I'm puzzled

[mapper]

As I travel around the area that I live, I have noticed that there are a lot of tractors that are parked outside. In many cases they are parked outside of barns, sheds and shops. Why would you make a substantial investment in a piece of equipment then let it sit out in the elements.
I have always tried to protect my tractors and other equipment by storing them under cover, even when I was unable to keep the old 8N inside I at least had it tarped when it was not in use.
Does anyone have an insight into this behavior?

 

[bcp]

I spent most of my life in farming areas. Maybe 10 percent were kept in a shed with at least one open side. The rest were totally outside all year. This was everything from old beaters to the largest articulated monster tractors, combines, cotton pickers, balers, Cats, etc.

Bruce

 

[MossRoad]

Maybe they put them away after it gets dark... :laughing:

People leave their cars out, too. I imagine its just a matter of space available at the time.

 

[crazyal]

I park mine inside simply because of the damage the sun will do to it. Faded paint isn't too much of a worry but the sun will eat tires. I've replaced too many tires with great tread but dry rotted to the point where even tubes will not work. Plus without a cab the last thing I want to do is clean a foot of snow off a tractor so I can clear the driveway. I think about half the CUT owners around here keep them inside (hard to get an accurate number as you usually only see the ones outside). As to farms around here, I see a lot outside but they are older tractors. The new stuff I only see working in the fields. I suspect that's because they store them inside.

 

[cat fever]

Mapper I share your concern. All of my stuff is inside.


Oddly enough my dad lives next door; he has 2 - 100' X 50' barns and his tractor sits outside most of the time. :confused3:

 

[mapper]

Crazyal, you make my point, the sun and weather age your equipment. Tires and hoses are expensive to replace. Most folks don't have money to waste. I can understand a bit when someone does not have somewhere to store their equipment but what really gets me is when it's parked outside of a building it could be inside of.
I asked my sister a few years ago what they did (she and her husband are full time farmers who who have made a living for a number of generations on a family farm) with their equipment. Her response was that they stored every bit that they could in covered storage when it was not in use. They do have quite a bit of old stuff that does not get used sitting outside, referred to as the "lemon orchard":laughing:

 

[oosik]

I see a lot of the really big tractors parked out in the fields. I've always thought its because they don't have covered storage. I've always parked my tractors in covered storage. My Ford 1700 rear tires were still in good shape, when I traded it in, after 27 years of use.

If you want to see what UV does - just check a garden hose that is left out all year. It will get hard, brittle and cracked. UV damage to tires can be brutal.

 

[Thomas]

Dealers leave tractors and attachments out in the open over months even years and still sell it brand new.

 

[jk96]

My last tractor set outside for 8 years until I traded it in. Only issue I could see after 8 years was some slightly faded paint on the hood. The new one is sitting outside now. I'm hoping to get some storage built in a year or two but until then I prefer to have a warm car in the morning so the tractor will stay outside. My guess is that for most it's just a matter of space.

 

[Grandad4]

Learned from my wife's dad, who farmed successfully his whole life, to keep equipment out of the elements when it's not being used. No harm in leaving it out while seasonal work is going on, but when the plowing, planting, haying, etc. is finished, it gets put up where it belongs, not left out for weeks/months/years on end. It was a tight fit getting things back in the barn, but his equipment was always in good, ready-to-go condition and lasted a long time.