FIXING a PROBLEM with our BRUSH MOWER

[@jerrydixon9343]

Great job! You took their product and made it better, we should say you “Sam’d it up” or “Samgenuity “! Very impressive!

[@michaelault3180]

A block of wood in the square hole with the bolt hole drilled through the middle will eliminate your slop without modifications to the original part.

[@542Moose]

Try putting a large nut in the square opening. Then thread the bolt through it and lock it down with the lock washer and smaller nut. This will eliminate a wood block from deteriorating over time and breaking out. It will eliminate any play in that opening too. Also, remember to put a snap pin in your ball hitch lever to avoid any brush from popping it open and possibly jumping the hitch off the ball.

[@pamelavasquez4961]

That was very creative on your part Sam. When life threw you lemons, you make a pitcher of lemon aid. God's blessings to you and your family 🙏 ❤

[@sam-and-angela]

Thanks!! I'm glad it was an easy modification. :)

[@mikenunley2106]

Sam you should have mirrors on your ATV, so you can keep an eye on your mower that way, when you get close to trees like that!!!👍👋🙂

[@sam-and-angela]

Good idea!!

[@mikenunley2106]

@@sam-and-angela thank you Sam, good luck with your new property. I'm anxious to see what you're going to do, and God bless👍👋🌞🙏🙏🙏

[@fava7753]

Why didnt the manufacturers think of that in the first place . Now you have a lot more motorised towing options , a simple fix . Hope the manufacturers are going to fix you up with some sort of real appreciation and restitution for fixing their overlooked design flaw . . And for advertising their product . They may ask for your services as, a tester for new products in future . Keep up the great work and content Sam . .

[@sam-and-angela]

I think they're thinking of what would be most universal for all types of machines pulling it. I lucked out that the ATV hitch height matched that of the mower to keep it level. :) We've been in contact with Earthquake Outdoors and are working together on things. :)

[@jsecure1569]

Thanks for the video. Wanted to do this last year but my engineer buddy had to juryrig a way to couple it to my Mule MX SxS. When that failed a few weeks back I went and bought the coupler and am a whole happier. The Earthquake is a beast, I run over all sorts of small bushes, pine trees and stuff. Been great to use plus it's taken down the time my buddies used to mow with their garden tractors by 2/3's the time it took them. Deer love the clearings also which is nice when the season comes along.

[@lindajc123]

What makes good into great? An inventive jerry-rigger (constructed in an improvised manner). Good job Mr. Smart!!

[@watahyahknow]

think the reason the pin hitch broke so often is that it didnt alowed for the machine to tilt independent from the pulling vehicle (like driving with one wheel over a stump ) the ballhitch gives it a lot more freedom , should work fine one idea that miight help with the stump thing is adding skidplates or wedges (cut some out of firewood stumps with a chainsaw and bolt them under the metal triangles in front of the wheel so you can ride over higher obstacles , think right now if an obstacle manages to only just get under the triangle it takes a lot of force to drive the wheel over it , the wedge should help some lifting the wheel before it drives over the obstacle making it feel a lot lower

[@RumMonkeyable]

Necessity is the mother/father of invention. Well-done! 👍😎💕

[@rickbarnett9729]

Could put small wood blocks in square whole so won’t move right or left

[@margiechansler7988]

Spray paint the carter pins a bright color that’s easy to see when it pops off.

[@auntlouise]

Thinkin' beyond the box - which is why we watch and learn from y'all! Always awesome to learn what you teach!

[@sam-and-angela]

Aww, thanks!

[@angelacross2216]

Genius! And done super quickly too.

[@danielheartsill4269]

Where the bolt goes through the square part you could make a wooden shem to fit the square and run the bolt through the center of it. That would take away any movement. Great idea to put a ball hitch on it.

[@sam-and-angela]

If I had it at home and in the workshop I could have made the shims quickly -- that's a good idea. Thankfully it's stayed put so far. :)

[@deannaoverstreet4146]

Great idea! Great solution! You the man Sam!

