Sharing with Neighbor

[tony123]

I bet many of us are faced with these thoughts, and I'm curious to know how everyone's handled it or what you would do.

I just moved onto new property and also have my first tractor. This combination puts me in position to need lots of implements. My neighbor also just moved in, however, he has at least 6 or 8 implements, some of which I will need at some point.

It feels silly and wasteful for neighbors to both spend money on an implement that is only used annually or even every several years. This is why I started thinking it would be nice to share with each other. Problem is, he has everything to share, and I have nothing at the moment.

I've considered approaching him and asking if he'd like to share implements, and if so, what sorts of things is he interested in that I might purchase.

He has...post hole digger, disc harrow, chain harrow, rear blade, shredder. I have box blade. I was thinking of offering to buy a "communal" scoop, moldboard plow and carryall. Maybe even a log splitter.

Any comments? have you found that this works out usually, or makes bad neighbors? We'll be neighbors for 20+ years.

[Slacker]

If it's gonna break, then it'll break when you borrow it. I feel better knowing the gear is mine to break and fix.

[Birdman253]

Perhaps you could rent implements from him as needed, at a very favorable rental rate. He gets some income from an implement that otherwise would be just sitting, and you get benefits of use, without the investment and ownership of low use items.

[tony123]

Slacker, I agree. If it were an item prone to breaking, I would just want to own it. But most of this stuff is not that way.

My point here mainly, was how wasteful it seems for us to both own an expensive hunk of iron that we'll never wear out. Not that I couldn't afford implements.

[SnowRidge]

Lending stuff back and forth can be good, or it can be problematic. Think of Dagwood and Herb.

Personally, I hate to borrow, and I don't much care to lend either. It's one thing to lend a subsoiler; it's quite another to loan out a pressure washer or something equally sensitive to misuse and abuse.

Once you start lending stuff out, even if it is pretty much unbreakable, it gets harder to say no when the guy asks to borrow something you really don't want him to have.

[Tig]

Get to know the guy first. Then decide if you want to share. Some people like to have their stuff shiney and new, some like to beat the crap out of it. Either way there's lots of room for hard feelings without anyone doing much wrong.
Personally I don't like to borrow and I'd rather do a job for free than lend my tools. Just my 2 cents.

[ToadHill]

Had a deal with a neighbor several years ago. We shared implements with the proviso that when it was hooked up, it did 2 jobs. If I had the moldboard hooked up I plowed both gardens. If he had the cultivator hooked up, he cultivated both gardens. If I had the snowblower hooked up for the winter I did both driveways and when he would hook up the bush hog he did all the fields.

Worked well until he moved and took his implements with him, it also would only work for people who got along very well.

[tony123]

All good points.

If our relationship ever went south, I would be upset that $2000 worth of implements made for sour neighbors.

Should have added. He has already lent me his discs and chain drag for seeding. I didn't ask, he offered.

[ccsial]

When I borrow my tractor to a friend or neighbor they get the operator with it. Me. I agree about breaking things. Some implements are easier to break than others and I'd really have to know the guy was careful and smart enough not to abuse anything.

A lot of people will think if it is yours you pay to fix it even if I broke it.

As was already said, depends what kind of guy he is.

[sandman2234]

If your tractor is the same size, or smaller than his, then maybe. If yours is larger, you will probably tear up more than you want to fix anyway.
When you borrowed the previous implements, did you return them in better shape than when you borrowed them? The disc probably had grease fittings on it that could stand a shot or two. The neighbor might have been "testing" you to see if he wanted to do that in case you ever asked.
Since he has the investment in implements, can you afford to invest a little extra time? Next time his field needs mowing, or driveway needs snow blown off it, can you do it before he gets to it? If the give and take is one sided, the guy with the best end of the deal has to work a little harder to catch it up. I knew a guy with a machine shop that was always making my end better, and now that he is getting too old to take care of his yard, it is time for me to catch back up. (fixing to go mow his two houses, 1.5 acres each that are 25 miles apart)
If something breaks, can you repair it to a degree of repair that he will approve of, or will you have to have it done and pay for it. Anything that breaks while you have it should be fixed before you take it back. Sometimes hard to do, to fix something that was worn out before you borrowed it, but you just got to do it.
Good luck, cause if you do work this out, it will allow you to purchase other implements that will help both of you out.
David from jax