Slippy
Veteran Member
- Joined
- Sep 23, 2002
- Messages
- 1,053
- Location
- Ohio
- Tractor
- Mahindra 6000 4wd; IH x2; NHTC40DSS; International 1086; JD 5115M
It\'s amazing what we think we need!
I have been searching for information about CUT in an effort to fill a void that I concluded existed regarding the need for a CUT. Day after day, post after post, we all read about new and old folks to this board looking for help in making a decision about what tractor to buy, just like I have been lately. I am especially grateful to this board and the folks who spend the time to help out neighbors in a neighborhood that has no boundries.
However, what we forget is how tractors, especially in the last 10 years, have changed, and what we really need to get the job done vs what good marketing by manufactures have lead us to believe we need.
I realized this today as I was using my very old, but faithful IN Cub High Boy, early 60's vintage, to repair some quad trails. No HST, sync gears, fancy seats, power reverser, 4wd, super steer, auto tracking gear, and the list goes on and on. Just the very basic transfer of power, and not a lot mind you, to one rear wheel, and using the dual pedal brake to transfer power to the other wheel when needed. You folks who have been around tractors for a while know what I am talking about. The tractor, other than the faded paint, is about in as good as shape now as it was when it was built. Why, because there really is not a whole lot that can go wrong with the very basics.
It might be helpful for all of use, when we feel we are overwhelmed with all the features that tractors offer today, to look back at history and realize what it is we really do need to get the job done. I will suggest it is a lot less than we lead ourselves to believe, assisted by the very refined manufactures advertising and helping us convince ourselves we need a lot more than we really do. Heck, its not like we are driving the thing to work every day, or transporting our family cross country on the thing. I bet for some of us, it is easier to buy a new car than it is to pick a new tractor.
Just think about it; this board itself has grown so large over the last few years from where it started, with a lot of the traffic posted in the buying sections. If there weren't so many features today to consider, and we weren't lead to believe we just have to have them, these sections would probably not have nearly the growth they have realized.
Don't miss understand me, I enjoy seat time as much as the next guy, and a nice product can make it enjoyable. But what I realized was that I was enjoying my $2000 tractor as much as I do the $20,000.00 tractors, especially considering the investment, or lack of it.
Oh well, I guess my point is that as we are looking for the absolutley perfect fit for our needs in a CUT, yet most people, regardless of their pick, end up being happy with their pick because it will accomplish the basics, and we learn to live with all the other stuff it comes with. Why, because it gets the job done, just like the basic tractors of years ago. We then realize that it is amazing what we thought we needed, what we really needed, and how well what we bought will get the job done, regardless of the color or fancy features.
I have been searching for information about CUT in an effort to fill a void that I concluded existed regarding the need for a CUT. Day after day, post after post, we all read about new and old folks to this board looking for help in making a decision about what tractor to buy, just like I have been lately. I am especially grateful to this board and the folks who spend the time to help out neighbors in a neighborhood that has no boundries.
However, what we forget is how tractors, especially in the last 10 years, have changed, and what we really need to get the job done vs what good marketing by manufactures have lead us to believe we need.
I realized this today as I was using my very old, but faithful IN Cub High Boy, early 60's vintage, to repair some quad trails. No HST, sync gears, fancy seats, power reverser, 4wd, super steer, auto tracking gear, and the list goes on and on. Just the very basic transfer of power, and not a lot mind you, to one rear wheel, and using the dual pedal brake to transfer power to the other wheel when needed. You folks who have been around tractors for a while know what I am talking about. The tractor, other than the faded paint, is about in as good as shape now as it was when it was built. Why, because there really is not a whole lot that can go wrong with the very basics.
It might be helpful for all of use, when we feel we are overwhelmed with all the features that tractors offer today, to look back at history and realize what it is we really do need to get the job done. I will suggest it is a lot less than we lead ourselves to believe, assisted by the very refined manufactures advertising and helping us convince ourselves we need a lot more than we really do. Heck, its not like we are driving the thing to work every day, or transporting our family cross country on the thing. I bet for some of us, it is easier to buy a new car than it is to pick a new tractor.
Just think about it; this board itself has grown so large over the last few years from where it started, with a lot of the traffic posted in the buying sections. If there weren't so many features today to consider, and we weren't lead to believe we just have to have them, these sections would probably not have nearly the growth they have realized.
Don't miss understand me, I enjoy seat time as much as the next guy, and a nice product can make it enjoyable. But what I realized was that I was enjoying my $2000 tractor as much as I do the $20,000.00 tractors, especially considering the investment, or lack of it.
Oh well, I guess my point is that as we are looking for the absolutley perfect fit for our needs in a CUT, yet most people, regardless of their pick, end up being happy with their pick because it will accomplish the basics, and we learn to live with all the other stuff it comes with. Why, because it gets the job done, just like the basic tractors of years ago. We then realize that it is amazing what we thought we needed, what we really needed, and how well what we bought will get the job done, regardless of the color or fancy features.