[@mikenunley2106]

Good job with the ball mount Sam, I just now saw that part

[@CindyLuMcMorrough]

How does this brush mower do when trying to mow sides of ditches?? The angle it can get is a concern. Like I don't want it floating on air because of lack of angles.

[@sam-and-angela]

Out of the box, there is not much flex in slope with the pin hitch. With this modification the ball hitch will allow more flex of the mower. That being said, it also depends on your ditch size and layout.

[@CindyLuMcMorrough]

@@sam-and-angela gotcha. That’s exactly what we were thinking. Still pondering….thanks!

[@ilovelucy7073]

That was a great idea 💡 how you fix that. 👍🏻

[@karendominguez2747]

I’m so glad that fixed your cutter.

[@christelstrifler7799]

Paint the cotter pin with a bright glow in the dark paint, had to do it for my horse trailer.

[@kellypetsch6453]

WTG!!!!! Sam you the man jack of all trades get ur done

[@janetkoball44]

Yo really did out it thru its paces. Looks like a really nice heavy duty mower. Glad it works for you now. See you on your next visit.

[@JBNetBreaker]

All mowers and attachments should have the ball hitch. I like your solution Sam, I would also put the locking pin in place, just in case.

[@squirrellyacres]

You did a fantastic job of modification on that mower. I'm really surprised that the mower doesn't have an option for a ball hitch.

[@deborahplyler6528]

Very cool creative thinking on how to make things work better, thanks for sharing, take care.

[@mlm7598]

Love that you were able to get this accomplished and making it more useful and with no frustration to be had. It can get old having to stop every little bit to hook things up again. Great job and with your ingenuity I know it was right up your alley! Good job! Blessings

[@sam-and-angela]

So true! Thank you!

[@steveterry7981]

The property is looking good Sam.

[@sam-and-angela]

Much nicer with the beans harvested! :) Getting "turbo tilled" this weekend (I only quote what I was told) then will be re-seeded for us.

[@kyleball4004]

Do you still have this? And would you still recommend it? I’m between zero turn or a pull behind. We have 11 acres with a lot of uneven ground.

[@hnhardin1217]

I lol'd when you said, "so good so far" 😂 great idea to fix the issue.

[@sam-and-angela]

😁 I mess up my words all the time. LOL

[@calebwilliams7393]

How is this machine holding up? Are you having any problems with it? I am thinking about buying one this spring.

[@jamescannon4917]

How do you like your brush mower an would you recommend buying this particular one.

[@burnindaylite]

I just got mine, the belt jumped off in the first 5 seconds of running. Now it's 95 degrees out and I get to repair my new mower. The hitch modification was working good though. I upsized the bolt through the hitch square tube to a 3/4" diameter and had zero problems. Update: I put the mower belt back on and mowed all kinds of nasty stuff for 4 hours, trees, thorny vines, fallen brush, etc without a 'hitch'. Also mowed on hills I 'd not take my tractor or zero turn on. This thing 'cut' my mowing time in half.

[@sam-and-angela]

I had the same issue!! Check your main pulley set screws. I had one work loose and the whole main pulley was very loose.

[@minniedease7477]

Good thinking.

[@lynnobrien9429]

Awesome idea Manufacture needs Sam's creativity. Hands down Sam's the man!

[@kirbycreekmo]

Are you still using the mower? Would you recommend it? Thanks for your videos.

[@denisewilson8367]

Glad you could come up with a solution for your p.i.t.a. hitch pin problem. I like the ball hitch better on my old lawn tractor too. I use it for my rubbermaid lawn cart with is very versatile since all 4 sides can be removed to make a flatbed trailer or keep them on and use the tailgate as a dump trailer bcuz it swings up like one also. The ball let's me move my rowboat & trailer out of the way to mow too. And when I still owned my 2 horse horse trailer I could move it too. But now I've traded that off for my gooseneck 4 horse horse trailer and of course that's too big and has no ball hitch, LOL. Someday (soon I hope) I hope to find some land like yours to build my new homestead. I'm waiting for parts, but covid has slowed them greatly, to come in for brakes on my motorhome. Then I'll be headed south from Michigan and start my land search & hopefully also start my KZbin channel.

