Where do you park your tractor when not in use, inside/outside/Covered outside?

[Jstpssng]

I have a 16x16 foot open shed, as I haven't had time to enclose it yet. Come to think of it I also haven't gotten the roof on it yet. I tried to get it done before winter but didn't make it.

You can see the difference in my 2015 which has always been outside, vs my father's 2008 which has always been in the barn. My seat is cracked, the paint is fading, the tires are weather checked. His paint is fresh, the tires are good, the only downside is the dirt sifting down from the floor upstairs.

 

[California]

The early-80's Yanmars I bought used in 2003 and 2009 (photo) have lived under cover since I bought them. but each shows its 20+ years parked outdoors prior to that.

On the first one - YM240 - I had to replace some minor plastic and rubber items that had weathered before I put the tractor in service. Here's a 2-layer hydraulic hose where the outer cover rotted away. I didn't replace it then, and amazingly it's still in service without leaking now at 45 years old.

I wish the prior owners had stored these tractors indoors.

And here's a recent photo of my car that has never been parked under cover. Now 25+ years outdoors. California cars don't rust! (And Subaru apparently used excellent paint).

 

[Slomotion]

My Kioti lives in the back of the carport facing sideways so I don't have to move the wife's car to get it out. My one concession is to keep a 60w light bulb trouble light fixture next to the engine/fuel pump so in -0 temps the starts aren't so hard on everything.
I keep a couple of blankets on the hood and it's surprising how much relative heat is retained.

 

[wolc123]

I keep my Farmall and my Ford in my pole barn whenever I’m not using them. Both are broken down now and awaiting repairs. Hopefully, I’ll have time to get to that before spring. The best thing about owning those brands is the appreciation they give me for John Deere, plus it’s a great challenge keeping them running.

My John Deere spends spring and summer out in a shed, I built on the back of the pole barn, fall in the pole barn (I use the shed for splitting wood then), and winters under the side porch.

 

[Too many Kubotas]

The M6040 lives indoors, the small ones in the carport.

Keeping the UV off of them is the main goal.

 

[MJZ]

We were fortunate to pick up 10 acres next door to us. Has a 24 x 36 shop. Perfect man cave. Here's a question, do you leave it outdoors for any length of time? I leave mine out 2 or 3 days at a time. Shop is a quarter mile away and I sometimes leave the tractor near the house for a couple days. Convenient? Lazy? I don't know. But I'm thinking I won't do that anymore. OK sun amd wind just too hot

 

[bigtiller]

Damn clean! Don’t you use those things ???

I wouldn't mind using them more but about 50 hours a year is about it. I am sometimes tempted to just go on a road trip to get more hours.

 

[Jaybr]

My 06 Kioti spent most of it's life outside, the last 5 years under a lean-to behind my sons garage. Our new place has a metal building for the tractors so both can be stored inside.

 

[hosspuller]

Sun and weather are the enemies of equipment. All except the new car is under a roof... only because there's no room in a garage for it.

 

[AntiqueIron]

I’m pretty particular about keeping my rig’s paint nice so she lives inside. Lot nicer getting on a dry seat too.

 

[Blue Mule]

Interesting. I've commented before on the way I maintain my tractor(s) way better than any of my on-road vehicles, especially when it comes to changing the less-considered fluids like coolant and trans fluid. You can count on my tractors all being on or ahead of the maintenance schedule, whereas my on-road vehicles mostly only get engine oil changes.

Why? Well, I have kept many tractors past 40 years of age, some even past 50... approaching 60 years. But I never really keep any car much past the 12 year mark, anymore. It doesn't need to last as long!

True, but my tractor doesn't get me to work and back every day. Nor does it get nearly as many engine hours put on it. The truck needs more attention and better care.

 

[WinterDeere]

True, but my tractor doesn't get me to work and back every day. Nor does it get nearly as many engine hours put on it. The truck needs more attention and better care.

I put more hours on my tractor! I commute to work in my bedroom slippers, the office is only one staircase away from my bedroom.

