What would you do...

[heymack]

First of all, that's sure a nice house you just built.

Here's what I'd do. Since you only have 7 acres to maintain, I'd get a $1500 lawn tractor to maintain the yard area around the house, buy a $1000 dependable/safe trailer and "borrow" dad's machine when needed. Don't make the 3-hr. round trip to use it for an hour, rather make sure you have a lot to do. Now, to keep mama happy, I'd pave the drive (if you're sure it's only going to be $6k or thereabouts....my drive would cost well over $100k to pave so it ain't happening any time soon). All told, you've spent less than $10k and you can have and keep your place looking wonderful. I realize this doesn't help you with your tractor fix (we've all been there), but I think it's a good compromise for all interested parties.

Whatever you decide, good luck.

 

[hudlow]

Also, I have a partial gravel driveway, am I a redneck?

hybrid

 

[EddieWalker]

It sounds like you really want a tractor, but from what you've said, I don't know what you'll really need it for. Mowing isn't very fast on a tractor, even with a 6 foot mower. If you had enough HP to run a batwing, then you could speed things up, but otherwise, it's still gonna take you a few hours to mow your grass with the tractor.

Buying a good trailer makes allot of sense. It's money well spent that you can always get back if you decide to sell the trailer. I don't know anybody who has a trailer that would sell it, unless they are upgrading to a bigger one.

Paving the driveway will add some financial return to your investment of the home and land, but probably not allot. It will add tremendous value to your mariage, and that's priceless. Especially if you're going to end up paving it anyway. It won't get any cheaper, so now is the best time for something like that.

To mow your lawn faster, you should really be looking at a better lawn mower. Some of them can do it extremly quickly for a quarter of what you will pay for a tractor.

There's no reason you can't have the best of everything here. A good trailer for using the tractor when you really need it. A paved driveway to make your home even nicer and your wife happy, and a new Z turn mower to get your lawns done in under an hour.

Good luck,
Eddie

 

[coasterez]

Eddie has it right! Do as advised. Then, in a very few short years down the road, you can get your tractor craving filled. It will be very gratifying, especially since your wife will be smiling and you'll still have a separate lawn mower.

 

[RoyJackson]

Brian (thatguy), you don't have your profile filled out, but I believe I saw in a thread or on one of the pictures of the homestead that you are in Virginia.

As a few posters did suggest going used (I bought both my machines used), it would be to your advantage to look on MachineFinder.com (Used Farm Equipment & Agricultural Equipment - John Deere MachineFinder.com.

FYI, My 790 came from VA. (I'm in southern PA). It was purchased from the JAMES RIVER COMPANIES LLC


Anyway, take a look at the 755's, 855's and 955 (for Hydros). For gear machines, the 670's and 770's. Also look at Kubota BX2200's and 7500's. You may find a tractor that would do tha majority of your work for well under $10K. That would leave you enough to do the drive (unless you're really good at concrete and asphalt, best leave that job to a professional). Although I have a 790, I do think the 855 would be a great fit for your property. FYI, the 670 and 770 are the same as the 790 except for engine and tire sizes (some sheet metal, but when you look at them, you'll see the similarities. Since you're experienced operating a CUT, you should have no trouble selecting a good machine. I wouldn't be too concerned about hours if the machines pull well (refering more to the Deere's since I don't know a heck of a lot about Kubotas). Personally, I'd go for a used Deere before a new Chinese tractor for the same price. I know the Deere will still have dealer support in a year or two. BTW, my first tractor, a Deere 670, had 600 hours on it when I bought it. It had about 800 on it when I traded it on the 790

I still think that drive will cost more then $6K, so I'd get a few estimates on that first...that would give you a better idea of how much you could spend on a used machine.

 

[escavader]

FUNNY,I HAD the same dilema,hot top drive or tractor,guess who won.I told her we could save thousands of dollars,if i had a tractor to do the prep work,and a hoe to dig the ditches.I convinced her.Give that line a try .Drive is still not paved.Tractor looks good though
ALAN

 

[InlineDieselFan]

Better you than me!!!

Keep the wife happy, if she is happy you can at least be okay.

If she is not happy you will be miserable.

It does not sound as if you NEED a tractor, you just really WANT a tractor. You could buy a nice trailer and use the left over money to pavethe driveway. You could even buy a nice dump trailer that could still haul the tractor.

I know around my houe when the boss lady is happy I am happy. She said buy what ever tractor we NEEDED to get the job done. I explained all of the advantages and dis-advantages of each model tractor and HP rating. Ultimatly we got the 3430, because of a last year model same price as a new year model 3130. As the dealer said a 5030 is what we need these first few years but after that a 3130 would be plenty. So far he was right and I am happy, she is happy, which is making me even happier.