[@sam-and-angela]

I wish you great success and hope you find your place soon!

[@FowlerFamilyFarm]

Easy fix good job Sam

[@sam-and-angela]

I can't complain. :) Thanks!!

[@nickmorlang1124]

I have the same mower. Was thinking about shortening the pull bar. I feel like it's to far behind my atv for mowing trails . Thoughts on that

[@ridermak4111]

My friend had a similar problem. First thing he tried solved it. He swung the tongue clear out to the side so he didn’t have to twist his head clear around to see it very easily. He also liked not driving the ATV through the tall junk.

[@sam-and-angela]

This mower has an offset function, I just have yet to use it.

[@nightsailor1]

You got a Hitch Pin there. Maybe you could use a Square Wire Lock Pin. Lowes You can take a puinch and bend over a couple threads to keep those fasteners together with the rough duty they get.

[@ronaldclemons5520]

Looking good. Now you can cut over the bean field to cut up debris leftover so grass can grow back better

[@LS11971]

Have you thought about doing an offset trailer tongue so that you're not having to drive through the brush before the mower cuts it. Maybe a next upgrade idea. Only drawback would be that you could only cut in one direction.

[@sam-and-angela]

It has one, I just have yet to use it (or show it to you all) in that fashion. :) For wood cleaning, the ATV didn't have enough power to pull it offset. But for weeds/grasses I'm sure it will be great.

[@marycgarmon7140]

You inspired. Me to fix my wagon problem in a similar fashion. Thanks

[@rubberdc]

Tickled pink.....lol.....Sam , you DO choose some good old english humour !

[@ninabooker2904]

Sam has “Mad Skills” ! Awesome 🤩

[@loissaedder2214]

Just a question - would it be better to put the bolts the other way around, with the nut facing up, so you can see easily if anything loosens?

[@sam-and-angela]

Not in this case -- with lock nuts they should not loosen at all. I rather not have the bolt sticking up to catch pant legs or skin as you walk around it or hook it up.

[@johnsteinhagen8455]

A common complaint with these is when you disengage the belt it come off the pulley, have you had any issues with that?

[@parsonroy]

Near the beginning of your "test drive" there appeared to be a black part in the lower bottom of the picture that was loosely bolted on. You might want to check the bolts on the mower for tightness when you get the chance. My experiences through my 75 years have told me to check everything after I've used it for a while.

[@sam-and-angela]

I've looked twice and don't see anything loose -- unless you're seeing the tow bar for the mower? If so, it's not bolted down -- it uses a pivot point and spring loaded pins to lock it in place left/right for the offset mowing options.

[@parsonroy]

@@sam-and-angela That must be what I saw. Glad there was no problem.

[@snakeboren4814]

PURE GENIUS SAM!!!

[@HomesteadOnThePreserve]

Earthquake realized this issue and the ones sold today actually come with a 2" ball hitch. Maybe they made the change after watching your video? Whatever the case I'm glad they did because the Acreage is a beast and I will be getting mine next week.

[@HoneyHollowHomestead]

A cotter pin does not seem like the right choice. They make a hitch pin (used for many farm equipment/wagons) that is like a heavy pin with a handle on one end and a hole for a cotter pin on the other end. They come in a variety of sizes. But, your conversion seems to work just fine.

[@dircia7754]

Sam you are clever. Great job!

[@sam-and-angela]

:) Thanks!

