Where do you park/store your tractor?

[thankyouTBN]

When not in use, I park my tractor in a carport with a gravel floor. It's a Kubota B2320 that I bought new in 2014. I am starting to notice quite a bit of rust on the tractor and am wondering if this is normal for being storing on a dirt floor, or has Kubota paint quality gone downhill.

Would love to hear how you all store your tractors and your issues & solutions to rusting or preventing rust.

What a funny coincidence. I was just thinking about this. I have to move my lawnmowers out of the garage to a lean-to shed. I gotta work on my truck in the garage. Years ago I put a log splitter down there and the mice packed the air blower system with nest building materials. At the timeI jury rigged some quarter inch wire cloth to keep them out, but it’s too hard to do that to the lawnmowers. Just a little while ago I was thinking I gotta get like a pint of eucalyptus oil or whatever it is you use to deter mice. I never like using mouse poison because I’m always worried about the owls eating the poisoned mouse and killing the owls.

 

[ning]

I don't exactly understand why, but those seem to be somewhat notorious for "container sweat". Not sure I'd want to keep a tractor in one unless I took steps to reduce it. Maybe you have/will, just thought I'd mention is.

My high-cube has small vents near the top on the sides, and it's sitting about a foot off of the ground (well, 6" at one end and about 16" at the other end) on RR tie blocks under the corners. We have pretty wet winters - zero noticeable humidity inside. I help a local music camp that stores a bunch of stuff in a couple 20's and they had really bad moisture issues; we jacked up the containers (farm jack) and put them on blocks and no more inside rain despite them being placed over totally unprepared surfaces.

Just make sure there's enough room for small predators to get under the container to keep vermin from nesting there.

I'd be really really careful driving a cabbed tractor in any container; probably best to have a level entrance. Web says my tractor is 98" at the rops, and I have a very short gravel "ramp" for it to get in (remember the container is up off the ground) and while it's got a couple inches to spare it feels like it's about to hit the roof, probably because of the angles.. and definitely don't want it to bounce going through the doorway.

 

[Skypilota72]

When not in use, I park my tractor in a carport with a gravel floor. It's a Kubota B2320 that I bought new in 2014. I am starting to notice quite a bit of rust on the tractor and am wondering if this is normal for being storing on a dirt floor, or has Kubota paint quality gone downhill.

Would love to hear how you all store your tractors and your issues & solutions to rusting or preventing rust.

 

[Skypilota72]

When not in use, I park my tractor in a carport with a gravel floor. It's a Kubota B2320 that I bought new in 2014. I am starting to notice quite a bit of rust on the tractor and am wondering if this is normal for being storing on a dirt floor, or has Kubota paint quality gone downhill.

Would love to hear how you all store your tractors and your issues & solutions to rusting or preventing rust.

I park my Mahindra Cut in my 3rd garage that is insulated and has baseboard heaters.

 

[Ridersupfarm]

Under a shed roof on the side of a barn on some thin gravel. It's a 2011 and no rust so far. Is yours getting wet and not drying for some reason? Or maybe you just got one with a bd paint job.My problem is keeping mice out of it. They have chewed up the dash wiring twice.

We have barn cats and no mice. Best mouse trap ever invented.

 

[Aquabird]

When I had my Ford tractor, that I bought new, I parked it in a pole building with a dirt floor, 30'x40'. I had a cement floor put in it. After 301 yrs I sold that tractor and it looked new.
I BOUGHT my new Kubota 3 yrs ago and have had it in my other pole barn with cement floor since, 42'x60'. It looks new now.

 

[deserteagle71]

When I had my Ford tractor, that I bought new, I parked it in a pole building with a dirt floor, 30'x40'. I had a cement floor put in it. After 301 yrs I sold that tractor and it looked new.

WOW! Would you happen to have a photo of that old Ford you could post? Don't believe I've ever seen a tractor over 100 years old, much less 300........

 

[Mtsoxfan]

I'm sure the quality/type of paint matters. Not sure what they use overseas, but it is my understanding that oil based paint has been a no no for many years in the U.S.

 

[WinterDeere]

...it is my understanding that oil based paint has been a no no for many years in the U.S.

Not so. I've purchased and used 5 quarts of oil-based paint in the last two weeks alone!

