Well, I parked the Gator on a incline and obviously did not set the parking brake properly so while I was away from it it rolled down a hill and hit a tree. I heard some noise in the brush and turned around there was the gator rolling down the hill. This area is thick with woods and would have expected to hit something sooner.
It took me about 3 hrs, including a trip to Advance Auto to get some torx sockets to remove the bumper guard side screws, to remove all the parts to see what I actually damaged. The hardest part was removing the winch but it was undamaged. Radiator and grille were not touched but the hood has a slight notch.
To get it nearly 100% right, I need to replace the front bumper cover, the brush guard (actually saved the a lot more damage), the bumper (the part where your winch mounts), and a fender. It looks like the total parts cost is almost $700.
I was actually impressed by the design since I was expecting worse. Now why does John Deere use 18mm metric bolts and not just 19mm. I had a 18mm socket since I know the Gator used them and glad I did.
Now that I have the winch out I may change to the receiver hitch winch mount so I can use it front or rear but would need to run a wire to the back and add quick disconnects. I am less likely to get stuck but end up pulling trees other things so being able to choose end would be good.
It took me about 3 hrs, including a trip to Advance Auto to get some torx sockets to remove the bumper guard side screws, to remove all the parts to see what I actually damaged. The hardest part was removing the winch but it was undamaged. Radiator and grille were not touched but the hood has a slight notch.
To get it nearly 100% right, I need to replace the front bumper cover, the brush guard (actually saved the a lot more damage), the bumper (the part where your winch mounts), and a fender. It looks like the total parts cost is almost $700.
I was actually impressed by the design since I was expecting worse. Now why does John Deere use 18mm metric bolts and not just 19mm. I had a 18mm socket since I know the Gator used them and glad I did.
Now that I have the winch out I may change to the receiver hitch winch mount so I can use it front or rear but would need to run a wire to the back and add quick disconnects. I am less likely to get stuck but end up pulling trees other things so being able to choose end would be good.