DO NOT LOAN OUT YOUR TRACTOR... long

[8226hamer]

I can tell you tons of stories of borrowed equipment - AND LOST FRIENDS.

Even my Big Bobtail trucks friends and relatives ALWAYS want to borrow them, they're nearly 100k each. What I always say is Uhaul is $29.99 a day, here's $30.00 I'll be glad to pay. No one has ever taken my money.
The ole "my liability insurance won't allow it" always works.

And when they want to borrow money, sorry it's all tied up in CD's and the penaties would kill me.

And when they want my wife - just make sure she's home in time to cook dinner

Seriously though the liability of loaning out equipment IS SCARY at least. If you friend got hurt on your tractor, your friends insurance company would come after YOU, and your friend wouldn't have a say so in it. The manufacturer od the cutting equipment, tractor, dealer, you etc. would all be listed on the suit.

Sad as it might me, it's true.

The liability reason is the best advise and very true. I don't mind helping a friend out , but I will be on it and doing the work.

 

[Double Orange]

Swampvol, If you get a chance snap a picture or 2. Maybe if we saw the actual damage 1 or 2 might figure it out. Might save a good friendship? Frank

 

[rbargeron]

.............the pin on the hog bent away from the tractor, looked at the other pin.. the same thing. looked further and noticed on both plates that hold the a-frame hitch to the front side of the hog had broken at the bolt slots...one on each side.

WTH did he do? My initial thought was that he backed the hog into something, but there was no sign of that at the tire or back of the hog. I called him up more po'ed than I am now and his response was "I don't know, I didn't hit anything..I had to tighten the top link to get the back of the hog up to get it on the trailer..did it buckle? I didn't feel anything??"

There is no way in **** he didn't feel it..whatever it was........

Here's a guess - if he was clearing trails and backed into some blow downs or other debris to push it out of the way, then lifted the three point hitch with the back end of the mower still stuck in the brush pile and unable to lift it, that could bend the pins and do the other damage you found. He might not have felt anything. The fact that he noticed the top link needed to be shortened later is proof it happened while he was using it. A rookie move, but quite possible. If this is actually what happened be glad the damage wasn't a lot worse - with all that leverage, the top link might have broken out.

 

[dannydan3]

He should fix it, wash and wax the tractor, and worship the ground that you walk on for at least three years. Bad borrower there, anything that I ever borrow always comes back to the owner better than when I borrowed it.
I learned that from a guy that borrowed an extention cord from me. It came back wound up better than it did brand new. Simple thing, but it means that he really appreciated it, even though it was just a cord.
My 2 cents...

 

[chucko]

some one said "And when they want my wife - just make sure she's home in time to cook dinner"

I always say you can have mine if you take over payments

 

[KubotaSteve]

There are three things that I won't loan out: my truck, my wife and my tractor.

As to what may have happened to your bush hog, maybe he hung it on a tree or stump?

My brother borrows my tractor sometimes and always brings it back full of fuel and clean. I'm beginning to wonder if he didn't borrow my wife . My 10 year old daughter is 5'2" and I'm only 5'8" (wife's 5'3") and my brother is 6'4" Hmmmm!!!!!!. At a picnic this past summer, someone asked my wife "Is her dad tall?" and of course my brother was close by and said we'll let you know once the DNA tests come back!!!!. He keeps going back to when we were kids and dad said "You boys share everything that comes in the house" (meaning toys, food, etc. he later had to amend the statement to exclude females!!!!!)

Anyways, back to the topic, he is the only one besides my dad that I allow to use the tractor if I'm not around. My other two brothers don't get it without the operator.

 

[ccsial]

I have a simple rule. If I borrow anything out I go with it.