Elongated Hole on Rear Bumper

[Mindless]

After towing aerator behind FasTrak, rear bumper hole is now elongated. Any ideas on how to fix (short of buying new bumper)? Perhaps something to reinforce hole so that it does not elongate any further?

Thanks for your help.
Terry

[fishinpa]

I have the exact same problem and I've been doing some thinking about this... (very, very dangerous)

Idea 1: Is to install a "ball" on the tractor then rig a ball receiver to the aerator. If I did this though, I'd also have to do the same to the de-thatcher. I figure it would cost about 60.00 to 75.00 to do both. I also noticed (just like in your pic) that the rear of the tractor is a little higher than the aerator was engineered to be towed at, so in the design I'm thinking of adding a piece of metal to the top of the pulling arm of the aerator, and attacking the ball receiver to that, to level the aerator and de-thatcher. This would add a few dollars to the cost though.

Idea 2: Is to just buy a bigger pin to match the hole size on the back of the tractor and drill out the pulling arm of the two attachments.

I know there are some "pro's" around here that may have probably made this a simple proven science and look forward to getting some responses back on this.

Thanks for putting up this post! :drinkup:

[mowerconsultant]

The ideas posted here are pretty much what I would suggest.
That or weld up a hardened washer in place of the current hole.
Pj

[wushaw]

You could also weld up a flat doubler in 3/16 or 1/4" with a hole drilled the size of whatever the largest pin you use.

[Re-Ignition]

Could you slip a piece of hose over the pin? Some kind of tough material that won't be sheared by the bumper hole?