[@mattlattanzi1289]

Use a bolt with the nylon locking nut and a couple big washers if you need them. Your hitch won’t come apart and you won’t lose any pins brother

[@chriscampbell1376]

You need a simple offset hitch. Keeps the mower left or right of you. You would no longer have to drive over what you are cutting either

[@daveclarke1733]

should have put spacers on the sides with the large hole in the front it will loosen up

[@georgemitchell9114]

Good fix, thank you for sharing this. Have you tried towing the mower at an offset instead of running over everything with your 4-wheeler?

[@djterry1218]

Mr. Fixit at it again!👏🏼👍🏼👊🏼

[@jeffreybrown8430]

Hi Sam i need to change the deck belt on my rough cut mower have you done this yet any tips ? thanks

[@sam-and-angela]

It's a pain! It's been a while but if I remember right, you take the main pulley bolts out of the middle (allen key set screws) and the pulley separates apart. I also had to take the back panel off where the key start is to route the belt around the guides back there.

[@michaelg7230]

I have been looking at this mower and they now come with the ball hitch in a 1 7/8 I think

[@haydenuk02]

Great work and thanks for sharing this with us take care

[@stevenmoomey2115]

Know this is from Two Years ago. They used a Brush Cut, that had an offset hitch, so the Four Wheeler Road on already the cut land. Brush Cut was off to the side.

[@raguisedeekmd7590]

Hi Sam I’m about to buy this mower from Home Depot and it only has three bad reviews specifically about the drive belt snapping off frequently. Have you experienced issues with the drive belt on this model ? Thank you for your videos

[@jsecure1569]

Sent an email to "customer service" Monday asking if the part will come this decade or next. Two days later and no response. Prime example of their service. Ardisam is the parent company, always check who owns your next product to be sure you're not getting one of theirs.

[@johncampbell6884]

Just Saying, A 5/16 pin for the hitch would be good, Plus You need to grease the hitch ball every time it is used or it will wear out, But it does seem to be working fine.

[@Robertfishes62]

Thanks for Posting the Earthquake Mower videos. I plan on ordering one soon.. I need to mow some thick growth between 5 year old planted pine rows, around some wetlands and old logging roads. I have a old 4x4 Polaris 500HO to tow mower... .

[@Robertfishes62]

Ordered it, should be here in 2 weeks.. going to go ahead and buy the hitch next time I am in town.

[@lindapeterson7166]

Hi Sam & Angela,your property is looking very good.Take care & have a good week! 👍👏😊

[@estellaknox4488]

Great job it holding.

[@yycfoamwars6557]

I agree with a comment below, a bolt with large washers would fix this.

[@ChilledJil2010]

I truly appreciate a good MacGyver!

[@rondahoward5341]

Great job Sam! Progress!

[@glenschumannGlensWorkshop]

Nice mod. Just a thought about the bolt which runs through the square iron. Would 1 or 2 pieces of short pipe of different diameters fill that enough to stop movement? Also thought of a block of wood, but that might not stand up to the forces.

[@HoneyDoHomestead]

nice tool hack! I'm kind of surprised that such a heavy duty brush mower would be pulled on a hitch pin. Also, to take out the "slope", you could try to insert a bushing that fits over the front bolt to eat up some of that slope space, or just add nut that squeezes just inside to close the gaps.

[@douglasharlos4113]

I say we need to introduce you to Step bits

[@sam-and-angela]

Of all the tools and things I've ever had... never have I ever had a step bit! :)

[@bobbyspencer8102]

why not mount the ball hitch directly to the original clevis , you done away with the telescoping height adjustment feature if you want to use a different vehicle such as a side by side that the mount may be higher or lower .

[@hollystarr274]

We did the same thing!

[@nihtum]

I just bought this mower and mine came with a ball hitch, glad after watching your video! (maybe they saw your video! hah!)

[@sam-and-angela]

That is awesome!

