I don't know how I got along for so long without a tractor...

[MTGreen]

Amazing how versatile tractors are. Here's avoiding the purchase/rental of a rough terrain gantry crane to pull an inboard motor out of a 23' cuddy cabin boat with a 7' high transom

 

[scootr]

I've had a tractor on the ranch for the past 25 yrs. Could not live without one. Today I have a tractor, a skid steer, a forklift and many attachments. It all makes life better and easier. Enjoy.

 

[RjCorazza]

I would never be without a frontend loader tractor. Many years ago my Dad had a small "Economy" tractor that he cut grass with and planted about an acre garden.... He always said he regretted not getting a loader on that machine. I've been a loader guy ever since being on my own.

 

[jaxs]

I would never be without a frontend loader tractor. Many years ago my Dad had a small "Economy" tractor that he cut grass with and planted about an acre garden.... He always said he regretted not getting a loader on that machine. I've been a loader guy ever since being on my own.

I was born on a row cropping farm,owned and operated countless tractors but never had a fel until I bought a 1994 20 horse Kubota with fel this year and found out the loader had almost caused it to split down the middle. I'm in the process of getting it operational by fabricating parts Kubota discontinued. I do have a tractor with gin pole I use for lifting but people borrow the 3 point pallet forks then neglect to return them claiming they didn't think I had a warehouse or use for them. Folks question why I keep a farm tractor around and I just say "because I want to". If they insinuate only farmers need tractors I ask how many pro golf tournaments they played in this past year.

 

[Williy]

You don't realize until you get a tractor to know how helpful
they can be. But when they break down its like a bad case
of hemorrhoids why the hell did I ever get that contraptions???

willy

 

[TractorTYMe]

HI! Fellow Montanan, yes a tractor is bar none one of the most versatile machines to have around.

 

[Jstpssng]

I don't know how I got along for so long without a tractor...​

You are right, but don't feel alone. Many others have said the same thing before you.

 

[crazyjake8493]

My only regret in regards to tractors is not buying one 12 years sooner when we bought our property. Too many years of back breaking work, pushing a wheelbarrow, or dragging things with the riding mower.

Would've saved us a lot of time, money, and sore backs. Never thought I could justify one on 3 acres, but a subcompact turned out to be perfect for us.

 

[Williy]

I know how I did a wheel barrow shovel and a lot of back ashes

Deutz tractors 80/75 hp have no def/regen or maintenance on the
exhaust system

willy

 

[California]

This apple orchard has always been contracted to a larger grower nearby for tillage and harvest. Grandpa, Dad, and now I, have the responsibility for planting and maintaining new trees up to harvestable. And maintaining the quarter mile easement out to the highway.

Dad hired day labor for his planting projects, and he dragged hundreds of feet of garden hose all over the place for the 3-5 years that new trees need irrigation. He insisted I carry buckets in wheelbarrows, in his elderly last couple of years when I was coming over weekly to take care of him. I refused, there were other more pressing issues to deal with, and several new trees were lost. After the place was mine I said s**** that and bought the 1980 Yanmar to carry water and do what had been done with wheelbarrows, including family harvest. Soon I realized the contractor waits several years before digging out dead stumps so I got the backhoe for that, to speed up the always-needed replanting in this old orchard.

I can't imagine how the first owner did everything with horses.

After several years I realized a smaller 4x4 Yanmar would fit under the trees and still serve as well as the YM240, so its my principal tractor now. Photo below.

 

[CalG]

I bought the Fordson E27n in the early 80's.
Now I have three tractors and live on a postage stamp of land. I just gave one away to the eldest son, or it would be four.
Can't imagine being without.

Dang tractors are nearly as bad as motorbikes.
Those are good for clearing ones thoughts so you can make better use of the tractors! ;-)

 

[jyoutz]

My only regret in regards to tractors is not buying one 12 years sooner when we bought our property. Too many years of back breaking work, pushing a wheelbarrow, or dragging things with the riding mower.

Would've saved us a lot of time, money, and sore backs. Never thought I could justify one on 3 acres, but a subcompact turned out to be perfect for us.

My only regret is not upgrading to a better sized tractor for my property when I bought it 18 years ago. I previously owned a house on three acres and had a small JD tractor that was perfect for that place. When I bought and moved to my current 20 acre place, I continued to use that small tractor. After struggling to rotary cut and maintain my property and 1/2 mile road, I finally upgraded to my current MX tractor in 2021. What a difference and how easy it makes tasks when I have a right sized machine for my needs

 

[milkman636]

I’m fortunate to have grown up with multiple tractors around. But modern tractors are leaps ahead of the 1930s Case C and Viking walk behind that my grandfather had.

I’ll go a step further and credit advancement in hydraulics for the improvement in what tractors can do: The hydraulic three point improved on the drawbar tremendously. Having enough hydraulic pump to power a loader means one person can move more now than a team of men could in a day. Hydraulic traction motors have transformed our compact tractors into precision machines that operate at nearly optimal speeds for any condition, and in close quarters without concern for causing damage. Plus there are so many attachments available that can make a tractor beneficial to almost any task a person could do outdoors. They are marvelous machines.

Not one person I’ve talked to ever said they regretted making the investment in their first tractor. Shoot, I even keep two around even though I could probably get by with one if I had to. But I’m pretty certain that having more than one is in my DNA. That’s how DNA works, in pairs.

 

[Muley Gil]

I bought my 20 acres while I was working overseas. I returned home the following year & bought my 8N about 5 weeks later. While a more modern tractor would be nicer, the little Ford does 95% of the work I need it to do.

 

[tacticalturnip]

It's amazing the uses one can come up with after a tractor enters their life.

 

[koshari]

I would never be without a frontend loader tractor. Many years ago my Dad had a small "Economy" tractor that he cut grass with and planted about an acre garden.... He always said he regretted not getting a loader on that machine. I've been a loader guy ever since being on my own.

Loaders save backs.

 

[bdhsfz6]

Amazing how versatile tractors are. Here's avoiding the purchase/rental of a rough terrain gantry crane to pull an inboard motor out of a 23' cuddy cabin boat with a 7' high transom

I learned this early on as a kid. I remember the marina where my father kept his boat had an old Ford N with a boom pole rigged to the FEL. They used it to pull outboards & stern drives and move equipment around the yard.

Years later, when I started building my house, one of my first major purchases was a Kubota B7100 with backhoe & FEL. The things I did with that machine, and the $$ it saved, is too lengthy to list here.