They've applied new VOC limits to most types of oil paint over the years, and of course eliminated the lead since 1978, but alkyd-based enamel is still very popular. All "Tractor and Implement" paints of which I'm aware, or at least those I actually use, are still oil based.

 

[rmk700]

When not in use, I park my tractor in a carport with a gravel floor. It's a Kubota B2320 that I bought new in 2014. I am starting to notice quite a bit of rust on the tractor and am wondering if this is normal for being storing on a dirt floor, or has Kubota paint quality gone downhill.

Would love to hear how you all store your tractors and your issues & solutions to rusting or preventing rust.

I have an 40’ x 50’ installed steel shed

 

[johng@imbertconstruction.]

When not in use, I park my tractor in a carport with a gravel floor. It's a Kubota B2320 that I bought new in 2014. I am starting to notice quite a bit of rust on the tractor and am wondering if this is normal for being storing on a dirt floor, or has Kubota paint quality gone downhill.

Would love to hear how you all store your tractors and your issues & solutions to rusting or preventing rust.

I built a 24x36ft out bldg to house my NH 4060 , accessories and a 10Klb trailer To save money I leveled the dirt floor. There was always condensation on the ceiling of the metal building. The trailer rusted heavily . The tractor and accessories were OK. Next year I poured a concrete floor with a drain. Problem solved. Had to sand blast and repaint the trailer. No problems after the floor was in place and It has been years

 

[grsthegreat]

WOW! Would you happen to have a photo of that old Ford you could post? Don't believe I've ever seen a tractor over 100 years old, much less 300........

Forget that. They said they bought it new and sold it 301 years later….i want to know their secret for longevity…..

 

[dnw64]

WOW! Would you happen to have a photo of that old Ford you could post? Don't believe I've ever seen a tractor over 100 years old, much less 300........

You need to get out more. 100 year old tractors are dime a dozen, although I will grant that 300 is pretty rare.

 

[JRH02]

Both the tractors, ATV & UTV, pickups, trailers and virtually everything for that matter live outside. We're in the PNW but in the rain shadow so we get both moist and dry extremes. There is no rust problem but plenty of faded paint. I keep trying to get the wife to wax the stuff....

 

[qualsite]

We have three 40ft shipping containers on the farm, and on the original one, I attached a shed roof for the tractor and equipment... so a 40ft x 10ft covered storage area. It's on a decomposed granite packed base. It was cheap and easy to build. Trees are on the open side, and opposite of prevailing wind. Tractor's been in there its whole life 23 yrs, and no problems. Of course, this is Sacramento, so lots of rain in the winter, but no snow or summer humidity.

 

[WinterDeere]

As I've been stripping and repainting my landscape trailer / log hauler due to 10 years spent outdoors, I've been debating the merits and options of building or buying storage for it.

No conclusion yet, but I have wondered about the cost and maintenance of the storage shed, versus the trailer itself. If you spend $5k on storage to protect a $5k trailer, and then have to maintain the storage shed itself, one could argue it's a losing proposition.

 

[HayFarmer]

Whether my machines are in the dirt floor barn, or plastic shed, they get "barn rust". Seems like where condensation hits.

 

[WinterDeere]

Whether my machines are in the dirt floor barn, or plastic shed, they get "barn rust". Seems like where condensation hits.

I've been storing one of my boat trailers in a drafty old 1880's barn for 20 years now, and no such issue. It's not as susceptable as machinery tables, being a painted trailer made for outdoor use.

 

[HayFarmer]

I've been storing one of my boat trailers in a drafty old 1880's barn for 20 years now, and no such issue. It's not as susceptable as machinery tables, being a painted trailer made for outdoor use.

I don't think my farm paint is as good as your marine paint!

 

[WinterDeere]

I don't think my farm paint is as good as your marine paint!

lol... that trailer is painted in the older formula (ca.2007) Valspar Tractor & Implement paint!

That said, if building a dedicated "trailer shed", I'd probably do it as a pavilion with large overhangs, such that the trailer gets plenty of ventillation for staying dry. I don't need it "indoors", I just want a roof over it.

The trouble is, unless it's on a pad (concrete or asphalt), or has a wood floor over vapor barrier, I suspect it's going to rust from below.