[@billdodd118]

GREAT FIX a ball hitch IS the Best from my personal point of view Great minds think alike I guess. I was going to suggest that very thing. I pulled a 4x8 utility trailer behind my 2x4 ATV even a 1/2 ton of gravel

[@jesusislord2457]

Pretty in pink! 🤗 What? You started it. 😁 Git-r-done! ☮️💖🙏

[@DLRyoung]

Was getting dizzy.. good job on the mod! God bless

[@TheWoodHaven]

Property Search Update: I put an offer on a new property and it goes into Escrow this week. News at 11.

[@sam-and-angela]

Congrats!!!

[@linamatthews512]

Can your ATV haul your trailer when it's loaded down with hay or feed for the sheep?

[@takeitslowhomestead5218]

Great solution!

[@daveschram2654]

You might want to apply a little grease on the ball hitch. Friction ya know!!

[@chuckraines4962]

Good job Sam

[@rubberdc]

Good evening Sam .

[@lorenmeyer5290]

That hitches so much better! Sam how far is your property from your brother's place?? Love watching both you channel!

[@sam-and-angela]

Thanks!! Our land is very close. :)

[@carlossmith3316]

great idea

[@brendahamilton4426]

You are a problem solver. Goo job 👍

[@DavidWilliams-wj4sc]

drill a hole in a 2x4 and then cut it out, and shove it up in there to stop the wiggle.

[@richardroyles1423]

Looks like you Gotter. God bless. Kansas

[@SandraCrockett]

Fixed!

[@melindaivey4772]

A cotter pin is not a trailer hitch pin. I'm sure that you are going to find something or modify it. They do have various sizes of hitch pins.

[@michaelbyerly5068]

What's the string for ?

[@sam-and-angela]

That's how you disengage the blades when it's running.

[@leisurefields]

Thanks for the idea. We ended up doing the same thing to ours! Makes it so easy to hookup, and we don't have to worry about it coming disconnected. Checkout our page to see it in action.

[@JohnThomas-gj2zg]

That Bruch mower can you be nice enough to let me know were you got it ???

[@jsecure1569]

While I'm waiting on ardisam to get the part as it's only been two months, last machine it was three months before they got the part. This time I think it's the wheel bolt. You wouldn't think it'd take more than a week at most, but it is ardisam. So I thought I'd share a few emails with customer service from the first mower that they finally replaced. And remember, they never had anyone look at the machine after it broke through the deck. ---------------- From the pictures it looks like the brake pad is completely wore off, that is where we are getting the idea that the problem came from there. Another thing I can see in the pictures is that bolts were in there at one point in time. It looks like you only need the bolts that come in from the sides, not the ones that go through the deck of the mower, correct? I am able to send you a new brake pad and all the bolts, nuts and washers needed to get your mower running again Cust service ------------------------------------------------------ Read your email, I have some questions. You say the brake caused the problem. That's not what caused the problem. The brake pad didn't wear down, it broke at one of the triangular pieces holding the pad. Being 2 hours away from where the mower is kept I can't say but the one side with the triangular piece broke off. That isn't wear that is a defective part. However it was the missing bolts that was the cause of the damage. If the missing bolts were there where is the scratching damage from them around the bolt holes while they were backing out from the vibration? And where did the nuts and washers that were on the inside of the pulley housing disappear? There isn't sufficient room for them to slide out of that housing. There should have been nuts and washers inside the pulley housing but there weren't any. As far as the vibration causing any bolts to loosen and fall out, then why haven't other bolts loosened and fallen out. Was the torque not done to the specifications which might explain vibration? Videos on line at your site for replacing the drive belt clearly show a design change for the 2 black guide plates on each side of the main pulley. They are no longer secured by bolts going down through the deck. Latest design shows them bolted to the large red base plate. Obviously the bolts through the deck were a weak point. The new design has no bolts through the deck. Without the "missing bolts " all the forces from the main pulley are directed to the bolts through the deck. That would have eventually caused the those bolts to pull through the holes in the deck. When was the design change implemented? -------------------------------- Good morning! I didn’t answer those questions because I don’t have answers for your questions. I have no idea why they ALL vibrated loose, I have no idea why the nuts that should have been trapped inside disappeared. Sometimes, things happen that I can’t explain, the world is an imperfect place. We think, (and by we I mean me and both of my managers) that the brake pad being completely gone caused the issues with the bolts. Diagnosing problems from pictures is not ideal, so we use what we have and we do what we can. This will absolutely all be covered under warranty (this is the connector on the tow bar, it broke after we jury rigged the deck to keep the mower running, I did not take their bolts). Per my last email, I certainly can help you out here by sending you everything you need. The other part of my job is to educate our customers about proper maintenance and things that can be done to prevent future problems. I apologize if you were offended by that, it certainly wasn’t meant to be insulting or anything like that. If I send you parts, are you able to install them yourself? Will you be able to drill the pin out that snapped and put a new one in there if I send it? Or would you rather bring it to one of our service centers and have it repaired under warranty? ---------------------------------- Notice after having looked at the pictures they decided the brake "looked" like it completely wore off. At no point did the lock nuts vibrate loose, they were still tight holding onto the brake. So their customer service didn't care enough to do any actual inspection of the machine, they just decided they weren't going to repair the damage. Later on after more work the big pin on the mower where the tow bar connects also sheared off. That was the part that took 3 months to show up. By that time they had finally offered a new machine, which of course lasted about 15 hours before the wheel fell off, the bolts sheared off, the belt broke and such. I do not recommend anything from this company, they have more companies. I also bought one of their pop up blinds - Baronette was the name. One of the fiberglas ribs on the hub broke, later that same spring it developed a tear which in subsequent winds tore the blind apart. Less than two months of use and it was unusable.

