Does anybody have a photo of Live Thang

I don't want a monster pump (though I don't really think it is) hindering vision, or hoses that can get caught on passing brush (or worse, pinched) and look unsightly. I definitely don't want to modify the hood, or drill any holes, either, nor go buy new hoses to route them differently. I just have questions as to how it mounts and looks. That's all. A simple photo would answer those questions without giving away any of the secrets of operation.

Thanks to all for the link to Zane's site, but I still can't get there. I did intend to e-mail him, and probably should have before asking for a photo. With all the tractor shows around, surely one of these days someone with show up with a digital camera and photograph a tractor with one of Zane's inventions on it and it will get posted. I'm not sure how anyone can expect to sell things without showing them. Ever see a sign at an intersection stating that you can earn gobs of money working at home? Ever call their number?

I have plans to build a front mounted 3point lift for my 49 8n to use a standard 3point hitch angle blade on the front.

I will need a way to power the hydraulics, so I'm going to attempt to set up a belt driven hydraulic pump that runs off its own belt and own pulley added to the front of the existing engine pulley. I'm not for sure but I think the live thang pump runs off the existing belt for the engine. I would like my pump to run by itself. It will also use a small automotive size belt.

I'm sure some of you would say that's crazy, there's just not enough room to do that, but I'm a fairly good tinkerer and may be willing to try. If it works out, I wouldn't have any problems telling you exactly how I set it up if no one thinks it will compromise the integrity of the live thang pump setup.

I don't have a digital camera at this time and I would like to get one first and take pictures of each step of both setting up the pump and the front lift. My tractor is currently parked, waiting for a new head gasket, so I would like to do the work when I have the hood off.

Darrel.

Essentially, it's "trust me, everyone else likes it, and I'll guarantee it, so send me a few hundred bucks, and you'll be a happy customer."

But that's not even the point. I, like you, would like to see how it's going to look before I get a UPS shipment, that's all.

And as for all this patent Barbra Streisand crud I keep seeing.

This is silly.

Zane can file a provisional patent for a very small fee, without a lawyer, on the Zane Thang, or the Live Thang within 12 months of offering it for sale.

Since I suppose he's already sold at least one, his filing clock is already ticking, and it doesn't matter whether someone else knocks his invention off or not, he will still retain all rights to his patent even if he publishes the Bill of Materials and construction info on the internet!

Furthermore, if someone wanted to knock-off one of his widgets, they'd have no problem buying one to copy anyway! So what's with the secrecy?!

And one last point while I'm venting on this, as a holder of several patents myself in the electronics world, Zane should remember that a patent does NOT 'protect' anything. It is only a tool that gives you the privilege of hiring a lawyer and hauling someone to court, possibly in a foreign jurisdiction, at the risk of being countersued, etc. Patents, unless there's enough ca$h involved in the product to dwarf legal fees, are useless for the good-old small American inventor, like Zane.

BEFORE YOU PEOPLE START RAGGING ON ME ABOUT HOW GREAT ZANE IS: I AGREE!

Zane is a great guy, with lots of helpful hydraulic advice, and some nifty little widgets for tractors and all-round gettin stuff done stuff. I'm just tired of hearing about this patent secrecy stuff, and I won't do business with someone that won't show me his product up-front. That's all. And I'm sure Zane doesn't mind if I don't buy his stuff.

Keith

Anyway, I paid him eighty bucks, slapped it on and it works perfect. He would have given my money back if it hadn't, so what is the risk?

IF plans or the idea was published, I can already see somebody manufacturing a knock off and cutting into Zane's take. You are correct, it will happen soon enough, but it would be much faster if a pic was posted.

After my satisfaction with the Zane Thang, as soon as I can I won't hesitate to send for it.

Take Care
Steve

You'll have to pardon my distrust of the entire populace based on my experience with intellectual "property" and the Taiwanese culture. I will risk being called a racist to state that they, to a man, don't believe in intellectual property of any kind!

You're right, though. I think the only way a small inventor can make it these days is to capitalize on his size by being fast and adaptable, being able to thrive on small volumes, and by maximizing quality and/or customer satisfaction. If someone's designs are at all nontrivial, as they should be to deserve a patent, then a person "skilled in the art" would reasonably want to forego copying something and just buy the quality kit and the installation experience that comes with it, instead of trying to build his own from scratch.

I don't fault Zane for wanting to protect himself, but to think that a hydraulic design company wouldn't just buy one and knock it off as soon as the market is large enough is just plain naive.

As long as this market is small, and the audience is special, Zane's got the thang cornered and should just sell as many as he can.

That said. Even if I had been afforded the opportunity to see a picture of one, and if I were a complete scumbag without respect for another man's work, I STILL WOULD NOT OF BEEN ABLE TO COPY ONE FOR THE PRICE I SPENT ON IT. I've come to the conclusion, that since Zane is a one man, do it all himself shop, he is not making his profit on material markup, it is in his labor and manufacturing system. The average Joe could not reproduce his work without losing out on the hired labor/time costs. Maybe a man with more equipment and metal working experience than I could, but as you said, a disrespectable scumbag will copy it anyway after he buys the first one.

Zane has a captive market. US ON THIS WEBSITE. What would happen to the first guy who all of a sudden showed up marketing a product duplicate to Zane's? This is the premier www sight dedicated to these old tractors. There is no effective other way to market a new product for these old tractors than through this and a handful of other websites. It is our mutual respect which preserves his intellectual property, not some privacy concern.

That said, I would REALLY REALLY love to have a Live Thang on my 2N. But sorry, I cannot send a $500+ check to a person I only know of through a web site for a product that I have never seen. Reputation irregardless. If I ever get the opportunity to travel through Alabama, I plan to stop by and get me one, after I see it work.

• Zane's Website

Soundguy

• Zane's website