The one thing that you wonder why you didn't buy sooner?

[Snezzy]

A wife. I don't know why I didn't get one sooner ?

Selecting a good one is important. When advising young guys I recommend they find one who already owns a pickup truck. The ability to tie a bowline, to ride a horse, or to drive oxen are good indicators.

 

[pmsmechanic]

Selecting a good one is important. When advising young guys I recommend they find one who already owns a pickup truck. The ability to tie a bowline, to ride a horse, or to drive oxen are good indicators.

I tell the young guys that it's a lot happier to be single and unhappy than it is to be married and unhappy.

 

[Geunther]

About two years ago i was traveling back from a horse show, when a trailer tire let go. Late August in the mid south, it was around 95 and very humid. My trailer is very heavy, (8 tons, empty) and I use 14 ply tires. I have a 36 inch breaker bar that travels with me, but muscling that tire off, on the side of the road, was exhausting. I bought a cheapo 1/2 inch drive impact gun from Harbor Freight the next day. I charge it the day before I travel and put it in the truck. It has been the best $300 I have spent in the last decade. I haven't had to break lug nuts loose with a four way, a cheater bar or a breaker bar since. Can't believe how much easier life has become with this tool.

 

[kenhar]

Farm shop. Never felt like I could quite afford and had other higher priorities. Always a tree available. Now at 75, can afford even though cost is 10 times what it was 40+ years ago. Is it practical today?

 

[Half-a-Day Farm]

These tractorbynet threads that land in the inbox are....addicting!

A lot of good choices here. For the budget minded, how about a CALICO CAT?

We have dogs and never liked cats but somebody dumped one on us as a tiny kitten and it's been a LOT of fun having her around. All natural blood pressure reducer. Calico Charlie has gone from abandoned and starving to the queen of Half-a-Day Farm.

 

[homey53]

What tools (cheap or expensive) have you purchased and thought why didn't I buy that years ago? For me two come to mind: I went years without a toolbox on my truck. I don't know why but after I bought one I couldn't believe I made it without a toolbox. And a farm jack; the jacks have so many uses.

Nylon lifting slings in different lengths.

 

[GinNB]

Half inch impact gun, high torque version. My first Milwaukee converted me even though it was before the brushless generation. Soooo handy for so many things. It'd be the first tool I replaced if it went missing.

 

[NEEDAMAN]

What tools (cheap or expensive) have you purchased and thought why didn't I buy that years ago? For me two come to mind: I went years without a toolbox on my truck. I don't know why but after I bought one I couldn't believe I made it without a toolbox. And a farm jack; the jacks have so many uses.

Air compressor for everything. Second would be my tractor with 4x4 and loader.

 

[WinterDeere]

I'm still using my old air impact... like a sucker! I have a 1/4" hex 18V impact driver that gets used endlessly for driving screws, but most of my mechanic type work happens in my shop, just feet from the air compressor. That old air impact refuses to ever die, and give me a good excuse to go cordless.

 

[Runnerman6!!]

What tools (cheap or expensive) have you purchased and thought why didn't I buy that years ago? For me two come to mind: I went years without a toolbox on my truck. I don't know why but after I bought one I couldn't believe I made it without a toolbox. And a farm jack; the jacks have so many uses.

My “wish I had bought sooner” item is a set of pallet forks that clamp onto my front end loader. Makes picking up brush and other stuff so much easier! It’s a must have, especially if you have woods that you want to keep cleaned up.