Bottom line keep the wife happy.

steve

 

[thatguy]

I have a "redneck" driveway....?

No offense meant... My wife is a very intelligent and smart women.. BUT her statement of the 'redneck driveway' has to be the stupidest thing she has ever said..

She just doesnt understand why everyone doesnt have a paved driveway - We make good money, so we can afford 'extras' like a paved driveway, but she doesnt understand for some its not high on the priorities list..

BUT - I called her this afternoon and she was like "i just dont understand why i was so mean to you last night and why i got so upset over the driveway" I do think she (and a lot of you) have a valid point about looking for a alternative to the new tractor, but what is killing me is one day is "buy what you want" the next is "you dont love me because you think we need a tractor over paving the driveway" (joking - but it was probably close to being that ridiculous.. LOL)

ill keep you informed of what the final decision is.. Once she makes it.. LOL

thanks

Brian

 

[shvl73]

Give it a week and refine your sales pitch on how valuable a tractor can be to both of you.

 

[jbrumberg]

thatguy:

I have been "working" with people in the human services and lived with the same woman (a saint) for over 30 years- a good marital relationship is not based on logic . "Balance" and compromise is the key. I would recommend that you "fine tune" your pouting, grovelling, and kowtowing as well as get used to getting your elbows and knees a little worn . "Strike when the iron is hot"- whenever my wife gives me the "go-a-head" for a tractor type aquisition I move quicker than "deer guts sliding off a doorknob". I will move on this type of aquisition in a matter of hours/days when I will usually take a year or two or three or four.... I do have a question about your "redneck" driveway- what do your neighbors have? It took me around 13 years to get around to redoing my driveway and regravelling it the right way and my neighbors were keeping to the same timeframes (lucky for me). Last fall I finally did something about my driveway and my neighbors (like 2) did likeways. Like everyone else says you got to keep wifey happy or you won't be. You could "downgrade" your property, leave driveway as is, and "hide" a brand new tractor out back . Best of luck to you and the Lady. Jay

 

[mikeyd]

I do think it is important to pave the driveway not so much because of the "redneck" factor but because with a stone driveway you and the dogs tend to drag little stones, chips and dirt into the house. These will cause damage to your expensive hardwood floors. Believe me I know the pain of paving a driveway...mine is 1000 foot, but it was worth it. You have a beautiful brand new home, you don't want to ruin it.

I understand your desire to have a tractor. To me it doesn't matter if you "need" it. I mean do you "need" such a beautiful house...do you "need" a jacuzzi? You get the point. So, get a tractor, besides you will put it to good use;plowing the driveway, mowing, carrying mulch, dirt etc. I don't know much about JD's but your dad's tractor would be overkill for your property. There are a ton of small compact tractors like a kubota bx2300 that would suit your needs and, especially used, can be had for much less than 17k. My neighbor has a BX2300 with a mmm, FEL and BH and, for the most part, there is nothing I can do with my much larger 5030 that he can't do with his machine, it just takes longer.

The nice thing about a tractor like a bx2300 is that you could buy it with just a MMM and then later pickup a FEL, BH etc. as money permits. Plus they hold thier value so you can always trade up.

I do agree with all the others....above all, keep momma happy.

 

[McDenny's]

Okay, heres one for ya, My driveway is about 1000' long and its gravel. I once mentioned to my wife about paving the driveway and her comment was "But thats why you bought your tractor honey, to keep our gravel driveway nice and smooth" How can you argue with that ???? So having a "redneck" driveway isn't always a bad thing.



Dennis

 

[RoyJackson]

"I don't know much about JD's but your dad's tractor would be overkill for your property."

The 790 might be overkill for the finished lawn but would be great for the field mowing (which, per Brian's pictures, is what it is used for now). It's also a good fit for other tasks on a 7 acre property.

I use my 790 to mow an acre of finished lawn...and it is overkill for that particular task (still fun though!). However, for my other work it's a pretty decent fit (especially if I can ever talk my wife into letting me get the chipper!).

Anyway...keep reading posts on TBN...overkill is the name of the game here.

