Roper "TrailBlazer"

Well, I was having some fun messing around with this beast this weekend!

@CodeRed and I took our tractors out on the lake to the bewilderment of the ATVr's that showed up a few minutes later, it was pretty funny seeing them come to a dead stop and just looking at us wondering what the heck is going on!  Lol.


A little problem I've had ever since the motor swap is that the bottom of the fuel tank sits at about the same level as the inlet of the carb so the fuel line sits basically level and the carb can start to starve if I'm off camber to one side or climbing upwards for too long.


The solution: a Briggs and Stratton style fuel pump plumbed into the oil dipstick tube (for pulse)!


I put it to the test by doing a long, slow climb up the hill on my road and then riding off camber on a snow bank for at least 2 minutes and the motor didn't even flinch! It's also starting up 10x easier than it's usual grumpy self so I'm really happy I ordered that fuel pump!


But wait there's more! I FINALLY installed the front bumper I have for it which, is actually a ATV rack lower support brace! I wasn't liking it so much at first but it's quickly grown on me.

The plan is to mount a winch down in there by making a plate that ties the tractors frame to the bumpers "rails" but that may not happen for a bit yet, getting all of the slop out of the front axle will be my next priority for it as is was already bad and is getting worse quickly! The main problem is with the steel sleeve welded into the axle itself, it's wallered out something awful but there's also alot of space between the axle and the pocket it sits in so I'll have to weld some metal in to act as shims or something.

Might be a bit before I do any more to it but it's nice to mess around with it every now and again!

Them darn Craftsman axles really do suck. I've seen them snap clean off several times and have had so many that have that slop you're talking about. They're annoying.

Those fuels pumps are life savers! At this point I just do it on all my off road mowers and pretty much any mower that starves lol. Done it on 2 or 3 different Kohler Commands and about to do a 4th as well as an old flathead Briggs. Love those things!

This axle is unlike others I've seen, it's literally just a shoulder bolt going through the steel sleeve with no bushing! Other than that it seems pretty sturdy.

Craftsman was made by several different companies so for the sake of argument let's call it an AYP.

I agree the steering could use some tweakin', it's not the worst design I've seen but definitely needs some work to be better!

I actually bought a pair of the fuel pumps because they were cheap, I feel the Kawasaki style fuel pump on the Mud Duck isn't giving the engine enough fuel so I thought I'd try one of these on it. (Project for another day)

Yeah. I buy them because they're cheap too but they work so well too so I'm very much sold on them lol.

Yeah I've seen worse designs too but the first gen AYP steering and their LT axles are pretty down there if you ask me lol. Same level as MTD steering and pan frame Murrays. Just my opinion. If anyone can make that axle better than new though it's you so I'll be watching to see what you come up with!

I appreciate that dude!

Quick update on this rig, I broke the "No Mow May" thing today because I was too excited to try it out! Lol

I got the mower deck on, blades installed and figured out the right belt, considering I was cruising along in 2nd and 3rd (with the rear pulley swap) it does a half decent job! Definitely good enough for the trails up north! The proper front wheels are tires are on another tractor right now but I wasn't going to swap them just to mow.


It's going to be weird not having it here but I guess it will give me motivation to go up north more often!

After last week's test the grass was cut fine but it didn't seem to get the dandelions, I cut again this week and same thing.

I really put it through it's paces this week by mowing off camber in the ditches, over uneven ground and the obstacle created by a removed tree that lifted the ground several inches.

No doubt it cuts well enough for a trail mower but the engine doesn't seem to be hitting the proper revs so there probably isn't enough suction being generated, I wouldn't mind turning the revs up a little bit which will give me more speed as well. It's also a good excuse to use the laser tach I purchased a couple of months ago!

So overall it's doing pretty well and it turns really sharp although there is minor interference at full lock and articulation so I'll have to address that as well.

Things still to do:
- Remove slop from the front axle.
- Limit steering.
- Install a tethered kill switch.
- Speed up the engine a touch.
- Install a used highback seat. DONE!
- Sharpen and balance the blades.
- Install a winch mounting plate.
- Install auxiliary light(s) (switches already in place).

There's more I'm forgetting I'm sure! Lol

If you’re looking for a cheap solution to a tether kill, one of the stock safety switches works really good as one. Push the button in, drill a hole for a cotter pin(keep the end straight, obviously) and just add a lanyard with a clip. Wire the kill so it shuts off when the button is released. The one on mutt works great,  when I bother to clip it on.

RichieRichOverdrive wrote:

The one on mutt works great, when I bother to clip it on.

 Ah and the truth comes out! Lol. You'll be wishing you clipped it on when it tosses you and keeps motoring towards a lake or gully! Lol.

In all seriousness that is an excellent suggestion and I appreciate you sharing it, I don't mind paying $23 for a pair of these though, I love they have a built in kill button along with the tether.


While I'm here I forgot to showcase the min and max cut height(s).

Minimum (which is adjustable all the way to max)...

...and maximum which is about 5¼". I might be able to squeeze another ¼-½" out of it yet.

No pictures but I'm still using it to cut the lawn while it's here, it does a great job of the ditches because I can literally drive right in and across them! Lol. I installed the seat from the stripped down GT18 for a more comfortable experience and quickly tried to raise the revs at full throttle but nothing was happening interestingly enough, maybe it's already maxed? Nah can't be at that normal sounding speed, oh well I'll get into another time!