 

[part-time-Farmer-NC]

We were fortunate to pick up 10 acres next door to us. Has a 24 x 36 shop. Perfect man cave. Here's a question, do you leave it outdoors for any length of time? I leave mine out 2 or 3 days at a time. Shop is a quarter mile away and I sometimes leave the tractor near the house for a couple days. Convenient? Lazy? I don't know. But I'm thinking I won't do that anymore. OK sun amd wind just too hot

Mine has always been covered at least. I think there was only a couple of nights where I had left it outside because of say the disc or some other large attachment on it wouldn't allow me to park it there. The first 5-6 years it was a shed, then built my shop and had a drive thru put in it. Just two opposing 9' roll up doors directly across from each other.

I initially decided to move my parking from the shed to the shop. Shed is a tall sided metal shed, the sides don't go down but a foot or so from the 9 ft ceiling. Sometimes I saw where rain would blow into/on the kioti. I was having issues with what I came to know was a relay issue. Wondered if that had any factor in it.

 

[bearthebruce]

In 2018, a 30'x40' barn/shed/shop (BSS) was built to house our MF 1533, our Dane zero turn, and the UTV. 6 years later, we are near out of room! And no, no plans to get rid of anything.

 

[MJZ]

Aside from cats, any experience in keeping mice out of shop and equipment? I've been using the buckets with a ramp. Ive caught 4 but nothing in the past couple months. Ive also seen some repellant in little bags.

 

[Portuguese Farmer]

 

[jigs_n_fixtures]

Hopefully I can find time to build a tractor shed this summer. Drew it up, ready to get permits two winters ago. Planning to start it in the spring after the ground thawed.

Then my brother-in-law got liver cancer and died in four months. The younger brother and I have been providing home care for the oldest sister since then, and my priority shifted to designing an ADA compliant aging home for the oldest sister on my place.

Got it designed, and she thinks it is too fancy. I see it as minimalist, for the goal. Polished concrete floors with in-floor hydronic heat. Roll in shower, with blocking for a hoist system if needed, Prefinished 1/4-inch plywood on walls, Structural Insulated Panels for the exterior walls. My design goal is to build an energy efficient home, which is extremely low maintenance. And, with the shortage of skilled tradesmen it is really hard to build anything which is very labor intensive. So, SIP exterior walls, which I can do with myself and a single helper. Metal roof, which sheds snow, is fire smart, and in my climate lasts fifty years.

I'm figuring that the rest of the siblings are also getting older, and it could be in use until the younger brother, and I are dead, and then donated to the local hospice society.

 

[jyoutz]

Aside from cats, any experience in keeping mice out of shop and equipment? I've been using the buckets with a ramp. Ive caught 4 but nothing in the past couple months. Ive also seen some repellant in little bags.

I have yet to find an effective repellent. The only answer is to trap and kill them by whatever means that works.

 

[jigs_n_fixtures]

Aside from cats, any experience in keeping mice out of shop and equipment? I've been using the buckets with a ramp. Ive caught 4 but nothing in the past couple months. Ive also seen some repellant in little bags.

Quite a few feral and semi-feral cats around my place. The only time I've had any problems with mice, was teh winter I decided to feed birds, and teh mice moved in to eat the bird seed. Bird food in a metal trash can with a lid, next to the bird feeder, solved that.

A four-to-six-foot perimeter of Pea Gravel, (3/8-inch clean aggregate about two inches deep), around the building is a big help. Mice don't like being out in the open. And the pea gravel falls into the hole if they try to end or start a tunnel in it. I first learned about the gravel band when trying to mouse proof buildings in the Southwest, to minimize Hantavirus. A water district I worked for had a serious incident, which killed one guy, and permanently disabled two others, when they cleaned up mouse infestation, and aerosoled the virus, in the room they were working in. So, we all got a bunch of training on the hantavirus, and how to mitigate it, and prevent mice in the buildings.

 

[California]

Peppermint paste repellent, and clothes-dryer anti wrinkle sheets, are things I've seen recommended against mice.

It rained for weeks here in early 2023 and a squirrel moved in to the engine compartment of the Focus. It ate the insulation off wires, then actually cut the primary battery cable, killed the car. $1600 repair, rebuilding the complex wire loom in that area.

After adding the above repellents I haven't seen any evidence that it returned.