[@beckypage6041]

Well that fixed that! A good old Sam solution.

[@jsecure1569]

Update, had to do the change as that black connector cracked into two pieces. Got one from warranty. Then the bolts holding the belt guide broke off and cracked the deck and ardisam said it was because the brake pad was bad and vibrated the four bolts with lock washers off just that one side. The brake was also broken but somehow the vibration didn't loosen the bolt and lock washer on the brake pad and it never came off. The belt guide on the opposite never loosened either. All 4 bolts and lcok washers are still solid. ardisam said it wasn't their fault but offered 4 bolts and a brake pad as a "courtesy". Their explanation when I asked how the 4 vibrated off and never were found within the enclosed pulley housing was "sometimes things just happen". Fixed it without their help then the ball on the machine at the back end of the bar broke clean off. ardisam did say that was covered under warranty, but it's been about 4 months without a part to fix the thing. When I took it in the warranty dealer was told part was about six months out from July 9th. Never showed up and ardisam never talked to the dealer about the no show on the part. Last I heard from them was about 3 weeks ago and was told they expect the part real soon. Which I'm assuming is sometime winter of 2025. Put in a complaint to my state attorney general and Consumer Product Safety Commission. Last communication was "thanks for your patience". Would not recommend this mower because of the problems of breaking parts and really lousy customer service.

[@jsecure1569]

Another update. Got a new mower last November after missing the rest the mowing season when they offered a new one. Took it. Have used it five times and the four bolts sheared off the housing and pulley guides. Sound familiar? Buddy was checking it because the tension was loose and the mower wasn't cutting grass so when he took the cover off he found four holes with no bolts. This time though he was able to find a single sheared bolt. Guess they're using bolts with the equivalent hardness of butter. So off to the hardware to get some new bolts with a hardness of 8. Installed that started the mower up and the belt broke. Haven't contacted Ardisam, but not really expecting much. That final break on the old mower I had to take the entire machine in rather than just the part needing to be fixed. So it takes a trailer to get things fixed under warranty when you can get them to do so. Buy this garbage from Ardisam at your own risk. I really wish they had offered to buy it back so I could buy a different machine. Couldn't be any worse than this thing.

[@Hollybank5]

Sam da Man , once again !!! 👍❤️