So Brian...what do you use the 33' x 39' Game room for? You didn't have any pictures of it in your photo album.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

No offense meant... My wife is a very intelligent and smart women.. BUT her statement of the 'redneck driveway' has to be the stupidest thing she has ever said..

ill keep you informed of what the final decision is.. Once she makes it.. LOL

thanks

Brian

STUPIDEST? Maybe, maybe not. She's got you right where she wants you on the issue. Sounds "smartest" to me. I had a discussion with my wife a few weeks ago about another topic. Television commercials. She was commenting on "how stupid" some of them were. My reply? That "stupid commercial" has you talking about it 2 hours after it aired. They got more than their monies worth out of that 30 seconds. It was easier to write a commercial with little inteligent thought, a low budget, and very little direct information about the product they were selling than it would have been to write a genious, classic marketing ploy. In other words, they took the easy way out and it worked like a charm. They got what they wanted.

Your wife (and mine too) know all about the power of women to manipulate us males. She didn't have to spend a lot of effort reasoning with you, laying out hard facts, or even offering a better alternative. She's got YOU to do the dirty work for her now. And if your decision turns out to be a BAD ONE, you're all alone in the blame. A GOOD desicion, and she LET you do it. They're tricky creatures, those females, and they do it so effortlessly. In the end, she either gets her way OR she sends you out to find a tractor feeling a little bit guilty about buying something that's "all for you". That gets stored away until the NEXT TIME she needs bargaining leverage.

OR....she may just be right.....which is it?

38 years of being married have taught me a few things. One is we don't stand a chance of being right.

Oh, the power of women, God love 'em........

 

[Renob]

I always go by the rule that "It's easier to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission".

 

[hudlow]

No offense meant... My wife is a very intelligent and smart women.. BUT her statement of the 'redneck driveway' has to be the stupidest thing she has ever said..

She just doesnt understand why everyone doesnt have a paved driveway - We make good money, so we can afford 'extras' like a paved driveway, but she doesnt understand for some its not high on the priorities list..

BUT - I called her this afternoon and she was like "i just dont understand why i was so mean to you last night and why i got so upset over the driveway" I do think she (and a lot of you) have a valid point about looking for a alternative to the new tractor, but what is killing me is one day is "buy what you want" the next is "you dont love me because you think we need a tractor over paving the driveway" (joking - but it was probably close to being that ridiculous.. LOL)

ill keep you informed of what the final decision is.. Once she makes it.. LOL

thanks

Brian

No offense taken. I consider myself a redneck and tell most of my freinds they are also.

Sooner or later you'll get that tractor and the paved driveway.

My wife is also a very smart woman - but I know where you're coming from.

It's just not meant to be figured out.

Be patient.

(but I do often go by Renob's advice...."It's easier to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission". )

hud

 

[dtd24]

If it were me I would go with paving the driveway, and look for a used safe trailer. It's nice to have a good trailer around. I have a gravel drive I am in the process of re-working, it's alot of work

 

[thatguy]

thatguy:

<deleted text> I do have a question about your "redneck" driveway- what do your neighbors have? <deleted text> Jay

We are in a just developing subdivision, with some established homes in the surrounding areas.. Most of the older homes have gravel... There are only 2 completed houses immediately around us and they both have paved drives (sorta setting the standard), and 3 more under construction (two are spec homes). Most of the lots are smaller 2 acre lots, and the driveways wont be excessively long, so they can be paved for under a fortune..

Answering some of the other questions..

IF i was to get the tractor I want, beside bush hogging and mowing the yard, I do have plenty of project that I can use the tractor for.. I have plenty of areas to be 'cleaned up' - which done by hand would have me at the drs for hernia surgery or at the chiropractor for adjustments.. LOL

AND as it was mentioned, I can always find some use for it, although im sure the wife would laugh at me for my imaginative uses.. I had a lot of projects i wanted to do this winter while it was cooler and the snakes were away, but every time I tried to get dads tractor it just didnt work out for some reason.

I am quietly going to get one more quote for comparisions and as JBrumberg mentioned.. If i get the OK again.. it will be too late to turn back.. LOL

thanks for all the help..

Brian

 

[tydp]

Do what you both originally agreed on. If she gets mad, she'll get over it. I know marriage is a 50/50 proposition or should be. All the time spent currently mowing is taking away form things you could be doing yourself or together. It is my pet peeve (and am certainly not saying you are in this boat) to hear men constantly asking their wife's permission to do everything. Lots of men need to grow a pair......Rant off.

 

[the_sandman_454]

Here's what you do... Get a pair of bib overalls of the denim jean material variety, a "redneck" looking shirt, a straw hat, and a piece of straw to chew on. Tell your wife you're tryin' to look the part of being a redneck... Then buy the tractor, since prior to her mood swings you had permission, so that makes it valid enough. Then just go ahead and prep for the driveway. Sell other peoples' kidneys on the black market to finance it. That's my strategy.