ice rain dust etc getting on your ram arm. my simple solution. cut a piece of PVC pipe a diameter that fits snuggly over the ran and most of the mighty mule. , cut out the under side so you can slip it over the mighty mule. a simple solution.,,, now I also look d at some of you other videos and you have that Kubota tractor. I have researched the best small 4wd tractor that cam handle most small jobs around the farm. In Australia we have the BX series that has the front bucket. a 4 way bucket, on the back. a small backhoe. for digging. and in my case I will make a 4 foot wide rake so I can reach out and use the rake to rake up leaves and sticks to minimise the fuel had for bushfire management , I see you have a slasher fitted on the rear. the BX series has a unique drive over to attach a wide grass cutter that fits under the belly of the tractor its a 4wd tractor with a 24 hp diesel engine. ,,,, for the folks out there. whats the hp of your tractor I hope I have given you another perspective on the gate video. and you audience needs to take you advice. do the research first before you buy something you might regret that does the job. but is overpriced, I am thinking of an electric actuator that has a 6 inch stroke. to use as a gate lock. keep up the videos. they are helpful.

[@JeremyTVOK]

Thanks for the comment from down under! I apologize for the delay in my response but since I was on vacation and I knew the reply would be fairly large, I waited until we were back home. I made my gate 16 feet because that is a pretty standard opening around here. Plus, I have a travel trailer (RV) and a flatbed trailer that I pull occasionally. The gate is actually very light for its size and has presented no problems for the opener. As far as the concrete block, we usually get strong south winds here so the block keeps the gate from swinging too far inward (north) from the south wind. North winds still blow which causes a gap in the gate but my biggest concern is not keeping foot traffic away; I'm concerned most with keeping vehicles from entering, and that mainly due to thieves. If thieves have to walk the 100 yards up to my house, they will go somewhere else. Thieves are lazy, worthless creatures and I would rather them stay away than me have to shoot them. The best solution for keeping the gate from moving when it is closed, would be to have a positive lock that catches each time the gate closes. However, I did not want to spend another $150 on a feature that should have been included with the gate to begin with. I agree the bend could be longer on the keypad posts but those were part of a pre-fabricated kit that I purchased at the store. And marking them with reflective tape might even be a good idea to keep new visitors from hitting them if they pull in the driveway at night. The solar charger and battery box are installed in a very similar manner to every other gate opener in this area. It would definitely be simple to tamper with but so far, that has not been an issue. And honestly, with the amount of lightning we get with our storms around here, I would rather keep them lower to the ground. I think lightning is a much bigger danger to my equipment than people, especially around here where people are so used to seeing gate openers. If I lived in town, my opinion would probably be different. I was also worried about water getting inside the ram arm on the opener unit. It just worked out that the opener is not perfectly level, so water runs away from the inside of the opener rather than towards. I imagine that it doesn't get much water inside there. We've had the opener for several years and so far, it hasn't been a problem. My tractor is a 26-horsepower model. The belly mower decks tend to be more like a lawnmower, whereas the brush hogs mounted on the back are for heavier stuff like thick, tall weeds, brush, thickets, and even saplings. I would love to have a belly mower deck but they are quite expensive. I have also thought that using my expensive tractor, rather than my much cheaper lawnmower, to mow grass would be silly on my part. Thank you for taking the time to comment and offer some tips. I hope I addressed your questions. I appreciate you watching my videos and hope you consider subscribing to the channel!

[@jerrycybulsky6756]

need the lock for sure people will push on the gate so hard they will destroy the unit be on repairing

[@JeremyTVOK]

Well, we don’t get any foot traffic where we live so nobody comes through there. Even so, a lot of the time there is a gap (depending on which direction the wind is blowing) through which a person could walk. Plus, anybody who would need to walk through knows the gate code. But even after a couple years of problem-free operation, I still worry about the effect of the torque on that opener due to not having a lock. Thanks for the comment and thanks for watching!

[@grantmarut7488]

When they push on mine at night it's hot wired

[@superpac1966]

How deep did you sink the steel post? Can the gate be locked?

[@JeremyTVOK]

The steel fence posts are 3 feet deep. We’re fortunate enough to have sandy soil here so getting them deep wasn’t a problem. Two-and-a-half feet would have worked fine, maybe even two feet. As far as the gate, you can lock it manually with a chain and padlock but it defeats the purpose of the automatic gate. There is also a locking mechanism that works with the opener that automatically locks the gate but it’s another add-on that I have not yet purchased and may not ever purchase, as the current setup works sufficiently. Thanks for the question and thanks for watching!

[@JeremyTVOK]

I just realized you meant the steel post for the keypad. That post is 18” deep I believe.

[@BlackSparrowRanch]

I've been wanting to get one of those, but it's just a want right now, not a need. I'm not sure if I'd have to mount a new gate or not. Ours has a wheel on the end, and I haven't tried it without the wheel. There are a lot of variables, and like you said, it could end up costing more money than I originally thought.

[@JeremyTVOK]

My dad has an opener on his gate that has a wheel on the end and it works pretty well. His gate is much heavier than mine so he had to buy a bigger opener but it worked much the same. We did without one for a year-and-a-half or so and I didn't realize how much I'd like having one until we put ours in. It's so nice not to have to get out in the rain to open the gate!

[@BlackSparrowRanch]

We just leave our gate open most of the time, unless I'm doing something that might accidentally let the llamas out.

[@JeremyTVOK]

I used to do mine that way - I'd leave it open all day then close it at night. You sure don't want to let the llamas out!

[@BlackSparrowRanch]

They might never come back!

[@JeremyTVOK]

They're very interesting creatures. It's like they know you bring their food to them but they also don't quite seem to trust you. That matches up pretty well with the way my sister-in-law's llamas act. Though I'm sure you and Beth interact with yours much more than my sister-in-law does with hers. Hers are just wild as hell.